#zoomimal

[lestappenforever]

Me as the devil on your shoulder: ~give in to the lestappen drabble urges. You know you want toooo~ 😈

- zoomimal

The power of the shoulder devil anon is strong.

A Lestappen drabble inspired by this picture coming right up!

---

Max sits on the couch on the terrace of the Red Bull motorhome, a santa hat on his head instead of the Red Bull cap he usually wears. The Abu Dhabi heat is as stifling as always, and trying to force the hat on top of his cap had proven to be out of the question the second Max had tried it. But, the producer had looked at him with puppy eyes, and his press officer had given him a sharp nod that had only meant one thing:

That he was to replace his beloved Red Bull cap with the warm, fuzzy, itchy santa hat, or there would be hell to pay.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

And Max Verstappen had faced the wrath of Vicky one too many times already. He didn't particularly feel like pushing his luck again.

So, he did as he was asked (read: told), and took the cap off, placing the santa hat in its place atop his head. And he did so with a smile on his face.

"Now, Max, I've just been told that your Secret Santa will be delivering your gift in person," the producer tells him, and there are cute little frown lines on her forehead as she speaks.

Max gives her a surprised look. "Oh? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the Secret Santa thing?" he asks.

The woman gives him a sharp nod, brushing one perfectly curled strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"It does, but your Secret Santa was adamant on delivering the gift in person, and trying to talk him out of it has been impossible," she admits.

Now that grabs Max's attention, and he sits forward slightly in his seat, sharing a quick look with Vicky, who merely shrugs in response to his silent question.

"Well, now I'm really excited to see what it is."

The producer huffs a laugh. "So I take you're ready?"

"Definitely," Max says without missing a beat.

The producer looks at her cameraman, who nods in what appears to be confirmation that he's ready, too.

"Alright, bring him in!" she calls to someone over her shoulder, and Max looks at the open balcony doors expectantly.

From inside the motorhome, Max hears a door open followed by a muttered, slightly heated conversation and footsteps rapidly approaching the balcony. As whoever it is gets closer to the balcony, Max is pretty sure it sounds like somebody is being dragged through the room, which has the Dutchman inclining his head quizically. Then, moments later, Carlos pops through the balcony doors.

"Carlos, what the hell are you —," a distinctively familiar voice sounds from behind Carlos.

"Cállate," Carlos mutters, and Max's heart barely has time to pick up speed before the Spaniard physically drags a very confused, very disguntled Charles Leclerc out onto the balcony.

Charles Leclerc, who is wearing a massive, bright red bow on his head.

Max stares at the two of them in shock. And so does the producer. Somewhere to Max's right, out of the frame, Vicky is covering her mouth with a hand to suppress a giggle.

"Oh, my," the producer breathes, looking as confused as Max feels as they watch Carlos shove Charles towards Max.

"Carlos, I swear to God I am going to kill you," Charles says through gritted teeth.

Carlos, pretending like his teammate didn't just threaten his very existence, grins at Max as he forcibly pushes Charles to sit on the couch next to the Dutchman.

"Here you go. Feliz Navidad."

Max blinks at Charles, then at Carlos, who is already in the process of turning around to leave.

"Mate, what the fuck am I supposed to do with this?!" Max calls after him, gesturing in Charles' general direction, which makes Carlos pause by the balcony doors, looking at Max.

"You'll figure it out," he says unhelpfully. And as quickly as he had appeared, Carlos turns on his heels and strides back into the Red Bull motorhome, disappearing out of sight.

For a long moment, Max just stares after him, but his attention quickly shifts to Charles when the other man shifts on the couch next to him, letting out a displeased huff. His face looks like it's in the process of turning the same color as the bow on his head, and the Ferrari polo he's wearing.

"Uh —," Max starts intelligently, feeling his own cheeks burn. "Hi?"

"Hello," Charles greets far more nonchalantly than Max would have expected given the circumstances, and when the Monégasque turns his body slightly so he can face Max properly, some of the anger seems to fade from his green eyes. His expression looks almost — soft?

"Well, I suppose you now know who your Secret Santa is?" the producer picks that exact moment to ask Max a question, and the Dutchman's head snaps around to look at her. His heart is beating so hard in his chest that he can practically hear it.

"Yes, that was quite clear," Max admits, lifting a hand to rub at the back of his neck.

The producer looks between them, seemingly torn between confusion and amusement.

"I must admit that we've never seen this type of Secret Santa gift before," she goes on, glancing at the cameraman who nods his agreement. When she looks back at Max and Charles, she looks slightly unsure of how to proceed. She clears her throat three times before regaining her composure. "Charles, welcome."

"Thank you," Charles says immediately, polite as ever. "I apologize for my teammate. This is very embarrassing."

Next to Charles, Max is just staring at the other man, at a complete loss of words.

The producer chuckles. "Well, I must say the bow suits you, Charles. I take it you weren't exactly prepared for this?"

"Is it that obvious?" the Monégasque asks, tugging at the bow on his head to adjust its position.

"Do you reckon Carlos is right, that you'll 'figure out' what to do with —," she trails off, pausing briefly. "— this?" she goes on, gesturing between them.

Max barks a surprised laugh, pretending he doesn't notice the way his face feels like it's on fire. Probably looks like it, too. Instead, he looks at Charles, who's looking back at him expectantly, one eyebrow — the one that's not visible to the camera — raised. It sparks something warm and primal from deep within Max — something he hasn't allowed himself to properly feel before, despite the embarrassing amount of time he has wanted to.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Max eventually says, not missing the way Charles' tongue comes out to wet his lips at his words. And he doesn't miss the slight nod of approval from the Monégasque, either.

---

It turns out, figuring out what to do when he's suddenly "gifted" the driver who has been the object of Max's deepest desires for as long as he can remember is easy. Especially given how eager Charles turns out to be about the whole arrangement.

It's figuring out how to stop that's the problem.

Luckily, though, Charles isn't even a little eager for them to stop, at all. And Max is going to fucking take that and run with it.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

#Asks #Anon asks #Lestappen drabble #My writing #Lestappen fic #Drabbles #zoomimal #Lestappen

[ladysomething]

Ooo! Let’s see, how about ‘Charles is part dragon and Max really is quite golden isn’t he?’ (Both are still drivers)

- Zoomimal

oh my GOD I love how vague and yet also specific this is. seriously resisting the temptation to write a quick thousand words about this, but resist I will because we all know it wouldn't be a thousand words.

I have two different ideas for this so here they are:

lighthearted, minimal angst, lots of fluff, lots of Charles admiring Max, porn, probably short

Charles has a metamorphic ability where he physically transforms into a dragon - some kind of genetic ability. In this world, I think these types of transformations would be fairly normal. Maybe not everybody has the ability, but it's common enough that people know it's possible and don't really blink an eye.

Charles, however, keeps it a secret, maybe because dragons are seen as destructive and he doesn't like people thinking that he must be like that.

but maybe because the dragon he transforms into is the size of a toy poodle and that embarrasses him.

anyway, nobody else on the grid knows (except maybe Pierre), and Charles tries very hard to suppress his urges and instincts but one of the things he can't suppress is how drawn he is to things that shine.

he used to just collects coins and paperclips and jewellery but lately he's struggling to satisfy his urge and he starts looking for bigger and bigger prizes. shiny helmets, pieces of carbon fibre. but eventually even that's not enough, so he has to branch out again: other drivers trophies, plaques and awards. but it's not quite what he needs, it doesn't quiet satisfy him.

and then he shares a podium with max, looks at him all flushed and sweaty and glowing under the bright lights of a night race, and realises that there is nothing more shiny and golden than Max Verstappen.

Charles would absolutely then transform into his cute poodle dragon form, lure max back to his hotel room (or Monaco apartment?) and force max is sit in the centre of his huge collection of Shiny Things, as his crown jewel, the pièce de résistance, and then he'd transform back into his human form and fuck max on top of his treasure.

you could definitely sub in Charles not being able to transform, just having dragon in his lineage somewhere, and all he's inherited is some of the tendencies.

2. angsty, long, exploring the themes of greed and facing the consequences of your actions

this would feature Charles being punished by being cursed to turn into a dragon every night. think some kind of cross over between brother bear and Shrek. he'd be cursed because he was too greedy, never satisfied with what he gets in life and always trying to have more, more, more.

max would know that he's been cursed and would help him try to find a solution. some kind of long adventure/journey/roadtrip where max is constantly annoyed by Charles complaining. maybe they're even exes and they broke up because of Charles' insatiability and his inability to appreciate what he has.

as the road trip progresses Charles would get more and more on edge, starting to wonder if they're ever going to fix him.

maybe Charles doesn't even know why max left him - maybe he thinks max couldn't handle Charles winning championships while max himself was being labelled as "washed up" and "old news".

the climax would definitely be them having a big fight and max finally telling Charles that, no, it wasn't because he was losing and Charles was winning, it was because winning had made Charles so unrecognisable that max had started to resent him. that he hopes Charles has to stay like this forever, because he deserves to have been punished/cursed for his greed.

max leaves, and Charles has to finish the rest of the journey alone, realising how lonely he is and how much he'd given up. he would in the end choose not to continue on his journey and instead go back to max to try and make things right.

doesn't necessarily have an ending about max being golden, but the imagery would be woven throughout as a motif ...

ok that was so fun and hard. send me an ask with a prompt idea and I'll plot it out!

#anon ask #zoomimal #lestappen #lestappen fic #lestappen fic idea

[slythereen]

Ah excellent! I see you are back again and have become aware of the shenanigans Charles has gotten up to today. XD

There are so many layers to the insanity of him liking *that* edit as his first move on social media since Brazil and I am Not Okay and this man is a menace I stg 😭 (I love him for it tho)

- zoomimal

the fact that it was the first and only thing he liked......charles.......

also yes my shocking interruption to being chronically online (aka my actual job) has been impeding my ability to be crazy on main....don't they understand i have a hobby to indulge in !!!

(almost forgot that we are ~tagging~ your sideblog @zoomimal for easy access these days. and by we i mean me)

#*oracles #you know theoretically i should just tag you like duckie #zoomimal #beautiful marvelous seems legit and official

[thearchercore]

The Singapore flag incident back in 2019 will always be among my favorite Lestappen moments. Max pretending he doesn’t know a flag? Lewis being stuck between them? The fact it was *after* Austria 2019? How Max looked so incredibly pleased with himself after? Fantastic moment all around

- Zoomimal

to quote @scuderiafemboy "singapore gp, max asks charles if the singapore flag is the monaco one while the singapore anthem plays and theyre in singapore 😭 (2019)"

which was crazy bc he then proceeded to showcase his rich knowledge of geography in the geography grill the grid challenge.. like that man is a NERD

esp in the context of this being post-austria 2019 where they had a little fall out so max had to grab any chance he could find to talk to charles lol

also lewis in these pics is setting up the vibe i manifest for 2025

#lestappen

[charles-leclerc-official]

Luci. Luci I’m not well. Help. Did you see? Did you see that the trophies for the Chinese GP are wearable?? Around the neck?!?? I.. what are we supposed to do with this information?? How am I expected to live?? I need to see Charles in one of these like I need air???

- Mal (Zoomimal)

They are literally going to collar omegas on national television

#i am unwell #at first I thought it was to wear on the head like laurels #but this?! I am unwell #luci answers

[kingofthering]

Hello, the first part of the results of the F1 rpf survey has been posted :)

LINK FOR THE RESULTS

@honeybadgercomeback @multifandomgirl08 @letsgoricciardo @landoisokay @r69per-luvr @thetwelfthcrow @chaoticzoomies @puzzlebean @merlesrandomstuff @im-a-ghost666 @hornwolff @landoom @always-angel @albonoooo @maaxverstappen @zoomimal @hell-is-betterplace @theantitheticallogician @allamericantifosi @river-ocean @lavenderseomi @singsweetmelodies @prettydangrotten @watercolor-hearts @monza-charles @cotagrandprix @sregnarkroywen @nuggetstappen @anitalianfrie @dilruhl @beth1814 @hurricane-heatt @i-am-church-the-cat @raewritesf1 @manykinsmen @argentinagp @wigglesforsquiggles @inchidentally @milkbread-pastry @hello-sapphic-mess-here @keysmashhhhhhhh @scenetocause @idiotmusings @sporthb1 @ro55ocorsa @gotasegway @fierytrash @dandojpg @n-ico-ando @existence-is-overrated

#f1 rpf survey #insane how many people tumblr wouldn't let me tag #like a third of the list I'd say #may the reblogs reach them please

[fabbyf1]

Ooooo Monza anon your *mind* though! The cockwarming having become something reassuring and needed for Max as well. Max getting so little private time with Charles most of that week because it’s Monza and it’s Charles and *everyone* is desperate for a piece of him, even just a moment of his attention. Max slowly losing his mind as he has to watch from afar as everyone paws at his Charles…

(Sorry for brainrotting in your inbox! I adore warming-verse Max and Charles and that anon just got to me and now I’m chewing on the furniture thinking about it XD)

- Zoomimal

GOD!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES YES YES TO ALL OF THIS.

I miss them :(

#ask #warming verse

[yeastinfectionvale]

Hi Adora, Blobfan here. Since we’re mutuals I’m just stopping by to let you know that I’m mothballing that account due to The Circumstances, and from now on if a random lestappie blog by the name of Zoomimal shows up in your reblogs (and maybe asks) that’s me 😅

- (for the last time under this name) Blobfan

Blobfan it has been an honour to be your mutual under the blobfan name and i am looking forward to what comes next <333

#asks??? in this economy??? #blobfan tag (subject to change)

[celientjeee]

CHAPTER 7!!! IM SO EXCITED!!!

(Quietly, because I’m at work, but still! XD)

- @ zoomimal

AAHHH YAAYYY I'M SO GLAD 🥰

Hahaha I hope you'll enjoy it once you get the time to read it (or at least that you won't get in trouble for reading it at work if you are)

Have a good day lovely! 🧡

#anon ask #shut up and drive

[lestappenforever]

Okay, so if we’re reviewing ‘Max knows Charles lore’ moments I’d like to add this one that stuck with me as rather insane:

That time at the Miami gp this year where Max was on a podcast and got asked whether he’d seen/met any famous people. And instead of answering in any normal way he said he’d met ‘Chuck’ and everyone else there was utterly mystified as to who he was talking about, until he explained that he meant Charles and was referencing the moment at last year’s Miami gp when some interviewer called Charles ‘Chuck’. And then everyone was like ‘oh. Um. Okay 😶🫤’ while Max sat there pleased as punch like ‘heck yeah! I made a great joke *and* got to show off my Charles Knowledge! 😃🥰’

- zoomimal

☝️☝️☝️

This.

#Asks #Lestappen asks #zoomimal #avocetsinflight

[ladysomething]

Just finished the new chapter and aaaaa! Lovitloveitloveit. Especially loved getting even more Max Lore (TM) (my boy 🥺)

Also man oh man. Max and Charles really are just sitting in a sea of dots holding a fistful of pencils, and it still hasn’t occurred to either of them to try connecting anything XD (Charles is contemplating throwing the pencils at Max however…)

- Zoomimal

I think Charles would probably try to stab a pencil through Max's eye atp.

#anon ask #lestappen fic #where you go i go #wygig: charles

[slythereen]

Absolutely loving the discussion about marketing and what the angles/narratives at play are and what that says about what may be going on behind the scenes. Fascinating stuff.

I also had a tangential thought related to all this - I think the principal reason Charles and Max have not refollowed each other by now is that at this point it would be a HUGE media/PR moment. So rather than do so casually for no particular reason, I think they’re likely keeping it in the back pocket to be deployed at the correct moment if and when appropriate. Personally, I think the most likely scenarios for the Great Refollowing (TM) are either 1. Charles goes to RBR and they refollow each other as part of the pr push for that, or 2. After one or both of them retire in a ‘look guys! Remember this whole thing? (why yes I/we can get on trending even after retirement. My personal brand is *that* strong)

- zoomimal

praying to every god that it’s not the retirement plan, because as much as max likes to give me a heart attack i am hoping his retirement baiting continues to be bait for another few years at least. i fear i may not survive if he retires sooner and charles doesn’t win his inevitable championship against max. f1 fates cannot allow such an injustice

standing by the claim that charles leclerc could keep max verstappen in this sport & that imo is reason enough for rbr to be after charles (or, at least, for christian to be… christian i see you). no one on that team wants max retiring any time soon. (and as good a friend as daniel or lando is, i don’t think max views either of them as nearly as much of a threat nor is as competitive with them. he’d have fun. he would not be lured into staying if he planned on retiring.)

but yeah, much as i want to see the clowns refollow each other already, you have a good point. now it’s such a Thing they’ll prob wait to make it impactful. or just never do it unless/until they are teammates because they’re still pushing the “rival” narrative. silly season needs to silly harder for my sanity!!!!

#marketing and mayhem 2023 riseelmo.gif #f1 #charles leclerc #max verstappen #*delphi #mexico gp 2023 #actually this was from Austin i think #but tumblr is an evil gatekeeper #austin gp 2023 #good enough najdajbc #lestappen #paddock politics

[ccerealbowl]

I just think the nuke boi is neat :D

#toob doodle amongst all the others #my brain be zoomim with all these 3am drawings :DDDDD #tubbolive fanart #tubbolive #tubbo fanart #tubbo #digital art #mcyt #mcyt fanart #dreamsmp #dsmp #dream smp #dsmp fanart #dream smp fanart

[charles-leclerc-official]

AAAAAAAAAA this sprint was amazing and I am looking forward so much to the race now!! Max and Charles were so SO good today, Charles especially with that tyre management god DAMN

- Mal (Zoomimal)

Charles gave us an idea of what it's going to look like when he has the tyres in the right window. He was agressive and once he made that pass he was GONE.

This is promising for races until upgrades and even more promising post upgrades. I am excited!!!

And Max did eat that whole sprint up.

#luci answers

[kingofthering]

Hi. Just a quick message to tell everyone that I have posted the second and third parts of the survey results :

part two : fic recs

part three : concepts to explore

While we're here, I just wanted to say that if you enjoyed my ramblings about F1 & numbers, earlier this year I released a 55 pages PDF analysing 300+ answers about F1 fans and their origins. You can find it here.

@honeybadgercomeback @multifandomgirl08 @letsgoricciardo @landoisokay @r69per-luvr @thetwelfthcrow @chaoticzoomies @puzzlebean @merlesrandomstuff @im-a-ghost666 @hornwolff @landoom @always-angel @albonoooo @maaxverstappen @zoomimal @hell-is-betterplace @theantitheticallogician @allamericantifosi @river-ocean @lavenderseomi @singsweetmelodies @prettydangrotten @watercolor-hearts @monza-charles @cotagrandprix @sregnarkroywen @nuggetstappen @anitalianfrie @dilruhl @beth1814 @hurricane-heatt @i-am-church-the-cat @raewritesf1 @manykinsmen @argentinagp @wigglesforsquiggles @inchidentally @milkbread-pastry @hello-sapphic-mess-here @keysmashhhhhhhh @scenetocause @idiotmusings @sporthb1 @ro55ocorsa @gotasegway @fierytrash @dandojpg @n-ico-ando @existence-is-overrated

#f1 rpf survey #and now we're done #(unless I revisit some stuff later but it's not planned for now) #once again a big thanks to everyone who answered and reblogged the results so far (means a lot)

[aphidoideart]

A birthday piece for my beloved friend @linkandorf ! Featuring some of my fave creatures from the many he has created ==:)

#linkandorf #not my creatures #i’m gonna make tags for all of them ==:) #Slumbumbler #Squoid #Humbeaut #Sewinsect #Cephstack #Chewchew #Sap Spirit #Zoomim #Fren #Ridava #Kralp #Orph #Mossaucer #Soilift #J⭐️⭐️⭐️b