maxiel 🥹 (for your distraction, I hope you’re feeling okay)
NGL, I'm actually kind of super terrified of writing Maxiel? There are SO MANY great scholars for them, and writing my lil a/b/o wip is basically exposure therapy 😬.
I was talking about this over DMs last night, and I think it's kind of interesting that Daniel is often written as someone who's constantly happy-go-lucky and playful. For me, there's a sharper edge to Daniel that I wish is explored more in fic.
I read him as someone who's obsessed with control--both holding on to control and being in control--that I find it difficult to perceive him as like, this super lackadaisical, everything is always copacetic kind of guy. I do think he genuinely likes to have fun! I also think he's not afraid to weaponize the fact that he's known as the fun driver on the grid when needed.
Admittedly, my desire to see a Daniel with bite sometimes feels antithetic to Maxiel, especially when Max definitely sees Daniel (and their history) with rose-coloured glasses on. I also think though that Daniel does have a (giant) soft spot for Max, so even in a universe where Daniel is a little more cunty, his desire to see Max happy and content and safe remains largely the same.
And I think even with a more idealized version of Daniel in his head, Max is too honest to allow Daniel to get away with shit.
I have no idea where I'm going with this, and I'm a little unsure if any of this even makes sense 😵💫.
But I guess what I'm trying to say is, the thing that I love about them as a pairing is that they're both sharp and jagged and imperfect. Sometimes they're a little shitty to each other. Sometimes they're pretty fucking shitty to themselves. But in the end, they choose to love each other, anyway, and they make that same choice over and over and over.