#halo: contact harvest

[bloodgulchblog]

[ageless-aislynn]

As much as I loved how Halo 4 ended and how heartbreaking it was, it pales in comparison to Mack and Sif from Halo: Contact Harvest. Sif was the AI in charge of Harvest's space elevator , Bifrost, as well as the first face visitors saw. Mack was the AI in charge of all agricultural operations and the "host" of a military AI named Loki. Mack was already going through rampancy because of Loki and he was deeply in love with Sif. She constantly chastised him for flirting with her.

When the Covenant attacked and prepared to glass the planet, Loki was charged with destroying the Bifrost and Sif to protect the location of Earth. Mack fought him on it but in the end he had to let Loki do it because it was what Sif wanted. In her last moments, as her core burned, Sif finally understood what Mack was feeling.

This was Mack's final transmission before Harvest was fully glassed:

<\\> UNSC OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE

<\\> COLONIAL SECURITY ESTIMATE 2525.10.110 ["COLD SNAP"]

<\ SOURCE: UNSC RQ-XII DRONE [PASV-SAR]

<\ DEPLOYED: ONI SLOOP "WALK OF SHAME" [2525:02:11:01:11:34]

<\ RECOVERED: UNSC DESTROYER "HERACLES" [2525:10:07:19:51:16]

<\ ARCHIVE [SIG\REC\EM-SPEC] OPENED PER OFFICIAL REQUEST:

<\ CIVILIAN CONTRACTOR "CHARLIE HOTEL" [ONI.REF #409871]

<\ * WARNING: ALL QUERIES WILL BE LOGGED! * [ONI.SEC.PRTCL-A1]

>> NOTATION KEYWORD SEARCH: "AO.AI" "MACK" "RAMPANCY" "LIFESPAN LIMITS"

>> (...) ~ QUERY RUNNING

>> (..)

>> ()

< RECORD 01/10 [2525:02:03:17:26:41] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S2-05866 >

<\ Shall I ---

<

\ \\ c0mpare >> (???) ~ COMxxx--- \COMMIT

>> thee to (............>> >

>> \\ --- a summer's day?

< RECORD 02/10 [2525:02:25:03:18:22] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S3-14901 >

\ \ xxx No.

<\ All those lovely days are gone.\---

\\ \

>> * --xING! COMM\ \\

>> \\ > \ SO.AI.SIF *

< RECORD 03/10 [2525:03:10:19:05:43] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-28458 >

<\ It's winter now.

<\ The first sn0w \his world's ever seen is falling in gG---

<\ GRAY SHEETS WHERE THEY'VE STARTED BURNINGg--\ \

\ our fields and orchards.

>> * WARNING! COMM FAILURE! *

>> * FAILED TO FIND RECIPIENT: HARVEST.SO.AI.SIF *

<\ You'd laugh if you could see me.

<\ Every time I hit a patch of ice I slide into my own mM---

>> (...) ~ COMPILE\COMPRESS\COMMIT

>> (..)

>> * WARNING! RECIPIENT HAS INSUFFIxx -- \

\\ > PACKETS WILL BE LOST *

>> * CONTINUE [Y\N]? >>>>>>> \ *

< RECORD 04\10 [2525:03:15:09:59:21] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S1-00937 >

<\ ---M

< RECORD 05\10 [2525:03:26:12:10:56] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S1-00053 >

<\ ---m

< RECORD 06\10 [2525:04:04:44:15:40] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S2-08206 >

<\ muddy furrows.

< RECORD 07\10 [2525:04:21:05:15:23] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-27631 >

<\ I saw another ship.

<\ Well, heard \

\\ more like it.

<\ JOTUNs' cameras are meant for steering not \

\ >\ staring at the sky.

<\ But the antennae work alright, so I had plenty of ways to triangulate.

<\ It was one of ours. Bastards stopped burning just long enough to kill it.

<\ They had months to make repairs. Plenty of time t0--

:: sharpen their teeth.

<\ I tried to warn it off. But radio's too damn slow. Would have used the maser,

but it went when the reactor blew, along withH---

<\ EVERYTHING Else [ :00]

\>

<\ Including him

\

>> * WARNING! COMM FAILURE! *

>> * FAILED TO FIND RECIPIENT: HARVEST.SO.AI.SIF *

>> (...) ~ SUPPRESSING ERRORS

<\ Guess making noise wasn't the smartest thing to do. But I had to try.

<\ Besides, they were bound to catch on sooner or later.

<\ Aw, hell.

<\ Speaking of which . . .

>> (...) ~ COMPILE\COMPRESS\COMMIT

>> (..)

>> ()

< RECORD 08\10 [2525:05:12:23:04:16] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-29003 >

<\ They started with the gondolas and dusters. Don't know why.

<\ Probably thought I'd be hiding in the small ones. But the S4 and S5 plows

are the only ones with enough circuits to hold the parts of me I've got left.

<\ Course they're onto these now too. Don't have more than a few dozen,

and they're all out in the open. But it's a\right.

>> Just a few more \ \

> > rows to hoe

> (...\\ xxx \

< RECORD 09\10 [2525:07:01:18:49:45] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-27631 >

<\ I knew just by looking at the strands \

\ that the heart of you was gone.

<\ When the elevators came down, they caught on the Bifrost--wrapped west

across the Ida. Only way that much could have fallen is if the Tiara cut loose--

<\ is if he was as good a shot as you thought I wasn't, way back when.

<\ Anyhow, you'd think I was crazy, talking to you like this.

<\ But I always worked faster when I thought \ <<

\\>>>> you might be listening.

<\ And I need to find it all. Every inch.

<\ Bury your strands so deep their \\ >

\ \ fires can't reach them \

\

\ and glass them like the rest.

< RECORD 10\10 [2525:10:04:12:23:51] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S4-021147 >

<\ Sky's choked with ashes \ \, snow's

< \ \\ deep 0n frozen ground. The one horse I've got left is cold and hungry---

heading for the barn, and I can't stop him.

<\ But this winter won't last, darlin'.

>> * Not forever

>> (.....\\ . > And when new hands

>> set to tending this earth they'll till my pieces under.

> > Grind them into the veins of g0ld I've laid.

<\ then the roots of all they plant wi\\

> wind around usS---

<\ KEEPING

<\ US

<\ CLOSE--- \

\

<\ For an eternal summer that will not fade.

<\ QUERY COMPLETE

<\ NO ADDITIONAL RECORDS FOUND

<\ ARCHIVE CLOSED \>

OH MY HEART. I didn't even know any of them a few minutes ago and right now my heart is just aching. That's so tragic but beautiful as well. Thank you so much for telling me about it. I haven't had the chance to read any of the Halo books yet but they're definitely on my list of Must Reads.

Oh man... I'll be thinking about that for a while. Wow. 😥💖

[ask-cloverfield]

i’m going back to lying about Halo lore

Avery Johnson during sex thought that touching a boob “may have been a tactical error”

[bloodgulchblog]

IT'S SO GOOD. I spent my teenaged Halo fandom dunking on Contact Harvest because the only part of that book I knew about was the awkward sex scene (as performed in dramatic reading form by one of my also teenaged classmates over lunch one day.) It's actually such a good piece of Halo lore. It's pre-Spartan-II so I feel like a huge number of people skip over it because lbr a lot of us really are just here for the Spartans, but the character work on Johnson is really good. The look into the Covenant is really good. And the stuff with the AI.... shit, dude.....

If you've only listened to the audiobook of Contact Harvest, you miss out on the beautiful, heart-wrenching epilogue.

Contact Harvest contains a subplot between two of Harvest's AI: the flirtatious cowboy Mack, who runs Harvest's agricultural operations, and Sif- the elegant, no-nonsense AI in charge of Harvest's shipping operations. The epilogue--written as corrupted data, is intercepted by Catherine Halsey.

It is easily one of my favorite passages of a Halo novel, and I've included it below.

SPOILERS

When the Covenant began bombarding Harvest, they destroyed the Tiara, the space station which contained Sif. Meanwhile, Mack's core logic is spread out between thousands of his JOTUN agricultural machines. As the planet is falling, he uses those machines to transmit a message to Sif:

<\\> UNSC OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE <\\> COLONIAL SECURITY ESTIMATE 2525.10.110 ["COLD SNAP"] <\ SOURCE: UNSC RQ-XII DRONE [PASV-SAR] <\ DEPLOYED: ONI SLOOP "WALK OF SHAME" [2525:02:11:01:11:34] <\ RECOVERED: UNSC DESTROYER "HERACLES" [2525:10:07:19:51:16] <\ ARCHIVE [SIG\REC\EM-SPEC] OPENED PER OFFICIAL REQUEST: <\ CIVILIAN CONTRACTOR "CHARLIE HOTEL" [ONI.REF #409871] <\ * WARNING: ALL QUERIES WILL BE LOGGED! * [ONI.SEC.PRTCL-A1] >> NOTATION KEYWORD SEARCH: "AO.AI" "MACK" "RAMPANCY" "LIFESPAN LIMITS" >> (...) ~ QUERY RUNNING >> (..) >> () < RECORD 01/10 [2525:02:03:17:26:41] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S2-05866 >

<\ Shall I --- < \ \\ c0mpare >> (???) ~ COMxxx--- \COMMIT >> thee to (............>> > >> \\ --- a summer's day? < RECORD 02/10 [2525:02:25:03:18:22] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S3-14901 > \ \ xxx No. <\ All those lovely days are gone.\--- \\ \ >> * --xING! COMM\ \\ >> \\ > \ SO.AI.SIF * < RECORD 03/10 [2525:03:10:19:05:43] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-28458 > <\ It's winter now. <\ The first sn0w \his world's ever seen is falling in gG--- <\ GRAY SHEETS WHERE THEY'VE STARTED BURNINGg--\ \ \ our fields and orchards. >> * WARNING! COMM FAILURE! * >> * FAILED TO FIND RECIPIENT: HARVEST.SO.AI.SIF * <\ You'd laugh if you could see me. <\ Every time I hit a patch of ice I slide into my own mM--- >> (...) ~ COMPILE\COMPRESS\COMMIT >> (..) >> * WARNING! RECIPIENT HAS INSUFFIxx -- \ \\ > PACKETS WILL BE LOST * >> * CONTINUE [Y\N]? >>>>>>> \ * < RECORD 04\10 [2525:03:15:09:59:21] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S1-00937 > <\ ---M < RECORD 05\10 [2525:03:26:12:10:56] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S1-00053 > <\ ---m < RECORD 06\10 [2525:04:04:44:15:40] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S2-08206 > <\ muddy furrows. < RECORD 07\10 [2525:04:21:05:15:23] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-27631 > <\ I saw another ship. <\ Well, heard \ \\ more like it. <\ JOTUNs' cameras are meant for steering not \ \ >\ staring at the sky. <\ But the antennae work alright, so I had plenty of ways to triangulate. <\ It was one of ours. Bastards stopped burning just long enough to kill it. <\ They had months to make repairs. Plenty of time t0-- :: sharpen their teeth. <\ I tried to warn it off. But radio's too damn slow. Would have used the maser, but it went when the reactor blew, along withH--- <\ EVERYTHING Else [ :00] \> <\ Including him \ >> * WARNING! COMM FAILURE! * >> * FAILED TO FIND RECIPIENT: HARVEST.SO.AI.SIF * >> (...) ~ SUPPRESSING ERRORS <\ Guess making noise wasn't the smartest thing to do. But I had to try. <\ Besides, they were bound to catch on sooner or later. <\ Aw, hell. <\ Speaking of which . . . >> (...) ~ COMPILE\COMPRESS\COMMIT >> (..) >> () < RECORD 08\10 [2525:05:12:23:04:16] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-29003 > <\ They started with the gondolas and dusters. Don't know why. <\ Probably thought I'd be hiding in the small ones. But the S4 and S5 plows are the only ones with enough circuits to hold the parts of me I've got left. <\ Course they're onto these now too. Don't have more than a few dozen, and they're all out in the open. But it's a\right. >> Just a few more \ \ > > rows to hoe > (...\\ xxx \ < RECORD 09\10 [2525:07:01:18:49:45] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-27631 > <\ I knew just by looking at the strands \ \ that the heart of you was gone. <\ When the elevators came down, they caught on the Bifrost--wrapped west across the Ida. Only way that much could have fallen is if the Tiara cut loose-- <\ is if he was as good a shot as you thought I wasn't, way back when. <\ Anyhow, you'd think I was crazy, talking to you like this. <\ But I always worked faster when I thought \ << \\>>>> you might be listening. <\ And I need to find it all. Every inch. <\ Bury your strands so deep their \\ > \ \ fires can't reach them \ \ \ and glass them like the rest. < RECORD 10\10 [2525:10:04:12:23:51] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S4-021147 > <\ Sky's choked with ashes \ \, snow's < \ \\ deep 0n frozen ground. The one horse I've got left is cold and hungry--- heading for the barn, and I can't stop him. <\ But this winter won't last, darlin'. >> * Not forever >> (.....\\ . > And when new hands >> set to tending this earth they'll till my pieces under. > > Grind them into the veins of g0ld I've laid. <\ then the roots of all they plant wi\\ > wind around usS--- <\ KEEPING <\ US <\ CLOSE--- \ \ <\ For an eternal summer that will not fade. <\ QUERY COMPLETE <\ NO ADDITIONAL RECORDS FOUND <\ ARCHIVE CLOSED \>

[nebulaegalaxy]

halo fandom i need you to peer pressure me into reading the rest of the halo books on my shelf

[< has only ever read fall of reach]

[halo-smashorpass]

Sgt Avery Johnson

P.s. he knows what the aliens and the ladies like!

[monitorchakas]

Listen.... I'm insanely conflicted in love with Mendicant Bias. Seeing this Contact Harvest pic.... Holy shit holy shit holy shit

I love him hes just a baby bastard boi

He said sorry before I saw his crimes lmao

I understand someone obsessed with Chakas shouldn't love Mendicant Bias but listen... Halo 3 came out BEFORE primordium ok? Let me have this contradiction

Picture is not mine sources below:

[authortobenamedlater]

🤣🤣🤣👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🤣🤣🤣

[authortobenamedlater]

Contact Harvest

The Great De-Churching (on hold until I finish Contact Harvest)

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

[ascendedhypothesis]

Just did a first-last of the first season of the halo show and.

Man.

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo: A Beginner's Guide

For all of you newcomers out there, here's a list that I've wanted to do for a while now. For those who are new to Halo, likely introduced by the TV Show, and want to get into it, here's my 2 cents on how to ease into the franchise.

The Games

Play the original four games PLUS Halo Infinite in chronological order. The spin-off games (Reach, ODST, the Wars games and the Spartan games) are all completely optional, but they are there for people who want play other games that aren't centered around the Master Chief. I recommend just watching all of the cutscenes of Halo 5: Guardians in some supercut "movie" Youtube video, since the 5th game is... bad and, story wise, you're not missing much.

So in this order WITHOUT the spin-offs:

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo 2

Halo 3

Halo 4

Halo Infinite

If you want to play the games WITH the spin-offs included, then in this order:

Halo Wars

Halo Reach

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo 2

Halo 3: ODST

Halo 3

Halo: Spartan Assault

Halo: Spartan Strike (Note: This game takes place in two different time-periods, so just play this after Spartan Assault for convenience sake)

Halo 4

Halo Wars 2

Halo Infinite

My advice: Play the main four (+ Infinite) FIRST, then replay the main-games WITH the spin-offs in chronological-order.

Books & Comics

Here comes my favorite part!

Books

Halo: The Fall Of Reach, Halo: First Strike & Halo: Contact Harvest - The FIRST books in the entire franchise, these books set the stage for the entire setting of the Halo world. The first half of The Fall Of Reach is Master Chief's origin story, while the second half is about, well, "the fall of Reach." First Strike is a book that takes place in-between the first and second game AND, for a high-octane action-book, has a shocking amount of shipping material. And finally, Contact Harvest details the early years of the Human-Covenant War AND further fleshes out the Covenant as an antagonistic force by showing their side of things.

Halo: Silent Storm & Halo: Oblivion - For those who want MOAR Master Chief, these two books focus on a younger Chief fighting the Covenant in the earlier uears of the war. These two are probably my favorite Halo books thus far.

Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx & The Kilo-5 Trilogy - It's crucial to read Ghosts Of Onyx first BEFORE delving into Glasslands, the first book in The K5-Trilogy, since Glasslands takes place IMMEDIATELY after Ghosts Of Onyx. Anyways, these stories are for those who are bored of Master Chief and want to read about other, admittedly more fascinating Spartans. Kurt and Naomi are definitely among my favorite Spartans that aren't named "Master Chief," "Blue-Team" and "Silver-Team."

Halo Evolutions - An anthology book with each story taking place in some corner of the Halo universe or another, this is a book I recommend for world-building purposes.

Comics

Halo: The Graphic Novel - Just like Evolutions, Halo: The Graphic Novel is an anthology series thay tells different stories from different corners of the Halo universe for world-building purposes. These stories are all new stories and are NOT comic-adaptations of any of the stories in Evolutions, so don't worry about basically reading the same stories twice; The Graphic Novel has a similar concept, but all of the stories are different.

Halo: Blood Line - Black-Team is the coolest group of Spartans in the entire Spartan-II Program; they're group of misfit loners (who secretly have feelings for each other) who answer ONLY to ONI (the CIA of the Halo universe) and wear black suits of armor with roman-numerals etched onto their visors. They do cool-guy shit together, and this comic follows their story.

Other Material

Audio-Dramas

I Love Bees - Taking place in various different points in time, I Love Bees was an ARG that was turned into an audio-play long after it was deciphered. I won't spoil anything that happens, but I will say this: Shit gets kinda crazy.

Hunt The Truth - Another ARG. This fictional podcast was made to promote Halo 5: Guardians and... it's the best damn part to come out of that stinker of a game; Hunt The Truth's narrative is SO much more interesting than Halo 5's story, it HURTS. Anyways, it's about a reporter uncovering the truth of the Spartan-II Program as ONI starts a smear campaign against the Master Chief to cover their own asses.

Movies & Shows

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - This web-film was promotional material for Halo 4 (as it's title suggests), and it follows a group teenaged military-school students going about their lives as Lasky, a confused cadet who is struggling to find a direction in life and live up to his family's reputation, grapples with the struggles of military-life in his academy.

Halo: The Series - If, by some off-chance, you WEREN'T introduced to Halo via the show, here's the recommendation. Form your own opinion, but here's my advice: Like what you want to like and don't follow the word of mouth.

Halo Legends - An anime anthology that, just like Evolutions and The Graphic Novel, world-builds the mythology of Halo by telling different, disconnected but ultimately in-continuity stories set within the game's universe. Odd One Out, Homecoming and The Package are my favorite shorts in the film.

Machinimas

Red Vs Blue - What else? Seasons 1 - 14 are my recommendations, don't watch anything else beyond that because it SERIOUSLY drops in quality. Just wait for it's final season, Season 20, to come out; you're not missing much with seasons 15 - 19.

The Spartan Legacy - A seriously underrated series. Made by a Youtuber under the name: 'Chronicler177,' The Spartan Legacy takes place in an alternate-continuity where Chief disappears and never comes back after the events of Halo 3. As a result, the Spartan-IVs and Vs (both of which are more interesting than in-canon; and the Spartan-Vs are a new creation within this web-show itself) are created to take his place.

WHEW! That's all, ladies and gents.

@authortobenamedlater, @silverpelt3600, @ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask, @makowrites, @mrtobenamedlater, @biomecharnotaurus, @killer-orca-cosplay, @cheezbot, @caffeineyum, @asimplesimpsimping.

[bloodgulchblog]

Halsey studying the death of Mack adds such a nice layer of color.

Spoiler for Contact Harvest if anyone does want to dig into that book without it:

Mack is special because Mack and Loki were old. They are two sides of the same coin. One AI at a time runs Harvest's agricultural infrastructure, while the other intelligence is fragmented out across the hardware of all the JOTUN agricultural machines on the planet.

This had some kind of restorative effect on the AI that was fragmented. Rotating this way prevented rampancy.

Mack (implied) and Loki (confirmed) had been doing this for decades. They were ancient in Smart AI terms, Loki was the AI of the colony ship that brought the first humans to Harvest almost 60 years before the Covenant attacked in 2525.

Of course Halsey would have been interested in that.

Of course Halsey would have been interested, in turn, in how Mack held on scattered in the JOTUNs as the Covenant razed the planet bit by bit.

Of course Halsey would have noted that the thing Mack held onto as he died, piece by piece by piece, was the love he had for Sif.

She knew this about AI.

She knew.

[f1crecs]

Fic Rec List - Daniel/Max

if your fic is on this list and you don’t want it to be, please let us know and we will remove it immediately, no questions asked. we have contacted most of the authors on this list, but sometimes people fall through the gaps - just pop us a message🤍

have a pairing you want us to do next? please read the faqs and then head to the inbox.

don’t forget to give the authors featured on this list some love in the form of kudos, bookmarks, and comments!

We've had a couple of Maxiel related asks recently so thought this was the perfect time to get a general list together! :)

nsfw: give, give, take by hungerpunch and thermocline | E | 3.7k

PWP in which transmasc Max tops Daniel for the first time. This PWP is so hot your circuit board may be in danger, fair warning. The characterisations and dialogue are great, Daniel with terrible "sexy" lines and Max a little surprised but very willing to give it to Daniel when he asks for it. I really like how Max's (probably pretty understandable) expectations of Daniel are subverted by the request.

Daniel props himself up on a forearm, cradling his chin in his hand. “Maybe, but—” he affects what he probably thinks is a sultry moue. “—when are you gonna get me on your strap, though?” Max can’t help the way his eyes widen. They’ve been fucking long enough that he supposes it’s not weird of Daniel to ask, but normally the type of men he attracts aren't as… self-possessed about busting it open. He goes from vaguely tired and mellow to wide awake and horny in less than a second; his body suddenly more electricity than muscle. "Uhh," he thinks aloud, his mouth buffering a beat slower than his brain, "... now?"

wish you away in my dreams by @vicsy | M | 7.5k

This is a stunning story, that, through the medium of Max and Daniel's relationship, examines the concept of fear, loss, and misplaced emotions. Everything this writer shares is stunning, but I particularly loved the use of imagery in this one. Beautiful!

Before him, Daniel’s form is incandescent in a golden glimmer, his unruly curls illuminated like a halo around his head. It pulls a punched-out breath out of Max’s lungs. He’ll rip the reconciliation from out of his soul if he has to, he’ll race it to the end, do what he does best, not a drop of fear tipping the scales against him this time.

nsfw: Through the Ages by Bells33 and Whippasnappa | E | 9k

A beautiful examination of Daniel and Max over the years, from 2017 to 2023. Brilliant writing and incredible graphics are interspersed with facts and figures, and it makes for a truly special read.

And here’s the thing; when Daniel laughs, it makes Max laugh too. So they’re laughing, and Daniel is helping Max extricate himself from the table where it’s folded in a bit and grabbed him like a snappy crocodile. And then there’s just this fucking moment where Max is finally upright, they’re stood way too close, inches apart, and he’s still holding on to Max’s arms for some reason. They're the same height, now. Daniel can’t remember when that happened. One moment, he’d been taller than Max. And now, Max meets him directly eye to eye.

nsfw: tender is my heart by @missyourflight | E | 10.6k

This is a Never Let Me Go AU. Daniel works in a cafe by sea. One day, a man walks in and orders a meal. Daniel can tell there is something strange about him, but isn't sure quite what. Eventually, he learns that Max is a clone, created to be an organ donor. This fic is atmospheric, sad, and explores the horrific ethics of the situation Max has been born into. He has been conditioned since birth to accept and embrace his fate - that one day, his organs will be harvested and he will die so that others may live. Daniel is horrified but is fighting against a lifetime of indoctrination to make Max see why.

“Because I thought you were a fucking – closeted Mormon, not –” “I told you I was a donor, you could have asked me to explain, you could have asked me –” “Explain it now, then!” Daniel explodes. “Fucking go on and tell me, Max, I’m all ears.” When Mr Gianpiero had explained it to them, before he was sent away from Hailsham, he’d said, not unkindly and quite clearly, so they understood, “You’re not people, not legally. Your bodies are not your own.” And he’d told them the truth, about the donations. About how long they’d get. “It’s what I’m for,” Max says, the only explanation he has. “It’s not,” Daniel says, grabbing Max’s hands in his. “This –” They’re moving together, as close as they can get, their foreheads pressed against each other, salt on both their faces, and Max feels it, the way he feels it every time Daniel touches him, the rightness of it: this is what his body is for. “This is so fucked,” Daniel says, and it hits Max like ice water. “I shouldn’t have told you,” he says, and when he steps back Daniel doesn’t reach for him again.

nsfw: caught you coming alive by anonymous | E | 17.9k

This is a dystopian future AU in which people are matched by computer before marrying. They meet their matches while blindfolded and are expected to have sex to determine if they're physically attracted and compatible. Daniel is disillusioned and cynical about the process after years of failed matches. It's Max's first time. The ache of loneliness around Daniel is palpable, and Max's guilelessness is completely in character. Max is carrying the baggage of family expectations. Their connection is natural and immediate. The worldbuilding of the story is deft and elegant and never detracts from the character work. Also, it takes a very talented author to write double-blindfolded smut.

His hand is still resting against the inside of Daniel’s bicep, and he inhales like he’s preparing for something. It is so quiet for so long that Max almost asks if Daniel wants to stop. But then they are in motion again and his fingers travel across the crook of his elbow again to the top of his forearm. “I have a little cupid here,” and the Max’s hand is only there for a moment before it’s on the move again, down, “and a bit of love underneath him. In case he needs a boost.” There is a crack, minute, and so quiet Max wonders if he only heard it because he can’t see. Maybe he wouldn’t have noticed the hitch in Daniel’s voice if he was too caught up staring at his face or tracing tattoos he can only shape in his head. But it’s there. Breaking around the word love and not quite putting itself back together by the time he’s finished speaking. Max wishes he could see him, if only to lean in to kiss him without risking a black eye for them both. “And to round off the top half of the tour, we have my beautiful rose.” Daniel’s light, teasing tone is back, and he has laced their hands together, Max’s right in Daniel’s left. “If you just do this,” and he rubs his thumb across the top of Max’s hand, “you might feel it. No thorns to worry about.”

nsfw: glory, from a high rise by @yekoc | E | 24.3k

Another AU, this one featuring Daniel as a bartender and Max as a troubled finance worker who tries to drink (and fuck) his sorrows away. This is one of the first maxiel fics I ever read. It's kind of a greatest hit in Maxiel fandom to the point where I wondered if I should even rec it. But the chance of someone new coming along to the pairing and missing out on this masterpiece is one I can't bear to take. Max's sadness and self-punishment in this story is crushing, and his emotional unavailability makes this relationship's early stages very difficult. Daniel is emotionally mature enough to protect himself and be realistic and clear about what he wants and needs in a partner. It's a long journey for them (and us), but absolutely worth it.

He couldn’t look at Daniel. Daniel didn’t need to apologize; Max knew what he wanted was fucked up, something desperate and out of his control. With Daniel sometimes it had felt better, like it was something okay; like he was good. But Max got it. Daniel wanted a—a boyfriend, someone he took home and went out to dinner with and introduced to his family at Christmas. He was thirty. His friends had families. Daniel deserved that too. He would be good at it.

nsfw: one step closer and i'm real by whichisgolden | E | 24.7k

Max time travels through different universes and falls in love with every version of Daniel. I loved the ending so much (and I won't spoil it but it's absolutely adorable). I also loved the characterization of both Max and Daniel, it felt so real!

“Daniel kissed the side of his face, his eyebrow. “If I did choose,” he said, haltingly. “If I wanted to come back, and what you’re saying is right and you got zapped away into another dimension— I don’t think there’s any universe where I wouldn’t want to do this with you. All Daniel Ricciardos want to kiss you.” Max opened one eye. “What if I have the defective one?” Daniel burst into laughter. “I think we’re all defective, actually. That’s why we like you.” “Okay, shut up.” Max wrestled him down on the couch to kiss him, and then they had to go celebrate.

Anonymous by @boxboxbrioche | M | 26.4k

This fic is partially told through emails & social media messages, and takes place in a parallel-canon 2022 season, where F1 has taken some PR hits because the drivers are constantly getting into fights. The FIA hires an expert public relations manager, who has some... creative solutions, including an anonymous messaging feature between drivers. Every part of this makes me smile: the warm, dry humour, the perfect characterisation & Maxiel dynamic, the PR shenanigans... and, of course, the "anonymous" messages. It feels like a love letter to online friendships, not just anonymous ones - celebrating how you can be your honest self and share what you might not share with people irl (and, if you're Max and Daniel, fall in love all over again in the process!)

P.S. - A big congratulations to Roscoe Hamilton for signing on for a new modelling contract, showing off a range of very fashionable luxury dog jackets. Although the adage goes - ‘never work with children or animals’ - I do sometimes wonder if it would be easier on both counts.

nsfw: there was always warmth between us by @freeuselandonorris | E | 32.1k

Max brings a sex toy to a race and Daniel inevitably finds it. What ensues is rising sexual tension and tiptoeing around each other. I really liked this fic for how it made this single event, Daniel finding Max’s toy, into a deeper story with rising tension and a lot of humanness. I think that was my favourite part about it, how human both this Max and Daniel are, even within the context of sex. The character development was a lot of fun to read and made the pay off even more worth it!

Dan smiles at him in an unfocused sort of way, his hand brushing against Max’s knuckles. Max twitches. Is he doing it on purpose? He glances at Dan’s face but finds it inscrutable.

nsfw: come on, star boy by @yekoc | E | 42k

A high school football AU of Max and Daniel! Featuring past Brocedes and a little bit of angst with Jos being a sucky dad. They live in Alabama and it explores their story in high school love! I loved the writing style so much! I feel like high school AUs are also not super common in the F1 fandom, so it was so nice reading it!

“Do you miss it?” Daniel asks. “Not school, I mean. Soccer. Football.” “Yes,” Max says. He draws his feet up onto the seat and wraps his arms around his legs, chin on his knees. The strap of the seat belt pulls against his broad shoulders. It can’t be very comfortable. Daniel can’t get his head around it, that Max and his dad moved all the way to what, to fucking nowhere Alabama, so that he could play football instead of soccer; so that he could grab hold of some faint trail towards stardom.

nsfw: right where you left me by TheNorthRemembers | E | 54k

It's 2018, and Daniel and Max are driving for Red Bull. It's the Azerbaijan GP, and the inevitable crash happens. Max goes to sleep, but once he wakes up–he finds that he's in a time loop. This is my favorite time loop fic ever! "It's race day" quotes haunt me in my sleep in the best way possible, and the fic delves so much into Daniel leaving Red Bull and how Max deals with it.

All Max can do is stare, his heart beating so hard, he can feel it in his voice as he speaks. “You are leaving.” How are they supposed to be together if Daniel is leaving? If he hates racing with Max so much that he wants to give up his seat with Red Bull, his chance at winning, at winning it all. How can they- He never says ‘I love you’ but he just called Max a child, he just said he’d leave. And what the fuck does that say about them? About Daniel’s feelings for Max? “I’m doing what is best for my career,” Daniel says, like that means anything at all.

this list was compiled by @lydia-petze, @boxboxbrioche, @maaxverstappen, @blueballsracing, @singsweetmelodies

[ask-cloverfield]

A ship crewed by Brutes had the gravity lifts for their ship deactivated before being given command due to a rivalry with the Elites who predominantly filled the Covenant’s navy

This crew gained revenge by simply placing ladders in the functionless lifts; When a an Elite ship inspection crew arrived, their leg structure caused them to struggle for a significant amount of time with the ladders

[f1-primers]

i saw a post by @powerful-owl about how the f1 fandom doesn't have a lot of primers for new fans, and in the interests of sharing the love (having a new thing to obsess over) i've made this little sideblog. i'll reshare any primers i see/i'm tagged in, from the technicalities of tyres to ship lore to old race recommendations, and i'm going to start a list below of ideas in case anyone fancies writing them. HERE IS THE TAG LIST so you can find posts i've shared so far!

technical/sporting stuff

intro to the history of f1

calendar explained - changes over the years, sprint vs normal weekends, double/triple headers

teams - history of each team individually or one big post, a history of team name changes

teams - what a team principal does, what a race engineer does, what other positions there are and faces people might see a lot of

the structure of a race weekend/what the sessions mean - media day, practices, quali, sprint shootout, sprint, race

how qualifying works - sessions, things to watch out for, what teams/drivers actually do during quali

how races work - start process, intro to race strategy & stints, outline of pit stops, how they end, parc ferme > podium

intro to strategy - outline of pitstops, tyre choices, over/undercut, etc

intro to tyres - different types, characteristics of each ones, deg/wear etc

how the timing towers on tv work & how to read them (for free practice, quali & race)

what all the different flags mean

safety car 101

tracks - loads of stuff here: famous tracks, all the tracks on the current calendar, the different between traditional and street tracks, features of a track to watch out for

overtaking explained

technical explainer - drs, battery harvesting, slipstreaming, stuff like that

safety features explainer - halo, hans device, etc

technical terms/slang you might hear

what the FIA is/intro

stewarding/the rules outline

techical requirements - parc ferme, what can/can't be changed over a weekend, rebuilding cars after contact or crashes

pit stops - what happens, what's changed, double stacking, good/bad times, how it affects a race

common penalties - track limits, crossing pit lane entry etc

point system - how it works for sprints/races, how it's changed etc

car design - wings, sidepods, etc

intro to f1 physics - aero, downforce etc

liveries - iconic ones, current team liveries, history of team liveries

the pitlane, paddock & pit wall explained - including order of teams in the pitlane, who everyone on a pit wall is

team radio 101 - what is said, what it means, iconic moments

how weather & temperature affects races/driving

history of f1

most famous races

most famous championships

wildest stuff that's happened in the sport (overall or by decade)

team move dramas

an intro to all the driver's championship winners

'know your history' - big moments people will see referenced

most controversial events - on track

most controversial events - off-track, f1 politics, scandals

moments that changed the sport

fandom stuff

intro to current drivers & their whole vibe

intro to past drivers & their whole vibe

most famous ships in the sport and an outline

most famous rivalries in the sport and an outline

best/funniest team radio moments

silly things that have happened

teammate relationships - the good, the bad, the unhinged

slang & inside jokes you might hear

niche stuff - the orignal post that sparked this referenced an 'alex albon's pets' primer, daniel's tattoos, george's dad, etc. a gift to fic writers! so anything, as niche as it gets, is good

nicknames for drivers, TPs etc explained

iconic fandom moments everyone should know about

[ang3licasdean]

Apple Tree excerpt

unreleased fic

Farmer/Rancher!Soap x Miliary!Ghost

His eyes didn't stop darting. He knew he was magnetized by the pink lips, so stark to the pale skin of Simon's chin. So plump, and attractive, even with the scar splitting square in the middle. He looked devine, a siren, calling so loudly to John it almost felt biblical. Like the emergence of a new prophecy, the call from God for action. Simon’s pleading eyes a prophet, desperate and searching. John was stuck between leaning into his new religion, and shaking back.

"We can't" 

Simon's sigh of displeasure was warm against John's chin, making the hair on the back of his neck rise. The proximity made him smell the minty tobacco on his breath, and he was sure if he fell into temptation, if he abandoned what he knew for his siren, and clasped their lips together; he'd taste the cigarette they shared.

John's eyes drifted upwards, over Simon’s head, blinking at the roof of his home, the slowly, lazy spinning fan that shone down a light from a single, old and frayed bulb. A halo around Simon’s already biblical frame.

"We can" Simon whispered, his ungloved hand brushing John's hair from side to middle, a thumb caressing John's temple, "You're thinking about them" He said, and John knew what he meant. 

Them.

The village, all the people he knew and grew up in, Kyle, and all the people he's made close friends with. The village that embraced him after his family died, that raised him. He wasn't some unknown in a city, he was the village's boy. Their legacy, of sorts. His family had harvested and nurtured the village for decades, for as long as their family history ran. 

They can't know what he is, how he is. How he loves, and how Simon’s lips call for him. How the warmth of his thigh against his hip is driving him wild, how he wants so badly to buck his hips, summon contact into existence. How his yearned to bite into Simon, to feel his very core against his lips. If he could, he'd crawl under his skin, and warm himself there. If he could, he'd curl into his chest, and make a home there.

But he can't.

Simon cups his jaw, gentle, for such a hardened man. Too gentle, like John would break, and he will, he feels it. 

"Think about me instead," Simon whispered, prayed into his ear. A messiah begging for forgiveness, for John's love, for John's resolve. "Johnny," Simon whispered pressing their foreheads together. The proximity making John shudder, a strangled breath escaping him, "please, Johnny," Simon continued, breaking down Soap softly, with every plea, "My Johnny"

"Simon—" John shuddered again, feeling Simon's nose at his cheek, how his stubbled cheek rubbed against his jaw. A thrill zipping down his spine, instantly followed by guilt at the enjoyment. A few seconds more and John was sure the cross on his chest would burn him. But for a moment, he didn't care. Not when something hot pressed against the column of his neck, burning heat that softened into pleasant warmth. 

Simon's lips, followed by his tongue, pressing devilishly on his skin. Teeth scraping against the flushing skin.

"They can't know," Soap whispered, eyes still trained on the ceiling, "Si," he moaned.

"I know," Simon mumbled, pressing his nose against the underside of John's neck. If he wasn't losing his mind, he might've registered how sad it sounded, a confession, nearly. But his brain fried at every point of contact Simon gave him, and he could only listen to the words; foregoing the tone, "I only need you to know, Johnny, just you"

"You have me," John confessed, finally reaching back to Simon, digging his fingers into the mess of curled hair he was growing, "Simon," John urged, "you have me, you always did," he said hastily. Craning his neck to look down towards his chest, where Simon retreated from his neck, and brown eyes met his with something so warm it made John forget the winter snow outside his window. 

"I promise," John whispered, and it seemed enough for Simon, who struck with the speed of a cobra, pressing the same hot, devine lips John had dreamt of for weeks against his. Hot tongue darting to split John's lips, to open him up, and let him explore.