Which of them finds it difficult to ask for help, and who do they identify as Jax?.
Or who made such bad mistakes that they regret them but won't confront the person responsible?
we have to thank our brave soldiers in fandom who write gen fics. we have to thank our brave soldiers in fandom who write character studies and stories with no focus on romance or sex. we have to get on our knees and thank the brave soldiers in fandom who write about minor characters and friendship and family with no focus on romance or sex. i know it’s hard to care about characters in a world that seems to only revolve around ships but i see you. and i love you
first hc: "godfather dredd". it's in my heart of hearts that i know that dredd is officially max's godfather. (source: i made it up). obviously steel was the first choice, but he refused because he was too busy being jealous that max and molly were taking up so much of jim's attention.
second hc: "dredd isn't an idiot". so. dredd has seen max mcgrath. he knows that max looks just like a young jim mcgrath. the guy who could generate turbo energy. the guy who married molly ferrus.
hey, uh, what's that max steel guy's gimmick? generating turbo energy? hmmm. and what does he often call forge ferrus? "uncle ferrus"? hmmm. hmmmmm.
dredd isn't an idiot. extroyer, toxzon, or the elementors all either don't have enough information or don't have any interest in finding max steel's secret identity, but dredd does. and importantly, these are clues that he experienced himself, not via any lackeys or proxies.
so yea, its solidly my hc that dredd, regardless of what he chooses to do with the information, has worked out max's secret identity by season two at the latest
related to those hcs (but put in an rb so i can be organized and not embarrased), i have a silly au: "uncle miles au" (i don't have clever names for my aus sorry)
(read more bc it is loooooong)
in this au, dredd puts those pieces together relatively soon after "secret identity crisis". for a while, he's not sure how to use that information--if he attacks max mcgrath in broad daylight, then n-tek will get involved and put max steel on a shorter leash. but then the events of "extroyer unleashed" happen and... interesting... max and steel are sneaking around behind forge's back...
there's the in.
dredd doffs his armor, puts on a suit, and approaches maxwell mcgrath as max's godfather, miles dredd. (okay technically dredd uses sydney as a go-between to arrange their first meeting but shhh). he's finally heard that max and molly moved back to copper canyon and he'd love to reconnect. and max is like 'i don't have a godfather' except. when he asks molly about it she's weirdly dodgy. almost like he won't like the answer.
so max reasons that yea okay dredd is definitely not lying about the 'godfather' thing. was he not sufficiently fooled by seeing max steel and max mcgrath side by side? does he suspect that max is max steel? or is this just a ploy to get at his mom or uncle? obviously, max just has to meet with him, pretend to be normal and not max steel, and figure out the scheme! this can only go well!
the meeting goes extremely awkwardly but otherwise normally. miles gives no indication that he knows max's secret, but he also doesn't give max any clues as to why he's reaching out. at the end of it though, dredd successfully coerces a regular meeting schedule out of max (more accurately, he convinces max to meet with him again, and repeats that pattern until the schedule's regular).
so now in the background of the show you have dredd and max meeting up and doing like. normal uncle-nephew shit while pretending that they don't both know the other person's secret identity.
until steel convinces max that they're in way over their heads and they need to break off whatever this weird arrangement is before it bites them.
it doesn't go well. the moment they try, dredd hits 'em with "i know your secret, maxwell." and follows that up by threatening that they can either keep the current arrangement and dredd can keep treating max steel and maxwell mcgrath as separate individuals, or they can break the arrangement and dredd will find plenty of creative ways to apply what he's learned.
...aka more shenanigans! 🎉 and sources of anxiety! 🎉
...and emotional whiplash because miles... is actually there. and listening when max talks about his interests. and noticing when max hasn't eaten all day.
but at the same time, dredd is the same as ever. just as obsessed, just as crazed to capture max steel, just as hungry.
Hey. Your brain needs to de-frag. Literally it needs you to sit there and space out.
If you want your memory or executive function to improve, stare out a window at the skyline or sidewalk or trees or birds on the electrical wires for like 20+ minutes per day. (With no other stimulation like a podcast or TV if you can manage but hey baby steps innit). If you're fortunate enough to have safe outside with any bits of nature, go stare closely at a 1 meter square of grass and trip out on the bugs and shapes of grasses and stuff.
Literally this will make you smarter. Our brains HAVE TO HAVE this zone out time to do important stuff behind the scenes. This does not happen during sleep, it's something else.
That weird pressurized feeling you get sometimes might be your brain on no defrag.
This is a difficult thing to do at times, especially if you're audhd like me, but so important. It's hard when I often can't focus without some level of stimulation or background noise, but also am so easily overstimulated... But it's all the more important when you're chronically ill as well.
Also, from a creativity standpoint, taking things in is important for inspiration, but if you want to be able to come up with ideas, the empty space is crucial. It's like a blank canvas or an empty page. If you slow down and let the silence happen sometimes, things come to you in that space.
It's a pretty common experience to have ideas come to you in the shower or just before falling asleep, right? It's the same principle.
Some of my best ideas have come during walks or periods of silence... you need to stop the noise sometimes so you can think. Even just a little bit here and there or some mindfulness when you can makes a difference.
Doing nothing is Normal and Important. Only that lack of stimulation has the ability to be this recharging because it's actual and complete rest. Not doom scrolling, not music or videos playing or conversation, not playing or cleaning or doing something productive... (though most of those things are valuable too) Literally doing nothing. You are not built to be doing things at all times. It is okay to not be productive at all times. It is okay to not fill every moment with entertainment or creativity or socializing. Resting is part of your job too.
Just finished Maul: Shadow Lord. … that was really good! I’m surprised how emotional and upset I was at character deaths, considering I guessed them long before, but I’m still flip flopping between sad and angry.
I thought I would be frustrated with Devon’s choice, because I disagree so strongly on principle. But I REALLY think she earned it, that was a great arc.
It was very depressing to remember that James Earl Jones has passed away, and it’s still so sad to remember we won’t hear his voice again. Darth Vader as a silent deadly threat was cool to see
“The medieval warrior, realizing the consequences of his impulsive act, immediately approached the owner of the drone and offered to pay for the damage.
The owner of the drone was so impressed by the brilliant attack that he suggested organizing a competition for bringing down “dragons” with short spears next year.
Drone owners have another year to develop a unique “dragon-like” design for their flying machines.” (x)
I am 100% cooler with this knowing that the spear-thrower realized “oops maybe I shouldn’t have done that” and tried to make it right, and that the guy who the drone belonged to was cool with it