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Halt and Catch Fire season 2, episode 5: "Extract and Defend"

HC/ficlet for Billy and Max setting off fireworks please.

It’s New Year’s eve.

He would’ve been spending it at Steve’s place if Neil didn’t insist that New Year’s was a time for family to reflect on the past year and a time to celebrate the new one together. Bullsh*t.

Max would’ve been at Mike’s house with the rest of her little buddies, but Neil put a stop to that too. She wouldn’t stop going on and on about the fireworks the Wheelers were going to put out that she’s going to miss. Apparently, they’ve got the fancy ones that make shapes in the sky. When she complained to Neil, he told her that if she wanted to have fireworks. She can buy them herself. Having spent all of her allowance, guess who she goes to? Yup.

He originally refused to buy fireworks, but she promised if he did, that she’d cover for him the next time he sneaks out, and damn if that didn’t sound like a good deal. That is, until he realized that fireworks were f*cking expensive. Max had gone with him to the mall to pick some up and when he looked at the price and glanced back at Max, she had plastered on the biggest sh*t-eating grin. It took everything in him in that moment not to smack her upside the head. Bitch.

But they shook on it, so there was no going back. A Hargrove’s promise. Besides, it’ll be worth it in the end when Billy makes up for lost time with Steve. He’s got some ideas in mind.

But now they’re standing in their front yard trying to figure out how to light this sh*t up. It’s twenty minutes before twelve. And Princess Maxine wants to light them exactly when it hits midnight. It has to be on time!

“It says we should wear protective eyewear,” Max reads, holding out the instructions in front of her face. Billy snatches it from her and throws it to the side. He meant for it to be an aggressive move, but the paper just pathetically flutters to the ground.

“We don’t need that sh*t. I’ve done this before,” he says, squatting on the floor, putting the fireworks on a board.

Max squints her eyes at him, doubtful. He has done it before with his friends back in Cali. Sure, they might’ve aimed wrong and almost shot someone’s eye out, but it was fine in the end. How hard can it be to do it with your little sister?

Turns out pretty hard. With Max peering over his shoulder at every second trying to correct him with those damn instructions, he nearly threw her back into the house. He probably should’ve. She’s a pain in the ass.

He elbows her in the stomach, shoving her back and making her flinch hard at the impact. He almost turns around to make sure she’s ok. He doesn’t.

“Stop standing over me,” he says instead. “It’s f*cking weird.”

Thankfully, she shoves him right back just as hard. “You’re doing it wrong, asshole. Why don’t you get off your high horse and read the instructions for once.”

He ignores her, bringing his focus back to fireworks in front of him. The hell does she know? He brings the lighter to one of the fireworks.

“Wait! Don’t light it now,” Max says, turning to run back inside. “Let me get my mom.”

Just as she’s about to sprint back inside, Billy grabs her by the back of the shirt, bringing her to a halt.

“Chill the f*ck out. I’m just gonna test it out.”

“It’s not even midnight yet,” she pouts as she wrestles his arm off her shirt.

“I said I’m testing it out, dumbass. Calm down.” He lets her go with a final tug and squats back down with the board of fireworks. Now he just needs to bring the lighter a little closer--

“Wait, maybe we should-” he doesn’t wait for her to finish before bringing the lighter to one of the fireworks, watching the flame catch on.

He’s quick to his feet, walking backwards, bringing Max with him. She doesn’t fight him, her eyes wide and focused on the flame, watching it get closer and closer, until-BAM. The firework shoots up in the sky bursting and letting out a hail of red sparks. He doesn’t hear her at first, the sound of the burst deafening him for a second. He forgot how loud they were up close.

“Billy! Billy!”

“The hell do you want!,” he shouts, patience finally wearing thin with her constant nagging.

She’s panicking, waving her hand frantically in the direction of---sh*t.

Their f*cking bush caught on fire. He almost faceplants running toward it. Probably would’ve deserved it too, but he reaches the bush in a split second and stamps the fire out quick enough. Why does sh*t always go down when he’s around? All things considered, it’s not the worst thing that could’ve caught on fire, but still.

“How the f*ck--”

“I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN”

Oh for f*cks sake. He spins around to glare at Max. “Well, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Like you’ve been bothering to listen to anything I’ve been saying for the past fifteen f*cking minutes!” she shrieks, stamping her foot. She looks like she’s imitating a toddler, but Billy figures now’s not the time to point that out. “I literally told you that we should bring the extinguisher just in case!”

She did say something like that now that he thinks about it. Probably mentioned it sometime between the rant about the Wheelers and the droning on about the instructions. He internally curses himself for not paying attention to her for once.

“Well, we didn't end up needing one, did we?”

Her jaw drops slightly and she just gapes at him. “You’re a f*cking psycho.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now help me--”

“The hell are you two making a racket about?”

f*cking great. Perfect.

“Nothing, dad,” Billy bit out. “I just lit a firework to test it out. Max helped me.”

Neil glanced at Max, eyeing her as if that was gonna reveal anything. “Did she? Not banging up anything are we?”

“No, sir,” Billy replies, hands in his pockets. Subtly moving in front of the bush so that maybe, just maybe, Neil won’t see the burn marks. Thankfully, the entire bush wasn’t burnt, just the edge. He could probably hide it or maybe break it off. Neil won’t notice it just yet.

They stare at each other for a moment. Neil doesn’t say anything aloud, but Billy can see the threat behind the eyes. After a minute, Neil gives him a nod of approval and saunters back inside. He breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe he just didn’t want to give Billy too much sh*t for New Year’s sake. He’s just grateful he won’t have to show up to Steve’s house bruised up again.

“That was a close one,” Max mumbles.

“No sh*t.”

Five minutes ‘till midnight.

Billy squats down in front of the fireworks again. “Hand me the instructions,” he says, sticking a hand out towards Max who beamed at him, glad he’s finally listening to her.

He snatches them out of her hand and gets back to work, fidgeting around with the set before standing back up.

“Well Maxine? Do I finally have your approval?”

“Firstly, don’t call me that. Secondly,” she says, making a big show of inspecting the fireworks, circling around them, “Yes.”

“If this sh*t lights a bush on fire, I’m coming for your head.”

She looks a little hesitant at that, but he ruffles her hair and she gives him a soft smile in return.

“Should we ask if they’re coming out to watch?”

Billy checks his watch. “Nah. One minute ‘till midnight. They’re probably watching the ball drop. I don’t give a sh*t.”

“Yeah,” Max shrugs. “I don’t really care either. Let's just light them ourselves.” Lies. He can tell by the way she keeps looking over her shoulder for her mom that she does care. Susan won’t join them. He knows that much. Wherever Neil is, she is. She won’t watch fireworks with them unless Neil does, and there’s no way he’s going to want to do that despite his claim of today being a time for family. Billy knows better. Max will too one day.

15 seconds until midnight.

“You wanna light them?”

Her head snaps up to look at him. “Really?”

“Don’t blow sh*t up, though,” he says, handing the lighter to her. Neil would most definitely blow a gasket if he found out his 13 year old daughter was the one lighting fireworks. But what’s life without a little risk?

She grins. “So basically don’t do what you did.”

“Exactly,” he chuckles. “You know how to light it?”

“I think so.”

“Have at it,” he says, letting her go but staying close in case she screws sh*t up.

Five seconds ‘till midnight.

Four

Three

Two

Max quickly lights the fireworks in a swift motion, and turns to run back. She covers her ears as the fireworks all fly up, bursting in the sky with a multitude of colors. From a distance, Billy sees other fireworks bursting, neighbors shouting. He even spots a yellow one shaped like a star right above their house that Max points excitedly to. He might have snuck one in the cart when he saw Max looking longingly at it. Probably not as cool as it would’ve been at the Wheeler’s, but it’s something. She’s still a whiny little bitch.

Turning back towards the door, he sees Susan peeking through the window, a soft smile, strikingly similar to Max’s on her face.

Happy New Year.

Wings of Broken White - Ch.9

Tag List: @marichatmay

[ Posted on A03 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 8 ] [ Chapter 10 ]

“I don’t want to be scared any more,” Mylène whispered gently to the curious gazes. Ivan, out of the Dragon costume, had one of his wings wrapped around her protectively.

Chloé, decked out in a formal suit and cape, scoffed, “It’s just a costume, Haprèle, pull yourself together!” Adrien, dressed in one of Chloe’s blue and white ballroom dresses, nudged her with his shoulder and gave her a deep frown, shaking his head. She scoffed again and looked away. “If it will make you feel better, just pretend you can still see Bruel behind that ridiculous costume. It will be less scary that way.” She then turned and walked away, her regal red caplet fluttering behind her.

Ivan sent a thankful look to Adrien for the interference, and he smiled back reassuringly. Mylène giggled a bit, looking perplexed but a bit better. “Did she just try to be nice?” Adrien only shrugged, his smile turning knowing, and the group laughed lightly.

They tried the scene again, and Mylène did better, but couldn’t make it through to the end of the stage-fight. Something about imagining Ivan getting stabbed with a sword, even if it was fake, really didn’t help the situation. No one could find her when she ran off again, and that was when the Akum came. She reappeared, but no longer herself.

Rather, she was nor a very real, very large version of the class’s fairytale Dragon. And just like how their costume didn’t actually breathe fire, neither did Mylène’s. Instead, it was very much a blast of glitter.

Marinette found herself to be the first one hit by it when she was trying to herd the class to safety. She didn’t realize anything had happened to her until the class was barricaded in a room together, sans the Akuma Dragon, and everyone was staring at her.

“Uh...What? Do I still have some glitter on me?”

Adrien had broken the silence with a suppressed giggle and a shake of his head. “No, uhm, I think the Akuma did something to your armor?”

She looked down, only to realize it wasn't cardboard and foam. It was heavy, and shiny, and- “Is that-? Oh no, Adrien, your fencing rapier! She turned it into- into a broadsword! M. D'Argencourt is going to have my head if he finds out I got it involved in an Akuma attack!”

He patted her on her armored and caped shoulder and shook his head with a fond smile. “Don’t worry about it. Ladybug and Chat Blanc will have it back in no time. In the meantime, I don’t hear the Akuma at the door any more. I wonder…”

The class moved to glance out the windows of the classroom, only to gasp in unison and see their school’s courtyard transformed in a wave of glitter-fire.

Markov, wielding his still-recording camera, let out a whistling sound. “Now that's what I would call a perfect set for a medieval movie. Do you think we can get Ladybug to not cast Miraculous Ladybug until we finish filming?”

The class broke out into an even mix of disbelieving groans and agreeing hums.

All that was left now was for the Heroes to figure out how to get out there and fix this.

Surprisingly, the civilian heroes managed to get out of the classroom rather easily. It became clear that the Akuma had very little interest in actually hurting anyone. It seemed to simply be making itself at home in their school-turned-castle. It made sense that a Dragon would find comfort in being in a medieval fantasy setting of its own making.

The real problem came when the class tried to leave the building itself. Akuma-Mylène, just like any other Akuma, had her mind set on a task and was hellbent to keep at it. So the entire class was captured and became the Princesses in her dizzyingly tall Tower. Anyone not already in costumes got put into extravagant gowns, makeup, and even jewelry when the group got caught by the glitter-fire. The costumed students got the same treatment as Marinette, their characters brought to life in more detail.

Marinette did a quick headcount of the class, then did it again when she noticed something was off. “Hey, has anyone seen Kim? He was with us when the Akuma caught us, wasn’t he?” Everyone looked around the tower chamber they had been locked in, only for confirmation of his disappearance to pass back to her. That is, until their ever-composed King looked up, screeched in terror, and smacked a few faces when her Swan wings spread out.

Everyone looked up to see a small dragon in the rafters, looking down at them with a wide smile and a wagging tail. It dawned on them, then, that Kim, who had kept the prop dragon head with him the whole time, had probably ended up turning into this adorable baby dragon when they were captured.

His wings spread and he jumped into a glide. Clearly, the wingless boy was enjoying a temporary change in wing-status.

After a few circles around, he landed on Marinette’s shoulder, making her stubble. Her Crane wings flared out to balance her, and she froze. She saw the eyes of the class on her and her breathing stopped in panic.

My wings aren't bound. The Akuma got rid of my bindings- They were hidden under the cape until now- Oh gods everyone can see them, they’re-

Her thoughts were halted as Adrien spoke up.

“Huh, I guess Mylène pictures Knights to have wings! She did get you twice with that glitter-breath thing she does, right?” Marinette sucked in a breath, realizing that he was giving her an out, whether he knew it or not. “Those wings weren't there the first time she got you. Maybe the more you’re hit, the more you're affected? In that case, we should really keep dragon-Kim away from Dragon-Mylène, he might just get bigger!”

Marinette swore she would have kissed him out of thanks for this if she hadn't been weighed down by Kim. Alix and Nino, the only ones besides Kim who knew that the wings were not Akuma-made, added themselves to the kiss-list by echoing Adrien’s words and adding their own reasonings for why someone without wings would suddenly have them.

While the attention was off of her, she tucked her wings back into the cape and straightened up, dragon-Kim content to curl around her shoulders like a monkey. She went to a window and peered out, seeing nothing but the skyline. Curious, she leaned out and looked down.

“Huh,” she pulled herself back inside and turned to her class. “Hey, I think we can escape.”

“Escape?” Alya joined her, looking curious. She glanced out the window as well, and her eyes went wide. “Oh…”

“Exactly!” Marinette grinned.

“Care to fill us in, please?” Nino looked between the best friends nervously.

Alya beamed, “Look outside; the Akuma isn’t watching us. No circling of the tower like a vulture. She expects us to stay put and play our role.”

Max hummed in thought as he joined them at the windows. “This appears to be true. Traditionally in Fairy Tales involving dragons, they are not confronted in the sky, but rather on the ground. Usually outside the gates or somewhere inside. Perhaps Mylène is waiting for Ladybug and Chat Blanc to come as the Heroes of the tale?”

Marinette nodded, glad her classmates were catching on. “Exactly! I saw her down at the base of the tower, and she wasn’t looking upward. We could rescue ourselves and fly out!”

An excited buzz went through the class at the prospect of being their own saviors.

“Yeah, about that,” Chloé spoke sharply, hands on her hips and looking a tad annoyed. “Some of you can’t actually fly, remember? That includes you, Dupain-Cheng. You and Lê Chiến may have wings, but you have zero experience with flying. And not to mention my dearest Adrien! And Sabrina, too, I suppose. That’s four people who can’t leave this tower. And last I checked, none of us winged students are grown enough to carry a whole other person.”

They had to admit, Chloé had a point, and a big one. They couldn't just leave a chunk of the class behind, stuck in the tower.

Ivan cleared his throat. “I could- I could carry Sabrina and Kim? I have practice flying while carrying things. Mostly gliding, but that’s all we need, right? Just enough to get us to the ground safely?”

“That sounds like a good plan!” Adrien smiled, interrupting Chloé as she was about to retort. “Don’t worry about me, though, I think it might actually be a good idea if I stayed. Dragon won’t be too happy if he finds out the original Princess isn’t in the tower where he belongs, right? Besides, I found a closet full of blankets and cushions. I was thinking I could build a pillow fort while I wait for the Heroes to defeat the Akuma.”

“As cute and brave as that sentient is, Adrien, what about Marinette?” Alya interjected protectively.

Marinette smiled reassuringly and set a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I should probably stay, too. I’m the Knight, remember? A Knight always protects her Princess,” she winked at Adrien, who smiled back with a dusting of pink on his cheeks.

Chloé practically growled, displeased, but a look from Adrien had her huffing and turning away. “Fine! Stay if you want! At least your sacrifice will be noble or whatever.” And with that, the class’s King was hopping up onto the windowsill and diving into open air.

It took several rounds of reassurances and encouragement, but eventually, Marinette and Adrien were able to herd the rest of their class out the windows after Chloé. Nino was the last to go, and before he did, he gave Marinette a soft smile and a glance at Adrien who gave a wave before dashing for the closet.

“What is it, Nino?” She asked curiously.

“He protected your secret,” he stated plainly.

“Oh- Yeah, he did…” She looked at Adrien, too, watching as he pulled blankets out.

“The literal model son of a winged fashion designer. There’s a chance that, well… Marinette, I think he knows.” She tensed where she was, but said nothing to try and disprove her friend’s theory. He continued, “Don’t you think he would be able to recognize the use of wing-binders, considering his life? And the thing is...I’m worried about you. We all are, those of us who know, that is. Maybe just, start by sharing your wings with someone else. One person at a time, ya know? Adrien would be a good start. And who knows, it might get you out of this tower, too,” he added with a teasing tone. “I know you can hold a lot of weight on those wings of yours. Be a real Knight and consider giving him a Princess-carry, yeah?”

Marinette snorted and bumped him, causing him to stumble and laugh.

“Just sayin’, dudette! See ya!” And with that, he was out the window with the rest.

She considered his words as she walked over to Adrien where he had started building a pillow-and-blanket fort, just like he had said he would. He beamed from between two of the makeshift walls when he saw her.

“You’re really calm about still being stuck here, Adrien,” she noted softly.

“Are you kidding? This whole project has been the most fun since- well, in a while. Akuma or not, I like being here. Also, I just made a blanket fort. Blanket forts make everything better.” He grinned wide and went right back to building.

Marinette laughed and shook her head. “Fine, move over then. I’m going to help.”

Their fort was flimsy and fell over several times, but they both had to admit, it was a fun thing to do. It also revealed that the closet hid a trap door to a staircase leading downward.

“Who knew having fun would be the answer to our conundrum?” Marinette mused, amused.

“You sure do get caught up with a lot of Akumas that can have fun, huh?” Adrien jokes, causing her to chuckle and fluster at the realization.

“I mean, you're right, I guess. Nino, Nathaniel, Mylène- Everyone just wants to be happy. Makes me wonder what Hawkmoth is doing,” she trailed off, pondering on his own.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Adrien sat back, looking perplexed. “His power is so...big, but he does so little with it. I could swear he even stops himself from going too far. Why does he even attack Paris and ask for the Miraculous?”

“And what’s holding him back?” They were quiet for a little bit as their thoughts continued on silently, unknowing that they were both thinking along the same lines due to their masked partnership.

The blanket fort fell down on top of them, knocking them out of their thoughts and back into joint fits of giggles. Once they escaped their soft prison, they made their way to the window, looking out. they admired the view, but used it to remind themselves of their duties to do.

“Adrien?” He answered with a hum. “Thank you for speaking up, distracting everyone.”

He smiled gently and glanced at her. “When the wings came out? It was nothing. No one should be stared at like that if they don’t want to be.”

She wryly smiled back. “Thank you anyways. You’re a good friend and I, I trust you, a lot.”

His eyes went wide, “You do?”

She nodded, her smile growing in amusem*nt. “Yeah, I do. Enough to tell you that I appreciate you keeping a secret you didn’t even know you just learned.”

“You mean-” he glanced at her Crane wings as they peaked out from behind her cape. She looked at them, too, noticing for the first time that they had a layer of armor on them as well. She smiled, stretching them out more.

“Yeah. Besides one person, I haven't told anyone about these in almost four years. I’m not exactly...proud of having wings. It’s hard to explain.”

“And you’re okay with me knowing?” He asked, his voice low in awe.

She smiled, a bit embarrassed, and nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

He beamed like she had just handed him the stars, and somehow, a twinkle in his eyes made it seem like she had already given him the sun and moon in the past, too. Just to get him to stop looking at her like that, she declared it was time to exit the Tower, and she scooped him up just the way Nino had suggested. After delivering him to safety, she ran off as fast as she possibly could. Not long later, Chat Blanc and Ladybug had Paris and Mylène back to normal.

How Scoot McNairy Became One of the Busiest Actors in Hollywood

In a wide-ranging conversation, the actor reflects on working with Quentin Tarantino, 'Halt and Catch Fire,' 'Narcos: Mexico' and 'True Detective' season three.

Over the past decade, few actors have been as busy as Scoot McNairy, but now that the health of the world has forced everyone to slow down, McNairy is finally able to take stock of the work he’s done. McNairy first became a name to watch on the indie circuit as 2007’s In Search of a Midnight Kiss and 2010’s Monsters garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards. But 2012’s Killing Them Softly really unlocked the floodgates for McNairy as Softly filmmaker Andrew Dominik eventually referred him to Ben Affleck for a role in Argo, which went on to win Best Picture at the 85th Academy Awards in 2013

At his Argo audition, McNairy shocked Affleck when he reminded him that they’d already worked together on a 2006 Axe Body Spray commercial. The two actors teamed up again in 2014’s Gone Girl and 2016’s Batman v Superman.

“I think [Ben] was very, very good to me in sort of championing me. I don’t know how much influence he had on the other jobs, but I assume that he did,” McNairy tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So, I just felt really lucky and grateful that I had anyone supporting me. It’s really hard to get people to get behind you in the business, so you don’t take anybody for granted that does so. So, yes, I was and am very grateful to him.”

After two electric scenes with Brad Pitt in Softly, McNairy has also gone on to work for Pitt’s production company, Plan B, on three more projects including another Best Picture winner, 12 Years a Slave, War Machine and Blonde — Dominik’s first scripted feature since Softly.

“Plan B, Dede Garder, Brad and Jeremy Kleiner have just been really, really great to me by just thinking of me for projects,” McNairy explains. “They’ve thrown some really great, interesting work my way. I am fully aware that, yes, they’ve been very, very good to me and have taken care of me. I’m still in contact with Dede, and I talk to her a lot. She’s a really close friend of mine.”

This week also marks the one-year anniversary of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and McNairy is now reflecting on the fact that he’s the only actor Tarantino has ever cast without meeting first. Since McNairy had a small role as Business Bob Gilbert, a character in the film’s fictional recreation of the real-life TV show, Lancer, McNairy credits Timothy Olyphant for bringing him up to speed on the proceedings.

“Timothy Olyphant saw me when I walked on set, and I was sort of a deer in the headlights because I wasn’t able to read the script. And so, he walked over to me and was like, ‘You didn’t read the script, did you?’ and I was like, ‘No,’” McNairy shares. “He goes, ‘All right, cool. Let me sit down and explain to you what’s going on.’ So, he sat down and chatted with me for about 25 minutes in the morning to sort of give me the lay of the land. He was really great.”

In a wide-ranging conversation with THR, McNairy also reflects on Monsters, Halt and Catch Fire, Narcos: Mexico and True Detective season three. He also looks ahead to his work as Rod Rosenstein on The Comey Rule, which premieres on Showtime in late September. He can currently be found on HBO Max’s first original series, Love Life.

Since this week is the one-year anniversary of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, how did the role of Business Bob Gilbert first pop up on your radar?

I think my manager found it and knew that they were casting for it. And the normal circuits of how it works got me in there, I think. I put an audition on tape, mailed it in to them and didn’t hear anything for, like, two and a half months. And then, a week and half, two weeks before the show started, they called me and said, “Hey, they want you, and you work in two weeks.”

And they only provided you with the sides for Business Bob’s scene?

Yeah, my manager requested the role and the sides, and yeah, those were sent to me and put on tape. Just sort of your classic process.

Were they the real sides?

Yeah, what I auditioned for is pretty much exactly what I ended up doing in the movie, I believe.

Was Business Bob loosely based on a real actor or character to your knowledge?

No, not that I know of. You know, it’s funny. Timothy Olyphant saw me when I walked on set, and I was sort of a deer in the headlights because I wasn’t able to read the script. And so, he walked over to me and was like, “You didn’t read the script, did you?” and I was like, “No.” He goes, “All right, cool. Let me sit down and explain to you what’s going on.” So, he sat down and chatted with me for about 25 minutes in the morning to sort of give me the lay of the land. He was really great.

There’s a scene in the movie where Leo’s character, Rick Dalton, rehearses his lines with a tape machine that has his scene partners’ lines already recorded by himself. Apparently, you set up a more modern version of this technique while on the True Detective set, right?

Oh, that was the actual recording of the self-tape... It was standard. If you have two cell phones, one of them you can hook up to a speaker and one of them can record. And so, I would just record the other person’s lines and then leave the gaps in between so that nobody else had to read with me off-camera in order to send in the self-tape. But the gaps between the lines is something that I’ve always done. That’s how I’ve been learning my lines for, I don’t know, 20 years. Just record it, so you can sit there and rehearse the dialogue with yourself.

Once you’re on set, will you grab a castmate to rehearse your lines whenever it’s possible?

Man, I’ll ask anybody. I always have my sides on me, and if anybody will run them with me, then they’ll run them with me. But yeah, I generally like to run it five or six times with somebody before we even walk on the set just to hear it out and hear what they’re doing and whatnot.

After you sent your tape in and were eventually cast, you never met Quentin until you were on set, and if I have the story right, that’s the first time he’s ever cast someone without meeting them first. Has this ever happened to you in the past?

Without meeting them in person? Yes. But usually, there’s a phone conversation or a Skype call or a couple meetings before it happens. You may not necessarily meet them in person, but I hadn’t talked to Quentin or even met him until the day I walked on the set. So, yeah, it’s amazing. I’m incredibly lucky, too.

What was the vibe of the set like?

It was great, man. He’s incredibly charismatic and sweet and nice and funny, and that sort of goes all day long. He’s just really, really entertaining. I think we’ve all been entertained by Quentin, as an individual, for, I don’t know, 30 years. But to actually see him hold court and whatnot was really fascinating to watch. He’s a really, really interesting guy and incredibly talented. And it was just great. I think we shot over two days, I believe. It was quick, in and out. I think a cell phone had gone off the day before I got there, and that was a really, really big deal. And so, you had to take your cell phone and put it into a bucket before you could walk onto the set. That was a first.

[The following question contains spoilers for Halt and Catch Fire.]

Moving to Halt and Catch Fire, your character, Gordon Clark, had one of the most unique sendoffs I’ve ever seen. What do you remember most about shooting that sequence where his life flashes before his eyes?

I remember them telling me about it. I think it was [co-creator] Chris Rogers, [co-creator] Chris Cantwell and [writer-producer] Zack Whedon. And I think Chris told me it was Zack Whedon who came up with this idea of a coma or him sort of fading out, where his life flashes before his eyes. I remember shooting it, and I thought it was incredibly beautiful, incredibly creative and thoughtful in how they orchestrated and designed it. It was really cool. I knew the show was ending, and having your character die in the last season of the show is something that sort of gives you closure to the show, to the role and to everything. It was great, man. I had such a great time working on that show, working with all of those people and with the Chrises. It was one of my first series I ever did. So, it’s definitely one of the most memorable to me.

Is there a Halt and Catch Fire group text?

Oh yeah. We still chat with each other. For sure. I think everybody’s schedules are pretty busy, but we try and get together when we can.

You guys are all doing incredibly well, but Mackenzie (Davis) is already a movie star. Did you see this coming a long time ago?

Yeah, I’ve always thought Mackenzie was incredibly talented, ambitious and just a wonderful person. So no, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that it would be happening for her. She deserves everything that’s coming to her.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that Hollywood feels much smaller once you’re in it. Considering that you and Kerry Bishé played husband and wife on two different projects (Argo and Halt), do you agree with that premise?

Yeah, I’d say the world is really small once you’re in it. It just feels like the older you get, the more you start running into people all over. But I guess it makes sense over time. You meet and meet and meet new people, so there’s more people for you to run into. But no, I definitely think the business is really small. If you work with somebody once, there’s a good chance you’re going to work with them again over the lifetime of your career, if you’re lucky. Once I’d come on board Halt, the Chrises told me that they cast Kerry to play my wife. So, I knew it going into the show, but yeah, I was really excited to work with Kerry again.

The first time I saw you was in 2010’s Monsters, and a couple years later, I heard Affleck singing your praises in an interview, which amounted to three films together (Argo, Gone Girl, Batman v Superman). Could you feel a shift in your career once he supported you as openly as he did?

Yeah, I’m not aware of that article or interview where Ben said those things. But with that said, yes, I think he was very, very good to me in sort of championing me. I don’t know how much influence he had on the other jobs, but I assume that he did. So, I just felt really lucky and grateful that I had anyone supporting me. It’s really hard to get people to get behind you in the business, so you don’t take anybody for granted that does so. So, yes, I was and am very grateful to him.

We just talked about Hollywood feeling small, and I don’t think the point can be better illustrated than the Axe Body Spray commercial you guys did together in 2006.

(Laughs.) When I left the audition room after auditioning for Argo, I reminded him as I was walking out. I said, “Oh yeah, Axe Deodorant.” And he was like, “No f*cking way, that was you!? No f*cking way.”

As far as Monsters goes, Gareth Edwards has said that you filmed in “cartel country.” Did things get pretty dicey at certain points?

Yeah, for sure. But you kind of feel unsafe every once in a while on any film set. (Laughs.) But yeah, we were a really small crew of, like, seven people, and so there were a couple of hairy situations we ran into in Guatemala and a couple other situations. But for the most part, no. A couple of situations here and there, but granted, how much time that we were down there, no, we didn’t run into that much. And the people of Mexico were all really, really, really kind individuals and really great people. When I worked on Narcos, the Sinaloa Cartel came to set one day when we were shooting on location and just sort of sat there and watched us. They just said, “We’re letting you know that we’ve allowed you guys to be here, so you guys carry on.” I know they’re noted for doing some awful things, but they didn’t seem to be… If you don’t bother them, then they don’t bother you. But Monsters was really one of the funnest movies I’ve ever worked on. I had such a great time.

Since its release in 2012, I’ve been a part of the Killing Them Softly choir, as it’s criminally underrated. Last year, I talked to Mendo (Ben Mendelsohn) about your time together on that set since I want to see you guys team up again with dishwashing gloves.

(Laughs.) f*cking love Mendo.

And he told me a story of how you guys lived together during filming and that you got on each other’s nerves, which you can recognize in the car scene on the way to the stickup. Would you like to offer your vantage point on this experience?

100 percent correct. The two of us met, we made friends really quickly, we moved into a house together really quickly, we were living together and we were working together. And it became this sort of tiff between the two of us. We’d get in these little spats at the house, and we’d be riding to work together, in the same spat, and then, we’d go to work and be in the same spat at work. I love that about Mendo. He dishes it out a lot, but he also can take it a lot. So, 65 percent of it was us having fun with each other, and the other 35 percent was probably frustration. But I think as Ben says, “It’s always great when two people that are working together are getting at each other because that’s usually when the goods come.”

After working with Brad Pitt on Softly, you were eventually cast in Plan B’s 12 Years a Slave, War Machine and Dominik’s Blonde (2021). Around the time of 12 Years, did you get the sense that Brad had become your latest champion a la Ben?

I don’t 100 percent know. However, with that being said, Plan B, Dede Garder, Brad and Jeremy Kleiner have just been really, really great to me by just thinking of me for projects and stuff. They’ve thrown some really great, interesting work my way. So, I’m not quite sure, but I am fully aware that, yes, they’ve been very, very good to me and have taken care of me. I’m still in contact with Dede, and I talk to her a lot. She’s a really close friend of mine.

As expected, your work on True Detective was excellent. Was that role quite the juggling act since you were essentially playing two different characters via 1980 Tom and 1990 Tom?

Yeah, but it wasn’t as hard as what Stephen (Dorff) and Mahershala (Ali) had to juggle with three characters in three different eras. No, we had a really great team of hair and makeup artists. It was also a really great show and script to be a part of. So, not necessarily. 10 years have passed with the two characters, and it’s one of the things that I love about the show. Over these 35 years, you really get to see how much people change over time. I thought [creator] Nic (Pizzolatto), as a writer, did a really good job at showcasing that, explaining that and also bringing the realism to that. So, no, it was fun. I enjoyed playing the same character in different time periods. It’s something I’ve only been able to do once before on Halt.

When you were on set with Dorff, did you guys expect the audience to theorize about your characters potentially having a romantic relationship?

To be honest with you, no. That may be a seed that Nic sort of planted. And I also don’t know what he had said to Stephen. But that was not a conversation that had ever really come up or was talked about with Nic. Maybe that is Nic trying to withhold that information from me intentionally; I don’t know. I haven’t really asked him about it since, if that was his true intention. That was something that I heard, but it’s not something that me, Stephen or Nic ever talked about. At least, they didn’t talk about that with me.

Nic ultimately rejected the theory on Instagram, and he’s never really been shy about shooting down fan theories.

Yeah, I was going to say… I think it’s something that was sort of speculated through the audience viewership and not something that he’d ever really thought about.

I thought your introduction on Narcos: Mexico season one was pretty ingenious. You weren’t originally supposed to narrate the season, right?

I think their first initial thought, if I’m correct, is that Kiki Camarena (Michael Pena) would be narrating from the grave. I think that Eric Newman, the showrunner, had molded over and over in his mind, and it just didn’t sit right with him. The thought was, “If this guy is dead at the end of the story, then how is he telling the story?” Once I was cast to come into this, I think the new idea that they had was, “Oh, well, here’s this new character coming. Maybe he could be the one who’s telling this story.” So, it’s definitely something that came at the last minute before the show was locked.

Narcos doesn’t mess around and shoot Albuquerque for Mexico. Both versions of the show have strived for authenticity by way of locations that actually correspond to the story. Did that set feel more immersive than most?

I mean, it was awesome and crazy. It’s Mexico. It’s full-on down there. I was breaking some glass one day, and I was like, “That’s real glass!” And they’re like, “Yeah!” and I’m like, “Oh, okay. Maybe they’ll put in the sugar glass next.” And they put it right back in. You just slam another piece of glass, and the glass goes in the other actor’s eye. It’s awesome. It’s like making movies the way we made them back in the ‘60s and ‘70s where the sh*t’s real. We didn’t have as many tricks down there. We just sort of did it as is. So, it was awesome, man. It was really fun filmmaking to be down there, to be doing that in Mexico and working with the filmmakers I got to work with.

Do you get the impression that you give better performances when you’re in a real environment as opposed to a soundstage?

100 percent, man. As a kid, I just didn’t like being inside. So, working on a soundstage is never really as exciting as working at a real house, a real mountain or, obviously, a real river or location and whatnot. So, fortunately, I feel like I’ve been really lucky as most of the jobs I’ve done have all been on location. I haven’t really worked that much on a soundstage. But yeah, your environment’s right there; it’s right there in front of you. You can react to everything around you because it’s real. I find that to be rewarding when you’re in the environment, and it’s less work for you to do as an actor.

Your Narcos character, Walt Breslin, pursued a goal so intensely that he ultimately ended up being reassigned behind a desk. Is there an experience from your own life that you channeled in order to capture how Walt felt by season's end?

Yes, the fear of also having to work behind a desk or having to be indoors for 8 hours a day. That would be a nightmare for me.

Overall, I thought you did tremendous work throughout season two. Are you returning for Narcos: Mexico season three, which supposedly started shooting in secret?

Not sure, really. There's been a lot of talk, but as you know, nothing’s certain until it’s certain. And even then, it can fall apart.

You’ve talked a lot about your struggles when you first came to L.A. and how you were living in your car and couch-surfing. At this current point in your career, are you finally able to say no? Or do you still feel like you have to say yes to almost everything because you remember those early days?

There’s two sides to that question. Yes, I can say no to projects. Some of the stuff that comes my way I’m just not interested in. It’s just movies or scripts that I just wouldn’t go see, that I’m not that interested in. And it’s mostly just based on that: “Oh, I wouldn’t really go see that movie.” But there’s also another side to it too. Like, you sit around for long enough, and I don’t want to sit around. So, after two or three months of sitting around, you say to yourself, “Okay, well I want to go work.” I enjoy myself on a set and working and playing around and exploring characters and exploring blocking and ideas and dynamics of the scene. It’s something I really enjoy doing. So, to sit around and say, “Okay, I’ve got nothing in front of me that’s good,” — I think my attitude more so is, “Let’s take this other thing right here that’s not that good and let’s try and make it good. Let’s do it, let’s get to work on it and get creative and try and make this show or project good.” And so, there’s a certain sense with some people where it’s like, “Well, you know, that person’s overexposed.” You know, crucify me for just wanting to work. I really enjoy my job; it’s what I do, and I’d like to do it as much as I can or am able to do.

Christopher Cantwell’s The Parts You Lose is a really beautiful film. How was that experience and reunion with Chris, Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winstead?

It was great. I enjoyed the entire time I worked with Chris Cantwell and talking to him. And I just think he’s a really great guy. He has a really kind heart, and he’s a really smart individual. Aaron Paul is somebody I’ve known for, I don’t know, 25 years out here. So I was excited to go work with Chris, Aaron and Mary. I think the film’s really good. If Chris called me up tomorrow and said, “Let’s go work on something,” I would jump out of my chair to go do so.

I rarely root against your characters, but this role was an exception. What did you and Chris discuss as far as your character is concerned?

Chris and I spoke about the character, and we both agreed to not worry about making this guy likable. We leaned more towards mainly making the viewer hate him but maybe hate him so much that you begin to feel for him. Like, it’s not his fault; it's just the life he has been dealt.

Regarding The Comey Rule, the release date has now been changed to late September, but were you as perplexed as everybody else when the show's premiere date slid to after the election?

Yes and no. Unfortunately, the country is so polarized at the moment. So divided. Naturally, that bleeds into large corporations protecting their interests. However, [creator] Billy Ray worked so hard to get this thing done before the November election, and he was promised to get a certain release date. I'm glad everyone was able to agree and that the show will air sooner.

Peter Sarsgaard recently told me that when he plays real people, he pretty much approaches them like they don't exist. Since you played Rod Rosenstein, did you take a similar approach, or did you go down the YouTube rabbit hole and whatnot?

Tough question. I find that it is different for me each time, each job, and each role. Sometimes I like to talk to them, sometimes I don’t. I followed the Russia investigation very closely, so when this job came along, I really felt like I had a lot of data on the players involved. Rod was not front and center in the media on a day-to-day basis. So I was really interested in looking at his body of work. He was the longest serving U.S. Attorney in history, and certain things made him stand out among those in Washington. I did find myself going down a rabbit hole by watching interviews and speeches that he did. I watched some of them over and over. I also had a collage of photos of him with all these different facial expressions. I would just go through them and wonder what the hell this guy must have been going through during all that chaos.

Do you prefer playing real people from the distant past since the audience typically doesn't have a frame of reference for them via video, audio, etc.?

They all are a bit terrifying to play, whether or not the audience has a frame of reference. You still have a responsibility to the audience, the story and the filmmaker to make it real and believable. The audience may not know this person, but it just has to be really specific to me and the director. All I have control over is doing my best to make it real.

Ana de Armas told me that Blonde is quite the movie, and of course, you reunited with Killing Them Softly filmmaker, Andrew Dominik, for it. On a side note, this conversation continues to prove that your peers love doing repeat business with you — whether that's Affleck, Pitt, Cantwell and now Dominik. How was your second experience with Dominik?

I really enjoy working with Andrew. Obviously, he is a very talented director. He is also very entertaining to work with, and I love all his films, so I am happy to have the opportunity to work on anything he is doing. As far as "repeats," I’m not sure. I do like working with people I have worked with before because we know each other, and there is a certain comfortability. Just feels like you just cut through the fat much quicker.

[x]

Captivated

Chapter 16

AU- TRR Liam x MC (Riley Taylor)

A/N - Set after the Tariq scandal is cleared. Liam ends his engagement to Madeleine and proposes to MC as per the original story, but Riley turns him down. This AU follows their life from then on.

Chapter Summary - Madeleine brings some unwelcome paparazzi photos to Liam’s study.

Word count - 1,805

@kingliam2019 @imjusthereforliam @amandablink @hopefulmoonobject @texaskitten30​ @mom2000aggie​

catch up here

Madeleine's mouth is dry as she approaches the Kings study. She’s not worried about the damage the content of the photos that are clutched in her hand could do to Riley’s reputation, she couldn’t care less about Riley Taylor and her stupid little celebrity life she’s created for herself. No, Madeleine’s worry is that Liam will somehow blame her for showing them to him, shoot the messenger so to speak, especially after her last visit to his office with the article on the front page of the tabloid, he had well and truly put her in her place. Her hope is that he'll see that plebeian waitress for what she really is, and she'll keep showing him until he leaves the common little tart and the crown can be hers again. And so she made her plan, quickly. As soon as she met Jacob Henley Madeleine saw it all at once in her mind’s eye, the way she saw all of her plans. She saw what she needed to do, the only thing to do.

She takes a deep steadying breath as she raises her hand, it hesitates for just for a fraction of a second before she knocks confidently on the imposing wooden door.

“Come in.” He orders. She puts her manicured hand on the door knob, slowly turning it. She walks in and closes the door behind her. Liam's head is bent over his desk looking down at a document in front of him, she can tell from the flourish of the fountain pen in his hand that he’s signing something. He raises his eyes briefly to her before looking back down and continuing to write. He speaks without looking up. “Madeleine what can I do for you?” His voice is professional and cold.

“Your Majesty.” She curtsies even though he’s not looking at her. “Liam, I have something I need you to see.”

He raises his head to look at her and nods once. She approaches his desk and holds out the photos towards him. He takes them from her and briefly flicks through, glancing at each one in turn.

“Where did you get these?” He asks, his tone not changing at all.

“A contact at The Citizen sent them to me. I’ve managed to halt their release, for now. I don’t know yet if there are other copies but I think I’ve managed to control the situation for the time being. I’m hoping this will be the end of it, I had to pay the photographer off to ensure that he didn’t try and sell them on to the highest bidder. And he’s been issued with an NDA.”

A muscle twitches involuntarily at the corner of Liam’s right eye, his mouth forms a rigid grimace. He stands from his desk, folding his arms tightly across his broad chest as he turns his back towards Madeleine, not wanting her to see his anger. He taps his foot furiously and stares out of the large lead lined window behind his desk.

“Why did you bring them to me?” He asks her not turning around.

“I thought you would want to know.” She shrugs nonchalantly.

“Have you shown them to anyone else? Do you have any more copies?”

“No and no.” She walks over to him and places her hand gently on his arm. She softens her voice in what she hopes comes across as a soothing, warm and friendly tone. “Liam, I did warn you.” His muscles stiffen under her touch.

“Thank you Madeleine, that’ll be all.”

“Liam, I’m sorry. But you know it’s for the best. It's better that you know about this before heaven forbid you ever marry her.”

“Madeleine, I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation. We both know that photos aren’t always what they appear to be." He raises his chin defiantly.

“It seems Lady Riley is often getting caught in compromising situations that aren’t what they seem to be.” She raises an eyebrow back at him.

“Get out now!” He shouts at her. Her red lips curl up into and unbecoming smirk.

“Don’t be like that Liam. I’m here for you if you want to talk about it?”

She moves over to the drinks cabinet and picks up a crystal decanter of scotch. She pours out two fingers into a tumbler and hands it to him. Liam eyes her warily and takes the glass from her outstretched hand. He remains standing staring out of the window and sips the smooth oaky liquor, welcoming its warm heat coursing down his throat.

“I don’t want to talk about anything with you Madeleine.” He replies sternly. She expected this. She doesn’t let his coldness put her off.

“Even if I promise not to gloat.” She pouts her red plump lips tantalisingly at him. He can’t help but smile at her persistence and lets out a sigh. He turns and picks up the photographs from his desk once again, this time he looks through each one slowly, trying to read into what it is that he’s seeing.

“When were they taken?” He asks in a quiet voice. Madeleine again places her hand on his arm, this time at his elbow, and guides him down onto his leather couch, sitting close next to him.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask too many questions. I didn’t want them to think we were that interested, considering you and her aren’t official. It would only add fuel to the fire.” She shrugs. “Liam, I hate to say I told you so but...”

He cuts her off before she can finish.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to gloat.” He raises his eyebrows at her and his lips rise into a small smile. She laughs and puts a hand on his knee. He looks at her questioningly.

“Look, I know you had feelings for her. But this proves that she’s not part of our world. She’s not good enough for you or for Cordonia.” She rubs her manicured hand up his thigh and smiles at him seductively, she takes a deep breath in, knowing that the act pushes her ample breast that are spilling over the cups of her bra out even further. “We can start again – you and me. We can make it work this time.” She purrs lightly tickling her fingers further up towards his groin. He waits a beat, enjoying the feel of her warm hands inching closer to his crotch before he pushes her hand away and downs his drink in one.

“Madeleine I’ve told you before. It’s not happening. I love Riley. She loves me. This is nothing. It doesn’t prove anything.” He waves the photos at the countess. “Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do.” She rises from the couch and stands in front if him. Aware that her full breast are mere inches away from his face she leans down and kisses him slowly and gently on the cheek, being sure to brush up against him with her chest as she does so. She’s sure she sees his face pinken and him shift in his seat as she rises back up.

“Of course Your Majesty.” She turns on her heel and sashays out of his office smiling triumphantly.

Liam sits on his couch contemplating what’s just happened as he runs his finger around the rim of his empty glass. He picks up his mobile phone and presses on Riley's name.

"Hi Liam." she answers happily.

"Hello my love. What are you up to?" He questions.

"Just in the city shopping for a dress for the Summer Ball with Maxwell, I'm meeting Jacob at his office after to go through a few contracts that have come in from some of the TV stations in the US, and to choose what charities to support at upcoming events." He bristles and feels his jaw tighten at the mention of Jacobs name.

"Is Maxwell going with you?" He asks casually.

"No, Bertrand wants him back by two to go through the budget with him, I think he's concerned Max has been spending too much on jet skis or something." She laughs and feels a hint of concern when he doesn’t laugh back. "Why, is something up?"

"What are your plans for tonight? I was hoping we could meet up?" He asks.

"I thought you had a dinner meeting with the French ambassador?" Riley creases her brow in confusion. Her attention is then caught by Maxwell picking up a pair of pants and holding them up to himself in the mirror. Liam hears her on the other end of the line hiss “Maxwell no! No one can get away with leather pants at a ball, not even you and your pert little ass.” And he can’t help but chuckle to himself.

"Yeah I have but I could meet you after, I can be finished by 9."

"Liam, we both know that dinner with the French Ambassador can go on until the small hours, the man can drink Drake under the table, and that’s no easy feat! And anyway Jacob mentioned grabbing a bite to eat after our meeting, there's a trendy new wine bar he wants to show me in the city. By the time I've got back it won't be worth it. I'll see you tomorrow night, we've got the National Film Awards remember? I'll come to the palace early so we can go together. Drake has refused to come and Maxwell is taking Penelope as his plus one as she's in town."

He lets out a sigh. He was already dreading the dinner meeting with the tedious ambassador who has a penchant for overindulging in excessive amounts of red wine, only matched by his penchant for indulging in impossibly young mistresses. He would no doubt spend the night bragging to Liam about them with gratuitous vulgarity. Now with his mind whirling about Riley and what’s she up to with the annoying and conceited Jacob all night, it’s going to be torturous.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." He can’t help but keep the whine from his voice.

"I hate to say it Liam but that's what happens when you're The King, you can't just sack off work to go out on a date." She laughs again, and again he doesn’t.

"Yeah I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow then...Riley, I love you."

"Yeah you too.” Liam can hear in her voice that she’s once again distracted. “Max says hi, in fact he actually says can you convince Bertrand that peaco*cks are a necessary Duchy expense? I can't see you agreeing with that one but I said I'd pass on the message. I gotta go before Maxwell buys another sequinned jacket, I'll see you tomorrow night."

She hangs up the phone leaving Liam with a racing mind and heart. He opens his desk draw and slips the photographs face down inside, closing it firmly.

That’s not why I’m going (37)

Who she’s grown to be

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake Walker x Amara Suarez

Rating: some foul language, some extremely suggestive, and a VERY steamy scene at the very end. This is absolutely NOT appropriate for people under 18.

Word count:about 4,800 (let me know if the ‘keep reading’ cutoff isn’t working well!)

Notes: This picks up right where we left off, as Maxwell goes to pick up Michael, starting with Michael’s POV. This chapter focuses on our main guys, and next time we’ll pick up on what’s happening at the Palace a little bit more… The end of Book 1 is looming :)

Also, today marks my 1st Tumblr anniversary, so I just had to push myself to finish this chapter to post today :) I can’t believe it’s been a year, thank you guys for your ongoing support and friendship <3

*****

Michael’s hands have not stopped shaking, ever since he received Maxwell’s text. He wonders why Amara wasn’t the one to text him. Was it a bad sign? No, he can’t think like that. Maxwell said that she was ready to talk to him, that’s what matters.

He looks in the mirror one last time. He’s wearing a dark green shirt, Sergio’s favorite color on him. He always said it brought out his eyes. He can’t help but notice the bags under them though, he barely slept last night, he just tossed and turned, feeling guilty and responsible.

He tries to regulate his breathing, jagged and nervous, but to no avail. He can’t believe that it’s come to that. From the moment they met, he and Amara had hit it off, sometimes even teaming up to tease Sergio on his little quirks. Michael sighs. What he wouldn’t give to see those quirks again.

His phone buzzes. Maxwell is downstairs, waiting for him in the car. Well, here goes nothing.

*****

Amara paces back and forth in the living room. Hana and Liv, originally waiting with her, were now changing into their bathing suits, as Amara told them to do their thing and enjoy the pool.

She would like Drake to do the same, she is terrified to hold him back and ruin his day. But here he is, patiently waiting near her, sitting in an armchair and watching her pace.

‘You sure you don’t want to sit?’ He asks, with a sad smile.

She shakes her head. She knows she’s ridiculous. It’s her brother-in-law she’s talking about, not someone who wants to torture her and make her suffer. ‘I can’t sit still,’ she says faintly.

Drake smiles once again and holds out his hand for her to take. She closes in the distance between the two of them and puts her hand in his. He squeezes it reassuringly and draws her close, until she’s in his arms. ‘It’s gonna be ok,’ he says softly. ‘You’ll feel better afterwards, I promise you.’

She nods. ‘You’re probably right. It’s just hard to envision. I’ve been running from this for...a while. Then, he said all those things.’ Her words catch in her throat. ‘And then I wanted to disappear. I didn’t think we’d be speaking face to face anytime soon.’

Drake runs his thumb across her palm. ‘I know. But he came all this way to see you for a reason. Besides all the blackmailing sh*t that he didn’t know anything about. He came because he wanted to reconnect, and perhaps even to apologize for what he said to you.’

Amara gulps with difficulty. She nods, hoping she won’t just burst in tears. She needs to be strong, not the shell of a woman that she was yesterday. She needs to be Detective Suarez again. No, scratch that. She needs to be who she’s grown to be in the past few months, here in Cordonia.

She hears Maxwell’s tires screech to a halt in front of the estate. Her heart nearly stops. Drake squeezes her hand harder. ‘I could stay if you wanted me to,’ he says.

She shakes her head. ‘It’s ok.’ She loves that he’s so thoughtful, but hates that she comes off so weak that he feels the need to protect her. ‘Go enjoy the pool with the girls. I’ll come out when we’re done.’

Drake nods. He holds out his arms, and Amara falls into them. She leans into his hug, smells his shirt for as long as she can, and tears herself away. She needs to be strong. Drake kisses her lips gently and walks outside.

Here goes nothing, she thinks.

*****

Maxwell turns his car off, and looks to Michael next to him, a gentle smile on his lips. Michael is grateful not to be driving here alone in a taxi, where he would have lost his sh*t and had a complete breakdown. He owes it to Maxwell to conserve just a tad of dignity.

Max asks, ‘Do you want me to come inside with you? I can if you want. Or I can let you go in alone, whatever you’re most comfortable with.’

Michael takes a deep breath. ‘I think I should go in alone. Right? I need to apologize and own up to my sh*t, so I should face this alone.’ He pauses. ‘But thank you. For everything.’

Maxwell smiles and nods. His phone pings. ‘Oh,’ he says as he reads his texts. ‘Amara is waiting for you in the living room. Drake just texted me.’

Michael nods. ‘Point me to the right direction?’

*****

Amara’s breath catches when she sees Michael appear through the doorway. Her feet almost give out from under her. He looks sad and worried, and she can’t help but notice that he’s wearing a dark green shirt, just like Sergio always said he loved. She can just hear him say ‘Look at my handsome husband,’ as he beams with joy and love.

If any couple ever loved each other, it was Michael and Sergio. The thought fills her eyes with tears. She didn’t mean for them to be apart forever, of course, but she can’t shake the feeling of guilt.

‘Hi kid,’ Michael says faintly, his voice breaking even on two syllables.

Amara’s chin wobbles. ‘Hi Michael.’ She pauses for a long time. ‘Um, you want to take a seat?’

He nods, and walks with her towards the couch. They are sitting so far away from each other that it breaks Amara’s heart.

Michael takes a deep breath. ‘Amara, I’m so sorry,’ he says in a shaky voice.

She can’t hold back her tears now. Hearing him apologize for those words, the words she, herself, had thought so many times. I wish it had been me, Papi, she kept repeating to her dad. How damaging must those words have been to her poor father? She can’t even imagine.

Her chin is now moving with a mind of its own. ‘No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Michael, of course you were feeling this way, of course you were blaming me. I blame myself, every day.’ She bursts into tears. ‘I’m so sorry.’

Michael closes the distance between them and hugs her with his right arm, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Her tears turn his dark green shirt into black.

His breath is jagged. ‘Amara, stop. It was never your fault. It’s just easier to be angry than to be devastated. It’s no one's fault, except for the man who fired the gun, and he’s behind bars.’ A fat tear rolls down his cheek, and Amara feels her heart shatter. ‘The truth is, you’re my sister. I don’t want to live in a world in which you’re not.’

Amara hugs him tighter. ‘I’m sorry, Michael. We should have shared our grief instead of living it on our own, but I-I needed to punish myself. For being alive, when my brother wasn’t.’ She wipes her cheek. ‘Every morning, as I brushed my teeth, for two years, I replayed the moment…’ she pauses, unable to say the words. ‘And I wished I would have pushed him out of the way. When he leapt in front of me, I should have pushed him. Not let him take the bullet. The bullet was meant for me.’

Michael stays quiet for a while. He sits up straight, and Amara breaks away from his hug, afraid of what he will say next. He takes her hand in his. ‘No. It wasn’t meant for anyone, it was not supposed to happen, not to either of you. Sergio made a decision in a split second, the decision to save his sister. I will be forever pained that he died, and I’ll never be the same. But he saved you in the process. I’m glad he did.’

Amara didn’t think she had any tears left to cry, but she really did. A lot. They all flow out, at once. ‘Michael, I—I’m sorry I’ve avoided you for two years. I wanted to be there for you, I wasn’t strong enough. But now, if… If you want me to, of course, I’d like to be back in your life. In Callie’s life.’

Michael smiles through tears. ‘We would both love that. She misses you. She always says she doesn’t see you enough.’ He chuckles. ‘She says that Christmas is her favorite holiday, because she can see Auntie Amara.’

Amara laughs. ‘I miss her too. I should have been there more, I know Sergio would have wanted me to be around, to watch over her… I’m her godmother, and I completely failed.’

‘You’re here now.’ He smiles. ‘Besides… Even without you or Sergio in her life...she’s all Suarez.’

Amara’s face lights up. ‘I know… she’s like a mini-Sergio. With longer hair.’

Michael laughs. ‘Not to mention the Suarez personality. Stubborn as f*ck.’

Amara’s eyes fill with tears again. She catches her head in her hands.

Michael puts an arm around her, worried. ‘Hey, hey, are you ok? Did I say something wrong?’

She shakes her head. ‘No. I’m just—I just feel so guilty for not being in her life. I want to see her grow up.’ She pauses. ‘I really wasn’t there for you, huh?’ She adds with a broken voice.

Michael smiles sadly. ‘No you weren’t. But I wasn’t there for you either. Now I’d like to be able to talk to you about how much I miss my husband without you running away for two years on a bartending retreat.’

Amara swallows back tears and gives Michael an understanding smile. ‘That’s fair.’

He squeezes her hand. ‘But the opposite is true too. You should be able to talk about how much you miss your brother without feeling guilty about me and Callie. We can grieve together, and with Jorge, too. Let’s be a family again, huh?’

Amara smiles broadly through tears and opens her arms to offer Michael a bear hug.

*****

Michael’s heart rests a bit easier, as he and Amara make their way outside to the pool, where they meet the others. All eyes are on them as soon as they’re spotted, and he can’t help but smirk when he sees the protective look on Drake’s face. That guy really looks at Amara like she’s the sun. As he should.

‘Hey guys,’ Amara says to her friends. ‘This is Michael.’

She gestures at him and Michael waves. ‘Hi everyone. Thanks for having me. I just wanted to say hello before I’m on my way.’

Drake and Maxwell get out of the water in a haste, but Michael can’t help but notice the wildly different vibes they give off. Maxwell is all smiles and is giving them a hopeful look, while Drake makes a run for Amara and wraps his arm around her, not caring that he’s dripping pool water everywhere. Drake asks Amara, ‘Are you ok?’ as he kisses the top of her head.

She nods. ‘Yes, we’re good.’

Drake’s face lights up and he enthusiastically shakes Michael’s hand. He can’t believe how much his demeanor has changed. He says ‘Hi Michael, I’m Drake, it’s nice to finally meet you. Amara’s told me so much about you.’ His eyes are kinder now, less defensive.

‘Nice to meet you too, Drake,’ he responds. ‘Thanks for looking out for my sister.’

‘Awwwwww,’ Maxwell squeals, ‘sister? So, I take it you guys talked it through?’

Amara smiles and rolls her eyes. ‘Yes, Max, we’re doing better. I guess it was long overdue, huh?’ She turns to Michael.

‘I guess.’ He holds out his arms and gives Amara a hug. ‘I should go. I don’t want to intrude on your pool day.’

Maxwell gives Amara a quizzical look, and she nods. Max enthusiastically grabs Michael by the shoulders and says, ‘No way, my friend. You’re not going anywhere, there’s plenty of room here for you. Right, Bertrand?’

A slightly older, serious-looking man gets up from a chaise longue. He’s wearing very long, brown swimming trunks, with a brocade pattern on them. He approaches Michael and shakes his hand. ‘Of course you can stay here, if you wish. I’m Bertrand Beaumont, nice to meet you.’

‘Nice to meet you too, Bertrand.’

Amara puts her hand on Michael’s arm, and gently says, ‘Duke Ramsford.’

Michael’s eyes widen. sh*t, he thinks, he didn’t even think about that. ‘I’m so sorry, Duke—‘

‘No, no,’ Bertrand chuckles. ‘We’re among friends, Amara, come on. Bertrand is fine. Make yourself at ease, join us!’

Michael walks towards the rest of the group, and Amara introduces him to the two ladies. The redhead who helped her out last night is called Olivia, she gives him a firm handshake. The other young woman seems much gentler and has kind eyes, she instantly hugs him.

‘I’m sorry, everyone, I don’t seem to be dressed for the occasion…’ Michael looks down at his outfit, definitely not appropriate for a poolside day.

Maxwell laughs excitedly. ‘Well, you couldn’t possibly know you’d end up in a pool with us. How about I call the hotel and have your things sent here?’

Michael nods. ‘That would be really nice of you, but um… that doesn’t solve the swimsuit problem. I didn’t bring one.’ He smiles awkwardly, kicking himself mentally for not thinking of every possible scenario. He’s usually so good at this. Packing is his sh*t.

Max waves him off. ‘That’s ok! There’s plenty of clothes here.’ He looks at him intently. ‘I’m assuming we’re more or less the same size. Would you be opposed to borrowing a swimsuit?’

Michael chuckles, both grateful and embarrassed. In less than a day, he has managed to impose his presence in a foreign country, and bothered the nobility so much that they have to pay for his hotel room, and lend him a swimsuit. Great job, Mike.

Maxwell guides him upstairs, where he shuffles through his closet. ‘Sorry,’ he says, ‘I have so many unwearable things. I like colorful clothes, and animal prints, and you seem like you’re a lot classier than me!’ Maxwell adds.

Michael smiles. ‘Please. I have absolutely zero style, I dress for comfort. Anything will do.’

Maxwell nods, and hands him a swimsuit with a discreet fish pattern. ‘Will this be ok?’

‘Yeah, that’s perfect. Thanks for everything, Maxwell.’

‘Oh stop. Anything for Amara. I’m so glad you guys worked it out.’

Michael smiles and sighs in relief. ‘I know. I thought for sure she would never talk to me again. She and I have a lot of work to do to heal, but… I’m hopeful.’ He smiles peacefully.

Maxwell nods enthusiastically. ‘That’s great. I can already see a difference in Amara. Her nightmares are still there, and she had a panic attack a few days ago, because of me really…’ He trails off. ‘But all in all, she’s able to talk about her grief more and more. It’s good to talk about it.’ Maxwell smiles. ‘Drake had a good idea, actually. He told Amara that she should, once in a while, when the mood strikes… talk about Sergio, but not about what happened to him. Just talk about who he was, the things he used to do, or tell a funny anecdote. I think it’s helping her remember him without the guilt.’ Maxwell takes one more step towards Michael. ‘You should try. If you want.’

Michael gulps down hard. He nods absentmindedly. He’s talked about Sergio a lot, with Jorge, Nancy, and especially with Callie, so she knows how amazing her daddy was. But randomly, just a silly little anecdote… he hadn’t been able to do that yet. All his memories of Sergio were weighed down by the grief. ‘I’d like to, Maxwell. But I don’t know if I can.’

Maxwell gives him a reassuring smile, more benevolent than Michael’s ever seen. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean now, with an almost-stranger! In your own time. When it feels right.’ He pauses. ‘Alright, let’s go have fun at the pool.’ They both turn towards the door and Maxwell exclaims. ‘Oh! I almost forgot to ask you. If Amara is ok with it, would you like to come to the Decision Ball tonight?’

The Decision Ball? What an odd tradition, really, it sounds like something out of the Bachelor. Sash Guy was really taking advantage of the tradition. ‘Would I be welcome?’ he asks.

‘Of course. I can bring you as my plus one,’ Maxwell responds. ‘You know, because Amara can’t bring one, since she’s supposed to…’ he makes air quotes with his fingers, ‘“court” the freaking prince.’

Michael bursts out laughing. ‘That sounds good. If Amara wants me there, I’ll be happy to come. But um…’ He thinks of his suitcase, probably on its way from the hotel right now, full of lawyery outfits and drab colors. ‘I’m not sure I have an appropriate outfit. I packed suits, of course, but after seeing how stylish everyone is at court…’

Maxwell’s face lights up. ‘Michael. You’ve seen my closet. There’s more than enough for two in there.’

*****

Amara is lying in Drake’s arms, both floating around in the pool. Drake is lazily stroking her hair. He’s amazed at her, her strength, her resilience, her forgiveness. He knows where Michael is coming from, of course he gets it. The man is grieving for the love of his life, so he said something he didn’t mean. Something awful, something he probably lies awake thinking about every night and regretting. This kind of sh*t happens in families when tragedy strikes. But it happened to his Amara. And Drake cannot take the idea of her suffering.

He’s happy she and Michael talked it out. He seems like a sweet guy, who cares deeply about his sister-in-law. In spite of everything, Drake is happy he’s here. He can’t wait to discover everything about Amara’s world.

‘You ok, babe?’ he asks.

She nods and smiles, tightening her grip on him. She plants a kiss on his lips. ‘I’m fine. Thanks for being there for me. I’m happy he’s here, now. I’m happy you guys can get to know each other.’

Drake smiles. ‘I’m so f*cking proud of you, Suarez.’ He kisses her again, this time lingering longer.

‘Gross,’ Liv says with a disgusted expression on her face.

Drake rolls his eyes. ‘Sorry, just expressing feelings, Nevrakis. Next time you’re making out with Rashad, I’ll hang around and tell you that you’re gross.’

She snorts. ‘Except that we’re hot. You guys are so lovey dovey, it’s repulsive. Keep it in your pants.’

Amara laughs, and Drake’s heart flutters. Last night, when her PTSD flared up, he wasn’t sure how long it’d be until he heard her laugh again. But that’s the thing with Amara. She’s like a f*cking phoenix.

Once Liv has turned around to swim with Hana, Drake holds Amara tighter. ‘I can’t wait til everything is over. Go on dates with you. Cook together.’

‘Or better yet,’ Amara adds, ‘you cook, and I watch you.’

He laughs. ‘Yeah, that’s what I meant. Although your baking skills are on point.’

She smiles. ‘Thank you. I can’t wait for all of this either. We can go on trips, wherever we want, and we can finally focus on finding your sister.’

Drake kisses Amara’s neck. ‘You’re amazing. f*ck, I wish we could skip this dumb ball.’

‘Me too,’ she says wistfully, ‘but it would mean that those bitches win. They didn’t break any of us, see?’ she gestures at Liv and Hana. ‘Our friends are standing taller than ever, and me...well, they haven’t broken me yet.’

Drake smiles. That’s his Suarez. He notices Max and Michael walking back from inside the house, and Michael is now wearing one of Max’s swimsuits. Thankfully, it’s not one of the ones with glitter.

‘Hey guys,’ Drake yells out, gesturing for them to approach. ‘Come on in!’

Michael offers him a shy smile. Drake wonders if he’d been too cold before. He couldn’t help but be protective of Amara. The two men join them in the pool. Maxwell, who usually does a backflip everytime he goes into the water, is suprisingly calm.

‘Nice bathing suit,’ Amara says.

‘Ha, thanks,’ Michael replies, ‘Maxwell lent it to me.’

Maxwell waves him off. ‘It suits you better than it suits me. Little Blossom, before I forget, I told Michael he could be my plus one tonight at the ball, is it ok with you?’

Amara smiles. ‘Of course. That would be great. One more friendly face in court.’

Maxwell claps his hands in excitement. ‘Awesome! I’m gonna grab my phone and contact the Palace to make the arrangements. Be right back!’

He waddles away. Drake’s eyes meet Michael’s. He realizes he has no idea what to say to break the ice. Is it too noncommittal to ask him about his trip? Nevermind, he’s going in. ‘So, Michael,’ he says, ‘I hope Cordonia’s not treating you too badly.’

Michael chuckles. ‘Well, I had a rocky start, as you know, but it’s all better now.’ He pauses. ‘I’m sorry if it’s too personal, don’t feel like you have to answer, but I have to ask--how come you have an American accent?’

Drake smiles. ‘I’m from Texas,’ he replies, ‘My mom is American and I spent a lot of time there. Some full years in my early childhood, plus all my summers growing up.’

Michael’s eyes widen. ‘No way! I lived in Texas when I was little, too! My parents had a small firm in Austin.’

Amara laughs. ‘I can’t believe I never made the connection. Drake loves talking about his family ranch in Texas, Michael, you’re in for a treat.’

Drake gently nudges her arm in mock outrage. ‘Hey!’ he says, ‘why don’t you go ahead and say I’m a broken record?’

‘DRAKE!!!’ Maxwell screams from the patio.

Drake’s heart leaps in his chest -- what did he find out when he called the palace? ‘What’s wrong, Max?’ he asks worriedly.

Maxwell trots to the pool. ‘I forgot to get more food and we have no staff. What are we gonna do for lunch? I need your help!’

Drake rolls his eyes. ‘Max, you scared the sh*t out of me. You have a ton of food around the house, we’ll put something together.’ He turns to Amara and kisses her on the lips. ‘I need to go save the day, Suarez. I’ll be back.’

*****

‘Suarez?’ Michael smirks.

Amara chuckles. ‘Yeah yeah, laugh all you want.’

Michael shakes his head and gets closer to her, now both sitting on the steps in the pool. ‘No, I wasn’t making fun. In fact, it’s painfully cute.’

Amara stares at her feet, feeling a mixture of pride and embarrassment. Her brotherly figure is about to question her about her relationship, she can feel it. ‘Thanks. I hope you and Drake have time to get to know each other a bit while you’re here.’

Michael nods. ‘He seems like a good guy. And for what it’s worth, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this spark in your eyes when you look at a guy.’ He snorts. ‘No, scratch that. I’ve never seen this spark in your eyes.’

Amara laughs wholeheartedly. She knows what he means. ‘You’re right. I mean, remember how tepid I felt about Rick?’

‘Poor Rick,’ Michael teases. ‘He was crazy about you, and you were like...meh.’

‘Come on. I thought it was love,’ Amara shrugs. ‘I thought that was it, you know. And then…’ she debates whether or not she should talk about the rest, and decides to go for it. ‘And then, when everything happened, I realized he was literally the last person I wanted by my side to comfort me.’ She studies her toes intently, avoiding eye contact by staring at the nail polish that she bought with Hana. ‘I chose to be alone over being with Rick. Now, everything’s different. I find myself…’ she stops.

Michael looks at her, but she doesn’t meet his gaze. ‘Yeah?’ he asks.

She continues. ‘I find myself wanting to share everything with Drake. The good, the bad, everything. His sh*t, my sh*t, I want it all in the same baggage and I wanna carry it together.’ She takes a deep breath and meets Michael’s eye. ‘Is that dumb?’

He bursts out laughing and nudges her arm with his elbow. ‘Dumb? Kid, that’s life. That’s love. Nothing dumb about that.’

*****

Everyone had gathered around the table to enjoy the feast carefully prepared by Drake, with Maxwell’s help. Michael was deep in a conversation with Hana, who was asking him questions about his most interesting cases. Amara was seated between Drake and Olivia, her heart finally resting easy, after so many weeks --months, even-- of running around. Of running away.

She takes a bite of her meal, enjoying all the flavors of the stuffed zucchini that her boyfriend prepared for everyone. She turns to Drake. ‘Walker, this is delicious as f*ck.’

He chuckles. ‘Right? My dad’s recipe. I knew you’d like it.’

She smiles. ‘I love it.’

He inches closer to her and whispers, ‘You look super relaxed. I’m so happy to see you like this.’

‘I feel relaxed. Being here with all of you… I’m almost forgetting that in a few hours, we’ll be back to business with this sh*tshow of a ball. Right now, I don’t even care.’

Drake smiles. ‘Me neither.’

She raises her eyebrow and whispers in his ear, ‘After lunch, you wanna meet me upstairs and help me get dressed?’

She can feel his pulse quicken, as she holds his hand. ‘f*ck yeah,’ he says softly. ‘Although I’m not sure how efficient I’ll be at getting you dressed.’

*****

Drake closes the bedroom door behind him. Even though he sleeps next to her every night, and makes love to her every day, his heartbeat quickens every time he’s alone with her. He knows that tonight, they’ll probably be free of her commitment to the competition. But he’s learned to be cautious, especially with all the curve balls thrown their way. So, he’s inclined to enjoy the moment as it is, right here, right now, with the woman he loves.

He clicks on the lock, force of habit. He closes in the distance between the two of them and she kisses him deeply. His hands frame her face, her delicate features that he loves so much. He can’t get enough of kissing her.

She tugs at his T-shirt, until it’s over his head, and then on the floor. She kisses him again, all the while running her hands all over his torso. He follows her lead and slips his hands under her sundress, where he finds her bikini top. He slides the straps off, and runs his hands over her breasts. God, her breasts. He feels his shorts get tighter and tighter.

As if she’s reading his mind, she unbuttons them, and in one swift motion, gets him out of them. He lets out a faint groan as he feels her hand on his hard co*ck.

*****

She wants him so bad, she doesn’t know if she can wait any longer. She doesn’t know what did the trick the most -- seeing him all chef-y and proud of his food creation, seeing him in his swimsuit, or simply being close to him. Maybe all three.

Without breaking their kiss, she throws him on the bed, and promptly straddles him. Without missing a beat, he gets her out of her bikini bottom, and draws her closer. She grinds on his hard co*ck, forcing herself to wait a bit before riding him. They’ll run out of time soon, they’ll need to be at that stupid ball she gives zero f*cks about, but for now, the world will have to wait until she’s done having sex with Drake Walker, thank you very much. This man has been there for her, has loved her like no man ever has before, for all these action-packed weeks, so the world can wait.

He breaks their kiss for one second. She’d almost be mad, she misses his lips already, except that he only stopped kissing her to tell her he loves her. ‘I love you too,’ she whispers in urgency. That does it. She can’t wait.

They both let out a low groan as she guides his hard co*ck into her, and as he enters her slowly. ‘f*ck,’ he groans. ‘You feel so good.’

She rides him slowly and deeply, his hands all over her body, her back, her breasts, her ass, her legs. ‘f*ck, Amara,’ he whispers, ‘I can’t get enough of you.’

She can’t either, she thinks. She’ll never get enough of him.

*****

Taglist:

@drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @jovialyouthmusic @andy-loves-corgis @mariahschoices @drakesensworld @thequeenofcronuts @notoriouscs @drakewalkerisreal @nikkis1983 @simsvetements @alesana45 @iplaydrake @emceesynonymroll @lily1999love @drakewalkerwhipped @drakxwalker @drakewalkerrosenberg @drakeswalkers @drakelover78 @silviasutton1989 @dcbbw @carabeth @furiousherringoperatortoad @hollygirl1269 @sirbeepsalot @ladyangel70 @thisperfectmemory @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @mrsmairstanley

Thank you for your encouragements, everyone! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist :)

OC Origin

MAX

Origin: 2006 or 2007

Appearance: golden-blond hair, sky or cerulean blue eyes

Backstory: Changes with each iteration

1st + 2nd iteration - Max Dragon

Max Dragon is the prince of dragons. Well, a version of dragons that are part human and primarily look like humans until they're capable of transforming at the age of twelve. Max and his twin Giancarlo were the subjects of a prophecy that they could kill a dark dragon known as Ken. Ken attempted to assassinate the royal twins during their first public appearance as literal infants.

The King and Queen decided the best course of option for their children's survival was to send the twins away to live amongst humans. They were given to two guardians who would take them away. Max's guardian was a twelve year old boy named Jake (renamed Valen in later iterations) who descended from the family of a dragon that had married a wizard and not a human.

Jake leaves the hidden paradise island of dragons and runs away to the human world with baby Max. He hopes to reunite with a distant human relative that will help him raise Max in secret. Unfortunately, Ken is hot on his heels with the belief he has both infants. Jake spends months running from Ken but a recent encounter leaves him gravely injured. With a stroke of luck, he makes it to his human relative and stresses the importance of Max and his protection. With his dying breath, Jake obscures Max from Ken's sights and succumbs to his injuries.

Max is raised by Jake's relative known as Old Man Jenkins. They don't have a good relationship since Jenkins didn't want the responsibility of taking care of Max. It's a better relationship than the one they have with the other villagers. Max is ostracized by the villagers for his unusual eyes, his mysterious origins and because he lives with the odd hermit. As such, he's lonely most of his youth. He joins a secret organization of rangers to develop some of his skills and also meets pure dragons that he has an automatic connection with.

Things change when Max is 11 as the village leader figures out Max is working with the rangers to overthrow him. He sends men to trap Max inside a burning building in order for him to have a terrible death. However, Max's heritage allows him to survive the fire. Max is confused but puts it on hold to effectively end the reign of the village head. On the eve of his 12th birthday, Old Man Jenkins reveals Max's origin and how he came to take care of him. Max, with the Old Man's permission, decides to return to his home, reclaim his title and kill Ken. His adventure begins.

The adventure includes finding his brother, meeting mermaids and their princess Zelda that he grows affection for, returning home, traveling to different worlds and times, war, loss, love, clones, truth of a clone-triplet situation and meeting an evil alternate self of his.

3rd iteration - Max Darwin

Max Darwin is a human boy who lost his parents to a teacher who had become obsessed with him. He's a quadruplet - Giancarlo, Sehel and the official appearance as a sibling with Halt - but is distraught since the other three are in comas since the attack by the teacher. Max is a closed off boy that Jake Anderson, legal guardian and cousin, struggles with since he knows Max is just hiding his pain.

Max meets Zelda and the two have a typical teenage coming of age story where they begin to open up to each other and fall in love until news break out that his obsessed teacher has escaped prison and is most likely searching for him. Then it becomes a thriller.

**least developed version**

4th iteration - Maxiel Garwin

***Current Iteration(s)!!***

Maxiel "Max" Garwin is the latest iteration that has subcategories: the king/prince, the God, the damaged soul and the assassin.

King category: King Maxiel Ilian Draconian

Maxiel I. Draconian is the Dragon Witch-King of the country of Draconia in the No. 6 fanfiction Children's War (first fanfiction appearance of the character!). He lost his father at a young age, before his father could choose a successor. So he and his brothers became the Four Kings, ruling the country until an invasion from a foreign country's king led to their deaths(?)

God: Leixam, 12th God, "Maxiel"

Leixam - Leixam is one of the Elder Gods in the No. 6 fanfiction universe that makes his first appearance in the OC-centric Serendipity: Through the Eyes From Above. He is initially an apathetic, bored deity until he becomes involved in the love story of Nezumi and Shion. He goes through great lengths to ensure their happy ending, messing with the natural order in order to do so. To summarize, he's a big NezuShi shipper.

12th God - 12th God is a part of a large pantheon of gods that has been helping humanity for centuries. Unlike his fellow deities, 12th God likes to spend his days disguised as a human and chilling with them. He meets an interesting village boy named Nath, who is a complete atheist. 12th God grows fond of Nath and is distraught when Nath catches a terrible plague that kills his family and nearly kills him. 12th God spirits Nath away to the realm of the gods and gives him the gift of immortality since he can't cure the plague, as it was another god's doing. Nath initially hates immortality and is rattled by finding out gods are real. He grows thankful of his new life and stays with 12th God for centuries. Forces threaten to tear them apart such as jealous gods, amnesia, near loss of immortality and, oddly enough, death.

Another version of 12th God has him meet a modern day Nath - short for Nathaniel - under the human alias Maxiel. The two met at several points in Nath's human life while "Maxiel" was fighting a celestial war. The two became a couple a year after Nath divorced his wife and they lived together for decades. They had several demigod children - none of them born in a traditional way - and fun adventures.

However, 12th God finally realizes one day that his Nath has become old. Despite Nath's insistence, he remains by his side with the promise to immortalize his soul after his death. Unfortunately for the duo, others want Nath's soul and immortality seems less likely to happen.

"Maxiel Nikas" - "Maxiel Nikas" is not a god like the previous versions but he's not completely human either. He was created as an Irregular weapon with the power to implant, erase and manipulate memories. For the power to manifest, he has to have physical contact with the person. He weaponizes his power in order to complete his mission.

The damaged soul: Maxiel Hadriel Garwin-Russo

Maxiel H. Garwin-Russo - Maxiel is the son of a wealthy CEO and an international actor. Like most of the other incarnations, he is born with other siblings. This time, he's a quintuplet with the same brothers plus a younger, quintuplet sister Gwendolyn. For reasons not to be told to avoid spoilers, he ends up in the streets where he meets Zelda and their love story begins anew.

The Assassin: Maxiel Garwin

Maxiel Garwin - Max has been an assassin since he was seven, eliminating an entire crime organization that killed his parents, sold his brothers and kept him as a slave. He was found by two men, Jason and his younger brother Ken who, instead of doing the right thing and sending Max to therapy, recruited him as an assassin for their organization.

He does pretty awful acts in his line of work until he disappears at the age of seventeen and reappears at age nineteen with an interesting case of amnesia and a bullet that should've killed him. Instead of letting him go, Jason takes advantage of the amnesia to convince Max that he is his father and Max is fiercely loyal to the organization. He brainwashes Max with falsehoods before he allows him to interact with others.

As this happens, "Felix" wants to create the Black Jokers, a group of 4 individuals that they can use to assassinate anyone they please. "Felix" wants the amnesiac Max to be the leader, to Jason's anger since he wants to have Max completely under his finger before releasing him. After a threat, Max is released and allowed to join the Black Jokers.

The story involves friendship, experimentation, fake deaths, hurt and comfort, child abuse, manipulation, fragmented memories, more mature content, quintuplets, racism, etc. I can't divulge more without spoiling anything but I can say that therapists should come out more often.

Love interest: Max, in many iterations, is either bisexual or ace. Bi!Max is present in the fourth iterations with the exception of King Maxiel Ilian Draconia and "Maxiel Nikas". Those two are asexual and have no love interest. Hell, the war that led to the downfall of King Maxiel was his insistence on not getting married and a spurned man deciding to try to take him as a spouse by force. "Maxiel Nikas" doesn't have any romantic or sexual interest in people and he doesn't fault his mission for it. He genuinely doesn't understand it. The godly versions of Max are either pan or aro/ace.

Max Dragon in his first iteration had no love interest since both he - and I as the author - were children. So his sexuality was never brought up or thought upon by yours truly. The second version of Max Dragon did have more options since he lived longer and I was older. He dated Maxine, Hebe and Zelda, only marrying Zelda and having children with her. 2nd Max Dragon still didn't feel straight, though, so it could be possible he was bisexual.

The 3rd iteration of Max is also a mystery. Again, I didn't think of a sexuality because it didn't seem important.

Depending on the iteration, Max has either Zelda or Nath as his love interest. So he definitely has a type since both have black hair and bluegreen/sea-green eyes. Both Zelda and Nath are morosexual - exclusively attracted to morons - since they like Max (Just a joke, ya'll).

Several people have fallen for Max - mostly women - for his status, looks or personality. The majority do it for his status since he's either a prince, king, rich kid, god or just a powerful assassin with influence. Nath and Zelda are the few of the people that look beyond the mask of Max, loving him because of who he is rather than his money or looks.

Possible love interests: I actually had to read back my old writings (yikes) to discover people who could've been Max's love interests if the story had taken a different route. They are: Maxine, Hebe, Greyson, Lady Cassandra, and Oliver.

Maxine was Max Dragon's fiancee but circ*mstances caused by one of the people on the above list (Greyson) cause Maxine to believe Max was dead. She mourned for two months before marrying his cousin, Samuel. Upon his return, Max was heartbroken but tried to not show it. Maxine was the first love interest written for Max.

Hebe, the goddess of youth, didn't think her relationship with Max was as serious as he thought it to be. He loved her more than she ever loved him, leading to their mutual separation.

Lady Cassandra's the darkest of the girl love interests since she wants Max despite his marriage to Zelda and their children. She didn't view Max as a person either, seeing him more as a trophy to be earned. She wanted Max because he was a powerful, handsome king, not for anything else. She's the most selfish person "in love" that I've written.

Greyson is the prince of the wyverns (drakons in the original version) who was manipulated by Ken to see Max as an enemy to his people. The two nearly destroy each other until they realize that they were manipulated. After that, the two began a very close relationship. Greyson always did his best to save and protect Max and was his most loyal friend during Max's darkest times.

Oliver met Max when the two were slaves. Oliver immediately decided he wanted to protect Max because he saw the other boy as fragile and weak. The two were separated and Oliver temporarily lost his purpose and thought Max had died in his absence. They reunite but Max has no memories and Oliver feels slightly intimidated by Max's strength and independence.

The closest people to qualify as potential love interests are Greyson and Oliver. Heck, Oliver and Max would've become a couple had they not been separated. Alas, the two are second to Zelda and Nath.

Family: Max tends to have an extensive family. The first iteration has him with the largest amount of siblings who would either be written out or rebooted. His original family consisted of his parents, the eldest and only sister Elizabeth, older brothers Jake, Jacob, Zack, and Cody and his twin Giancarlo. The 2nd iteration brought Sehel into the family.

The 3rd iteration removed Elizabeth, Jake, Jacob, Zack and Cody and put in Halt and having Max be a quadruplet. Max is also orphaned in this version with his legal guardian being Jake/Valen, his older cousin.

The 4th iterations returned some of Max's previous siblings. Elizabeth, Jake, Jacob, Zack and Cody are the older siblings of Maxiel Garwin-Russo while Max is a quintuplet thanks to younger sister Gwendolyn. He doesn't have true siblings in his godly forms, though. Just vaguely connected to other gods. Maxiel Garwin the assassin only has three brothers and two sisters (removing Jake, Jacon, Zack and Cody).

As for kids, only 3 versions of Max has kids: Max Dragon version 2, Maxiel Garwin and 12th God "Maxiel".

Max Dragon has a lot kids with Zelda: Blake, Gabriel, Dylan, Atticus, Kay, Zora, Senna and Nami. The first three are later incorporated into Maxiel Garwin the Assassin. 12th God Maxiel and Nath had 7 children, currently unnamed at the time.

Closing thoughts: I really really love Max. He was my first and oldest OC. I created him as this spunky, confident and outspoken kid because I was the complete opposite. I've changed throughout the years and Max has been the only OC that changed with me. I even used him as a form of therapy when I got a bit depressive in middle school. Max has a special place in my heart and is the OC that made me fall in love with writing. That's all for Max's OC Origins. See you next time!

its the cooperate thing. but it’s the third part. my second writing part but it’s like the third chapter, y’know

When she comes to, she does so incredibly slowly. Consciousness carefully creeps back to her. She aches, horribly, all over. She is warm, comfortable. She feels safe.

The drifting, weightlessness of waking up from a deep rest was familiar to her. The heaviness in her limbs and grogginess of her mind, she knew.

The speaking was new, though.

“Max, can you hear me in there?”

Were her eyes open, she would have squinted in confusion. Who was that? It sounded almost familiar, but warped enough that it wasn’t.

“We have a plan to save you, but you might not like it…”

Immediately, a suffocating wave of anxiety washes over her. Who was speaking? Where was she? Why did she need saving? What happened? Where were Ivara and Trouvaille? Before she could try to do anything, like sit up or at least open her eyes, she felt another wash of drowsiness hit her.

She drifts off again.

+++ oo

This time, she wakes up panicked. No gradual return to awareness; no warmth swabbing her achy and tired body.

This time, it is a jolt of fear that wakes her. The same jolt of fear she felt when something went horribly wrong. She could remember that.

But… she didn’t remember feeling so...lonely. So helpless.

Her eyes finally snap open. Bleary green irises scan the room around her, meticulously taking in the details, though slightly blurry.

Warm. The air circulated, not enough for it to be an off-base area, but more like the inside of a building. It is darker than outside. There are a few lights scattered here and there. Eerily familiar, yet foreign all the same. Too well-kept and spacey to be the barracks. A med bay? Where? The urge to sit up and move itches at her mind. She feels confined.

She tries to wrack her brain to remember anything that had happened. She knew she was in the Vallis with Ivara and Trouvaille. They were innocently wandering around, avoiding any conflict. Something happened. They were separated. She was hurt. She remembers laying in the thick snow, life trickling out of her. She remembers giving up. Accepting her fate. Calling for help, but as far as she knew, help had been too late.

Her mind jumps to the worst possible conclusion. Someone found me. Some dim-witted Terra crewman found me, helpless and unaware, and brought me to one of their labs. I’m completely alone. I don’t know where I am. Have they done anything yet? If not, what’ll they do? Her breathing quickens, panic setting in, something she had trained herself to stave off in more important moments. Get out.

Desperately, in a frenzy, she tried jack-knifing up on whatever surface she lay on. She’s immediately reminded that no, her body doesn’t agree with her brain. All she can muster is a rough twitch. Though, nothing seems to be actually pinning her down, which she’d expect if she were being held in a facility. Maybe she actually hadn’t been caught?

“Easy, Maxis,” a soothing voice spoke, seeming to come from all around her. It reminded her of the way Ordis had sounded when she still inhabited her Orbiter. “You are still in poor shape. Sudden movement may aggravate any wounds that have started to heal, after all our work. One moment, I will be with you.”

Quickly, a Trinity Prime entered the room she was in. The helm glowed a comforting, soft orange. She knew that color.

“Solise?” She tried to inquire, but it came out as a rough rasp, barely audible. Something next to her stirred at the noise.

“Yes,” the cephalon hummed through the warframe. “You were in an incredibly harsh state when Tinleah and Datura finally found you. She will be pleased to see you’re finally awake.”

‘Finally awake?’ How long had she been here? It’d only been a short while, right?

Solise read the confusion on her pain-wracked face. “Unfortunately, you have, in fact, been out for a relatively long time.” When Max stared at her, waiting for a continuation, she carefully continued. “It has been…” She seems hesitant to be precise. “A while. It’s been a while.” The familiar feeling of anxiety sets in, plain as day. Solise tried to steer away from the topic. “I can alert Tinleah that you’re conscious, if you would like. As I had mentioned, she will be overly pleased to know you’re doing slightly better, at least.” Before Max could attempt to respond, the frame briskly turns and strides out.

The noise next to her sounds again, now that she’s alone. She’s obviously in a safe area, so it can’t be all that dangerous. Something nudges her hand, jarring it from where it had been loosely draped over the side of whatever she was laying on. The motion hurt, felt like fire was spreading up her arm and into her torso.

The being responsible for causing it, however, made it forgivable, as excruciating as it was.

An all-too-familiar wet nose and muzzle smushed itself into her limp fingers, as carefully as a kubrow can be delicate. First, two furry ears perk up over the side of the bed, then Trouvaille’s black-spattered-brown head pokes up into view. The sight brings some semblance of comfort to her panicked mind, realizing that she has some familiarity that’s still here. As much as she could, she ruffled her fingers through the now-filthy fur of his head. But...

Where was Ivara? Where was her Warframe?

As much as she can, she looks around again. No Ivara. Trou notices her frantic searching, and becomes more persistent in grabbing her attention again. He whines plaintively.

“Trouvaille?” Someone else’s voice. Not Solise. “You okay, bud?” Footsteps pattered closer.

Calm yourself, she scolded her mind. Ivara wasn’t here, but she was probably still fine, wherever she was. She was resourceful and smart.

The person that had spoken entered the room. Max eyes them warily before her brain catches up. Tinny. That’s right, I called for Tinny. She found us.

“Max?” Tinleah’s eyes brightened at seeing her friend somewhat aware of her surroundings.

Max knew she must look awful. Judging by how she felt and what Solise had said, she probably looked like a royal wreck. Dodge would scold her, probably. She felt self-conscious at her friend having to see her this way, beat-up and ruffled and worn out.

She’s obviously seen you in worse conditions, something hissed in her mind. After all, she found you essentially dead, if you don’t recall. Oh, wait--you don’t.

Maxis wanted to do what she normally would: smirk or grin or wink or throw a mock-salute to her friend to acknowledge her. The complete lack of energy to move told her otherwise.

Fortunately, Tinleah seemed to understand the war going on between her mind and body. “You feel better or at leas, better than you were. Obviously you are since you’re awake and aware,” she rambled. She was nervous, Max could tell. “Um anyways, you probably don’t really recall what happened, do you?”

Feebly, Max slightly shook her head. Aside from the few snippets she caught earlier, she didn’t remember much.

“Okay then. Um, you and Ivara and Trou were in the Vallis; I don’t know what exactly you were doing. You guys got separated somehow. Then you, uh,” she struggled with saying it out loud, her face twisted in discomfort. “You were...shot. Likely by a sniper crewman. It was pretty bad. It missed your armor, and nearly went straight through your shoulder. You called for me and sounded like you were really on your way out.” Tinny’s eyes didn’t meet hers. “I was almost certain I wouldn’t get there in time. When Datura and I arrived, Ivara and Trouvaille had found you, at least. We got you to the orbiter and Solise started patching you up.” She was being uncharacteristically blunt with her sentences. She was trying to avoid something.

Max blinks owlishly at her. Her eyes darted from Trouvaille, who had taken to propping his head up on the side of the bed for her to reach easier, back to Tinleah, questioningly.

Tinny sighs defeatedly. “You noticed, then.” Not a question; a statement.

Her gut plummets. Gone. Ivara’s gone. Ivara, who could read her like an open book and keep her calm and safe no matter what. Ivara, who had been with her since her earliest days of being out of cryosleep. Ivara, who had been there with her through everything--Hunhow and the Lotus and the whole Origin System and the transferring of sides to the Grineer, and... Eyes widening, her fist clenches in Trouvaille’s fur reflexively. Despite her best efforts, she knew her eyes were welling up.

Tinleah notices. “No, no! She’s not...gone for good,” she tries to reassure. “We just don’t know where she is right now. She may have been found by the Corpus and taken to a facility.” A pause as she looks at Max’s still-panicked face. “I know that isn’t entirely reassuring, but there’s still a probability that we can get her back, once you’re back in shape.” She halts again. “But we can’t do that until you’re well again. I’m sure she’ll be okay for a short period while you heal. Once you are, we’ll go for her.