Commentary on Part 1 of New Horizons (and what to make of them)
Hello, we’ve officially made it out of Brazil! Which means I can finally drop from my weekly rhythm without feeling (too) guilty about it. You’ve had the premise, context, you’ve met the guys, have gotten the first few clues. Now’s the time to sit back and wait for the investigation! Can’t promise when the next part will come but I HAVE started writing it, and again, the plan is drafted from A to Z so I just need to. You know. Write it. Hard part only! But I really want to work on other stuff right now, especially on summer events coming up.
Anyway thought the end of this first part would be the perfect moment for me to do a little commentary on the beginning of this fic: how’d the idea come, what’s the thought process here, some things you might’ve missed, blah blah.
Highly recommend having read chapt1-8 before you read this commentary. There's nothing I'll spoil exactly but just so you understand what I’m talking about here!
Here goes, under the cut because it's a long one! And fair warning, this is pure word vomit i'm not re-reading so expect typos!
How did the idea come for this fic? Multiple factors! One of them being not getting to explore George’s post WDC mindset in Finding Shelter. He’s good in FS but I thought it’d be great to push it some more. George is SO set on winning, so what happens once he’s won? One time, all good, all happy. Two times, great. But then? What's next? Also, my colleagues and I have been talking about Brazil for a while. So I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to write something in Brazil? + I’d seen pictures of Max in Brazil looking particularly soft and that sure made me spiral a bit. PLUS pictures of George by a waterfall! ah, I’m weak. Here are said pictures:
On the conspiracy aspect of it all, the idea came before the start of the season when all I’d see would be articles crying because Mercedes was set to dominate in terms of engine/car. All those ‘domination will bore the fans’ really got to me because I am fan and I would NOT be bored to see Mercedes dominating (if it means GR1 only). I kinda looked through a few articles complaining about Max 23, Lewis 17-20, etc and that got me thinking, you know?
And lastly, I wanted to challenge myself a bit to do some atmospheric stuff and Brazil felt like the perfect location for that. AND the murder/mystery part really called to me. I feel like New Horizons has kind of become a sandbox for me to play with and experiment, which is cool!
Why ‘New Horizons (and what to make of them)’? Title came from the mountain seen in the fic. Found that and then nothing else made sense but this! So I used the words in finding shelter and settled on New Horizons. Working title was Chasing Ghosts (fast car). I quite liked that one, but New Horizons (and what to make of them) is just more fitting. George is looking for them, Max has found some, now what?
Are the places mentioned real? Hell yea! Every single place mentioned exists, you can look them up. I’ve never been to Brazil but I spent a solid few hours looking for the perfect spot.
Funnily enough once I thought, hey, let’s do something in Brazil, I started drafting a plan about Max landing in a deserted area and I wanted to find that. I knew I wanted mountains so I started looking for some. As George reads in the beginning of the fic, there aren’t a whole lot of them, so it makes it easy to find good places and most of them are pretty isolated. And to my surprise, what do I see? Pico de Horizontes? Hello? So that settled it, the story was happening there! (hesitated between that and the Venezuelan border but Horizons just. made so much sense with the story I had in mind!)
I’d been toying with the idea of photos being important to the story to bring Max into focus so I started digging for some. I think the first one I found was the view from the mountains and I started looking around villages around that location. The church in Morro came second and I thought that looked stunning so that was set. I ‘walked’ around Morro for a little while, and then what do I see? MINES that look like KARTING TRACKS? Hello? Look it up on maps, you'll see what I mean.
Anyway. Then the waterfall which I found not too far, and then for the truck I talked to a good friend who’s been to Brazil a few times (in Belo Horizonte!) and who told me she’d seen quite a few older Chevy driving around, so that made sense. Anecdote about that damn truck!
So yeah. Places are real, this was just me having fun on maps and poking around a very specific part of Brazil. Then I tried to add in a few details: Catas and the many churches, all from heavy historic heritage, pao de queijo, a specialty from minas gerais, the heat and humidity around that time of the year in brazil, etc, etc. That little spot on the map truly shaped the story along the way: i knew i wanted Max to have a scar/start injured, but when I found out there were hot water sources around that place I just thought it made so much sense. And I wanted his time to be spent around community/kids and once I saw the ‘track’ I just thought of course that’s what he’d do in this.
It just felt like pieces of a puzzle falling into place, meant to be there!
Few words on George in NH Before seeing Max: We meet George when he’s just won his third championship. YES this is GR1 propaganda, as much as Finding Shelter was. As I said, in interviews and everything George talks on and on about winning and I wonder what it feels like to finally get to that one goal you’ve had your whole life and to have to keep going after that. It’s especially hard in this because George wins after Max’s ‘death’ and obviously the response to him taking the title isn’t great, from the public, from other drivers, from the field. Maybe some people would have preferred someone more seasoned to get it, maybe some people would have preferred a fan-favorite (Charles), but he ends up getting it. PTSD from the shooting is pretty obvious. I feel like he’s forced to get over it because it’s his workplace so he HAS to keep going, but podiums are hard and bittersweet after losing Max. So he’s on a little quest to get a new goal, looking for what to do with himself. He’s single, he and Carmen broke it off after his first win when he realized he’d been expecting it to change him but it didn’t. I just wanted him to latch onto the sliver of hope that Max could still be out there. He and Max weren’t that close, so he’s mostly holding onto the idea of Max, as a person, as a winner, etc. He starts to spiral and hyperfocus on this after he gets his trophy, so it’s him going round and round. I love an obsessed man, on a mission! And then what really shapes George is a) going on his own on this trip when he’s got no idea what he’ll find, and b) finally Max and their reunion not going the way he’d thought.
Meeting max: George is def a bit selfish in all of this, caught up in his thoughts, in his own projection of what Max is after three years of not seeing him. So when he realizes Max isn’t exactly what he’d thought, how he’d thought, it makes him spin some more. And obviously through all of this what’s made harder is the realization that everything he’s known isn’t as it is. Sure he’s won, but it isn’t all on his own because everything around who wins seems to be rigged. Mostly through all of this I wanted to take away the control he seems to have at all times. He’s always so in check and measured. Who am I if I don’t rip that from him, right? What I really liked was the back and forth. It’s one step forward two steps back, complete denial about what could be happening, up until the moment he talks to Alex and decides okay, i’m staying here, I’m getting to the bottom of this, I’m trusting and choosing Max. And his thick arms and chest and lovehandles.
After meeting Max: Well he was going to leave and try to get back to things quietly but seeing Felipe really got to him, huh? So now he’s going back to Monaco but not that quietly and with Max heavy on his mind, trying to figure out what’s going on with his world, what’s true, what’s not, what he and max are from a distance, managing that looong distance, etc. He’s got to get back to his life and act as if nothing’s happened when his literal world has been spun completely. Can’t wait to get back to Monaco with him tbh!
Few words on Max in NH Before George comes in: Now let’s imagine someone who lives to race and to win and has all of this ripped from him for money and politics. Could NOT be my good friend Max in NH. (it’s exactly that!) So we find a Max that’s been torn from the comfort of his life. So what does he do? What do you do when you’ve got everything and it’s taken right out of your hands? You find community. Max, who's a big family man doesn't have that to rely on anymore, so he’s got to make do and is lucky enough to find a place where the people help him out. (note on that: hyper aware of white saviour-ism which i tried to avoid here in how he interacts with the village. It’s not Max being a high figure people worship, it’s an injured man who’s lost everything who’s simply taken in by a community, who helps out in return, and is included with time). What’s hard here for Max is he’s been lost for three years. So I imagine the first year he tried to get back, tried to find as many clues, obsessed over how to get revenge and really angry over whoever did this. But then after a while, after realizing it won’t be easy at all, there’s the realization that this might be it for him. Hence the house, hence the track, hence his little karting project. It’s just trying to rebuild a life that might be worth living when it’s not what he wanted. When George gets to him: Max doesn’t expect George. Where George was looking for Max and freaked out in Catas thinking oh, finally, Max probably saw George and ran for his life seeing the first sign of his world here in Brazil. And what do you mean it’s GEORGE of all people? So he calls a friend like, problem, help. But then George actually gets to him, because he’s actively looking for him and Max is quick to realize this is his ONE chance. He’s a little disappointed to realize George isn’t here to deliver him, but then what can he do about it? Because if George leaves and decides not to do anything, then there’s no second chance, there’s no waiting for someone again. And if GP deemed George was the one person who COULD help (because him giving George the photos is that), then it must mean something. it’s interesting here because Max holds back a LOT around George. He’s not too outspoken, he doesn’t show anger, he doesn’t rush the information and doesn’t push for George to do something about it. Mostly because he knows he’s got to be careful and he’s got to hold back. But you just know he’s fuming on the inside! He’s gentle when he breaks it down until he snaps a little (but quickly calms down). And also, why the fuck is george so damn good looking? distracting! After George’s departure: So max didn’t exactly expect George’s staring and the stupid jealousy to actually get anywhere but what is he supposed to do when George calls for him moaning in the middle of the night, right? And yeah, the sex is great and Max feels like he’s been put together for the first time in what feels like years but that only makes it much, much worse to have George leave. Because as much as it was surprising to have someone show up, it brought hope and to have it slipping away hurts
About the mystery. You guys! I didn’t actually expect people to try and look for a culprit/solve the mystery! (what did I expect? I don’t have an answer. I don’t know what I expected) but some of you guys were GREAT. S/o to hotgum55's comment: 'i think the fia doesn't want a single driver to dominate for multiple years. makes it 'boring'. so it might be them.' Were you in my brain? Scary!
I knew from the start that the first part of this fic would be mainly George finding Max and very loose hints, because Max doesn’t know all that much. How could he, that far away, removed from his world? So through these first few chapters it’s just a lot of clues thrown in. Some will make sense later, some will not be used. Part of the plan!
When I started drafting this story I thought it would be an easy one-culprit thing. And then I started reading more and more about scandals within F1, ties between the FIA and teams, and it’s literally a rabbit hole. So the story wasn’t as simple as I’d first thought anymore. To be honest, it feels SO big at times. But we’ll get there! The next part of the story will be pretty much focused on the investigation, on George going back to Monaco, to work, and finding who he can trust, how to get more clues, how to do something about it, etc.
The timeline A very important part to this story and one of the most confusing part I think. The thing is, I didn’t want the first chapter to be a complete run down of this timeline, I truly wanted it to be folded in as the fic progressed. I'm not sure I quite managed what I had in mind, I think I could've added some more hints. The few ones you have in early chapters are: the number of championships for each of them (especially Lewis only having 5, and not 7) But even if it was clear for me, I still made a mistake in the timeline! I GOT VERY MAD AT MYSELF OVER THIS. But I mentioned Kimi crying after Max’s passing. Kimi would NOT be in F1 in this timeline when Max died. I’d left this in my first draft and went through with it without looking. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Anyway, edited now, you’ve seen nothing. Especially because of [redacted] but anyway you’ll see later because [redacted].
Anyway, I’m sure there are inconsistencies/incoherences in the story. If you see any, you can try and point them out and I’ll see what I can do about them. It’s def not perfect! I plan on re-reading the whole thing and editing what mistakes I can see in the next few weeks, before we get to the next part! I’ll keep you updated on what changes!
A few things I really liked: Making George spiral and go near delirious. Taking my time before revealing Max. Making Max THICK. especially in the chest area. Max’s community and the kids. The conspiracy and the mystery. THE RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM. HAVE YOU CAUGHT ONTO IT? TELL ME YOU HAVE. I LOVED THAT. Max being killed by someone from the inside, resurecting, finding a community, finding purpose, the churches holding an important spot through the story, literal stigma,,,, Listen, I'm actually not religious, but this was really interesting to explore. Okay, cool! Finding positives!
Some things that could’ve been different (that I can share without spoiling): I wasn’t sure about the karting session. It felt a little too distracting at first and I’d just done a karting scene in Finding Shelter. But it felt important, it brought great callbacks to them racing together, to Gege seeing Max in his mirrors, etc. Felipe. He was in the first draft then I pulled him back because I thought it was too distracting to have yet another character thrown in. But it was requested by two anons so I was very happy to bring him back! The sex scene. If Felipe hadn’t come in to get George jealous and push him to think. Mhm. Mine. Then George would have freaked out after sex. The scene went: they jerk each other off, George freaks out, says this is a terrible idea. Max is clearly hurt but shrugs it off and goes back to his bed. For a while George just thinks and thinks and thinks and fiiiinally says fuck it and goes to Max’s bed after convincing himself he only has one chance to get this right. Could've been, but I felt like it was a great way to show George's progress through the week he's spent in Brazil: he's not doubting Max anymore, and he's definitely more grounded.
Okay, that should be it for this commentary. YAPPING my god what the fuck. I'll reblog if I feel the need to add more!
Just to finish this off, I wanted to say a massive massive thanks to those who’ve followed this story and have encouraged it on ao3. I had a major freak out before posting chapter 6 and I truly think I’d still be stuck if it weren’t for some of the encouragement I got. So thanks Honey, Otter, Spoil for reading through this. Thanks also hotgum55, Celine (Loumybeloved), monsterdonuts, laheysmythes, whoopsiecassie, magisterequitum, coffeeviolonist, burntblackcoffee, microplastic_enthusiast, aliceee, mariahmaria, loremipsumnova, russellover63, dorrsz, asdarian, shanhan1004, zora79, and all the anons who sent messages to my inbox about this. And I’m sure I’m forgetting so many people but hah. Thanks for keeping up with this story, alright? You mean a lot to me. See you soon-ish in Monaco when we catch up to what George gets up to on his own!
