#does this count as chestappen

[maxcuntstappen]

checo spends more time than anyone with lestappen what with cooldown rooms interviews, barging into Max’s drivers room unannounced etc etc

So he just, accepts Charles presence as The Constant in the world. And So when lestappen can’t talk right away he actually finds himself in interesting strat convos with Charles. Leading to them talking abt random stuff until Max steals charles away once again

So recently, with Charles being gone. He’s a bit confused? like max is but slightly less. Like?? who’s he supposed to talk to now?? Max? All they’re gonna do is talk about Charles!!

Well, that doesn’t sound to bad actually. So they do. And whoever the third is just has to sit there and take the convo of the two red bulls lamenting about how they miss charles and charles should be here and charles is so cool and on and on

(idk also in my mind they go out for drinks after races sometimes :) for funsies)

"Sooo..." Checo starts, before awkwardly trailing off.

Max blinks at him, once, twice.

And then Checo needs to look away because there's only so much time a man can stare at Max's nearly-too-blue eyes without finding themself stuttering and stumbling.

Checo has had to learn this the hard way.

The race has only just finished. A Red Bull 1-2. A good day at the office.

There's just one thing missing.

The wrong colour race suit hovers around them.

Maybe Checo had begun taking Charles' presence for granted.

Relied on him being around too much, too often. Being way too comfortable with the other two doing the talking and socialising and letting it wash over him, chipping in if he wanted to.

But otherwise, just chilling out.

Neither Max nor him know what to do now.

Standing around in a loose circle, shuffling their feet, waiting for the interviews to begin.

The silence is anything but comfortable.

Checo needs to do something.

Needs to say something.

Now.

"So, Max, what about Charles' last lap overtake, huh?"

The effect is instant; blue eyes lighting up, hands taking flight.

"Mate," Max begins, and then he's off, talking a mile a minute.

And it's comfortable. Familiar. Checo cannot help but smile, relaxing into it.

If either of them had paused, or perhaps even cared, to notice. They would notice the third place man grumbling as he walked off, "You have to be fucking kidding me."

[kirasworldofwords]

You know what intrigues me currently? A new trope that I just came up with, hyperesthesia and hypoesthesia. I'd prolly make it Simi or Chestappen, though for this case, let's say it's Chestappen. In that case, it'd be hyperesthesia!Checo and hypoesthesia!Max - because I said so, lmao. And they're trying to find out how the other one sees the world with their condition. I really kinda like that idea!

For those unaware, hyperesthesia is when your senses are higher than those of a neurotypical person - yes, hyper- and hypoesthesia count as neurodivergencies. It usually shows up in higher sensitivity to touch. Whereas hypoesthesia is the opposite, your senses are duller than those of a neurotypical person.

How do I know this? Well, I'm a living example of hyperesthesia!

In my case, every sense of mine is heightened - except for my sight, that one is genetically bad. I have a more refined taste, sense of smell, touch, and hearing. I taste the slightest differences in recipes, hear the faintest of sounds, like electricity running, if you know what I mean, I feel the faintest of touches on my skin and smell the finest scents - the strong scent of strawberries gives me a headache, lol. Though I gotta say, before my sight got worse due to genetics, I had extremely good sight! Now I can't even decipher a license plate that I'm standing ten meters away from without my glasses, lmao.

I'd probably have Checo be the one to live with what I live with, which is hyperesthesia, and thus Max would be the one with hypoesthesia. So whereas Checo doesn't understand how anyone can not feel as much as others like Max does, Max doesn't get how anyone can feel as much as Checo does.

Imagine them exploring each other's senses. Max brushes a careful hand up against Checo's upper arm, and Checo immediately flinches - he instantly feels it, even as Max's fingers hover only millimeters over his skin. Meanwhile, Checo has to apply some pressure to get Max to feel his touch. In terms of smell, Checo instantly gets a headache from smelling cinnamon - it's too strong for him. Max is barely fazed by it, though. Things like that!

And whereas Checo learned about his condition through the internet, Max learned about his through personal experience and contrasting ones of his peers.

I learned about it through my dentist, of all people, lmao. I got a shot into my gums to desensitize my mouth since I was about to undergo an operation - but it seems my dentist hit a specific space in my mouth that caused the pain I felt from the needle piercing my gums to shoot into my lower lip (that was the day I learned my lips can physically hurt). I was so confused, trust me, meanwhile, my dentist just nodded and said, "Aha. Hyperesthesia." I googled it a few days after my operation and everything fit - then I asked my mom, and she confirmed it, too.

And that's my story! Fun facts with Kira!

I'm putting this on my list, btw, it's decided!