#nudge from maximum ride

[eddiemunsonw]

Paint me red.

PART 3

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: You're one of Vickie's best friends. Her girlfriend, Robin, is in need of a distraction for her best friend, Steve Harrington, who you vaguely remember from school. Which is where you come in.

CW / Disclaimer: A bunch of cute stuff, just a nice feel good fic about our dear boy Steve.

Author’s note: It was time to write about Steve Harrington, so here it is. Four parts, can find them both on here and on my ao3: eddiemunsons. Enjoy!

Words: (of current chapter) 2783 / (complete fic) 13059

Work ran later than expected and instead of having dinner and taking a ride with Vickie, you decided to walk there instead, grabbing a quick bite on the way so she didn’t have to wait for you. The four of you had agreed to meet around eight, so when you arrived fifteen minutes later you did profusely apologize even though no one seemed bothered in the slightest. The queue at the takeout place had just been longer than you had anticipated.

Steve’s face lit up the moment he spotted you and he was the first one to do so. With a quick nudge, the others were alerted as well and you made your way over with a smile.

“So sorry I’m late!” you apologized, immediately receiving shakes of heads from the others.

“Glad you made it,” Steve told you, smiling genuinely. Vickie gave you a hug and after a greeting from Robin as well, you headed to the paintball arena to change into overalls.

“Gosh I feel so unlike myself right now,” Vickie murmured as she looked down the dark green overalls.

“Don’t worry Vic, once we got paint on you you’ll be your colorful self again,” you teased, earning a soft giggle from Steve. A glance his way caused your eyes to meet and you shared a smile.

“Oh yeah? You’re going down! Both of you!” Vickie said with sudden motivation. “Rob and I may not have any aim, but we have determination and are great at other things.”

“Like hiding,” Robin offered with a smile.

“Like hiding!” Vickie repeated a little too proudly.

“Just make sure you don’t give yourselves away by whisper-shouting,” Steve said with a nod towards Robin.

“I do not whisper shout,” Robin objected in what seemed to be very much whisper-shouting. 

Steve handed everyone a helmet and a paintball gun was provided by one of his and Robin’s colleagues. Vickie and Robin had yellow paint, Steve and you red. To start, you all dispersed throughout the arena. You and Steve decided to stick closely together and he took the time to explain some military hand gestures to you while the counter went down.

“This means advance, this one means go back… this, when I want your attention, or the other way around of course. And uh this one’s take cover. I guess we’ll forget about it all once it starts but I thought why not, right?” he mused. You smiled and gave him a nod.

“Why not indeed. Okay so… advance, go back, attention, take cover? Like that?”

“Perfect,” Steve grinned as he watched you repeat all the gestures correctly. You were crouched behind a fake bush together when the timer went off and he quickly peered over the edge.

“No sight of them just yet,” he whispered, his hand momentarily coming to rest on your shoulder for balance. “Let’s—” he cut himself off in favor of using the gestures and you smiled to yourself, following as he motioned to ‘advance’.

The first one being hit was Robin who, when spotting Steve, gasped “Oh!” out loud and was too late to duck out of sight. Steve hit the back of her helmet with a bright red glob of paint and that was the start of Vickie going absolutely wild. She ran forward, screaming, which even startled Steve who quickly took cover which gave you the opportunity to hit Vickie right in the chest. She groaned and you felt compelled to apologize as being hit straight in the boob must have hurt despite the foam shield you were all wearing. You had a maximum of five lives and you had managed to only lose two when Vickie was out. Her determination to get revenge for Robin made her a surprisingly easy target, while Robin hid more efficiently ever since the first hit. Steve had only been hit once on the shoulder, which he could have avoided had he not been focusing on moving you away from being hit instead.

“I say we corner her, both get one side each and we attack at once,” Steve suggested softly.

“Alright. I’ll take left.”

Steve nodded and got up from his crouched position and slowly moved towards the right. You followed his lead on the other side until he gestured for you to stop and pointed at one of the low walls. Slowly, you approached Robin from both sides, guns at the ready. However, just as you were about to hit her with the paint, she burst upwards and ran quickly away. In a reflex, Steve hit you instead and you gasped as it hit you straight in the chest like you had done to Vickie before.

“Shit, sorry I—”

SPLAT!

Steve looked down at his chest and back up at you, cocking his head.

“Really? It was an accident!”

“I was just as ready to shoot her and I didn’t shoot you! Are you trying to sabotage me, huh? Wanna be sure you come out on top?” you taunted teasingly.

“No! My reflexes were just quicker than yours and slower than hers,” he admitted reluctantly. You narrowed your eyes at him and shot him again, this time it landed on his stomach. He cocked his head to the other side this time and put his hands on his hips as far as his hands allowed while also holding the paintball gun in one.

“Y/N.”

“Now we’re even,” you shrugged, grinning behind your helmet.

“We were even the first time,” Steve argued, which was essentially true. You weren’t there to play fair however, at least not when your teammate hit you.

“Right, well, you deserved the other.”

Steve rolled his eyes and approached you, putting his hand on your arm as he spoke, sounding way more sincere than was necessary for this silly game.

“I’m sorry I hit you, okay? But we’re in this together now, we have to hit her two more times to win, and I don’t know about you but I want to win.” You were about to tell him he was being really silly when—

SPLAT! SPLAT!

“That was waaay too easy,” Robin sighed, giving you both a look as you sprang apart from shock when you both felt the paint hit you right on the head. However, Robin stood there being smug for a little too long, giving you and Steve enough time to lift up your guns and hit her right back before she could run away to hide.

“Team Red wins!” Frank, the colleague, announced. You felt Steve’s arm wrap around your shoulders and he butted your heads together a little too harshly, which caused you both to groan.

“Steve, christ!” you moaned as you lifted your hand to feel your head, only to be met by a glob of paint. Steve snickered but it was over soon when you brushed your hand off on his chest, mixing the yellow with the red you hit him with earlier. He grabbed your wrist and tapped your fingertips with his own.

“You like finger painting or something?”

“When I was younger? Sure,” you replied too seriously for the way he asked the question. “You?”

Steve shrugged.

“I guess I did it once or twice in kindergarten? Don’t really recall if I liked it or not,” he responded a little lost in thought.

You hummed and swiped your fingers across his stomach. Just as he was about to ask what you were doing you grabbed his hand and coated it with the paint you scooped up from his overalls. “Try it, then.”

While he looked down at his hand, you took off your helmet as it was starting to feel heavy on your neck and smiled up at him. Steve watched you with a curious expression and before you knew it, he lifted his hand towards your face and rested his palm flat against your cheek as if cupping your face. He seemed to be ready to move it around when you interrupted him, brow creasing in confusion.

“Steve what—”

“I thought you meant—”

“Not on my face?!”

Steve spluttered an apology, raising laughter out of you and you gestured at his helmet.

“Off with it, payback time.”

“Come on, you have to admit it seemed like you wanted me to paint your face, taking off your helmet right at that moment?”

“I was just hot,” you argued, huffing as you flicked his helmet. It hurt your finger only a little. “Off.”

Steve sighed and took the helmet off, did a boyish shake with his head to loosen up his hair and looked down at you.

“Go on then, make me beautiful,” he smirked, surrendering himself to you.

“Ah, but you already are,” you said casually as you lifted your hand to draw an orange flower with a yellow dot in the middle on his cheek. It was better than the vague hand print you had received from him. While you busied yourself with the details of the petals you realized Steve hadn’t said a word. One glance at his other cheek confirmed that he was blushing.

“Is this like a two-for-one kinda deal? Paintball and face painting?” Robin asked with an amused smile, watching you with her arms crossed from the ‘Game Over’ box Vickie had been sent to.

“It was payback,” you defended yourself while Steve just mumbled something no one could really understand. You made your way over to the changing rooms where you took off the overalls and washed the paint off your hands. You looked in the mirror to admire the pretty artsy hand print on your face and gave Steve a glance.

“I think I’m keeping it, I like it. Besides, I think I’ll ruin my shirt if I try to wash this off now,” you shrugged. Steve came to stand next to you and check out your creation as well.

“Oh, a flower, huh? That’s kinda cute.”

“Kinda,” you repeated. “He really called my priceless piece of artwork, a one of a kind, kinda cute.” Shaking your head you looked over at Vickie and Robin for support, but neither of them seemed too impressed by your little speech. They were, however, looking at you both with smug expressions, though Steve completely missed it as he was tracing his finger along the petals in his cheek while following the movement with his eyes through the mirror.

“Anyway,” Steve said suddenly and it was unsure whether he had followed the rest of the conversation, or speech, or whatever, “I’m thirsty. Anyone else want a drink?”

The four of you sat down at the front center of the hall where drinks were served at a bar that was decorated with neon colors just like the rest. Vickie had already decided she wanted to do this again and Robin agreed, though they opted for a larger group of people, as long as you and Steve would be on the enemy team to get their revenge. The both of you were down for the idea as well and wondered if you could possibly get Argyle and Jonathan to join in. Eddie was another option to ask and Nancy, well, none of you were sure whether you wanted to hand either team that much power, but you’d toss a coin for her.

After the drinks Vickie announced that she was staying over at Robin’s place but still offered to give you a ride, which you politely declined. Robin lived on the other side of town and it was just too inconvenient. Steve glanced at you as the girls both told you good night, leaving you alone at the front of the DGMG.

“So… how are you gonna get home?” Steve asked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, making no move to leave just yet.

“Oh I’m just gonna walk, it’s not that far.”

“How far is not far?” he wanted to know and you bit your lip.

“Uh… half an hour, something like that?”

“Absolutely not. I’ll drive you.”

Steve had removed his hands from his pockets and had put them right on his hips again like he had before. He looked funny like that. Very much screaming “you will be home not a minute later than your curfew”, somehow.

“Oh, do I not get a say in this, is that what I’m hearing?” you asked, cocking an eyebrow at him. Steve’s eyes widened a fraction and he lifted his hands in defense.

“You— No that’s not what I—”

“I know, I’m teasing you,” you tell him with a soft smile. “It’s not exactly on route for you though.”

“You know where I live?” Steve asked, a little surprised.

“Who doesn’t know the Harrington mansion, huh? Known for its famous parties… the wild stories…”

His smile is awkward despite him doing his best to prevent that.

“Yeah, well. Not all that great, honestly. Just a big house with no parental figures around.”

“Every teenager’s dream,” you chuckled. It had happened more than once that classmates had expressed their jealousy towards Steve, who could do whatever he wanted in his home all the time.

“Is it, though?” Steve countered, then quickly cleared his throat and gestured towards the parking lot. “Anyway, uhm, I really don’t mind and I’d actually prefer it if you would let me drive you home. You know, to ease my mind.”

He avoided your gaze and focused on his shoes instead, nudging a small stone with his right foot. You wondered if you had possibly said the wrong thing just there. Instead of asking for it however, you figured the easiest way to get rid of the silence that threatened to expand between the two of you was to agree to his offer.

“Okay, yeah. Why not, right? Thank you, Steve.”

“Of course, no big deal.”

Once you were both settled in your seats, everything seemed normal again. Steve turned up the radio, hummed along to it while he asked what your plans for the rest of the week were in between and you asked him similar questions in return. Before you knew it, he already stopped in front of your house, which he had needed little guidance for once you had mentioned the street. Apparently one of the kids lived near your place. You lingered in the seat, listening to him telling a funny story about him and Robin and neither of you really seemed to want the conversation to end. Once the silence between you dared to linger a little longer though, you decided it was time.

“Well, uh— I won’t keep you any longer. Thank you for the ride,” you told him with a soft smile. “Don’t forget to clean off the flower.”

“What if I want to keep it? Might as well wear it to work tomorrow.” He shrugged, a grin playing on his lips.

“You do you but… chances are it will be smudged on your pillow when you wake up instead.” He gave you a little pout and you smiled in return.

“No worries, I can always draw a flower on your face again if you’d like.” With little hesitation you put your hand on his arm, giving it a comforting rub with your thumb to emphasize your words. Steve glanced briefly at your hand on his arm and glanced up at you, his smile seemingly permanent on his face now.

“I’ll keep it in mind, might take you up on your offer sometime.”

“Please do. Looks lovely on you, so I’m sure it would heighten the experience of customers seeing you match the interior.” You removed your hand and slowly made a move to exit the car when Steve’s voice stopped you.

“Uh— Y/N?”

You turn around to look at him, one leg already draped outside of the car.

“Yeah?”

Steve pressed down on his lips as if he was preparing himself to speak, even seemed a little nervous doing it.

“I uh… just wanted to say— Good night. And uhm, I had fun, being on your team.”

“I had fun being on your team too,” you tell him with a soft smile. You step out of the car and turn around to meet his gaze.

“Good night Steve. Drive safe.”

“Good night. You walk safe.”

“I’ll make sure to walk these… 20 feet very safely,” 

“Alright. Good. Perfect.”

A gentle giggle is shared and you finally close the passenger door and walk to your house. As soon as you reach the front door you turn around to give him a little wave, knowing he hadn’t driven off yet. You go inside after he returns the gesture and only when the door is closed securely behind you, you hear him drive away.

Next part

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x fem!reader #stranger things fanfics

[yoosungisbabie]

on the ride home

jumin x mc

rating: G

warnings: none♡

word count: 3k

ao3 link

summary

Jumin accompanies Jaehee and MC to view a potential venue for their next RFA party. He doesn't realize how strongly MC affects him.

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“I’ll leave you to think it over. Please let me know if you have any more questions,” the manager said, bowing respectfully as he exited the room.

Jumin fixed his suit jacket for the seventh time in the past five minutes; there was nothing else to do. That particular suit always hung weird, so instead of looking at the uninteresting room the three of them were standing in, he focused on his jacket.

“So, what do you two think?” MC wondered aloud, clasping her hands together behind her back. Her eyes were alight, but Jumin failed to see what there would be to appreciate about the subpar banquet hall they stood in. He glanced around once more, almost to humor her, and let his eyes roll over the dull chandelier and aging upholstery.

“I’ll need to ask about the maximum capacity limit, the entrances, and what catering would look like before we commit to anything,” Jaehee spoke quickly, holding her clipboard tight to her chest. MC’s smile only widened, her eyes softening at Jaehee.

“Of course,” she agreed, nodding along before her eyes shifted to meet his expectantly. He took a deep breath in through his nose, nearly forgetting where he was going to start his grievances. The unbothered sparkle in her eyes was uncharacteristically distracting to him.

“Assistant Kang, please also investigate the hotel’s status further. I’d like to know their banquet reviews and frequency,” Jumin started, straightening his back and glancing over as Jaehee began to scribble on her clipboard. “I’m interested to know the turnover rate of their employees and what training they go through before anything.” The confidentiality of their guests was extremely important, and nothing could go wrong at the party due to the lack of proper training on the hotel’s part.

A small frown grew on MC’s face, drawing his gaze curiously. Was she displeased at the amount of help he was offering her? He normally took the role of investigating the possible hosts of the locations for their parties.

“That sounds great, Jumin,” she sighed, unclasping her hands from behind her back. “But– here! Just imagine it,” she grinned, changing her aura almost instantly. She quickly walked to the middle of the room, gesturing to the left side of the hall.

“We can have all the tables here, and we can hire that company for the centerpieces that we were talking about,” she began, nudging that last comment at Jaehee. “The refreshments can be set up there, and oh! I was thinking we could have V’s auction set up on the opposite side of the room. I want to give him space to arrange his pieces the way he wants, and–”

“I think he’ll appreciate that,” Jaehee interjected, smiling back at MC. Jumin was watching her, not realizing that his hands had relaxed at his sides. He quickly stuck them in his pant pockets, but the almost-anxious action caught MC’s attention.

“Jumin? Can you see what I mean?” she asked, walking closer to him once more. He raised his eyebrows, his eyes flitting around the room as he tried to visualize the ideas she had proposed.

“I think we should still review all the options, but if you would like to be in charge of how we arrange the room, you are welcome to,” he replied, looking back down at her as she breathed quickly out of her nose like that was the wrong answer.

“What about the view? The Seoul skyline?” she prompted, stepping to his left side so they were both facing the wall of windows to the east. She steadied herself with one hand on his forearm, using her other to point out at the windows enthusiastically.

“The Highrise Enthusiasts will love it, don’t you think? And once the sun begins to set?” she asked, almost commanding more of his attention than what had been drawn to the sudden upset feeling in his stomach. He stared down at her, seeing her wide smile and trying to figure out why he felt slightly sick. Had the minor change in his breakfast routine thrown off his perfect equilibrium?

“Consider it?” MC urged, her mouth softening into a gentle smile directed at him. He moved to speak, feeling his stomach clench once more in distress. Perhaps he should have stayed at the office to finish his paperwork instead of accompanying them that day.

“I’ll try my best to see your vision,” he agreed, nodding along before pressing his lips together. It was only when MC backed away, satisfied with his answer and releasing her light grip on his arm, that he unclenched the fists he’d made in his pockets.

“I’m not settling, but I think this would be a lovely venue if we don’t find another good option,” she offered, tilting her head at Jaehee. The two girls smiled at each other, and Jumin took a deep breath to try to settle his heart rate. He would definitely need to talk to his dietician, if not his doctor. Maybe the air in the banquet hall wasn’t filtered correctly? He couldn’t think straight.

“We can definitely consider it, MC,” Jaehee said, glancing up at her boss. He nodded at her, avoiding the party planner’s eyes as he turned back towards the entrance of the hall.

“I believe we should go before the traffic gets too much worse,” Jumin spoke quickly, wondering if there would be hardly any traffic outside. He led the way, bowing to the hotel staff as they took the elevator down to the ground floor.

MC gushed about the lobby when they passed through, latching onto Jaehee’s arm but not surprising the assistant in the least. Jumin watched with intrigue, interested as to if the small gesture had really been the reason for the ill feeling that hadn’t quite left him.

Driver Kim was waiting with the company car for them just outside the entrance, and to Jumin’s slight surprise, the lunchtime traffic was actually a little worse than usual.

Jaehee sat upfront, leaving Jumin in the backseat with MC. Driver Kim pulled out into the street quickly, knowing that they would want to get back to the office as soon as possible.

“I think Zen would really like the red accents in that hall, don’t you think, Jaehee? I only just thought of that,” MC commented, pulling out her phone. “I should send him a picture.” Jumin couldn’t help but peek at her phone, watching her send a picture that he hadn’t realized she’d taken. Jumin was in the picture, and Jaehee was hidden behind him as they had been talking to the manager. The subject of the picture was the stage at the head of the banquet hall, but the fact that Jumin was also in the picture alleviated some of the heat that rose to his ears when she had opened her private chat with Zen.

Jumin focused his attention back on his own phone, reading over the emails he had received while they had taken their short trip. The car was mostly quiet except for the light air conditioning and the gentle piano sonatas that Driver Kim always played on the radio. But before long, MC began to yawn, making Jaehee laugh after the first subsequent few.

“If you’d like, I could make you some coffee before you head back,” Jaehee offered, making MC smile and hum thoughtfully.

“That sounds lovely, thank you,” she replied, locking her phone and placing it and her hands in her lap. “I can’t sleep very much lately.” Jumin’s ears perked up, his attention shifting from his emails to their conversation more fully.

“Is that so?” Jaehee replied, turning in her seat to look back in slight concern.

“Oh, it’s just the transition from my old apartment to Rika’s apartment and now my new apartment is definitely an adjustment,” she explained, shrugging at Jaehee. “I’m used to a lot of background noise, so I need a good fan or something to–” She interrupted herself to yawn again, giggling herself out of it and making him finally look up at her completely. The sound was hard for him to ignore, for some reason.

“To drown out the quiet,” she finished, stealing a glance at him before looking back at Jaehee. He blinked at her comment, thinking about how quiet his penthouse was. If he compared it to the noise in the car at that moment, he could almost feel his ears ringing at the intense silence he would find in his own home. A strange thought then popped into his head; he wondered if she were ever to visit his house if she would hate it, or if her pleasant laughter would fill the space instead. But when his mind slipped into wondering what position she would sleep in or what she would look like waking up in the morning, he minutely shook his head, trying to clear the strange thoughts that seemingly came from thin air.

“I wouldn’t mind helping you look for a high-quality fan,” Jaehee spoke up, pulling him from his momentary daze. Again, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach, and he wondered if he really was developing an illness.

“Oh my goodness, please don’t,” MC said quickly, waving her hand dismissively. “I could never add more to your plate, Jaehee.” His assistant made a strange noise, somewhere between a sneeze and a cough, but brushed it off quickly and excused herself before turning back around in her seat.

The soothing piano melodies took over the quiet of the car once more, and Jumin went back to his emails, trying to find where he’d left off reading.

After only a few more minutes, he heard a small snore come from MC, and his eyes were drawn almost immediately to her. She had her head tilted back against the headrest, her mouth slightly open, and his first thought was of how quickly she had dozed off.

It was a long moment that he stared at her, seeing the rise and fall of her chest and listening to the air pass through her lips. Jumin realized how unexplainable his gaze would be if anyone saw him, so he pulled his eyes back to his phone, absentmindedly opening his browser. He began researching top-reviewed fans, but his mind switched quickly to another query.

How to fall asleep in my apartment if it is too quiet

Jumin had blocked out all other noise, focused on his research when there was sudden pressure and warmth on his left shoulder. His eyes moved before any other part of him could, seeing the top of MC’s head in the corner of his vision. His heart executed what he could only describe as a high jump, nearly eliciting a vocal reaction from him.

His whole body felt frozen, stuck in midair. Was she still asleep? If so, would she wake up if he so much as breathed? He anxiously tested it, feeling her body rise and fall with the rhythm of his breathing, and in doing so almost missing the rapid rate at which he was inhaling and exhaling. He tried to relax, staying as still as possible. He would much rather her be comfortable than him, even if that meant they would stay like this for the rest of their car ride.

Jumin looked back to his phone, exiting his browser and switching back to his emails. It was almost too much to try and focus on anything but the pattern of her breathing or the way he could barely feel her feathery exhales brushing the back of his hand.

When Driver Kim made a sudden stop, MC’s head slipped forward, nearly shifting off of his shoulder. She made a dissatisfied noise, raising his heart rate as she repositioned to move her whole body closer to his side. One of her hands found the crook of his elbow, her gentle grip hardly even noticeable through the fabric of his dress shirt and jacket.

He focused on his own breathing, wondering why her proximity was making him feel so uneasy. Maybe the combination of her closeness, her hand on his arm, and the way the simple scent of her shampoo was lingering in the air was the reason for his mental disquiet. But before he could take too long to dwell on it, they had arrived back at the C&R building. The dim lighting of their underground parking garage cast long shadows into the car, and he couldn’t help but tense up as he realized what was about to happen.

Jumin couldn’t bring himself to move, even as Jaehee opened the door for him. His assistant paused, glancing in at the both of them in confusion.

“Mr. Han? Did she real fall asle–” Jumin held a hand up, motioning for her to be a little quieter.

“What should I do?” he whispered without thinking, turning to glance at the woman lying against him to hide the way his face began to warm. He felt so unlike himself, but it seemed as though he didn’t have any way to control that fact for the time being, not with her there asleep on his arm.

Jaehee was quiet for a moment before clearing her throat and prompting him to look back at her, feeling an unexpected dependency on his assistant.

“I think you should wake her up,” Jaehee whispered back, pressing her lips together quickly to avoid smiling. Jumin pretended not to see that, furrowing his eyebrows at her. “If you move your shoulder slowly, she will probably begin to fall and wake up,” she offered, drawing an even more confused expression from him.

“I thought you would have a helpful answer,” he murmured to himself, trying to think of a solution quickly. Normally the security guards waiting nearby never bothered him, but even having Jaehee as an audience to whatever was happening felt intrusive.

“Please take the security guards and gather everyone for our one o’clock meeting,” he instructed, watching from his peripheral vision as Jaehee paused for a moment before nodding and turning away. Once she and the guards were closed in the elevator, he let out a slow, even breath.

He turned to look at MC, his chin almost brushing against her hair. He tilted his head forward slightly to see her face, his chest tightening when he saw her in the dim lighting. Her hair was hanging slightly in his way, but her lips were opened slightly in a pout, drawing his eyes first. He’d never noticed how long her eyelashes were or the pleasing slope of her nose until that moment, and the slightest color in her cheeks nearly made him reach up to feel the warmth waiting there. The thought of touching her was what made him release the breath he’d been holding, the air from his lips blowing her hair against her nose. It seemed to tickle her, her eyes fluttering and her face scrunching in response.

Jumin startled, pulling his face away just in time for her eyes to flutter open. She took an unsteady breath in, lifting her head to look around.

When their eyes met, hers blew fully wide, both of her hands shooting up to cover her mouth. The color of her face went red, a shade even more pleasing than before, even if he couldn’t see it as well as he would have liked in the poor lighting.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep!” she exclaimed, her eyebrows pulling together like she wanted to cry. Jumin’s heart leaped, his unexplainable delight switching to regret.

“It’s alright,” he responded, shaking his head quickly as he moved to take off his seatbelt. She did the same, pressing her hands to her cheeks while he stole a glance at her. She looked distressed, but she was blushing and fixing her hair nervously. As she pulled it behind her ears, she moved to look at him. He quickly looked away, stepping out of the car and offering her his hand to help her out. She hesitated but took it, and the feeling that started in his fingertips and radiated through his whole body almost made him pull her into him again. But he controlled himself, watching as she walked past him towards the elevator.

Jumin faltered for a moment, hesitant to follow behind her too closely in case she was still uncomfortable. He shut the car door behind himself, buttoning his jacket and fixing his sleeves. He took even strides over to the elevator, glancing at her for less than a second as he stepped inside and selected his floor.

They were both silent as the doors closed and their ascent began, and Jumin wondered if she could hear the way his heart was racing in his chest as it pounded in his ears.

“Jumin,” she called, making him flinch. He played it off by brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve, glancing over at her. He had only intended to turn his head enough to imply that he was listening, but once their eyes met, he didn’t dare look away from such a sight.

She was smiling, a light pink settling over her cheeks as she blinked up at him.

“Why are you blushing too?” she whispered, pressing her lips together when his eyes widened. He felt his face grow even warmer, a heat simmering along the entire expanse of his body. Her expression could only be described as teasing, and the idea brought a whole new level of depth to the way he felt ill.

“I-um,” he started, surprising himself when he stuttered and was at a loss for words. While his mind scrambled to put any words together, either in response to her or for an explanation as to what he was experiencing, she giggled into her hand.

Jumin knew right then that even though he had no idea what she was doing to him, he would do everything in his power to make sure that it wouldn’t stop.

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thank you so much for reading! i haven’t been on here in a hot minute, but I had started writing this in october and thought I might as well get something out. I love writing and sharing it, so here are! 

if you liked, please like, reblog, and leave a comment in the notes or in the tags! thank you <3

mel x

#jumin #jumin x mc #mc x jumin #mysme #mystic messenger #my writing #juminxmc #mcxjumin #jumin han #han jumin #mysme fanfic #mystic messenger fanfic #mysme ff

[foundfamilyappreciation]

Round 1: Group B

Nevermoor Family (Morrigan Crow, Jupiter North, Jack Korrapati + the Hotel Deucalion) from Nevermoor

vs

The Flock (Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel) from Maximum Ride

#nevermoor #maximum ride #found family poll #polls #round 1

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

Bright Lights

Summary- The boys see you crying as they set up for their next show, but it’s not for the reason they expect.

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- None :)

Tag List- @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @munsonology @esme-viridian

Word Count- 1.8k

The boys were exhausted moving their equipment from Eddie’s van into the venue, each of their arms were sore and their feet were hurting from moving back and forth for the last hour and a half, but they couldn’t be happier.

It had taken a few months of networking and playing at small parties and bars, but they were finally able to book a gig at a pretty prominent metal bar near the city. It was a hell of a drive, almost two hours not including the hectic twists and turns of trying to find the place amidst all the other buildings they saw, but they couldn’t wait to finally get inside and play.

The place itself wasn’t anything extravagant and fancy, it was a big place and was pretty well known in the scene, and though it only held about 150 people maximum inside it was all they could’ve ever dreamed of. Seeing a whole crowd of brand new faces they could introduce to their sound. Fans that would want to buy one of their few patches or demo tapes, which meant that more and more people would be introduced to them. It was a small step in their music career but if they did this right it could mean the start of their popularity amongst the metal community and they were proud of themselves for at least begging this far.

And you were so proud of them too.

Of course the boys told you the moment they found out that their set was confirmed, and you quite literally jumped into them for the biggest group hug you’ve ever given. It was an amazing feeling just to see how happy those boys were and you knew that they would look amazing on that stage.

They invited you to come along with them as they helped set up the stage, lugging in their equipment and talking with the stagehands for how they wanted the lights and minimal effects. It was kind of funny to see Eddie being a little bit of a drama queen to make sure that everything was perfect, but you understood why he would want it to be absolutely perfect. This was big for them.

From the moment you got to the bar the staff had been nothing but nice to you, showing you around the place and asking if you needed anything to drink or a place to sit down after the ride. For people who looked big and scary they were the quite possibly the nicest people you’ve ever met.

You looked around inside the venue as they set up, wandering over the stage and helping the boys with setting up their equipment when they needed it. You looked around at the merch tables and it was kind of funny to see their tapes on the table, and there was even a few patches made for them at the bootleg tables upstairs. How they were able to make them so quickly you’ll never know, it’s all the magic of metalheads.

You were currently sat on the edge of the stage, making sure to keep out of the way of everyone trying to set up the venue. The last thing you would want would be to get in the way and possibly ruin something for that night. It would kill you to ruin such a special night for the boys.

It was a very surreal feeling to be sat there on the stage.

You were all so used to being in such smaller spaces, and now that they had the room for doing bigger and better things you were wondering how different this show would be from the others you’ve been to.

Your attention was pulled away from your surroundings as Jeff sat next to you on the stage,

“It’s pretty cool right?” He asked you with a smile on his face, gently nudging your side.

“So cool!” You said back to him, making sure to stay quiet so you didn’t disturb the stage hands that continued to prepare things for the show, “It’s weird though… Not bad weird, good weird, but still weird…”

Jeff smiled and looked out at the floor, seeing the huge space that would be filled with all new fans within the next hour or so,

“Yeah, it is pretty weird.”

“You guys nervous?”

“Absolutely.”

You giggled and nudged his side, wanting to do your best to ease his nerves before the show. You knew they were scared, as much as they tried not to show it. This was all new for them.

“You’re gonna do great! Any of you guys’ family coming out?” You asked him, trying to get his mind off of how scary it would be playing in a bigger venue like this.

“Yeah, i know Wayne said he’s coming by a little later after work. Gareths parents and my mom couldn’t take off work but i know my dad is coming and he said he’d take tons of pictures for them. And Grant said his dad and bunch of his biker friends are coming by.”

“That’s awesome!” You could see how nice Jeff felt knowing how supportive his parents, and all the other guys’ parents were of their band, “So you guys have nothing to worry about! It’ll be fine, you’ll have tons of fun.”

Jeff kept the smile on his face and you knew that with you there with them they’d be completely fine.

You’d be either backstage or right up front watching them play, and it was going to be something you would all remember for a while. Even if tonight didn’t mean they would get their name out there, it still was something they never would’ve imaged their little garage band could’ve accomplished.

“Damn. It all starts with middle school talent shows and here we are, playing at a real venue in the city.”

You both sat on the edge of the stage for another moment just fully taking in the scene, the sounds, the sights, everything just felt so surreal.

You both jumped off the stage as you saw Eddie jogging his way over, a big smile on his face as he approached you,

“Jeff, (y/n), come on you gotta see this!”

He had a huge smile on his face and he was more excited than you’d ever seen him.

You and Jeff jumped off the stage and followed him through the venue, stepping outside and standing back on the sidewalk. Grant and Gareth were outside too, Eddie and the two of you looking up at the marquee with them, watching one of the people working at the venue putting up the sign for that night.

‘LIVE: CORRODED COFFIN @ 9 PM’

It was something you honestly never thought would come along for them this early. Their name up in lights facing one of the busiest streets in the city. They were worried that tonight wouldn’t be the night that they would finally get themselves out there but that sign only showed them that they were accomplishing more than they had ever hoped for. It was a small step, but it felt so much bigger to them.

All of you stood and looked at the sign for a moment, just admiring how amazing it looked up on the marquee.

You were so happy for them, so proud of the work they’ve done to get here. They’ve played at dingy bars and backyard parties and basement shows all to get to see their name up in bright lights in the city. Sure, it wasn’t like they were going to be playing at the Garden, but this was just as meaningful.

You smiled, staring up at their name, and it was all enough to bring tears to your eyes.

“(y/n), you alright?” Grant asked as he looked over at you.

Without even noticing it, your eyes had watered and a few tears slipped down your cheeks.

“Yeah, i’m ok.” You sniffled, wiping away the tears from your cheeks, but you couldn’t help it if more streamed down. You were so happy for them you couldn’t contain it.

“Aww, come here sis.” Eddie wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head, the other boys following him and embracing you into a big group hug.

You smiled and did your best to stop the tears from flowing but having them all around you to enjoy this moment together was only making it worse. Gareth laughed and kissed your head just like Eddie did,

“What’s got you so sad all of a sudden (y/n)?”

“I’m not sad…” You sniffled, “I’m happy. And i’m really proud of you guys…”

You giggled as their collective ‘aww’s helped calm you just a bit. They were so happy you could be there with them to experience something like this and you smiled hearing a few sniffles coming from them as they unwrapped their arms from around you.

“You guys aren’t going to cry too are you?” You asked them as you saw Gareth and Jeff wipe under their eyes.

“What?” Gareth scoffed, wiping another stray tear from under his eyes.

“Yeah, no, we’re just… sweating.” Jeff said, trying to still convince you that they weren’t getting emotional over such a big step for them.

“Sweating? In your eyes?” You asked them with another sniffle, a cheeky smile on your lips.

“Yep. That’s exactly what’s happening.” Gareth sniffled.

You leaned up and gently kissed his temple, fixing his hair up afterwards,

“It’s alright to cry, this is really big for you guys! I’m really proud of you, and i’m so excited to see you guys up on stage later tonight!”

“Speaking of that,” Grant checked the watch on his wrist, “sound check is in like 20 minutes, we gotta finish hauling this stuff in.”

“Shit, you’re right.” Eddie cleared his throat and wiped off his cheeks with the back of his sleeve. It was surprising how emotional the boys got over this, but you were glad you got to share this moment together.

“(y/n), why don’t you go and chill in the dressing room in the back? They’ve got snacks and drinks and all that, go relax for a little while!” Eddie said to you with a smile, giving you a quick kiss to the top of your head before heading back over to the van to finish their set up. The other boys waved and said their quick goodbyes as they helped Eddie and Grant finish lugging in all their equipment.

You stood on the sidewalk for a moment and took one last look up at the marquee as they finished with the sign. As much as you wanted to whip out your camera and get the very first shot of it, you knew that Jeff’s dad would do a much better job with his camera.

You took one last deep breath before heading off into the backstage dressing room, quickly wiping off one last stray tear as it rolled of your cheek.

God, you were so fucking proud of them.

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #gareth emerson #jeff stranger things #freak stranger things #hellfire club #corroded coffin #hellfire mom

[dateamonster]

fun fact abt me that i cant remember if i shared before is that one of my oldest ocs and more importantly one of my oldest explicitly gay ocs started out as a very op maximum ride fan character that i originally shipped with nudge, until i sorta rebooted both of them as uhh Totally Original Do Not Steal bird mutant lab-escapees completely divorced from maximum ride. then eventually i rebooted them again into a more dark-fantasy oriented verse. some say theyre still floating around in that silly ol brain o mine to this very day.

#ungodly screeching

[junpeijackflash]

Welp, I Guess I’ll Talk About My Maximum Ride Rewrite Now

I promised I’d post about my rewrite soon, totally not expecting to do it for at least a few weeks. Then I opened up my doc after like a month and wrote two chapters in two days.

So, now equipped with a stronger drive to write (at least for now) I’ll share some details on my rewrite project. I’ll be putting this under a cut because holy fuck I did not expect to write this much:

The full title for the series is going to be Fly On, Maximum Ride. The individual book rewrites are going to be from song lyrics (or song titles? haven’t decided). Incidentally, the “Fly On” part of the title also comes from song lyrics.

Why, you may ask, am I doing the cliché AO3 “song lyrics as the title” thing? Because music ended up having a larger impact on this series than intended. What started out as me listing each flock members’ favorite bands and songs somehow wove so deeply into them that I cannot remove it.

(I’m aware kisses4butterflies on AO3 also has a music thing going in their rewrite. I came up with my version independently, and I do think it’s cool we had similar ideas)

Now to what people actually care about: the story and characters 👀

First off: Jeb never died/faked his death. He is still living with the flock as we speak, leaving the house every so often to get groceries or supplies for the flock. Sometimes he’s gone for a few days, sometimes weeks, sometimes a bit longer. But he’s still a part of the flock’s life. He trains them, teaches them, makes sure they’re healthy, rewards them when they do good, etc.

Ari sadly does not exist. I could’ve tried to come up with something for him, but I removed him from the plot so early on there’s no way to squeeze him back in. Maybe he could’ve been living with the flock as a normal human kid, but I feel like that would’ve just made him Gazzy Without Wings so :/

The house is…different. I don’t want to say much on that now, but just know the flock isn’t waking up with the sun or going on daily flights around the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. They go outside to train and occasionally play, but only when Jeb lets them.

Max, Fang, and Nudge are probably the only real physical fighters of the bunch. Iggy’s extremely good at assembling traps and weapons he can use, but he doesn’t have the same training as his siblings. Gazzy is training to be a good fighter, and training with Iggy on building things (he’s much more eager about the bombs than Iggy is), but he’s still a kid and he’s still learning. Angel is a six year old, and she’s also slightly lagging behind on her motor skills, so safe to say she is not good in a fight.

The flock still looks somewhat human-like, but not enough that they pass 100%. Their wings are massive, for one, and they can’t just fold them up into their backs. They need bulky jackets and pants to squish their wings inside if they want to hide them. They also have feathers along the backs of their arms and legs. Their pectoral muscles are larger and they have broader shoulders, all to help support the wings. They have smaller and rounder bird eyes with raptor vision, and they’ve got hollow bones and air sacs just like birds do.

In terms of what birds the flock’s wings are based on: Max = golden eagle, Fang = peregrine falcon, Iggy = osprey, Nudge = american kestrel, Gazzy = red tailed hawk, Angel = ferruginous hawk. Their eyes also match the birds they’re based on.

Everyone in the flock has pretty noticeable scars. Max has a large one on her cheek. Fang has several long ones across his chest. Iggy’s eyes are basically a scar on their own. Nudge has scars on her hands that flare up in pain. Both Max and Gazzy have scars around their neck in the same places. Angel doesn’t have scars yet, but she’s going to get some soon.

The kids fully believe they’re freaks of nature who cannot live outside of their home or else they’ll be hunted down or taken back to The School.

The flock all consider themselves siblings. This does in fact mean no Max-Fang romance. Honestly I wouldn’t know what to do with it even if they weren’t siblings. I have 1 (one) planned romance in book 2, and it doesn’t involve either of them.

There’s not de facto leader, since Jeb is still there. Max, Fang, and Iggy all take up different roles when he’s gone to help around the house.

Max and Fang do have a really close bond, though. They were cage neighbors at The School for as long as they can remember, and they developed a very close friendship, always looking out for one another, always ready to do anything to save each other. Even now, four years after leaving The School, they’re constantly there for each other, helping deal with trauma the only ways they know how.

Of course, when Max and Fang aren’t physically or mentally able to help, Iggy’s there to be the emotional support for his siblings. He’s one of the oldest kids, so he’s treated as such, James. Admittedly, there is A Lot to Iggy that won’t get unpacked until after book 1. But he’s still very blind. Still very skilled. Still very gay.

Nudge, being one of the younger three, got to have a slightly happier childhood, free to play with dolls and be a kid. She still struggles with nightmares and flashbacks, but not to the degree that her older siblings do. Now that she’s getting older, she has to train more, something she hates. Just like in canon, she really just wants to be a normal girl. She’s scared of people, but also fascinated by them and wishing she could live like they do.

Gazzy barely remembers anything from The School. It definitely had an impact on him, but the few memories he has are implicit childhood ones that are more sensory than anything. He’s the most innocent of the kids, but he’s also very aware of his siblings’ struggles and tries to help when he can. He’s willing to fight, despite his total lack of experience.

Angel, unfortunately, absorbed plenty of bad memories as a baby, when she couldn’t control her powers very well and overheard everyone’s nightmares. She’s aware of what happened at The School, but she tries not to bring it up because it makes her siblings sad. She still has nightmares about it, still remembers things she shouldn’t. However, memories don’t quite compare to experiencing the real thing... 

Gazzy and Angel are indeed biologically related instead of just found family. I’ve put a bit of emphasis on that being different. Not in a way that invalidates found family, don’t worry. It’s just that I personally believe if you already have a found family dynamic and are now including blood siblings, there should be some significance to it, because otherwise why do they need to be related if everyone is already family? Basically: Gazzy and Angel are very very close. They love each other, they play together, they barely ever argue or fight. They’re babies, and I will protect them (I say as I put them through several back-to-back traumatic events)

Speaking of biological families…uh, most of the flock doesn’t have any. Max isn’t Jeb and Dr. Martinez’ kid, the flock doesn’t go on a hunt for their parents that goes nowhere. In this world, a good chunk of the test subjects made through donor eggs and sperm that’s been genetically altered in advance and raised in artificial wombs. Yeah, sure, they’ve got donor parents out there somewhere, but it’s not top priority for most of the flock. They’ve got guardians looking out for them, and when they don’t they’re just fighting on their own.

Despite not being related to Dr. Martinez, Max is still Latina. I didn’t change any of the races - Fang is Asian, Nudge is black, Iggy and Gazzy and Angel are white - except for adding some clarification on Fang, since Asian is a very broad term (he’s got DNA from Southeast Asia and East Asia, more specifically The Philippines and South Korea). Again, stuff that will be more relevant after book 1.

Some kids are donated by real people, though, usually altered in very, very early stages of development and monitored heavily until they’re born. Families sign a waiver promising a nice paycheck to cover all medical expenses, and a disclaimer of possible permanent damage to the body or death. There is one member of the flock who was donated to The School this way. I’m not telling who yet.

Ohhh boy the Erasers. I have so much to say about Erasers, but I’ll have to keep it short. 

When I started this rewrite, I had the question: “Why do we never see newly made Erasers? They can’t just start out as full-grown adults.” So, in this rewrite, we have child Erasers, which the flock refers to as “dogs”. They age quickly, so they do look like full grown adults when they’re three or four, however it doesn’t last long, since rapid aging doesn’t exactly stop. They live for roughly seven years max, but most of them outlive their fighting use before that. 

Full-grown Erasers are stronger, tougher, and are experts at following orders since it’s all they know. Dogs, on the other hand, are wild and violent. They’ll tear into anything they get their hands on and they’re harder to control, since they’re still learning. Itex utilizes them both.

Also of note on Erasers: they’re officially just Lupine hybrids, and the Eraser nickname was made up by the various children at The School, because they only ever came to the cage room to take away the unfortunate kids who didn’t live long enough, or the kids who were too sick to keep on living, effectively “erasing” them.

The School is a nickname that Gazzy came up with after they left. He still didn’t really understand the bad place they came from and how it was affecting his siblings, but kids on TV always talked about school like it was the worst thing in the world, so he figured that must be where they came from. He used it a lot, and it stuck with the rest of the flock too. 

Did I mention there’s more mutant kids? Because there’s more mutant kids. A LOT of mutant kids. 296 of them at The School alone, with over half of those being Erasers/dogs. They have to make a lot, since you never know which ones will succeed, which ones will be used for non mutation-related testing, and which ones will fail.

Where do they get the money for so many research babies? The flock doesn’t know any of this, but Itex is massive. Governments are willing to pay outrageous prices to fill their military with Erasers, and the research Itex provides from studying their mutants have cured diseases and provided better medical treatment for ordinary people around the world. The human experimentation is an open secret (though granted most people don’t know the entire process). Most of them can’t do much, however. Itex is very, very old, and it’s far too powerful for your average Joe to stop on their own.

Also there’s no “save the world” plotline. There’s some saving the world in there eventually (not now, but eventually), but it’s not a predestined thing that Jeb tells Max. Max wasn’t created to save the world. She and her siblings were created for something else...

...Anyways, that’s about all I have time for right now. I might post more details later, but feel free to hit me with a DM or an ask if you have any thoughts. Currently the rewrite is sitting at 23 chapters, which means I’m juuust over halfway done with the first draft lol. I don’t know when it’ll be out. I work on and off and I’m not super consistent. But hopefully I’ll have something done within the next twenty years. :P

#maximum ride #maximum ride rewrite #fly on maximum ride #fomr #max #fang #iggy #nudge #gazzy #angel #jeb batchelder #deepest apologies to the two people who followed me for akeshu content and now have to put up with This #if it's any consolation to them i have at least two persona 5 based maximum ride aus that i can and probably will gush about at some point

[foundfamilyadoptionagency]

#nudge #maximum ride #no image submitted #no tags submitted #adoption poll

[carmahnart]

nudge from maximum ride 🦅❤

#blacktober #carmahndraws #art #maximum ride #nudge maximum ride #illustration #digital art #drawing

[tuatara-time]

Serious Poll #1

Please reblog for a wider sample size, I have only a handful of followers and I don’t think any of them like Maximum Ride

#polls #i finally have polls #maximum ride #maximum ride: the angel experiment #max ride

[definitely-not-a-wasp]

Maximum Ride versus Spontaneous Power Ups

Part 1

I'm not saying that giving the bird kids power ups isn't fun and funky. But I am definitely not the first person to point out that they're not the best executed, and often take more away from the plot than they add. And someone asked me to state my opinions about one (1) contrived power-up, so now you get to hear about all of them.

Speaking from a general perspective, I have some major problems with Maximum Ride superpowers, and they're as-follows:

They just HAPPEN. There's no trigger, there's no effort on the flock's part to "unlock" them, and there's no explanation given.

They're often these one-off powers that don't maintain narrative significance or further explanations.

Most of the time, they have absolutely no drawbacks.

Yes, I know this is copy-pasted from part 1, what about it?

So this is what I would do to try to solve some of those issues without changing the plot too much. And because I'm nice, I'm sticking it under a read-more.

Pre-Book 1

In the beginning of book 1, Max states that a lot of the flock has "little quirks" like Angel's telepathy, and then the text makes it clear that this is only true of Angel and Gazzy. That means it's completely acceptable to shove a few more powers into pre-series, with the implication that the School caused this before they escaped.

Angel's telepathy, obviously: I've extensively talked about my thoughts surrounding Angel's telepathy, but to rehash, there are plenty of advantages and drawbacks to anything concerning the brain. Telepathy is a boon, but it shouldn't be a pleasant boon. And while this power can definitely grow throughout the series, I think it should stick to telepathy, and not extend towards clairvoyance/precognition like it did in later books.

Gazzy's mimickry: I think this doesn't even need to count as a power, because Lyrebirds can already do that. As Angel grows more powerful, his mimickry can further extend from bird calls to specific human voices to the sounds of objects, and have him learn how to throw his voice.

Nudge's Psychometry: similar to Angel's telepathy, this is a psionic ability, and putting it in pre-series instead of when they miraculously need it makes it feel built-into the narrative. This can also be slowly expanded upon throughout the series, from touching an object and knowing any emotions associated with it, to being able to recall certain moments attached to the object, so being able to touch something and know its entire history.

Gazzy's precognition: "Wait, Gazzy doesn't have precognition", you're totally right, but consider: Precognition is already a thing in the books, because Angel. Gazzy only has two power-ups and one of them is farts. By transferring precognition from Angel to Gazzy and making it start pre-series, there's a bit more of a balance to keep us from getting an OP six-year-old. Like Nudge and Angel, this can start small (having "bad feelings" and being really good at dodging attacks bc he sees them pre-emptively) and build up to something like knowing when someone dies or the exact date and time the world is supposed to end.

Max's, Fang's, and Iggy's ability to withstand the younger three's powers: I think that they should be essentially immune to their younger siblings not because of their own powers, but because of exposure. The younger kids can definitely glean some things, especially when their powers are weak, but the more invasive their powers become, the more immune the older kids get. IE: Angel can read their emotions and sometimes their minds, but she can't control them. Nudge can pick something up and know it's associated with one of them/important to them, but can't tell what they did with it. Gazzy knows if something bad is going to happen, but looking for anything specific or intentional feels like trying to see past a brick wall.

So all of the psionics are at the beginning. And furthermore, there's a clear divide that shows when the School started handling psionic powers. Max, Fang, and Iggy don't have powers. They're old models. But somewhere between Iggy and Nudge, the School had a breakthrough, and the new models have brain powers.

Once the Plot Starts

The next round of powerups makes most sense if it happens as a result of the School's experimentation in TAE-- have the flock NOT be threatened with murder, and instead have tests run on them until they break out, which can take a lot longer. This means that Iggy and Gazzy are excluded, because they were not in the School. But after they escape the School, some abilities can begin to crop up, like:

Max's super speed: originally put in SoF and developed after a slight fever, it could also easily fit into TAE, with Max breaking out of the School while heavily feverish and developing fast flight, specifically regarding dives— similarly to Gazzy's mimickry, this can be staged as less of a power and more of something that happened to her because of her bird DNA that the whitecoats were activation/fine-tuning at the School. The ridiculousness of 350 mph can only occur during dives, though.

Everyone except for Iggy and Gazzy breathing underwater: I didn't realize until I read the wikipedia page that everyone except Iggy and Gazzy canonically has this power, making it a PERFECT power-up to give them after being kidnapped when Iggy and Gazzy were conveniently NOT kidnapped. That being said, this is also a great power to give drawbacks to show that the Flock is not immune to experiments going wrong: FIrstly, they can only breathe underwater in fresh water, like lungfish; they suddenly have to drink a lot more water and easily get dehydrated; they are really suseptible to bronchitis and pneumonia because they're taking water into their lungs that were not originally designed to do that, so they try to do it as little as possible.

And from there, we have...

The Voice

Fuck this thing in particular. There are TWO directions Voice can take in my mind:

It doesn't exist. Full-stop get rid of it, because all it does is take away character agency and give Max answers instead of make the authors think about how Max can figure it out herself.

It's an instrument of the School, preferably controlled by Jeb Batchelder (if it wants to be wishy washy about whose side its on) OR Marian Janssen (if it's an outright antagonist). It disappears once the School is dealt with, and most importantly, is not her own power or a power of her flock. It is a power being used on her.

I've already wasted too much of my life on thinking about this. Since I've already covered gills and psychometry, let's skip over the NYC arc.

After the IFHL

From here, I think there are a few moments where some powers can be gained, and some should definitely not be gained.

Firstly, there's Fang's superspeed. This can develop like it did in canon, where Max donates blood, and Fang gets a fraction of her abilities. However, this isn't even a School-done power, so I think they should reject the blood at first. They get really sick, the doctors have to put them on heavy immuno-suppressants for pretty much the entirety of being at Anne's, and their body temperature permanently jumps up past where it should be.

Then they leave Anne's house, they go on the run, Max gets kidnapped and shoved in a sensory deprivation tank, and she absolutely does not to get to shut down her organs, because it never comes up again and never needs to. Her being able to smell the flock and track them down can have one of two solutions:

She doesn't. She tracks them down another way.

Instead of her hallucinating herself turning into an Eraser, Gazzy has been feeling increasing unease about Max being in proximity to Erasers and can't tell why bc he can't see Max's future. Then, when she escapes the tank in ITEX, she does so by biting an Eraser and swallowing quite a bit of blood and sinew on accident. Suddenly she can smell so many things and her teeth are much sharper than they were a few days ago. Congrats, Max! Power up!

Finally, they reach the School again/are kidnapped again, which is where I guess Angel could possibly unlock shapeshifting, but considering the School was talking about exterminating all of them, I'm thinking no. I think shapeshifting is also on the cutting room floor. However, I think the School definitely should have taken them all out for testing over a few days rather than skipping right to "kill the multi-million dollar investments that are supposed to save the world, bc why not?" (Seriously, who wrote this?), because—

Iggy's Powerups

I've talked about this before, I'll talk about it again, but Iggy's powerups were not brought on by the School, were not spotaneous, were not accidental power transfers, but were intentionally done by Iggy, who was gathering data and running tests throughout the entire series. He doesn't get enough data until he's kidnapped by the School again, at which point Max and Fang probably realize that he's getting a bit sickly and his eyes look permanently irritated, then that there are bruises on his arm he doesn't want to talk about. Then, after breaking into ITEX again and gathering proper resources, he gets:

Detecting light and movement against bright backgrounds, which was his intention.

Color sense, which was an accidental side effect, and not a pleasant sensation for him. Also comes with a disadvantage of not remembering what many colors look like, so he has to guess for a lot of them.

Decreased Oxygen Intake: "wait, he didn't get this in canon!" yeah, because the only power-up JP gave him was pseudo-sight to fix his blindness, so I'm giving him more. Turned out, what he was honing in on was making his eyes function despite them not getting enough oxygen. And he was doing that for his whole body, completely on accident. So his Blood Oxygen percentage can drop to 60 without any ill-effects, his resting heart rate is slowed to about 10 bpm, and he's taking about 1 breath every 10-15 minutes unless he needs air to talk. This takes place over weeks, so he doesn't actually notice it until someone points it out.

This comes with not-so-great side effects. He's cold all the time, his eyes hurt constantly and have permanently burst blood vessels, and his fingers and lips are permanently discolored.

Through the Late Series

After ITEX is taken down, I think the power-getting would decrease exponentially, because they're not being experimented on nearly as much. However, there are a few that I think could be fit in.

Nudge's "Magnetism": I put this in bold and parentheses, because it wouldn't be magnetism, it would be a honing of her psychometry; if an object has a strong enough emotional attachment to her or any of the other psionic kids, she can attract it. Minor telekenesis. As a treat. This is the closest thing I can justify.

Fang's Camoflauge: This was pure accident, and less of a power-up and more of a "came back wrong". Triggered by their death and revival, both of which were unnatural, Fang gets the voluntary organ shutdown that Max doesn't get, and has spaces of time where they don't need to breathe, blink, and their heart slows considerably, meaning that they can be perfectly still in a way that makes people look at them and think "object" instead of "person", and their vision just... glances over them. However, this is not something they can do intentionally. This is almost always when they're dissociating.

Fang's Immortality Genes: I guess that since it's integral to the plot of Nevermore, I can make it work. This was building from School's Out Forever, when they nearly died from Ari's attack, being killed in Fang, nearly getting blown up in Angel, and getting thrown off a cliff in Nevermore. In fact, I would go as far as having their expiration date show up and then pass. By then, it's discovered that they have the "secret to immortality". This does not actually protect them from dying. It protects their genes from unravelling over time, which means they're not ageing. This is not a power-up. This is not a successful experiment. This is the scifi equivalent of being undead, because Fang is pretty much a walking corpse by the end of the series.

Powers Left on the Cutting Room Floor

Angel's Shapeshifting: I barely like shapeshifting Erasers, and it occurs so late in the series that it's not needed.

Gazzy's Flatulence Bombs: Just let him do chemical warfare the old fashioned way I'm begging you.

Max's voluntary organ shutdown: IT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE. I promise you, Max could've thought her way out of that situation.

#maximum ride on main #maximum ride #MR Power breakdown #do y'all... want a part 3? Cause I can do a part 3 #mad scientist Iggy AU #I need to start that tag early just in case

[animation-557-butterfly]

The Flock of Max (from the manga📕by NaRae Lee)

🪽Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Total 🪽

Maximum Ride is written by James Patterson

Mmi enjoyed reading the manga version, when I was in middle school and high school)

#Maximum ride #Manga #Middle and High school memories #Sorry if my editing is bad

[probablyjustamagpie]

I want like. One scene in maximum ride where max decides to help Nudge steal makeup from like a CVS because even if Max doesn’t really get why Nudge likes makeup and fashion and stuff she loves her and wants to make her little sister happy

#maximum ride

[envystar8]

Jumping on the Maximum Ride rewrite train

Disclaimer I have not read Maximum Ride in years and I never read from Max onward and there’s no order to this I’m just writing down whatever I think of.

First of all, the Flock are test tube babies and anyone who tells them they are biologically their parents is a liar and they know this

Gasman has an actual name, August, because calling him Gasman is just weird. It can still be a nickname tho. I’m gonna be referring to him as August for the rest of the list btw

Max and Fang are 16, Iggy is 15, Nudge is 13, August is 10, and Angel is 6

They don’t randomly get powers that are irrelevant and useless. All their powers are present from the beginning, they just can’t seem to control them

Jeb is evil and emotionally manipulative like in canon and a recurrent plot point is the Flock trying to come to terms with the fact that he never really cared for them.

Fang uses a fucking VPN for his dumbass blog, also his blog looks like what you’d think Gerard Way’s MySpace page would look like.

Ari is still SEVEN and acts like you’d expect a SEVEN year old would: IE not being a creep to Max and not looking like he’s 18 and just being a scared little kid put through cruel experimentation by his father.

Total is there, but he cannot talk. No, not even to Angel. He’s just a little guy with no powers and no wings.

Angel can still read minds, but she’s really bad at controlling it. She sometimes accidentally reads minds without meaning to and feels bad about it because she is a child and shouldn’t be evil for no reason.

No forced ass “You’re kids but also save the world habe fun” plot. It’s all them trying to stay undiscovered and safe. Every adult they meet betrays them (Besides Dr. Martinez)

Speaking of, Dr. Martinez takes them in and adopts them as her own once she and Ella manage to prove to the Flock that they’re like the only trustworthy people in the damn world.

Dr. Martinez gets to slap Jeb when he comes and tries to take the Flock away like “fuck you these are my kids!!”

The Flock considers each other siblings. Meaning no weird Max/Fang romance and also they’re kids.

The worst thing that happens is of course the School capturing everyone and now the Flock has to escape the school without Jeb’s help AND rescue Dr. Martinez and Ella bc that’s their mom and sister!!!!

That’s all I got James Patterson give me the rights to Maximum Ride right now

#maximum ride #james patterson #rewrite #the flock #maximum ride books #seriously wtf was this series

[theidiotabides]

#1 The Invasion:

<Run!> I yelled to the others. <Up the stairs!> Cassie nudged two of the humans from the cages and tossed back her head. They figured out what she wanted and climbed on her back. Then she galloped toward the stairs. <Yes, run,> Visser Three crowed. <It makes a more challenging target.> Then, Visser Three struck.  From one of the heads a round, spinning ball of flame erupted. A ball of flame that flew like a missile.  It skimmed through the air and splatted against the back of one of the women riding Cassie. "Ahhhh!" She fell off, screaming and rolling around to put out the flames. Cassie kept going with only one rider. She reached the base of the stairs. <Target practice!> Visser Three laughed. He fired fireball after fireball, one head after another. One singed my shoulder and flew past. One hit Rachel in the ear and made her scream in my head and trumpet in terror. The air was full of fire. <We have to get out of here!> Marco yelled. <Yes, run! Run for the stairs!> I repeated. <Rachel! Get moving! Clear a path!>

#53 The Answer

Then, in a much different tone, almost wistful, [Visser One said,] <How long I have waited for this moment. The bandits out in the open, targeted, on-screen, unable to escape ...> “Permission to fire Dracon cannon?” <No, no, cancel wide dispersion,> the visser ordered. <I want to see them burn, one by one. Move us in. Use narrow beam. Forget the human soldiers, they’re irrelevant. Rid me of these Animorphs, one by one. Close-up! Maximum magnification. Let me see them die!> I couldn’t be patient any longer. <Ax? Marco? What is keeping you?> I cried. <Had a fight,> Marco answered. I could hear the pain in his thought-speak voice. At that same moment a new report reached the bridge. “Visser! Casualties in engineering!” a Hork-Bajir voice said. <What is it? Another plasma explosion?> Visser One asked. “No, Visser, all engines are nominal. All systems are nominal.” <Well, find out what’s happened down there then,> Visser One said, sounding petulant rather than concerned. <Now target the morphs. Begin firing.> “Firing,” the neutral voice reported. The shot caught the hindquarters of the rhinoceros. For a horrifying moment the front legs kept running. The creature - a girl named Tricia - toppled forward, dug its horn into the dirt, rolled over, and was dead. <Hah hah! Good shot! They burn well, these Animorphs!> I felt sick inside. I should do something. I should stop this. That was the auxiliary Animorphs down there on the ground dying. Burning. <No, no, you have to lead them a bit. Look! You can get two at ... good shot!> <Marco,> I pleaded. <Marco, they’re killing James’s people.> <Erek’s doing his best, so is Ax,> Marco answered. <How long?> A moment’s pause while Marco queried the Chee and the Andalite. <Three minutes,> he said at last. It was a death sentence. Three minutes. More than enough time for the sharpshooters on the bridge. Too much time. They fired.

First & last fights with Visser Three/One & both of them involve the Visser gleefully shooting fireballs at Animorphs

#animorphs #animorphs meta #also worth noting that in the second quote Jake has learned that he can use the Visser's bloodthirstiness as a distraction #whereas in the first he's encountering it for the first time and sees only the terror of it #I am feral about these books is2g

[sun-to-sorrow]

So like, reading Maximum Ride again after like 4-6 years and like, there are so many things I’m questioning. For starter Manga reader only because I have this issue of not being able to read other forms of something I’ve already read. Brain kinda shuts down. So like

1) The whole Max, Martina (Martinez?), and Ella thing is just so strange. For starters Max is just awful. Prioritizing a random girl being cornered and has an easy escape route (Max took it after all) over your 6 year old sister who is in the hands of actual mad scientist who you know has actively done shitty unethical things is just, why?! Angel could’ve been saved just a bit earlier if you listened to Fang! But also the whole Martinez has something to do with the school but then it’s completely forgotten.

2) Max leaving the Blind guy and the 8 Year Old alone because “Angel (who is to young to know how to escape the school) might escape and come back here”. Gazzy has little combat experience because he is either told to run/hide or uses bombs and Iggy is BLIND!

3) Iggy really goes between I have the best hearing in the flock to I have normal human hearing. Like sometimes he can hear Erasers (like only twice?) or the homeless people in the subway and most of the time either he’s surprised by them (angel’s kidnapping or the ambush when Max and Fang leave) or Angel finds then before him (the two children). Like, JP make it’s consistent! Let Iggy be the Flock’s alarm so when they don’t have him in the group they suffer more casualties! Especially during when Erasers become robots so Angel becomes useless (like de buff the girl honesty)

4) speaking of Iggy. He has been shown enough times that he’s really REALLY smart. Building bombs, being able to remember recipes to cook, learning and mapping places out (E house and Anne’s place), yet JP literally doesn’t expand or utilize it to its fullest. Iggy could probably be the Flocks brain but no~, he’s to blind to be the flocks brain, let’s have Fang (the right hand man, second command of the flock, has invisibility powers and (I just learned) immortality) and Angel (child with telepathy, mind control, shapeshifting, and probably other things) be the brains and Max (leader and golden child) have moments here and there. The most I’ve seen of Iggy utilizing his brains was lock picking or making bombs/planning out traps. I could be missing some but JP makes it so hard to know.

5) the severe infantilism of Iggy

6) Gazzy still has no new power unlike everyone else (but Iggy’s are pretty shitty because they all are powers to “help him see without him actually seeing”). Like let him have telepathy or maybe a way that only him and Angel can communicate each other.

7) Nudge. Like she isn’t as bad as Iggy and definitely not the worst like Gazzy, but god she’s still really poorly written. She has this whole thing of not wanting to be a freak and wanting to find her family and wanting to be normal and not having to run all the time but every single one of these just stops on a dead note! It like stops existing after like 2-3 chapters and never brought up. Like she’s the most interesting girl in the flock but just so butchered.

8) their looks. Ok I’m not gonna harp so badly on the Manga artist because she is Korean and Korean beauty standards and all that is just bad in general but that’s just cultural differences. But one thing I never understand was that makeup transformation. Angel who has short hair suddenly has hair that goes below her neck. Nudge’s bleached streak somehow stays even though her natural hair should’ve shown by the 9 manga vol. Fang who always was shown with straight hair now has really curly hair. That’s not how hair works and let’s not talk about Iggy and those weird dark tips.

9) Fax and Ella/Iggy (which I learned was canon. I was wondering where all those Ella/Iggy stories came from) I don’t hate straight ships. I just hate these straight ships.

10) oh poorly written trauma handled even worse my beloved. Your telling me Iggy, the one who was awake the entire operation on his eyes doesn’t have trauma. Your telling me Fang, who almost died to an Eraser doesn’t have trauma. Your telling me Max, the one who continuously has a voice in her head, a chip in her shoulder, seeing an Eraser in the mirror doesn’t have trauma?! Angel?!

But like I could continue because there is so much but, there where definitely things I liked. I like how Iggy was drawn. Out of all the characters he looked always bony and skinny and long. Like even next to Fang who is supposed to be the same height he looks so twiggy and tall. Gazzy was so interesting because he was that grey “I suffered through the school but I was also way to young to remember” and I wish it was expanded more. I liked the Ari arc if you ignore every other Ari part in the story. Total was nice if we found nice as before he talked.

Like not to be the paranoid one but if I was in the flocked I would be questioning everything. A Gazzy photo from an abandoned apartment? They could’ve stuck it there after knowing their research was stolen just to trap the flock. Anna watching a new about Iggy’s parents? She purposely put it on so Iggy will be removed. Erasers still finding the flock? Did anyone thing that the others might have chips in them, especially when Fang, Gazzy, and Iggy where attacked. Also how does Fang still have his laptop when he was captured by the institute?

#maximum ride #maximum ride Iggy #maximum ride Gazzy #maximum ride fang #maximum ride nudge #maximum ride Angel #maximum ride max #listen I might be hyper paranoid but I have every right to question everything #also love that the majority of the fandom disses JP #this book has issues #but I still love the art #the art has issues but that’s culture stuff I’m not getting into #I still really like iggy #idk who Dylan is and I’m glad I don’t #also same with Fangs group #curse MR manga for being discontinued and only stopped at the Martinez kidnapping #also Ella and Iggy?! #Fax and Dylan/Max was enough #but Ella and Iggy?! #they had interactions?? #listen I have Iggy brain worms and I wanna splurge everything I HC for him #the same with the rest of the flock

[officermaddie23]

My dragons that are named after the characters from Maximum Ride

Max maximum ride

Fang

Nudge

The Gasman aka Gazzy

Ari badatchlor

All of these 5 I got back in 2018 which was around the time I started getting into maximum ride

#maximum ride #maximum ride max #maximum ride fang #maximum ride nudge #maximum ride gazzy #maximum ride ari #dragon city