location: kc and jamie’s apartment
status: closed, for @kcmedinas
with kc and kennedy, it’s usually the other way around. it feels a little strange to be checking up on him, for once, but their circumstances definitely warrant it. after jamie lets her in, kennedy makes her way to kc’s room, knocking on his door then turning the doorknob. she stands at his doorway, holding a takeout container of freddy’s. “we have to stop meeting like this,” kennedy chides, even though it’s been a while since the quinns have needed checking up on. “brought you some food, in case you hadn’t eaten lunch yet. once in a lifetime offer, by the way, free lunch, on me.” usually, kennedy keeps her money close to her. she needs that for herself, to get out of here; but for kc, after everything he’s done for her, she’ll allow herself this.
– “THIS IS SO FUN!” BLAIR SAYS WITH A LAUGH, spinning as kc twirls her. they’ve performed many a dance in the aisles of the record store, and it’s kc who always seems how to lift her spirits. she’s got so many different things coursing through her sistem that in tandem, it should be IMPOSSIBLE not to have a good time. but as if she’s jinxed it, the sinking feeling crawls back in, harsh words from earlier hit and she pauses, no longer dancing and more so leaning against kc like she can barely keep herself upward. it’s not even like she can’t, but...she doesn’t WANT to. “ though actually, i think i might be having a terrible time ? ”
“don’t be an idiot.” she whispers with her back towards him looking up at the camera. “there’s a camera right there and if you try to take something you shouldn’t, you’re dead”
– OF COURSE, IT’S REALISTIC TO BE FUMING MAD if your wife is off with some guy – and blair is. but suppose marlene is the type of person that pulls this kind of stuff all the damn time, then what else is an elizabeth supposed to do ? continue to tolerate it again and again ? no, you give marlene a taste of her own medicine. so, in character, she orders a shot from the bar because elizabeth would need that kind of liquid courage. it’s when she notices kc that she pipes up, “ actually make that two ! ”
she flashes kc a wide smile, charming, without all the mischief of blair’s usual expressions. this is elizabeth, after all. she’ll reach out to brush her hand over his arm, gentle in touch as she grabs his attention : “ drink with me ? ” she asks, “ i’ve had one hell of a day, i could use the company. ”
she only breaks character for about two seconds to flash kc a look that says ‘go with it’ – and then there’s that familiar mischief gleaming in her eyes.
basil : does your muse have a love - hate relationship with anyone or anything ?
i know i keep bringing this bitch up, but she’s such a crucial and detrimental part of who maxine is .. yeah, it’s her mother.
kelly sinclair wanted a son.
maxine sinclair is born an august night, a miracle to her father and a liability to her mother. maxine sinclair is born into a household with a permanent draft, a home where her father tries to shield her from her mother’s harsh words and incessant critique even when she’s just a baby. a home that’s always just a little too cold.
girl grows up with a father who wants to give her the world and a mother who expects the world from her. elden sinclair works long hours and kelly is at home, tending to her family, teaching max to cook, to clean, to read and write, to look this way and act that way, to not sit like that, to chew with her mouth closed or she’ll get slapped, to finish her meal or not eat at all. kelly teaches max to bottle up her feelings so much that when they spill it’s not a rainfall, it’s a hurricane. and how it spills for maxine sinclair.
kelly holds max’s hand when they go grocery shopping. kelly does so because her child is unruly, the way children are, and max mistakes this for protection, for warmth, for safety. kelly raises her voice because her child is talking back, and max confuses this with tough love. max holds onto her mother as she grows and kelly’s leash grows shorter and shorter and shorter. she will make the perfect daughter out of max, or she will make an obedient pet. either way she’ll be a worthy accessory.
and max ? so willing, so desperate for love even when it’s not true, holds on hoping that someday she can stop working for her mother’s approval, stop earning her love. but deep down she knows it will never come. and she hates her mother for it. and still she loves her, too.
like any child, max craved love. like most children, max craved her mother’s approval. like a sinclair, max learned to fight for both. perhaps this is why the thought of unconditional love overwhelms her now that her father’s comforting touch is becoming a distant memory, a ghost.
kelly wanted a son. and maxine wanted a mother.
edelweiss : what was the bravest moment in your muse’s life ? are they known to be courageous from then on ?
in general max is such a careful and insecure person she always second - guesses every decision she makes so i would not call her courageous in the conventional sense of the word.
but max keeps giving her heart to everyone in hopes of the best and in a way i guess that’s brave — that she can suffer so many losses and still hold on to hope. the time wasn’t ripe when she made a move on kc: she was too insecure, too scared of not being good enough, of not being worthy, but in a way i suppose it was brave to try even if perhaps the time would never be right.
when she found kem, the initial worry was there, and it would’ve been easy to turn the other way and do the sensible thing after her break - up with christian. but instead max decided to trust and melted into him and she’s truly never been happier. i guess, when it comes to love, max is sort of brave because she’s willing to try even when she knows, perhaps better than most, that no matter how much you love someone they can always be capable of hurting you.
magnolia : describe your muse’s relationship with nature & the natural world .
max loves nature. she loves the countryside and dreams of having a little ( mostly ) self - sustained cottage somewhere rural as a summer home. she likes the city aesthetic as well, but she never feels more at home than when she’s visiting her grandparents in idaho. once, many many years ago, her parents took her to australia and whilst max doesn’t remember much of it she knows she loved it and she really wants to go back someday.
what she loves most about nature is, without a doubt, water. the ocean, a lake, a pond — it’s almost as if her ancestry is calling her home. a small coastal town would be her absolute dream.
she no longer has a nickname for him, though christian existed as ‘ son of a bitch ’ in her mind for a long time after their break - up. when they dated she’d use the occasional ‘ baby ’ or just use his full name. max has never called him chris and probably never will.
🍵 my muse will reveal one of their biggest regrets
she will actually reveal 2 considering they’re sort of similar. max regrets kissing kc and hooking up with jamie, simply because she adores them and wants to be their friend and now feels as if things could’ve been easier, more natural with them had she not been so unhinged lmao. with kc it’s always been simple, he’s hard not to like, but sometimes max still feels like she maybe blurred some lines that shouldn’t have been crossed. she’s secure with kem, but perhaps there’s a small, just the teeniest tiniest part of her, that can’t help but wonder what if ?
when it comes to jamie their friendship has never come completely effortlessly even if they’ve been in each other’s lives for a long, long time. max worries that jamie feels that she used him, and she worries that this will somehow stain their friendship and that he’ll never let her all the way in because of this.
long story short max just thinks she would’ve been closer to both of them had she not let her heart act faster than her head.
🌙 for what a normal day looks like for my muse
max can sleep for days if given the chance, but she also loves long mornings and usually tries to get up around 7 am regardless of whether she has plans that day or not as it tricks her into feeling more productive than she really is. more often than not she fails though. she has a big breakfast because it is the most important meal of the day then she’ll pack her own lunch ( and sometimes trip’s ) and head to work. get home, make dinner, watch a movie, listen to music while she reads or writes. goes for a late night walk every evening. has sex with kem. takes a shower. goes to bed <3
« i only have one current crush really, but if i include my most recent ones i guess .. fuck kc, i reckon he’d be really good at it too, definitely marry kem which i hope is in the cards anyway. and then .. kill reyna, i guess. what difference does it make ? »
𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑: @kcmedinas.
𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: high volume after closing, few days after the meeting.
IT’S BEEN A VERY CONSCIOUS DECISION SINCE the halloween party: maxine sinclair is going to clean up her act. reyna needs her, and whilst their lives all seem to fall apart in light of recent events ( and recent discoveries ), max has thrown responsibilities and care to the wind for too long. she knows that now as she locks the door and returns to kc by the register.
there’s silence for just a minute, not of the uncomfortable kind, but it’s enough discomfort to push max to do what she should’ve done much earlier. « hey, uh .. about what happened on halloween .. » she begins, voice trailing off as if to ask for permission to bring it up. « it wasn’t a mistake. » she says it with such conviction, because part of her wants to do it again, wants to kiss him until this entire nightmare ends, but she can’t. she’s learning that this is not a way to live — so in love with the idea of love that she will hold onto anything that resembles it. « i really like you, kc. a lot. » it’s such an easy confession. « but it’s all just so crazy right now, this whole situation, everything that’s happening to us, the store .. » she chuckles lightly under the weight of the absurdity of it all. between what’s happening to the workplace, jerry most likely being dead, jamie ( max presumes ) spinning out of control, there’s also whatever her situation is with reyna, christian, even kem. her entire life is a minefield and it would be cruel to drag kc into it. « and me. it was selfish of me to kiss you, even if .. even if it felt good. i’m sorry. it won’t happen again»
