#everythinghasafacee

Found these old pics of maika from like 2015 and can’t help but picture this as college!lee 🥲

Clearly I’ve been thinking about this a lot

I LOVE THISSSS. I totally agree -- at the start of the film, we see her drawing, and some of those drawings are pasted up on ruth's fridge. so, she definitely had an artistic streak as a child. I could see her as losing the hobby as she started attending university, then eventually entering the workforce, getting busy with things she deemed more important. but, I think something would push her to go back into it -- maybe a particularly stressful case, a difficult time in her life, or, you know, reader.

and I think with how careful she is, it'd be something she gets good at again pretty fast. it'd definitely become a hobby she goes to whenever she needs a break from work, or for something to ground her from all the overthinking. and omg I love that!! just her having all these little fingerprints of her art scattered throughout her cottage :") i agree, I could definitely see her the type to have one WIP, then get inspired and start another, and it leaves her with a bunch of half-done sketches, hehe. I could see her really enjoying drawing animals and nature, considering she's always lived in places so surrounded by those.

YOU'RE SO RIGHT HEHE she'd be such a sweet baby, not making eye contact with you for a single second as she meekly shows you her sketchbook. but, all of your praise and compliments would have her relaxing, though still uncomfortable with having so much attention casted on her and her work HAHA. she'd definitely be blushing. and omfg, when you land on her drawings of you, and start covering your mouth and spluttering, then this little shit starts smiling, privately satisfied at how shy and flustered you are.

ugh, and omg, y'all would go on such cute dates together, like drawing one another at the library or cafe, or going on walks and spotting things to sit down and sketch together. since I could see her having that gap where she didn't do much art at all, I think she'd definitely go to you for advice and help. she'd also research a lot on different techniques and strategies, and enjoy practicing them to see which she leans towards.

Ok just read this and I LOVE this so much 🤧 steve and max have such a sweet sibling dynamic that I feel was abandoned in season 5 and I love to imagine them bonding over their isolation & family issues & disability from the aftermath of surviving the upside down.

In the world of AP I think max seeing steve be so accommodating towards himself and letting himself have rest days when the flare up’s get really bad would be so eye opening for her and she’d be like wtf I didn’t know this was an option!

AH I’m so sorry I didn’t see this til now!!!But thank you!!!! 🥹

I def see them bonding over all of that too! And I agree with what you said about Max seeing Steve accept and accommodate his own needs! I feel like she’d be better at asking for help post s5, but not quite in the ways she really needs— like most of us don’t realize until we really look at our symptoms like “Oh. Not everyone experiences that?” because society’s ableism is so deeply carved into every aspect of life, there’s automatic shame and guilt asking for accommodations in most circumstances.

So far I’ve written pretty much what you described; she doesn’t realize that the accommodations she needs can go beyond a hospital stay, or that there’s no certain age to ask for help. That it’s possible to be disabled while young, and it doesn’t determine one’s worth as a person.

She has a moment with Frankie and El where Frankie catches onto a limp in Max’s step after a long day of walking, and reassuring her it’s ok to ask for help and use a mobility aid if need be. Even if it’s only on bad days, and still skates on her good days. Or maybe she can’t at all anymore and mourns that— bc that’s all too real to give up what you love when your body works against you. I feel like both are important to write about, but I haven’t decided which yet to go with.

Either way, Frankie and Steve are def gonna sit with her together to reassure her on it all. I love writing Steve caring about the kids but I also love writing the bond between Frankie and the kids growing too 🥹