#sometimes i feel a little like maximus

[wildsaltair]

screencap from a lost deleted scene from Gladiator, in which Maximus cradles the little statues of his family (which he carries with him everywhere including battle!) after nearly dying in Germania

[girlsdads]

tagged by @annebd for WIP wednesday friday... instead of a WIP snippet have something that i don't really know what else to do with but i didn't hate so :-)

Max’s phone lights up with Daniel’s name while he’s sitting in hospitality the morning of race day. It’s face-up on the arm of the sofa—Max watches as it catches the eye of Lawson next to him. Possessiveness rises like bile in his throat. He snatches the phone as quickly as he can, cradles it to his chest like that would erase the letters of Daniel’s name from Lawson’s memory.

“Whatever, mate,” Lawson quips, rolling his eyes. Like anyone was talking to him, anyway. Like Max gives a fuck if he’s here or not. Like they’re mates, and he’s not someone Max is contractually obligated to be cordial to.

“Clean up your crumbs, when you are finished,” Max says as he stands, sweeping his gaze pointedly over the spray of chocolate chip muffin debris covering Lawson’s lap and the sofa cushion beside him. He doesn’t wait for Lawson’s response before stalking from the room. He thinks about the stacks of keto-friendly protein bars going stale back in his motorhome and hates Lawson that much more.

Max waits until he’s closed the motorhome door behind him to open Daniel’s text.

It’s stupid, he knows, to want to do this in private. Everyone knows he talks to Daniel still, probably no one would think it strange or pathetic for Max to be texting him now. Daniel had said—Max had known he wouldn’t be here, this weekend, or any weekend. Max understands, in his own way, despite how bereft he always feels, during.

But. It is a race day and Daniel is texting him. Daniel hasn’t texted on a race weekend since, well—since. He had facetimed the day after Brazil, relaxed and happy and congratulating Max from New York. They keep a running conversation during off weeks, Daniel sending picture after picture of himself with arms around his friends, some Max knows, some he doesn’t. Max saves the photos to a hidden folder on his phone, crops them all so it’s only Daniel. Sometimes it leaves him missing an arm, or two, but he can’t stand to see Daniel with all these people who aren’t Max. In turn, Max sends him videos of the cats, memes he hopes will make Daniel laugh, updates on the funny-looking bird that has been building a nest on Max’s balcony.

(That’s my—what’s the little animal friend that witches have—my familiar, Maximus! I sent him to watch over you, obviously. Be nice to him.) That message had gone into the secret folder, too.

Race weekends are radio silence. Max has come to terms with that, knows it isn’t personal, that it’s an open wound Daniel is nursing. So for Daniel to reach out, today of all days, Max can’t help the stab of yearning in his belly. It could be an important day, for Max, maybe Daniel decided—maybe he’s said he’s hopped a plane, he’s driving out from LA, he’ll be here before the chequered flag—

Max couldn’t bear it if anyone else were around, if that’s not what Daniel’s message says. Even alone, he feels like a hermit crab that’s outgrown its shell, hope leaving him soft-bellied and vulnerable.

He swipes open his and Daniel’s message chain.

Daniel’s not coming to Vegas. At least, that’s not what he’s texted.

The text is a picture. Max’s eyes are drawn immediately to Daniel, though he’s only in about one quarter of the frame. If he was trying to take a selfie, he did not do such a good job--it's mostly a shot of the dusty-red ground, Daniel's beautiful face peeking in from the top corner. He’s wearing his dirt biking clothes, sweat darkening the pits of his long sleeves where his arm is lifted to make a thumbs-up. His pinky still doesn't quite fold in next to the rest of his fingers. Max wants to kiss the careful bend of his knuckle.

It's a few long moments before Max even registers what's etched into the earth behind Daniel. It is very obvious, then, why Daniel is sending this now. There in the California dirt, Daniel has used a stick or maybe even one of his long, lovely fingers to write 3 + 1 = 4. A wobbly heart is drawn around the whole thing.

Max is infinitely grateful for the lack of prying eyes as he sinks slowly to the floor. He draws his knees up to his chest and cradles the phone in cupped hands, as if the message will be sucked back into the ether if he grips too tightly. He lightly taps to full-screen the image, zooms in on Daniel's face. The soft, almost awkward smile is the same one Max has only ever seen directed at him. He knows this, because he's spent years cataloguing Daniel's interactions with others, longing and longing. Daniel never makes that face at anyone else.

Max's phone buzzes as another text comes through. Daniel's hands reaching through the wire to squeeze Max's heart until it leaks out between his fingers.

Always cheering for you, Max. Give 'em hell for me.

[calicoups]

౨ৎ squishy — csc

synopsis i actually don’t even have one, the title kinda sums it up! pairing seungcheol x fem reader genre fluff. word count 0.9k

"you're so squishy, just squishy everywhere," you blurt out as you lay on your side, facing your boyfriend, "can you be my walking talking squishy, cheol?"

it's one of those nights where you and seungcheol lay in bed, still awake at 1:18am because neither of you can fall asleep. during these types of nights, you and seungcheol talk about all types of topics ranging from how you're going to surprise or prank the next person from the friendship group to reminiscing about your individual childhood memories. the conversations sometimes became deep and philosophical, you both have good points when debating yet end up arguing over who's right.

seungcheol stares at you as if you've just insulted his whole family and kkuma.

"why are you staring at me like that?"

"baby, what kind of question is that?" seungcheol laughs at you, finally ceasing the death stare, laughter bubbles out of him and his eyes crinkle at the corners.

"cherry, just answer it, can you be my walking talking squishy?"

"hm, i don't know about that…" he trails off, pretending to think hard about it.

you sneakily reach your hand over and behind him, as if to just hug him, and give his butt a squish. seungcheol flinches backwards and you yank your hand away and clasp it with your other on your chest, turning to the ceiling and whistling as if you didn't just lovingly touch your boyfriend's ass. you can feel seungcheol's wide eyes burning holes into the side of your face.

"hey, what was that for!"

"huh?" you turn to look at your pouty boyfriend, "what are you talking about?"

putting on an act and playing dumb makes seungcheol pout even more, his eyebrows lowering a little as if to scowl at you. he wouldn't do it for real though, he could never scowl at you.

you lean over and give him a kiss right on his pretty lips, letting out a loud 'mwah!' when you move back. your hands quickly move to his cheeks and you push them together. seungcheol's eyebrows return to their normal resting point and he's no longer pouting but fighting the biggest urge to start giggling like a schoolgirl at your actions.

“so, what did you decide?” you press him for his answer. you know it’s not that important but asking silly questions is so entertaining, especially when the answerer is choi seungcheol, aka the easiest to poke fun at.

“i have decided,” he pauses in an attempt to create suspense, “that…yes, i will be your walking talking squishy,”

“yay! now, i can s–”

“but!” he cuts you off before you can even celebrate properly, “you can’t touch my gluteus maximus, it is not free real estate.”

“what! but that’s how i release my stress,” you purse your lips at his comment. you know seungcheol is still joking at this point but playing along is so fun. secretly, he likes it when you smack his ass while passing by him. he lets you do it, he lets you do anything to him which is why sometimes you even end up biting his bicep because of all the cuteness aggression you get when you’re around him.

“i thought you bite my arms to release stress?”

“hey, people need to switch things up from time to time, you know,”

“whatever you say. i think i deserve something in return though, don’t you think?”

you sigh and roll your eyes, “and what would that be, hm?”

seungcheol turns his head to the side slightly and puffs out one cheek. then, he pokes that cheek with his forefinger. you stare at him with a bored look and when you don’t go along with his antics, he turns back to you.

“baby,” he whines out, “come on, hm? please? pretty please?”

he bats his eyelashes at you in an attempt to get you to kiss him. his eyelashes are pretty, you think for a moment.

seungcheol does the same thing again and this time you give in, leaning forward to kiss his round cheek. when you move back, he smiles softly at you, both dimples displayed on his rosy cheeks.

there’s this monster (it’s a good monster) inside you that makes you want to crush seungcheol in a hug and squish his cheeks with both of your hands forever because of how cute he is.

that’s exactly what you do, though. you couldn’t hold back, it was way too difficult when he’s just lying there, looking so adorable for no reason.

“cherry, sit up.”

he doesn’t know why you’re asking that but he does it anyways, it’s not like he would ever say no to you.

you lunge at him, throwing your arms around his thick neck and then proceeding to jump into his lap to wrap your legs around his waist. you squeeze your arms and legs around him and he grunts at the strength you use.

“baby, what are you doing?” he manages to get out, given how hard your arms were squeezing his neck.

your throat makes a nose similar to a dinosaur’s roar, “i’m loving you! but stop being so cute or i’ll explode!”

laughter bubbles out of seungcheol’s throat, his chest rumbling with the sound. you’re trying not to burst at the seams and he’s laughing? that’s really mean of him.

“stop laughing or i’ll kiss you until you can’t breathe!”

“i think i’d be sad if you didn’t do that, baby.”

[shorelinessightlines]

Jupiter is often referred to as the star that failed. Max thinks about that, sometimes, when they're racing and he's just passed Daniel on track. He can look in his rearview mirrors and see the little three on the AlphaTauri—Daniel, in a shitty car he outperforms every weekend, and Max, already set for the podium.

When Max is particularly bored, he rewatches old races from 2014, ‘16, ‘18 and thinks about it, unbidden—how if Lewis and Max simply didn't exist, it might’ve been Daniel on the top step at the very end of the season. Daniel fighting for titles and wins, not letting anyone keep the 1st place cap on their head long enough to mess up their hair. If he'd just been a little quicker, a little more ruthless; if he'd stuck around long enough for the Honda engine, the RB19. If Daniel had just been a fraction of a second better.

Then Max feels bad for ever thinking such a thing. Not because it isn’t true, but because it sounds like something his dad would say.

Jos used to buy Max magazines full of interviews by Senna, Prost, Mansell. He said they were full of stars. He laughed at Max when they got home after Zandvoort in 2011, back when Max was still in karting and Daniel was just starting out in F1, and Max had said: "I want to be just like him."

That Christmas Jos bought Max a poster of Nigel Piquet and said, "This is the type of man you should be looking up to." Max hung it up on his ceiling that night and stared at it. He had thought, privately, that if Piquet was a star then he must have been one of those small stars, the ones that you can’t really see from Earth without a telescope. Daniel was closer, brighter. Sun-like.

He tore down the poster the next morning.

Jos was right, of course, to steer Max towards more successful heroes. Jos would never point to Daniel's article in GQ Sports and tell Max he's looking at a star. Daniel smiles at him, though, on the paddock and off, and it feels like sunshine.

He tells Daniel as much during the summer break, in Daniel's Monaco apartment, tipsy off some expensive wine Max can't even pronounce the name of.

"Jupiter is a very stupid planet," Max is ranting, unreasonably pissed about it. "You know, it has ninety-five moons? The fuck does it need ninety-five moons for? Stupid." He chugs another sip of wine, straight from the bottle. Daniel does the same.

"Jupiter?" Daniel muses after he swallows, less inebriated than Max but still drunk enough to have begun sitting on the couch upside down. The top of his skull almost touches the floor. "Mate, don't diss Jupiter like that. Space gets lonely, maybe."

Max snorts. "It is a planet, Daniel, it does not get lonely. It should just have one moon, or no moons. It is not very loyal."

"It is a planet, Maximus, it cannot be loyal," Daniel says back to him, snarky, in a high-pitched voice and a bad Dutch accent.

"Is that supposed to be me?" He shoves at him, accidentally causing Daniel's head to bang against the floor. Whatever. He deserves it. "Name one good thing about Jupiter."

Daniel shrugs as best as he can. "Biggest planet in our solar system or whatever the fuck. Why are we talking about Jupiter again?"

"Because it is awful, and my dad is not correct." Daniel laughs, at that.

"What? Does your dad, like, love Jupiter or something?"

Max points, accusatory. "See, that is exactly the point! He does not love Jupiter! In fact, he is awful about Jupiter!"

Max can almost see the gears in Daniel's head grind together slowly. "Then why are you dissing Jupiter?"

Max groans. His thoughts make less and less sense the more he goes on. "I am not, of course, dissing Jupiter. I am simply pointing out the fact that Jupiter is not a star and you, obviously, are a star." He's getting lost in his own, brilliant analogy.

Daniel says, "Oh yeah, Maxy?" He has his stupid smile on, the one that Max knows means he thinks Max is crazy but will indulge him anyway. "Well it's very nice that you think so."

"Of course I think so," Max scoffs, perfectly serious. He hates that he can't really look Daniel in the eye, sitting right-side-up. He opts to sit like Daniel, head towards the floor and legs slung over the back of the couch, so he can stare directly at him. "I am being serious."

"Well, I'm serious about that Jupiter shit. Best planet ever. Number one Jupiter defender, right here," Daniel slurs, pointing at himself and flashing his brilliant, sun-warm smile.

Max can't help but smile too.

"You are very stupid," he says, and it sounds like something else. "I am trying to tell you that I think you—you." He flushes, cutting himself off and looking away from Daniel, up towards the ceiling.

"Ah, whatever Maxy. You just can't accept Jupiter's superiority."

Max tries one last time, to make him understand. "Jupiter is called the star that failed," he says, trying to prove something.

Daniel is looking at him, he can feel it. His stare burns a hole in the side of Max's head. "I'm okay with that," he says, suddenly very very soft. "Jupiter's the biggest planet in the solar system. He's got a whole ninety-five moons."

"But he is not a star," Max scowls.

Daniel smiles again, smaller. Kinder. "He gets to orbit a star. He gets to be the biggest planet, and orbit a fucking star, the best star in the universe. That's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me."

Max shakes his head and says, "You are unbelievable." He reaches over to grab Daniel's stupid face and kiss him, and promptly falls off the couch.

[felicjana050896]

Maximus - the main antagonist in the series?

I finally watched Fallout and I want to comment on one thing, apart from the whole Cooper and Lucy relationship, because there are a lot of analyzes on Tumblr and Twitter (after watching the series, I will immediately rewatch it to find some additional hints, and if not, it's just for fun, because the series for me... was a masterpiece, it's been a long time since I couldn't break away from the series like I did from Fallout, especially since I was playing games, so it was wonderful to feel this atmosphere again, to sum up the sentiment completely took me far away...), so I'll just link some of these analyzes and hints here, in case someone hasn't read it:

It's 100% CGI, you can see how at the end that thread moves completely unnaturally, there's no way it's real, it had to be CGI and it had to be for something, it makes no sense to add such a little, tiny detail with CGI after nothing..., after all, money is spent on it, it's one thing to write "I love you" in the background, and another thing is to make a heart out of thread using CGI... (at least that's what I think, I don't know anything about CGI, but even such a small thing must cost a bit... :D )

Apart from the fact that Max and Lucy have practically no foreshadowings and no chemistry, and they DON'T KNOW each other at all, because their whole relationship is based on "I met a nice girl/boy and I think I like her/him", because let's be honest, there is no talk about love here, they liked each other because Max helped Lucy with the radiation and Lucy helped Max get out of the armor, they helped each other and were nice to each other, that's all... but it's not enough to talk about love, liking each other yes, but not about love (I'm surprised when people, for example on Twitter, write that Max and Lucy love each other, where...???) and as I mentioned above, they don't know each other, they know practically nothing about themselves, about their plans, dreams, tastes, perception of the world, etc., they know nothing about each other, they have barely met, and their entire relationship is based on the fact that in this world it is simply difficult to have any other person, so they instinctively grab whatever comes first. Lucy dreamed of getting married and having children, she was taught to focus on the ,,survival of the species", her whole wedding was pure ,,politics", and in the end it turned out that she married a bandit who then tried to kill her, while Maximus probably never didn't think about these matters, surrounded by practically only guys and focused on military life..., so their entire relationship is based on: ,,he's/she's nice, ok, I'll take it", that's why their relationship seems rushed and has zero chemistry , so in my opinion it is not a bad writing (like with Chaggie from Hazbin Hotel in my opinion), it is supposed to be like that and it makes logical sense, as I have already presented above, this relationship is supposed to be quick and without chemistry, because it is supposed to show their standards, how low they are, in this world... and Cooper, on the other hand, comes from a completely different world...

By the way, unlike Max and Lucy, who nevertheless spend some time together while traveling sensibly, we don't see any specific conversations between them that could bring them closer to each other, as I wrote above, they don't know each other and in fact they don't even try to get to know themselves, while in the case of Cooper and Lucy, Lucy constantly asks Cooper questions, and sometimes he answers (in fact, not directly, but he answers), they have a conversation about torture, Lucy asks Cooper why he is like this, why he continues this ( scene with cannibalism), Lucy asks what he is (water scene), etc., Lucy asks Cooper questions, wants to get to know him, wants to learn more about him, and he also learns more about her through her talkativeness (e.g. the initial scene when Cooper and Lucy meet for the first time and Lucy tries to diplomatically calm him down, or the scene when Lucy gives Cooper the vials), Cooper and Lucy have already gotten to know each other more than Max and Lucy, and now Lucy has gone with Cooper....

But leaving Cooper and Lucy, because this post is not about them, let's move on to Max..., Max, who in my opinion has a great predisposition to become the main or at least one of the main (because the most main may be those from Vault-Tec) antagonists in series, why....

At the beginning, I was positive towards Max, unlike Lucy, who seemed naive and stupid to me at the beginning, and I don't like such characters (of course, I liked Cooper from the very beginning, after all, Hancock was my Fallout husband in Fallout 4 ;) ), and then she surprised me in the scene with her husband, when she ,,killed" him (almost, but still), I didn't expect such a change in the character at all..., later she surprised me by the fact that she is not as stupid as she seemed in the in the beginning, yes she is naive but not stupid, she just had to get out of the bubble called the Vault and I can't wait to see how her character will evolve in season 2 after all this and being together with Cooper..., I want to see her show her claws..., I want to see even more how, under this guise of a naive girl, there is actually a strong and dangerous woman who can cope on her own and is still fair and honorable..., I love such characters :) , but I had a different experience with Max, whom I liked at the beginning, but the further into the forest, the more I felt like ,,guy, you make more and more stupid decisions, what's wrong with you...", at the beginning Max seemed to me as reasonable, honorable, fair and a real soldier, and at the end I only saw him as an unreasonable 15-year-old boy making stupid, irresponsible and evil decisions with his own ego problem... sorry, but this character gave me the vibe at the end that he would go towards darkness, and when he finds out that Lucy is allied with Cooper..., a guy he fought and who completely defeated and humiliated him..., a guy who, by the way, he hasn't seen since that fight..., Cooper and Max haven't had any interaction in the show apart from this fight, so Max has absolutely no knowledge that Cooper is ,,in the game", and that Lucy could have gone with him at all, he's probably already forgotten about him, and when he remembers..., I'm really curious about his reaction....

The first and most important thing about Maximus in the series... in season one, when asked why he joined the brotherhood, he replies that to ,,hurt the people who hurt me"... that's not a praiseworthy answer..., this is not a good answer..., sure, I understand the issue of revenge etc., but as good and golden rules teach (speaking of Lucy's golden rules, because she sticks to them and this is what distinguishes her from, above all, Maximus) revenge brings no good..., Lucy, despite everything, didn't want to take revenge on Moldaver, even though many people she knew died because of her, her father was kidnapped, and she almost died, she didn't want to take revenge on her, of course, she was out of her own turf and surrounded by enemies, but still, her goal was to free her father, not revenge, while Max's goal is simply revenge, he doesn't want to, for example, rebuild Shady Sands or be a good knight who helps people, bring peace to this world, NO, he just wants revenge..., he wants to become a knight for his own selfish purposes, not for other people, while Lucy does things for other people, wants to free her father, helps Wilzig, worries about dog while Cooper is dragging her, helping Cooper with the vials, helping the ghouls (of course she didn't know and probably wouldn't understand that they were wild, her intentions were good, and that something bad came out of it is something she couldn't have known at that moment), she also helps in vault 4 when she first thinks something bad is happening there, and then she tells Max to return the core and kills his mother out of mercy, just like Cooper killed Roger (I think at this point, after the incident with wild ghouls, Lucy understood what Cooper did then and that it was good after all), Lucy does everything to help people and live according to the golden rules, while Max is selfish and thinks only about himself, leaving aside the issue of revenge, he also says that he wanted something bad to happen to Dane, of course he didn't really do anything to them, but he wanted something bad to happen to them... what kind of person do you have to be to want them to become your best friend harm, just because they got what you wanted..., from the very beginning the series shows us not to have any illusions about Maximus and that he is not really and will not be a good guy...., he let Titus die and sure, the guy was a dick and I would probably get angry too and want to kill him, but kill him anyway... quickly... while from what we see, Max just lets Titus die slowly, I don't know about you, but for me there is a difference between killing someone quickly because he deserved it, and letting it happen and WAITING AROUND him until he slowly dies... that was cruel... I would understand if Max killed him, but he KILLED, he showed some humanity despite everything, even though the guy deserved to die, and he didn't wait next to him and listen to him slowly die... it was evil....

Then, when he has armor, he enters a situation with a guy who raped a chicken (Cooper would be really angry :D ) and instead of learning the whole situation, calming them down and finding out what's going on, who is right, he immediately takes the side of the one who is oppressed, thus oppressing the one who is actually right, takes him brutally by the hair and is happy about it..., seriously..., you are happy about this situation..., even if he were helping a good person, I don't think so that there is something to be happy about here..., although what I really think he enjoys is the power, the power that the armor gives him..., this is bad again... if someone likes the feeling of power so much, power and control, it always reflects badly on him..., then (after painfully holding the innocent man all the time) he throws the guy to the ground and when the other explains the situation that took place, Maximus doesn't even apologize..., he is only distracted and then says, ,,Okay. On your way, citizen." what..., as if you hadn't hurt this ,,citizen" a moment ago and didn't judge him badly..., not at all, there's nothing to apologize for here..., it's better to go on your way..., God..., this was the scene from which my opinion about Maximus slowly started to go down, because even with Titus I still made excuses for him (even if it was cruel), but from that moment Maximus with starting with my grade of his character as ,,4+", at the end of the series he dropped to a grade of ,,2-" and it's not that this is a poorly written character, NO, in my opinion it is a very well-written character, just a bad character man and I mean assessing his humanity, not the creators' writing, because in my opinion it is very good :)

In addition, of course, we have the issue that he lies to everyone that he is Titus because he wants to be a knight and clearly wants people to admire him (again, the issue of his ego), at the beginning he clearly wants to kill Thaddeus in cold blood, but then he changes his mind (apart from what killing Thaddeus would give you..., even if you came back with the head, you would be responsible for two deaths..., come on...), then of course he tries to kill him again after he tells him the truth..., then we have the Vault 4 arc in episode 6 and halfway through the episode when Max goes to the armor that is in the room, he looks at him through the glass with a stupid smile, he turns around and with that smile and behavior, with his body movements, he looks to me like he told them ,,See, this is my armor, this is me, I'm a knight"... it looks as if he wanted someone to come up to him and ask him about it, and he could brag about how cool he is, because I really don't know how else to read this short scene...:

Sorry for the poor quality, I did it on my phone.

then he turns back to the armor and his facial expression changes, he frowns:

and we have a close-up of the entrance to the core, and Maximus sees the guy next to him screwing in a light bulb and asking where it came from they take electricity, he goes to that place and wants to take their fusion core..., literally at that moment he wants to brazenly steal their fusion core, the people who helped them and cured him, he wants to take away their only source of energy..., or Maximum is so stupid that he doesn't know that this is literally their source of survival and thinks that they can cope without him, although it's still vile and I don't believe it, or Maximus is just a vile, evil and selfish man who doesn't matter with no one else but himself and what would make him feel good..., just look at his face at this moment...:

he knows that he is doing something he shouldn't and he is clearly doing it with full premeditation...

later in the plot, in episode 7, when Maximus sees the inhabitants of Vault 4 doing something to Lucy, which Maximus does..., of course he doesn't find out about the whole situation first, he doesn't try to eavesdrop on what they're talking about or anything, he just rushes in in armor and starts attacking everyone around, seriously... how stupid and irresponsible it was of him, I won't even mention... and when they finally release them, which Maximus does..., he takes the armor with the core with him, without thinking that it is their only source of energy and, what's most funny, he doesn't want to give it back..., NO, he wants to keep it so he can walk around in his big armor and show everyone "look how great I am!", says that he needs a core for his armor, and without the armor he won't be a knight, Lucy tells him that a knight shouldn't steal, and Max replies ,,with this armor, I can help people", how have you helped people so far..., you let escape a chicken rapist..., besides, what kind of help is it if, in order to provide this help to people, you steal something that will put other innocent people at risk of death..., you can't build something good on something bad, poisonous roots, will give poisonous fruit, no other way..., then the best thing is..., because be careful... he is trying to MANIPULATE HER! Yes..., this guy who supposed wants to be good, noble, fair..., no wait..., he wants to be a knight to take revenge..., nevermind..., it's up to him anyway fits..., he manipulates her, playing on her feelings, telling her that he wants to help her find her father and asks her if she would give up the core if it meant she wouldn't get her dad back, if it was up to the core to get her father back..., only then Lucy convinces him to give up the core when she says that if his father found out about it, it would break his heart and that she can't do that, only then Maximus gives up on convincing her and decides to give up the core. Lucy is his moral compass here, and it's possible that she would put him back on the right path if she were with him, but in the end, Lucy chooses Cooper and leaves with him.

To sum up... where do people who ship Lucy and Max have this good and beloved Max... where... where is Max a better person and a better match for Lucy than Cooper... (because I saw some comments under some episodes of the series that ,,Ghoul is evil and Max is good and honorable"), so far Max makes more bad decisions and does it with full premeditation and/or out of his own stupidity..., when Cooper, when he does something, it has a purpose..., he never does anything without a reason, yes, he shot Roger, but he did it out of mercy, first he made Roger remember the good times, so that in those last moments he died happily (this is one of my favorite scenes, if not my favorite, it was sweet and touching despite the situation...), he shoots Wilzig, but in the foot, probably so that he won't just run away, it's not to kill him, since he probably at that moment he thinks that he has to deliver him alive, because it is only from Wilzig that Lucy learns that only his head is enough, not himself, he kills people in the town, but only those who attacked him, he doesn't go around houses and doesn't kill random people..., kills "guards" who were bad for him, and one obviously wanted to kill him, but he doesn't kill their boss, interestingly..., he kills, of course, three guys at the beginning who are also ready to kill him and they want to force him to work for them, after practically lying in a coffin underground for 30 years, he kills the farmer's son, when the son reaches for a gun, you can see here how Cooper is poking this son to see if he is capable of doing it, but he himself doesn't reach for the gun until this son reaches for it, Cooper always wants to know, to be sure whether the man he is killing really deserves it, whether there is really a point in killing him, unlike Maximus, who never finds out who he is really guilty, he prefers to just ,,go with the wave" and he orders the one he finds guilty at first glance, he even wants to kill Thaddeus at the beginning (of course he doesn't do it in the end, but he wants to) even though the guy hasn't done any harm to him yet (and bullying ,,at school" is not a good reason to kill, it's not a reason at all), and he's not torturing Lucy like some still claim, even though Cooper himself and the entire scene says he's using her as bait, not torturing her, and yet there are still people who say he's torturing her here..., really I know that some people sometimes have trouble reading the situation on the screen, but when the entire situation on the screen screams "BAIT!" and the character who uses the bait says directly that he thinks torture doesn't work and uses her as bait, like one can still claim that there is some torture in this scene..., are there really people who cannot hear and see things that are said directly..., how..., Cooper used to be a good guy and he still is, deep down, he's still that good guy. When there is a scene from the past when Cooper has to play a slightly worse guy on camera to show that his character also makes mistakes, he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't like it, because in his opinion a good person should be good and not make such mistakes, Lucy will direct him back to the right path, and he will teach her a little about life, this is the perfect dynamic of two different, yet very similar characters who can and do influence each other's development.

And I don't know about you, but for me this scene is terrifying:

this whole brotherhood is like a religious sect, and at this moment Maximus has become a kind of prophet and that look in his eyes...:

for me it is disappointment combined with the desire revenge, disappointment because he found out that the father of the girl he liked is responsible for the destruction of his house and probably the death of his relatives (we never have memories of Maximus' relatives, which is interesting, so it is not certain), and he managed to escape, and the desire I don't think I need to explain revenge... Maximus' plot in season one starts with revenge and ends with revenge, it's his plot, whether someone likes it or not... and in my opinion, as a result of everything I have described, he will change into an increasingly worse person, he was not good from the beginning and will only get worse....

This is a long post, as usual for me... unfortunately, I don't know how to write short... and besides, I like it when all the details are brought to light :) , that's the end, thank you for reading and have a nice day/evening/night :)

[pamicakery]

I shifted

I wanted to make a post about it for so long lol.

So.. For context, since the new movie gladiator came out, I've grown my attention to the first movie. Especially Maximus Decimus meridius hum hum.

(that's my current mood Btw)

Anyway so I wrote an ancient Egypt Dr, when I am an Egyptian living with her husband who was Roman General. (I didn't wanted a Gladiator Dr due to trauma, violence etc)

So.. It was Tuesday, and I woke up randomly at 5 am. I decided to stay up and scrolling on tumblr. And an idea Popped in my mind. I will be saturating with my Dr and then go to sleep at 6 am.

During one hour, I saturated my mind with Pinterest picture, Maximus face, I scripted a little etc.

Then when 6 am was comming, I put my phone back. And closed my eyes. It wasn't an attempt, I didn't wanted to try. I wanted to experience.

So I closed my eyes, and experienced what my body would feel like, what being in my huge bedroom would feel like, what sound, what scent.

I'm not joking but I started to scent Incenses. And.. You know that feeling when you were a kid sleeping in the car or in the couch and then feeling your bed?

My bed felt different, the lights were Dim, and I felt someone in my bed! I sleep alone for info. So you know the feeling is different.

I felt dizzy so my vision was blurry but I saw and felt my '' husband '' sleeping next to me.

Until today I can't getting of my mind.

Then I drifted to sleep and made a lucid dream.

Making a lucid dream and shifting is different.

Lucid dreams are sometimes uncanny and weird. I said that because the lucid dream I made was like an Ai world.

Shifting is real, you feel, you sense, you hear. It's real. When you experience it, you finally realize it.

How to shift?

It's very simple. You just have to shift. Don't attempt to do it, do not try, just do. Immerse yourself in your other reality. No matter what the exterior show you. What would you feel, smell, hear if you were there. Let it go, and continue to have that '' painting '' in your mind and boom you're there.If you are there in your mind you are there.

I shifted for a few seconds but I shifted anyway.

[annebd]

winter warmers, day 8: holiday baking. ~700 words

The truth is, Max can’t stand coffee. He hates most hot drinks, in fact. But every morning at around 11 o’clock, without fail, he wanders down to Enchanté Cafe and orders a small Americano, extra extra milk and extra extra sugar, which he hopes will one day drown out the flavor of the coffee itself- though it never works- and whatever the pastry of the day is.

Max will take his coffee and pastry and sit at the little corner table by the large bay window, back turned to the rest of the coffee shop, so that he can people-watch. At least, if anyone ever asks, that’s the excuse that he’s ready to offer. But in truth, the only people-watching he’s doing is of the pretty boy behind the counter. He’s tried all of the different tables over the past month that he’s been coming to Enchanté, and this particular seat gives him the best view in the entire cafe.

It took him over a week of coming to the cafe to muster up the courage to ask Daniel his name. (He knew Max’s name right away, of course, since he’d need to call it out when his order was ready. Over the weeks, he’s come up with all sorts of nicknames, so Max is used to picking up orders for “Maximus Decimus” or “Maximiliano” or, on one memorable occasion, “Maximum Overdrive.”) When Max was finally feeling brave enough to ask for his name, Daniel laughed at him, not unkindly, and pointed at the name tag hanging slightly crooked on his apron that read, in gold script, Daniel R. “I’m Jeff,” he said with a wink, and then gave Max a free pastry.

Sometimes, when he’s been sitting at his people-watching table for long enough, Daniel will take his lunch break a little early and come sit with Max and entertain him with tales of the various characters that frequent the bakery. Max isn’t sure he believes all of the stories are true, but Daniel tells them with such enthusiasm that he’s willing to suspend disbelief for a bit. Those days are Max’s favorite.

Today is looking to be one of those days. The clock has just barely ticked past noon. Max’s coffee, only half drunk, is sitting cold and forgotten on the table in front of him, and the pain au chocolat he’d ordered on Daniel’s recommendation is nothing more than a couple of lost crumbs. He watches as Daniel makes his way out from behind the counter, hands laden with two different mugs and a small plate balanced on top of one.

He plops the plate down on the table and places one of the mugs in front of Max. It’s hot chocolate, with a candy cane nestled into the cup, poking a hole in the froth of whipped cream. Daniel’s cup looks to be a plain black coffee.

“On the house,” Daniel tells him, when Max raises an eyebrow at the goodies. He nudges the plate towards Max. “Go on, tell me what you think. I’m trying a new recipe. Christmas themed, you know?”

The small plate holds a cupcake, a pile of green frosting on top swirled up in the shape of a Christmas tree, decorated with brightly colored sprinkles and a little sugar star on top. It’s cute, and Daniel is obviously proud of it, if the way he’s nodding encouragingly at Max and bouncing his knee is any indication. Max peels back the paper to take a bite. It’s good. Sweet, and moist, and delicious. “It’s very lovely, Daniel. You’ll sell lots of them, I think.”

“Thanks, mate,” Daniel says, and then reaches over and swipes his thumb across Max’s bottom lip. He brings his thumb, which has a little green frosting on it, to his own mouth and licks it off. “You’re right. Delicious.”

Max can feel his cheeks flush pink. It feels like now or never. “Do you think, maybe, if you want, you can give me your number? And then maybe we can have a drink sometime?”

“I’d love to,” Daniel replies, and gestures for Max’s phone so that he can program his number in.

“And hey,” he says, as he starts typing. “Maybe if I take you out for a drink, I can find out what you actually like, so that you don’t have to suffer through those Americanos every morning.”

[nofingjustaninchident]

Helloo!!! im in such a Jason Grace era these days and fics for him are SO limited in the fandom?? its actually super sad. i loved your previous jason fic smm, Would you consider making a Jason x fem!reader where Jason just has a veryy bad day, he gets overwhelmed by everything and everyone, and he just cries into reader's arms and she comforts him?

i feel like he deserved to just cry it all out atleast once, considering the amount of pressure the poor boy has had from everything :( so i would lovee to read about that!

⛧° as long as we're together °⛧

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

content: jason grace x fem!reader

warnings: angst but then it’s fluff, kinda short, cursing, 5’3 (1,60m) reader, life in New Rome!

a/n: HA LOOK WHO’S POSTING TWICE IN JUST ONE DAY???? hehehe i love this request so much my boo deserves more in his life i don’t fucking care.

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

Sometimes it’s just too hard to be Jason Grace.

The mighty son of Jupiter. Pontifex Maximus. Counselor of the Zeus cabin. Juno’s Champion. Hero of Omlympus. Centurion of the Fifth Cohoort.

The titles were endless. And so was the work.

And everyone, and i mean everyone, counted on him for various things and reasons.

“Hey Jason, are you coming to capture the flag?” Annabeth asked, every week.

“Hey superman, come to bunker 9!” As always, Leo wanting to show him some new cool tricks or projects.

“Oi, sparky! Can you help me pick an outfit for my date?” Piper would ask him.

He was just so tired. He just wanted to tell them all to fuck themselves.

But he would never. He was too noble to do that. He just wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he knew his friends were needing him and he was… well, being a human and an young adult, taking care of his own stuff.

So when he got home from another endless day, back to his shared apartment in New Rome and to his beautiful girlfriend, who made him his favorite dessert - brownies with caramel and peanuts -, he broke down almost instantly.

Obviously, you ran towards him, scooping him in your arms - which was a difficult task, since he was almost a whole foot taller than you - but you did it anyways, pulling him close to your body, letting him sob in your shoulder as you tried to soothe him.

You had never seen him cry like that, clinging on you for dears life. Once again, he was never one to show his real feelings to anyone, not even your or Thalia.

You scooted him in your arms, rubbing soft circles at his back while you whispered small ‘shh’s and ‘it’s gonna be okay’s in his ear, the both of you say in the floor of your cozy apartment.

After a few minutes of compulsive crying, your shoulder and the upper part of your white tank top completely soaked in hot, wet tears, he finally calmed down - at least a little.

“Hey, honey.” You finally whisper into his ear as he pulls away from your embrace, eyes all puffy and red as he sniffles and wipes his tears with the back of his hand.

“Hey..” He mumbles, his tone low and cracked as you kept caressing his hair smoothly. You caressed his hair and gave a soft and gentle kiss so his cheek.

“Are you okay?” You were answered with a soft nod of his head as he scooted closer to you, snuggling against you warm body and keeping his head on your chest. He looked like a five year old child, and that made you smile. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.. not now. Is that okay?” He asked, his voice all mushy and muffled by his cheek tightly pressed against you body.

“Of course it is, my love. Do you want to eat? We have pasta with that sauce you like.” She said between little kisses in his eyes, his cheeks, the bridge of his nose and his lips. “And i made you your favorite brownies.”

“Mmhmm…” He let out a content mumble, finally pulling away from him and giving you a kiss on the lips. “After that i… after that i’ll talk to you, ‘kay?”

“‘Kay. But you have to eat before. Come on, i’ll help you get up.” She said as she got up and held out her hand for him to grab.

You finally got on your feet, and you turned around to reheat the food. When you were at the oven, he wrapped his arms around your waist and nuzzled his face into your neck, breathing heavily as he kept the closest he could to you.

Soon, the food was on the table, and the doorbell rang. It was the girl that walked with your dog. You thanked her and pulled Thor, your golden retriever, inside the house.

He immediately went to Jason, wiggling his tail and giving him the biggest licks in the world while the blond laughed.

You smiled at the sight. You knew that he was obviously hurting with something, and you were going to discover with what, but, right now, he just needed some love.

You gave him just that, as you ate together chilling and chatting about your days, you talking more than him.

He helped you with the laundry while you washed the dishes, and the chores were finished very quickly. You went back and cuddled up on the couch, a massive ball of fur, aka your dog, resting comfortably between you two.

You heard when Jason sighed and felt his shoulders shaking, showing his impending collapse, once again. You cyy it deles him closer to you as he cried and cried. His sobs were the only thing heard in the house.

Ten minutes later, when he was calmer, you were stroking his hair in the softest way you could, making sure he would be ready to talk.

“I-i’m just so… tired. Of everything and everyone. It’s- i know it’s selfish, but i can’t help but want to just… ran away. To just stay with you and Thor and give up on the rest of the world.” He said, his words are muffled and smudgy as he holds onto you.

“I know, baby… You shouldn’t work yourself out. You’re doing too much. More than you should, and you know that. You have too much work.” She said, kissing the top of his head.

“I just- i can’t let them just, you know, alone. It’s.. i can’t.” The son of Jupiter said, crying more.

“Honey, they won’t be alone. We have Reyna and Frank and Percy and lots of other people that you can use some help from. You’re not alone. Ever.” She said, reassuringly.

“But-“

“No buts. You’re gonna take a week off, and we’re just gonna hang out here, together, with Thor. No works, no college, no Pontifex Maximus stuff. Just y/n and Jason. And that’s not a request.”

He mumbles something but snuggles closer to you. “Fine. As long as we’re together.”

a/n: i’m literally so proud of myself bro, i got to do two, TWO works today. i’m evolving boos

[bitingdrivers]

Bones AU

Recently my brainrot got to the point of me mashing two of my favorite things together, so I present you this Bones AU I cooked up

If you never seen Bones here's a excerpt from Wiki:

The show is a forensics and police procedural in which each episode focuses on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to the forensic anthropology team of Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan

So now that you know what Bones is, here's my thoughts on the characters (get ready. I have a lot of thoughts)

Max as Dr. Brennan

Max is forensic anthropologist (one of the best in the World!). He is cold and rational (love is a chemical reaction). He comes off as a little off putting and doesnt get social cues or customs.

In the show Dr. Brennan is also a renown writer with a best seller book series. I'm not sure I can see Max in this role, but I desperately want to keep the plot of the episode with lab being a club every character works at (in the episode Brennan writes a story about a club called The Lab and reads it out loud to Booth who is in a coma)

A very important part of Brennan's character is the fact that she is an orphan. Her parents left her and her brother alone when they were teens. I think in this au Max can also be an orphan, but unlike Brennan, his father will not be redeemed. My idea is Max's father was actually a really dangerous fugitive and his family had to run away and hide from him. And maybe in order to hide her kids from Jos she decided to put them in the system. Maybe she comes back later and then tries to mend their relationship (basically the plot between Brennan and her father in the show)

Daniel as Agent Booth

Daniel is a fbi agent and a former sniper (also one of the best) who went through war. He is emotional and up beat, goes by gut feeling and loves to joke around. Daniel is a pop culture fan and loves sports. He is the one to "thaw" Max out. Gives Max little pet names (Bones, Maxy, Maximus).

At the start of their relationship Max and Daniel argue a lot because of their different views on life and Daniel sometimes thinks that Max is emotionless and doesn't have empathy. But when they start getting closer, Daniel starts seeing Max as a caring and emotional person that he is.

In the show Booth's character is built on his role as a protector. His father is an alcoholic who used to abuse him and his little brother Jared. Maybe Daniel is the same in this au, but I'm not sure I want to make Daniel's father an abuser. but this au is still in the works so.

Charles as Angela Montenegro

Charles is an expert on computers and reconstruction of victims identities / crimes. He is a free soul, an artist who never really wanted to work with dead bodies and only does it to help his best friends Max and to make enough money to go to Paris and live his artistic life full of sex, muses and parties.

Charles is very emotional and empathetic, but also impulsive and doesn't stay in one place for a long time.

Carlos as Dr. Hodgins

I'm not completely sure about this casting but the relationships with other characters work really well. idk I need to think about this more.

Carlos is an entomologist, botanist, and mineralogist. Most of the time he is very calm, but when it comes to things and peoke he loves he can be described as enthusiastic and eccentric.

A big part of Hodgins' character in the show is his upbringing. Hodgins' family is millions rich and is one of the sponsors of the Jefferson University and the lab. But I don't really see Carlos as a millionaire (even if Hodgins himself doesn't act like that). The part of the rich sponsor family in my mind belongs to Strolls (obviously), so maybe Carlos is a normal guy. idk

Also an important thing is Charles and Carlos relationship. It is very sexual at the start but after some rocky moments they build a very loving and strong relationship.

Oscar as Zack Addy

Oscar is studying to be a forensic anthropologist. He is truly a Max's student. He sees Max as his true mentor and role model. Oscar is very smart and a little nerdy about it. He also is rational and calm, but very impressionable due to his young age.

Has a very close relationship with Carlos because they live together (Oscar lives in the attic of Carlos' house) and work in the same office.

Lando as Sweets

Lando is a young fbi psychologist who was assigned to Max and Daniel to asses their relationship and then basically imprinted on the pair. Lando is a geek, he often makes references to pop culture and freaks out over a new Avatar movie. He is also very awkward and vaguely intimidated by Daniel at the start of their sessions.

Lewis as Cam

Lewis is a coroner. Despite being the official boss of the lab, he and Max basically run things together. He is cool and approachable down to earth boss, but very strict about the rules and paperwork. He and Max have a small rivalry (bones vs flesh thing) .

Other characters

The rest of the grid will be squinterns (squint interns) and other workers of the institute!!

I imagine George as Clark, a very reserved and serious guy who tries to keep things professional, but turns out to be a big gossip.

Seb plays the role of Gordon Gordon. A weathered psychiatrist who has to sort Max's and Daniel's relationships.

I think I'll end this post here because there's so many things I can talk about. Maybe I'll make another post about squinterns. OK hope you liked it bye

[bimobuddy]

"Would you..."

I'M BACK FINALLY, BABYYYY

JUST HAD TO GET HAPPY AGAIN AND FIND A FIXATION

Anyway this is a Maxley tickle fic

Max Goof x Bradley Uppercrust III

I will also be writing Tank x Bradley, I like both ships

Lee! Max, Ler! Bradley

Don't worry, Bradley is gonna have plenty of lee moments in the future, he needs his shit wrecked

I gave them tails (._.) They're dogs, they get tails

Summary: Max and Bradley are having a horror movie marathon, and it starts a little game between them, which eventually turns into a much different, more one sided game

*cl-click... whiiiirrrr*

Max popped the tape into the player, and scooted back, sitting against the couch on the floor, while Bradley sat on the couch with his legs draped over his shoulders. He rested his chin on his head and fixed his eyes on the screen.

Everybody knew Max loved horror movies, but most people didn't know Bradley was much the same, on one condition.

"Does the-"

"No, I talked to Bobby, no animals die on screen in this one, just a pet bird that's already found in its cage, but they have a funeral for it."

Satisfied, Bradley rested his chin back down on Max's head as the movie started. He didn't like animal death scenes, but he was perfectly fine with people.

About half way in, he broke the silence between them. "If I got sucked into an alternate ghostly plane, would you come in after me?"

"Absolutely." Max's answer was immediate. He leaned his head back to look up at his boyfriend. "If I told you a man with knives for fingers was terrorizing my dreams, would you fall asleep and fight him for me?"

"Absolutely not," Bradley answered, earning a snort from Max, "The dream world was his world, and he had more power there, are you crazy? He'd obviously win. That's not even how it worked in the movie, they pulled him out of the dream and killed him in the real world."

"Okay well would you kill him in the lore accurate way?"

"Realistically, no I'd send Tank to do that, but for the purpose of this game, I'll say yes." He responded, his tail thumping against the couch, causing Max to start wagging his as well.

"My hero." Max mumbled sarcastically, looking back at the TV to finish the movie.

Sometime during the movie, Bradley started to twirl Max's ear around his finger and just mess with it, oblivious to the blush that had spread across his partner's face, or the way he tensed up and grinned nervously.

"Maximus, if I were a skeleton in your attic, would you help me rebuild my body to become alive again?"

Max normally would have rolled his eyes at the name 'Maximus' but he was a little too focused on the ticklish feeling in his ear. He opened his mouth to reply, but ended up pushing Bradley's hand away with a giggly, "Quihit-"

Now this caught the fraternity leader's attention. Any chance he got to mess with Max, he took. "Oh? Ticklish, Goof?" He practically purred, tightening his legs over Max's shoulders to keep him in place.

Max's cheeks reddened. He didn't have an issue with being tickled.. It was his laugh he was self conscious about, since he inherited it from his father. Ever since he could remember, he'd practiced his laugh to make it sound normal, and not... Goofy.

"Bradley wait, my laugh-"

"I know, I've heard you before."

And with that as his warning, Bradley started to play with both ears, gently rubbing them between his fingers, while Max just giggled and tried to shake his head.

"Nohohoho, Brahad- Nohot my ehehears-" He tried to duck his head but that didn't do much, since Bradley just followed. His ears weren't necessarily 'bad,' but more of a 'sweet spot,' in the way they always got him giggling, blushing, and fumbling like he didn't know how to react.

"Oh not your ears? Would you prefer I move down here then?" He teased, releasing Max's ears and slipping his hands down under his arms. Max arched his back and squeezed his arms down against his sides, his tail going wild slapping the floor.

"Brahahahadley nohohoho!"

"Max, I can't hear the movie, calm down~ Why are you laughing so much, it's not a comedy~" He teased.

He released Max from his legs and got down on the floor with him, briefly wrestling with him to get him down, delighting in the way he giggled in anticipation.

"Brahadley my laugh, ihit's-"

"Shut up about your silly little laugh, I like it~ In fact, I want to hear the original, unpracticed version."

Bradley latched his hands onto Max's sides, his fingers wiggling into his sides while his thumbs dug into his belly.

Max tossed his head back and started to kick his feet against the floor, trying to shove at Bradley's chest, his laughter kicking up and becoming more boyish.

Finally, playful hands found his knees and squeezed.

"Nohoho! Hahahahahahyuck-" He slapped his hands over his mouth, his face going red. The only noise that came from him was his tail continuing to thump against the wooden floor.

Bradley stopped and laughed so hard, he had to lean down, pressing his head into Max's shoulders.

Max huffed, slightly amused by Bradley's reaction. "At least one of us enjoys it."

Bradley sat up, calming down, yet his grin stayed. "Would you relax? It's not as bad as you think. I can see why Roxanne liked it when you guys met."

The younger of the two groaned and covered his face. "It sounds so silly though."

Bradley grabbed his wrists and pulled them back to uncover his face. "That's what makes it so great, you goof."

--

I'm not gonna lie, it took me a while to type the "hyuck" into the dialog because anytime I got close to it, I started laughing bc it's silly /pos

I think unique laughs are cute

Y'all get bonus points if you can name the horror movies I was referencing

[in1-nutshell]

I got a request for Tim (Fort max son not tim drake/robin)

Tim gets the flu and because he is already sick/weak the flu hits him harder then it would a healthy person

Timmy's back!

Hope you enjoy!

Tim gets sick

SFW, Platonic, Familial, illness mentioned, Human reader

IDW

It wasn’t often that Tim got really sick.

Sure, the kid got sick frequently, but the bots made sure that the place was always disinfected and clean.

But as much as the bots cleaned around, the boy would still get sick.

Sometimes hitting worse than the average human.

Tim walks slowly to the breakfast table. Fort Max is the first to see Tim’s slower movements. Fort Max: “Hey Tim, you feeling bad again?” He places a digit on the boy’s forehead. Tim sighs in relief and leans into the touch of cool metal. Fort Max: “That bad?” Tim just nods before unleashing a series of coughs that sound like he is coughing up his lungs. All the bots nearby are on high alert. Red Alert: “Code Scarlet?” Cerebros: “Code Scarlet. Get Ratchet and First Aid’s lines on speed dial. Max get Tim to the room. I’ll get the crate.”

The Room was a quarantine room.

It was easier for the bots to clean and maneuver the medical equipment than doing it in Tim’s room.

This wasn’t the first time the three of them would use the room nor would it be the last.

Each also played special roles.

Red Alert oversaw the cleanup.

He made sure every surface was cleaned at minimum of five times with special disinfectants that wouldn’t bother Tim too much.

The red bot would also keep all channels of medic bots open in case of an emergency.

Red Alert cleaning Tim’s nightstand. Tim: “Red…?” Red Alert is by Tim’s side. Red Alert: “You need something Tim? Water? Crackers? Is it time for the medicine yet? I can get Cerebros—” Tim: “Red.” The bot quiets down. Tim: “Can you sit here until I go to sleep?” Red Alert pulls a seat and gently pats Tim’s head. Tim laughs a bit, then coughs. Tim: “Thanks Red Alert.” Red Alert: “Save your strength kid.”

Cerebros was in charge of giving Tim his medicine and recording everything.

Out of the three of them, Cerebros was the smallest.

Easier to handle Tim’s needs better than Red Alert and Fortress Maximus.

Besides Fort Max, Cerebros was almost always in the room.

He has charts and data pads always monitoring Tim’s condition.

When he isn’t busy with Tim, Cerbros is looking up all the best ways to help Tim heal.

Cerebros: “Okay Tim, lets look at that temperature again.” Tim passes him the thermometer. Cerebros looks down at the instrument. Cerebros: “Still high… lets see if the green tea bath works.” Tim just grunts as Cerebros starts carrying him to the bathroom. Cerebros: “Don’t be like that. It’s just so we can get that temperature down.”

Due to his giant size, Fortress Maximus can’t do much to help his son.

Something that infuriates him to no end.

His spark clenched with every wheeze and cough the little boy took.

All he could do was watch.

Fort Max made it his job to stick by Tim’s side as much as he could.

From telling stories, watching movies, or playing some games, Fort Max was there and ready.

Not only was he the boy’s watcher, but protector.

Fort Max was sitting by Tim’s bed side watching some kind of cartoon with him. PING! Fort Max looked at his com. Fort Max: “Cerebros? Something wrong?” Cerebros: “Tim has a visitor.” Fort Max raised an optic. Fort Max: “The visitor list is virtually a handful of bots. Who came?” There were pede steps coming to the door. The larger bot, out of habit, placed himself in front of the boy ready for anything to come at him. Fort Max squinted his optics seeing the bot. Fort Max: “You?” Tim with beery eyes looks over at the door and a tired smile spreads on his face. Tim: “Hey Uncle Prowl.” Prowl walked into the room, completely ignoring the larger mech and stood in front of the bed. He gently pats the boy’s head. Prowl: “I made sure I went into the decontaminated cell before coming Maximus.” The larger bot huffed while staring at the mech interacting with his son. Fort Max: “How did you know Tm got sick again?” Prowl: “He told me.” Tim looks a bit embarrassed. Tim: “I just wanted to talk to Uncle Prowl, that’s all. Am I in trouble?” Fort Max looks at the puppy dog eyes. Fort Max: “… Next time just let us know when Prowl’s coming over okay kid?” Tim nods as he yawn’s a bit. Tim: “Uncle Prowl, can you tell me a story?” Fort Max: “Age friendly Prowl.” Prowl: “I know what to tell him Fort Max. Prowl turns to the boy. Prowl: “How about the time Chromedome and I met Red Alert…”

[trashpandawithangerissues]

BULLY HEADCANONS

FOR CONTEXT I HAVE LIKE A LITTLE AU WHERE ITS THE NEXT YEAR AT BULLWORTH AFTER THE EVENTS OF THE GAME SO SOMETHINGS ARE DIFFERENT:

Derby, Ted and Johnny are all 18 (we at least know they’d be 17 in the main story)

And Edgar is 19, same age as the Prefects (who are around 18 in the main story)

Also all the Townies that we’re still old enough to attend school got reenrolled thanks to Jimmy boy (he gets Zoe back into school in the game so he could probably get the others)

Derby Harrington

- Not SUPER inbred (like Tad nearly is), but he still does have some issues. His immune system is AWFUL like the flu season is like the purge for him and if - god forbid - he gets sick he looks like he’s about to right his will. Like this is him:

- He’s the one who introduced Bif and the Preps to Boxing and also Botany (in a deleted dialogue when you kill the crapula maximus Chad says: “Derby’s going to KILL you!”) He and Parker are the most invested in Botany and Derby has a couple nice orchids on his balcony. He also trains Bif and also the others and I like to think that before Bif took the boxing spotlight, Derby was the champion, but his parents thought he’d be better suited for modelling

- Doesn’t particularly like modelling all that much, it bores him more than his father’s lectures do

- Sometimes disobeys his parents out of spite, but nothing overly serious, because he doesn’t really feel like getting beaten everyday

- He and Pinky put up the dating/betrothed act for their parents, they really kinda just hang out on their dates as besties/cousins rather than actual partners

- He has a drinking problem, like BAD (in the prep hide outs there’s almost always a bar in game) He’s also the complete opposite when he’s drunk, sometimes he’s sad af, sometimes he’s angry, sometimes he’s telling you your his best friend and he loves you and sometimes he’s white girl levels of crazy. He can do shots like it’s NOTHING or scull a whole bottle of expensive booze (shocks people when they first see this happening, damn near gave Johnny a heart attack)

- His way of saying “hey I don’t hate you and you’re my friend heheheh” is buying. So. Much. Stuff. Like oh you don’t have money for lunch? Here’s 3 cheeseburgers, oh you need money for your car to get towed? Take my money.

- Overdresses, to everything, like it could be fancy dress and he still looks way to fabulous.

- Has a guilty love of old corny movies and horror movies like slasher movies, he and Johnny watch them together either at one of their houses or at the movies/drive in movies

- Fairly decent at academics, especially math from him having to help his father with accounts

Johnny Vincent

- Of course, has a smoking addiction who would have guessed. Also he definitely could use an inhaler he STRUGGLES sometimes

- He’s AGGRESSIVELY Italian/American, like he’s the fucking poster boy for them. Angry Italian, the Italian hand and everything. He talks with his hands quite a bit. Like he’s yelling at you in loud Italian while doing this

- He has a sweet tooth especially for home made desserts, just home made food in general he’ll devour it if you look away for one second

- you think he’d be good at flirting but no, he’s a nervous wreck actually. Like if the person he asked out said yes he’d be the type of guy who’d pump his fist as he walked away.

- His uncle - one of many lol - owns a locksmith business and from this, Johnny can crack open damn near anything. Want to get into the staff room? Consider it done.

- Also, his love of cars, motorbikes and mechanic work is from the family business, he knows EVERYTHING about it, how to Hotwire cars, how to fix the pistons cheaply and effectively. His version of Derby’s “I’ll buy you anything you could ever want” love language, his is “I’ll fix you car for free give me some WD 40 and some cigarettes” He will NOT let you go to the mechanic as long as he’s alive

- Like Derby, adores old corny movies and especially the drive in. His favourite type of date is taking them to the movies to watch a horror movie. Is that because he wants his scared date to cling on to him at the jump scares? Maybe. Does he also just really like bad horror movies? Yes. Derby and him could binge the whole of the slasher type movies in one night easy.

- He wins an old broken down Harley Davidson from the auto shop class for having the best grades in school in that class. He fixed it up and he treats it better than he would his first born child

- Although he’s not that good at school, if he can relate it to mechanics, he’s amazingly good at it. Like math, if it’s something he’s had to use before fixing cars he’s great.

- Despite that, he has had to ask Derby for help in math or, reluctantly, Earnest

- He can speak Italian and also English, sometimes he messes up here and there but overall he’s pretty fluent in both. His Grandma and Grandpa on his mum’s side came from Italy and in his Fathers side his Great Grandparents came from Italy

- His sense of style came from his family lmao so did the smoking tbh

- His mum makes so. Much. Food. Like to the point she’ll cook for his friends. He has to tell her when people come over, last time he brought over the boys and he didn’t tell her she yelled at him in Italian and immediately whipped up a whole pot of pasta for them. His friends love her

Ted Thompson

- Golden Retriever boy

- He was going to get braces again (he had them when he was younger FOR SURE) but didn’t want to get bullied again/be a NERD

- If someone’s flirting with him, he won’t get it until you YELL IT at him. I feel so bad for Damon and Justin

- He uses bro and dudes unironically. He’s such a loser I love him

- Like overly competitive in EVERYTHING even board games and video games. Like this would be him

- Sheldon is his step brother. He hates him. Like these two would that sibling duo where Ted just -throws- him away when he’s pissing him off, which is everyday. He’d be that sibling to put Sheldon up somewhere high or tape him to a pole and leave him there. He wouldn’t admit it but he’ll kill someone if they do the same to Sheldon, that’s his job.

- He’s one of those gym bros who could eat a whole cow and still not get “fat” he’s like a black hole he’ll inhale a whole foot long in 5 seconds. He loves Johnny’s mum because of this, she’ll just feed them so much food. He also loves pestering Derby for food, tbh so do Johnny and Edgar.

- He’d totally just, pick up smaller kids like Kirby with one arm. All the big Jocks do tbh

- He’s one of those loveable idiot guys when he’s drunk.

- He BLASTS white girl music like you can hear it from down the road, he also treats it as if it’s karaoke and it’s that karaoke is a competitive sport rivalling AFL and Rugby on footy final day. Like for song like “Talk Dirty” he sings the trumpet part as well.

- He has a Wii and he’s broken at least like 2 remotes, he has to have the strap, lest someone gets a concussion

- The type of guy that if he found out you’re a lesbian he’d be like “Wow you like girls? I do too! We have so much in common”

- I feel like he’d be aggressively supportive of people, like someone calls his friends a slur and he’d just barge them Tf over and throw them in a bin

Edgar Munsen

- I like to think he does his own tattoos, the one on his arm is his first one he ever got. he wants to get more soon. He did that one right as he turned 16, Gurney probably did it for him.

- I feel like he’s also surprisingly good at drawing because of it, like oh btw you said you liked flowers? Here’s a tattoo design. And it’s just like a really good sketch and he down plays it constantly.

- One time he drew one of Derby’s orchids and he nearly got it tattooed right then and there, then remembered his dad would actually kill him

- He’d also get piercing later on, Johnny suggested the place he got his.

- He and Gurney are the booze smugglers of Bullworth, any alcohol you could name, they’ll steal it/buy and smuggle it in for you

- Like he’d stuff booze under his shirt even he’s probably pulled this before

- He smokes the devils bush if you know what I mean. Plus other stuff (in game a couple townies mention making bongs)

- He for reason always has a knife on him. Like he just pulls out a switchblade at school. The prefects have tried taking it off him, but he always gets it back somehow.

- He keeps forgetting he’s technically the same year as the Prefects and he hates it

- Like Johnny, he’s pretty good at breaking into stuff, even more so actually

- He’s definitely hot wired a car before

- I personally think he’s multi-racial with some Asian, African American and Hispanic in him (I like to think he’s Vietnamese/Jamaican-American/Puerto Rican/Mexican)

- He’s more Hispanic though, he’ll cuss you out in Spanish in a heartbeat and maybe some other languages

- Like he’d stub his toe and you just hear loud cussing in 5 different languages

- Like Johnny, he sometimes messes up some words of any of his many languages, but more so

- He also loves horror movies but unlike Derby and Johnny he likes the more psychological horrors that are FUCKED like those French Extremity movies

[sillygh0st]

maybe a hot take but as a Brazilian it feels to me that a LOT of people (especially the english speaking part) on the qsmp fandom only care about the english native speakers streamers AND manages to take the "spotlight" (not the right words) of the other characters

Like tazercraft got their big lore friday and like even if people talked and saw the stream, many people still dont care about , I saw people making it about q!Foolish and its kinda? Like bro you guys are saying that "we just want a villain arc of someone" or "traitor arc when" but when a characther do something similar or just like that you guys treat them like "oh no they didnt mean It🥺" or acting like they are angels (no attack to any streamer okay)

Im saying that because people that are trying to victimize q!foolish are the same than wants characters taking bad or ambiguous actions, no hate to any streamer or anynone in particular but like wow it was TAZERCRAFT lore and instead of seeing the qsmp fandom (english speaking side mostly) talking about them, about how it afected them, their new and old traumas, I saw MANY acting like q!Foolish is a baby that cant do ANYTHING that can be wrong or just very ambiguous on that part 🫣 (and also guys even if all of them, q!pac, q!Mike and q!Foolish, are all victims, q!Foolish is not a silly little angel that didnt do anything wrong)

Also, with the french streamers, and even the spanish speakers ones I kinda see it, because, for me atleast, a lot of people only care about one or two streamers and like we already got the language and culture barriers (already makes things very difficult) and in addition the fandom Just dont care about streamers that are not considered as "bigs", and will only care when its related to their streamers

Felps, tazercraft, the french speakers ones, fit and maximus like, their lore is so good and people usually dont talk about It? Like if you Just watch qsmp for the streamer in question and is not on the qsmp fandom, Just the streamer fandom, its okay, but like If you are on the qsmp fandom in general its weird to me ignoring all the other ones😶

Even with cellbit and forever that are the "biggests" of the Brazilians, the ones with more content and viewers, sometimes people Just dont care about them or do horribles takes about them, like q!forever and q!cellbit are like extremelly Not understood by the fandom

Its okay to watch the ones that speak your language, but its not okay to ignore all the other ones and taking the spotlight of their characters

My english is terrible and I mean no harn to any streamer sorry If something is put wrong here :c (im talking about the fandom not the streamers guys)

[steddieas-shegoes]

this one just popped out of my head for the requests.

what about established steddie and eddie finding out that will, mike, and max all have those tiny, cute crushes on steve while steve has absolutely no idea?

Ah this one was refreshing. Just a cute, fun thing to get me back into the swing of things after my little trip to DC! Hope you love the little thing I added with Max and El, it's not often I would choose to go that route, but it just seemed fitting here. - Mickala ❤️

---------------------------------------------------------

“See you tonight?” Eddie leaned down into the car window to kiss Steve goodbye again.

“Yeah, want me to pick you up?” Steve smirked as he leaned in for a fourth (fifth?) kiss since he announced he had to leave for his shift.

“Only if you promise not to bring me back tonight.”

Steve laughed, his excitement at the idea of Eddie spending the night with him winning over the more logical side of his brain.

“I promise.”

“Good,” Eddie said as he pulled away from the car.

“Love you,” Steve yelled through the window as he backed out of the yard.

“Love you, too!” Eddie yelled back, blowing a kiss and dramatically falling to his knees. He clutched his chest as he pretended to cry. “I don’t know how I’ll go on with my love off to war!”

Steve kept driving, but Eddie knew he was laughing.

That’s why he did what he did: to keep Steve laughing.

He got up when he could no longer see Steve’s car, brushing off his jeans as his smile started to slowly fade.

He looked up to see Max standing on her porch, watching him.

“Hey Maximus! You bored?”

Her eyes got wide when she realized he caught her watching, but she didn’t look away or run inside.

He walked across the road to her trailer with a smile. He hadn’t seen her in a few days, mostly spending time with Steve at his house lately.

“Max? I asked if you were bored.”

Max was blushing, but he knew better than to think it was because of him.

What could Max possibly be blushing about?

“Nope. Just waiting for Mrs. Byers to drop El off so we can have a sleepover.”

“Uh huh. And that’s why you were watching me and Steve?”

“I wasn’t watching you and Steve.”

He gave her a look that said he knew she was lying, but Joyce pulled in right as he opened his mouth to speak.

Max ran off the porch and to the car, and Eddie didn’t really need to stick around, so he went to say a quick hi to El before heading back to his home.

“Eddie!” El yelled as she sprinted up to meet him halfway.

El and Eddie got pretty close while he was in the hospital, while Max was still in a coma and no one understood what it did to El.

When Mike and El broke up shortly after, El explained to him that sometimes she loved Max the way she thought she’d loved Mike. Eddie, of course, told her about how he loved a man (he couldn’t out Steve, but a part of him thought maybe El caught onto it quickly), and how it was okay to feel how she felt about anyone.

She hugged him and then looked at Max.

Max was still bright red, like she’d been caught by El the same way Eddie had caught her.

“Was Steve here?” El asked him with an unreadable look.

“He was at my house, but not here. Why?”

El looked over at Max again, who was rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

“Because Max gets funny when Steve is around. Dustin said it is because she likes him.”

Eddie snorted, but Max wasn’t amused. Joyce was shaking her head at them all and waving goodbye, probably trying to get out before it turned into an argument or a conversation with El that she didn’t have time for.

“I don’t like him,” Max huffed.

“You think he is cute,” El suggested instead.

“I-”

“It’s fine, Red. He is cute. You think I don’t know that?”

Max was turning away and mumbling under her breath, clearly trying to be done with this conversation.

“What?” El yelled, trying to catch up as she walked back up to her porch.

“I said, at least I’m not like Will who told Mike that if he was Steve’s age, he would have pined over him instead of Mike and Mike agreed.”

Eddie let out such a loud laugh, it made Max stop in her tracks and turn.

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s hilarious,” Eddie got out between laughs, breathing in large gasps of air. “If he knew how many of you kids had crushes on him, he would be distraught. He would need to hide for months before he could show his face again.”

“But it is just a crush. I have had many crushes. Only one of them turned into love. You said it is okay to feel love for anyone. Is it not okay to have crushes on anyone?”

Eddie sobered quickly. El had a way of saying things that really made him pause and think before he spoke, which wasn’t something he did often.

“No, El, that isn’t why I’m laughing or why Steve would be, um, upset? I guess not, upset, just kind of shocked. I guess anytime you hear that someone finds you attractive, and has a crush on you, you feel a little weird about it.”

“Why is it weird?”

Bless El. Truly, Eddie was not ready for this. Steve would handle this so much better. Well, maybe not this specific topic, but most difficult conversations with the kids.

“It’s weird because Steve is like our babysitter, right? So the fact that half of us have a crush on him would make him feel like he can’t be around us until the crush fades or whatever,” Max explained patiently, always so patient with El where she would snap at anyone else.

“But it is okay for me to have a crush on you?” El asked Max, who was somehow looking even more red.

Really earning the nickname right now, actually.

“Yeah, it’s. It’s good.”

“It is?” El asked.

Eddie started to back away slowly, torn between wanting to see what happened and needing to not intrude on this moment.

“You really have a crush on me? You’re not using it as an example to understand or something?” Max asked hesitantly.

“Yes, I do. I told Eddie about it months ago if you do not believe me. But friends do not lie,” El said nervously, suddenly seeming to realize what was happening.

“El.” Max was smiling now. Eddie couldn’t look away even though he was barely in her yard anymore. “I like you. A lot. Like a crush, but more than that. Is that okay?”

“Oh.” El suddenly turned to Eddie. “If Max has a crush on me too, does that mean it is not a crush anymore?”

“I think that means you two can go on a date,” Eddie said as he finally turned back to his house.

He looked back when he reached his front door and saw Max and El hugging, a smile spreading across his face.

—--------------------------------

When Max and El were caught holding hands at movie night, Steve told everyone to stop teasing them or they’d get sent home.

“It is okay, Steve. And we talked about Max’s crush on you and it will not hurt my feelings that she still has a little one,” El patted his shoulder before turning her attention back to the movie.

Everyone else was staring at Steve though, mouths open.

Steve looked…well, he didn’t look like he was taking this news well.

Eddie patted his cheek and smiled softly at him.

“It’s alright, love. Mike and Will have crushes on you, too, and you didn’t even realize! Nothing has to be different.”

Oh. Oops. He shouldn’t have said that.

Steve’s eyes widened further as Mike and Will started yelling from their spot on the armchair.

“Hey, who told you that?”

“We do not!”

Steve stood up from the couch and walked out of the room, in the direction of the stairs, probably to hide in his bedroom and attempt to process this.

Eddie quickly apologized to Mike and Will before running after Steve, not wanting him to sit with anything alone.

When he got into Steve’s bedroom, he was laying flat out on his bed, starfished across it on his back, staring at the ceiling.

Eddie sat in the available space at his side, placing a hand on his thigh and smiling down at him.

“Is this really surprising for you?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I mean, everyone always had crushes on you in school. You have to be used to it by now.”

“That was different.”

“I guess, but it’s still gotta be a little flattering.”

“I’m practically their mother! How is that flattering?”

Eddie couldn’t help it, he had to laugh.

“Sweetheart, they’re teenagers. You’re hot. You’re shirtless around them pretty often. You’re older, but in a ‘my friend’s older brother way’ not a ‘you could be my dad’ way. I’m pretty sure the only reason Dustin doesn’t have a crush on you is because he actually does consider you his dad.”

“Ew.”

Eddie moved so he was straddling Steve’s hips, Steve’s hands automatically coming to rest on his sides.

“Listen. I know it’s maybe a little weird. But it’s harmless. Mike and Will are in love and probably barely ever even think about their crush on you. And Max has El now, so her crush will fade soon enough. My crush is what you should be worried about.”

“Oh?” Steve was smirking up at him.

“Mhm. It’s getting out of hand. I might actually never get over it.”

“It’s a good thing I won’t get over the crush I have on you, then.”

Eddie leaned down to kiss him slowly, lips moving against his with practiced ease.

“So you gonna be able to look at them or should I say you went to bed?”

“Nah, I’ll go back out. But we aren’t having any more pool parties until I’m sure they’re over it. My chest is for your eyes only for the next year as far as I’m concerned.”

“You won’t hear any complaints from me,” Eddie said as he leaned down to place a kiss on Steve's chest. “But you may hear some from them.”

He did hear complaints from them.

But by next summer, Mike and Will barely had eyes for anyone other than each other, and Max had realized that she was actually only into Steve because she thought that’s what she should like and got over the crush completely.

Eddie turned to him while they sat shirtless by the pool and smiled.

“You miss being everyone’s crush?”

“As long as I’m yours, I don’t need anyone else.”

“Sap.”

“You’re the one with the crush on me,” Steve smirked at him as he closed his eyes and sunbathed next to the crush of his life.

[maverickscorner]

Faber suae fortunae

Or Maider's love story towards freedom.

Chapter 7

Maider and Tenax woke up after only a few hours of sleep.

And it showed.

They both had dark circles under their eyes, and they struggled to get out of bed and meet each other in the main hall and outside the house.

–Good morning– said Tenax.

Maider replied with a grunt that was meant to be a greeting but remained just a grunt.

Tenax sighed, and they started walking down to the Circus Maximus.

Maider seemed lost in thought. She wasn’t speaking.

"Strange", Tenax thought. "She’s usually quite talkative".

He also thought that he liked hearing the sound of her voice, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

–So?

–Huh?

–Why the morning silence?

–I thought my lord and master wouldn’t mind a bit of quiet.

Tenax looked up at the sky.

–What’s wrong?

–Tenax– she said, seeking his gaze –A conversation takes two people. One talks, and the other responds. And vice versa.

–Do you think I don’t know the rules of etiquette?

–I have my doubts, but that’s not the point.

–So what is the point?

Maider chose her words carefully. She knew how easily he could get irritated, but she had woken up particularly combative herself.

–I appreciated that you listened to me last night. But when it came to listen to you...

She shot him a meaningful look. He furrowed his brow.

–I’m not a puppet, Maider. I don’t speak on command.

–I’m not so insolent to imply that. I know what you’ve done for me, and I appreciate it very much. And perhaps it's that... you’re not just my master. I trust you. I’d like to have that same consideration from you.

Tenax stopped. He looked at her, a little taken aback. Maider had the audacity of a front-line legionary. He wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

–I’m not like you, Maider– he told her.

Maider felt a little hurt.

–Oh, thanks.

–No, you’re... an open book. My book is better left closed.

Maider met his gaze.

Time stood still again.

–If it makes you suffer, so be it.

Tenax shook his head.

–I can’t afford to suffer, or to feel any other emotion.

Maider stepped closer to him.

–But you do. Sometimes... I can see it.

Tenax didn’t look away from her.

–Let that be a secret between us, then.

Maider seemed torn. Despite belonging to him, Tenax had always treated her with great delicacy. Now, as she selfishly felt that something was about to blossom between them, she didn’t want to force things or follow her instinct too much.

Even though her instinct had always gotten her out of the tensest situations.

So, not knowing what else to do, Maider nodded firmly without saying anything.

She nodded and strode towards the tavern.

Tenax found himself standing in the middle of the road, alone, decidedly bewildered.

Time before, another version of himself would have cursed her for her behavior, or worse, dragged her back home and forced her to scrub the main hall’s floors with the smallest brush.

But this was Maider.

And Maider was important to him.

So he went after her.

–Maider!

He noted with some disappointment that she was only slightly shorter than him and had a particularly fast pace.

He sighed in frustration and finally caught up to her.

–Damn it– he said –You’re ridiculously fast.

–My father didn’t leave me much, except long legs– she muttered.

–You said you don’t know anything about me, but I don’t know anything about you either– he said, impulsively.

She raised her eyebrows, surprised.

–I told you about my trauma.

–Yet you didn’t go into many details.

Tenax realized he had chosen his words poorly when he saw her flush with anger.

–And what should I tell you, my lord and master? I believe you have no shortage of imagination!

–And yours, with me? Do you think a master is obliged to tell his slave what happened to him as a child?

Maider understood. Tenax fell silent. He had said too much.

–Tenax, I...– she began.

–Forget what I said.

–All right. I would never ask you such deep things without you being sure to tell them.

–Good.

Without realizing it, they had arrived at the tavern.

–Maider...

–No, you’re right. I overstepped, and I apologize.

And she moved towards the entrance.

Tenax gently took her hand. A pleasant shiver ran from that touch through the rest of their bodies.

–In my life, I’ve always had to fight. I was... I was a slave too. A beautiful kid.

Maider sighed, looking into his eyes.

–You're still not that bad.

Before Tenax could internalize those words and blush like a teenager, they heard footsteps. It was Nica.

–Maider!– the little girl exclaimed, hugging her –I missed you.

Maider smiled at her.

–Good morning, little one! Have you eaten?

–Yes. Can we have the singing lesson we talked about yesterday?

–Of course! Let’s go.

–Yay! Bye, Tenax!– Nica said, waving her hand. He returned the wave with a smile.

He watched Maider walk away with Nica, feeling a sense of unspoken that took his breath away. He told himself he needed to learn how to open up in the healthiest way possible.

Otherwise, she would make him do it without him even realizing it.

And he would thank her for it.

***

Tyrone was a thirty-seven-year-old man, Cala's age, with dark skin and an imposing physique.

Tenax had hired him into the Golden Faction shortly after the deaths of Andria and Fonsoa Corsi. They needed someone to help Elia with the horses, and Tyrone, in Numidia, had owned a farm with a stable of thoroughbreds until the Romans confiscated it. Then, widowed and with a seven-year-old son, he had left the little boy with his sister and traveled to Rome in search of a work that would allow him to send some money home.

Although Domitian had wanted the chariot races to end, the Roman people were still too attached to the various Factions, so the stakes, after some uncertainty, had been purchased by three great Roman families, who had recreated, in addition to Tenax’s Golden Faction, the Blue, White, and Red Factions.

So yes, it was at Tenax's Golden Faction that Tyrone had found work as a stableman, alongside Elia Corsi, who had recently become the father of a beautiful baby girl.

Their shared passion for horses had brought Tyrone and Elia closer, and Elia had introduced Tyrone to his wife Jula, and then to her mother Cala.

There had been an immediate spark between Cala and Tyrone.

From just catching glimpses of each other at the stables, he had asked her out a first, second, and third time. With her children's blessing, Cala had agreed, and they had started a wonderful relationship that had been going strong for several months. Despite his height and bulk, Tyrone was an extremely gentle man, and Cala loved this characteristic of his.

That day, shortly after lunch, Tyrone joined Cala at the tavern.

Seeing him, Cala's face lit up. She put down what she was doing and walked over to him. They kissed.

–Hey, so great to see you. Do you need something to eat?– she asked him.

–Yes. Has Maider performed already?

–Yes, she just finished. Look, she’s over there...

And she pointed to a table where Maider was devouring a roasted chicken leg.

Cala smiled.

–That girl is a force of nature. Every time, it’s as if she hasn’t eaten in days.

Tyrone laughed.

–Singing makes her hungry, Cala.

Then he lowered his voice, glancing around.

–And Tenax?

–Probably in a meeting with the other Factions’ owners or the officials in charge of the games. Busier than ever, and yet...

–Yet?

Cala lightly slapped his shoulder.

–I didn’t think you were so gossipy, my dear.

–Come on, don’t keep me in suspense.

–And yet, this morning, the kids saw Maider and him arguing just outside the tavern.

Tyrone furrowed his brow.

–Huh? Isn’t that a bad thing?

Cala took his arm, leaning closer to him.

–Aura, who was nearby with Iris, told me there was a good percentage of sexual tension involved.

–What?

–You heard me right. There’s strong chemistry, but they’re still studying each other. As far as I’m concerned, I hope this mutual study continues and bears fruit.

Tyrone smiled at her.

–You care a lot about him, don’t you?

–We’ve been through a lot. He deserves to be happy, just like I do.

–Then we’ll see, my dear. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.

She kissed him, watching Maider from a distance.

–Let’s hope so, my dear. Let’s hope.

***

Hey guys! Eli here. Hope you like this new transition chapter. Let me know in the comments what you think ❤️ Thank you sm

[wolfiemcwolferson]

*knocks on your door* Hi!!

24: Marriage of Convenience for Maxiel please! <3

I had to knock this down because I got ambitious!

Car accident mentions with minor peril but everything is fine!

Daniel is the one who suggests it, quiet and behind the motor home while Max takes deep gulping breaths, tears still on his face.

“We could, uh-“ he stumbles through it, “if you wanted, I could be the one to handle that if you ever-“

Max’s sharp teenage eyes pin him down and flay him open, like he can see the filthy idiotic thoughts Daniel had in the shower this morning.

“I just mean that,” Daniel coughs into his fist, “people have done it before, ya know. You don’t have to rely on him. I’d be happy to be the one on call, Maximus.”

“It is okay,” Max insists in that stubborn way he does, “I will not crash again. I will not have to go to the hospital again.”

Daniel doesn’t try and tell him differently. He doesn’t think Max would hear him anyway, so he lets it go, continues to stand with him while he gets his breathing under control.

Max doesn’t bring it up ever again so Daniel doesn’t either.

Not until they’re not even teammates anymore and Danny is asking about him in the media pin, feeling lightheaded and frantic.

Everything has shifted between them these days. They’re more colleagues than friends, but Max is in the wall and Daniel knows what’s to come for him - he still has friends in the Red Bull garage. He gets the gossip.

So, he asks because he needs to know, thinking about that offer from years ago. We could get married. If you didn’t want him to be the one to get that call.

And then he runs into Christian looking pale and unlike himself and he sighs, long and heavy. “I want to stay and chat, Daniel, but Jos is with Max and I’ve got to go.”

Christian is too smart and he never says anything without reason and so Daniel gets a little insane about it and that’s how he ends up at Max’s apartment in Monaco with marriage papers in his hand.

“You will sign these.” Daniel says as soon as the door is open. “Because I cannot stand what happened this weekend.”

Max is half naked - bare chested and blinking at him in confusion. He looks like he’s just woken up and Daniel knows he looks insane, but he doesn’t care.

“Sign.” He demands, thrusting them out to Max.

“I will sign them, of course, Daniel.” Max says, taking them from Daniel’s trembling hands, “but I will tell you that we must be friends again. You cannot do this to me, where you ignore me on the phone and just say hello to me in front of other people.”

Max is walking into his apartment so Daniel follows him, taking note of everything that has changed since he was last here, specifically so he doesn’t look at Max’s broad back like…when?

“Daniel?” Max asks, slapping the papers down on the counter. “You will come over for dinner?”

“Dinner. Drinks. Parties. Whatever, Maxy, just sign those.”

Max’s smile is blinding and…he’s not a teenager anymore. He’s -

“Would you like some coffee?” Max offers. “I have those pods you like.”

Daniel doesn’t linger on it. He doesn’t. Max is just…considerate.

But maybe he should have.

Because the guy he’s legally married to is like…way considerate.

He googles how to tell if your fake husband likes you likes you, realizes just how far he’s strayed from the plot and then closes that tab on his phone before opening it back up and looking up that porn video. The one he likes with the guy and the -

Fuck. Daniel realizes with a start, he looks like Max.

He goes for a run instead.

He’s got it under control.

He and Max are friends. They have dinner. Max kind of maybe dates this model for a bit and Daniel never asks for details but she stays over at his place sometimes and Daniel convinces himself that if Max were to ask him for a divorce it wouldn’t devastate him.

Because Max is kind of keeping his head above water.

The car is shit. McLaren is shit and the only thing he looks forward to are the four uninterrupted hours of Max he gets every race weekend.

Their debrief, Max calls it.

They eat together or play video games together or talk and they’re allowed because they’re married or whatever and things are FINE.

Daniel is in Australia.

He and Max have barely spoken in weeks - not since Daniel turned down the Haas offer. Even though he signs the third driver role with RBR and he’s going to literally be able to talk Max through all their shared data now, Max is furious at him over it.

“You will have to sit out races,” he had shouted. “Stuck in the simulator in England.”

Daniel didn’t get it, was just happy to be happy. Happy to have a break, a soft place to land, time to figure it out.

But Max had taken something personally and he was mad and Daniel was…trying not to think about it. In Australia. Drinking cheap beer and eating too much and exercising kind of half assed and riding dirt bikes.

He was LIVING.

And he’s in Australia when his phone rings - or Blake’s phone rings because Daniel’s is switched off and he can tell by Blake’s face that it’s bad.

“It’s dad, isn’t it.” Daniel demands as soon as Blake confirms that yeah, he and Daniel are coming.

Blake continues to gather things, ignoring Daniel and the dread grows. He’s dead. He’s dead.

“We’re getting on a plane.” Blake says, stuffing Daniel’s iPad in beside his own. “Christian set it up.”

And as soon as he’s said the name, Daniel know. “Max.”

Blake nods. “Yeah, he uh. He’s probably fine-“

“Probably?” Daniel’s voice isn’t even coming from his own body. He doesn’t know-

“Hey,” Blake grabs his arm. “Christian said he’s awake and he’s okay, but he has to have surgery and -“

“Fuck.” Daniel says, grabbing his keys, “fuck, I haven’t -“

He can’t finish that sentence. He hasn’t been around. He hasn’t done anything he’s supposed to do. He’s not even in fucking Monaco.

Blake rides beside him silently emailing or texting or doing whatever he’s doing and Daniel seethes all the way to the airstrip where there is a private plane waiting for them.

Daniel knows they’re in for a hell of a time traveling last minute, but it’s okay.

What did you do he texts Max before feeling guilty and sending I’m coming okay? Please don’t bite the nurses.

Max reads the messages but doesn’t respond.

He’s well out of surgery by the time Daniel arrives to the tiny hospital. He’s glaring at him standing in the door, arm casted to hell.

“You did not have to -“

“Shut up,” Daniel bites. “I want to be here.”

“You are just my husband on paper, Daniel.” Max accuses. “You have made it clear that you do not care about what I have to think, so why do you care that I have -“

Daniel is exhausted and he’s mad as shit and he smells like airplane. “What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t care what you think?”

“You are not racing this year even though you could have been! So we will never see each other!” Max looks young again. Young and scared and like that kid Daniel first made that offer to. “You have been gone since the season ended and you have not called even though you said we would be friends,” Max opens his mouth to probably say more, but Daniel slumps down in the chair beside his bed and Max shuts him mouth. “I did not say you could sit. This room is for friends and family.”

“I’m you husband!” Daniel shouts, forgetting to point out that like, Max is in a hospital bed and absolutely not racing this year and he’s still mad at Daniel.

“Then act like it!” Max shouts back and Daniel puts his face in his hands and groans, feeling sorry for himself. “You should go,” Max says in that voice that Daniel hates. “I do not want you here.”

“Tough shit, Maxy.” Daniel whispers without looking up. “You signed the papers. I’m here. Pissed as hell at you, but I’m here and now you’ve got to deal with me for however long you will heal-“

“I will hire a nurse,” Max says, but Daniel ignores him.

“Because I’m not letting you injure yourself on your fucking iracing -“

“Daniel-“

“Because you’re too stubborn to heal properly-“

“You are not a nurse, you are not qualified -“

“I cannot believe you even agreed to this!” Daniel shouts, “when clearly you do not care about my opinion in the slightest!”

“I agreed to this!” Max shouts back, “because I am in love with you!”

Daniel is too shocked to move, just to stare at Max’s beautiful face and try and process…that he loves him too. That Max loves him -

“Well, I hate that we had to sacrifice our entire season,” Christian says from the doorway, “with Max out of commission, but thank god the two of you have finally admitted to that.”

“What?” Max and Daniel say at the same time before Geri steps around Christian, carrying a bouquet of flowers almost as big as she is.

Daniel stands up on instinct.

“A real wedding this time, none of that paperwork nonsense. Christian has already agreed to drive the getaway car.” And then she blinks at Daniel, handing him the flowers.

Max is still gaping at everyone, “Daniel does not-“

“Oh come off it,” Daniel says, “of course I do.”

“Oh,” is all Max says, suddenly looking pleased and smug. “Well in that case I think we should stay at your apartment while I recover. Your living room is better for physical therapy.”

Christian chuckles, clapping Daniel on the back. “We will get you back in no time. With your dedicated nurse here.”

Everyone laughs except for Daniel, he’s too busy staring at Max’s lips. Lips he’s never even kissed.

“Oh, Geri, my darling.” Christian says, “let’s give the kids a moment.”

Daniel forgets to even be annoyed or to make a joke, he just sinks down on the edge of the bed next to Max. “I’m going to kiss you.”

“Yes,” is all Max can say before Daniel is. Lips on his, eyes closed, frozen in time.

“I now pronounce you husband and husband.” Daniel says stupidly, but Max giggles anyway and Daniel is happy he asked him that day behind the motorhomes.