#spouse!!!!!!

what are some of your fav headcanons in animal instincts verse? now that max is slowly getting comfortable with shifting in front of the people closes to him, i wonder if he might even prefer being in cat form rather than human form when he needs to actively seek comfort? yknow if he’s had a really bad day (which is practically every day this season 😭), doesn’t want to talk and just needs some affection from charles or gp, i wonder if it might feel less vulnerable and scary approaching his favourite people for cuddles and kisses as a cat than verbally saying it 🐈 of course he’d still be all shy and hesitant at first but i can just imagine him slowly relaxing and purring in content

anyways sorry for the long ask just wanted to pop by and show some love for ur writing!! pls never stop writing new drabbles for this, literally anything you want to write about im sure wld be amazing 🫶🫶

Ahh thank you!!! This is so sweet <3 I’m glad you liked the concept! Shifting is super fun to think about, and Max Cat is a lot of fun for me to think of :)

Oooh fav headcanons!! That’s such a fun question eeeeeee

As he gets more comfortable with his animal form he honestly does prefer getting around as a cat! Especially when he realizes media (no matter how much they may try) can NOT ask a cat his thoughts on the car. In the later part of the 2025 season you really only see a cat slinking into the paddock. Speaking of comfort, I wrote a small Drabble Here actually that kinda talks about what youre thinking of! Max, whenever he’s feeling upset, finds it easier to be a cat. It’s slow-going at first, mostly because whenever he was upset as a kid, shifting into a cat often then made it worse because of his father, so it takes some time to relearn. For him, it is easier to then ask for help as a cat, mostly because he can tell himself that the other person can also get something out of it (petting a cat). It feels less selfish for him. The other upside is he can’t really cry as much, and sometimes as a cat it feels easier to ignore the world than as a human. Again, Max the human can’t curse out or ignore media, but Max the cat gets a lot more leeway. Oftentimes he will go to GP or Charles for comfort, but sometimes even curling up in a warm tyre blanket makes him feel a bit better. He tended to shy away from going to the rookies for comfort, which is why for him it was so awkward in my Drabble, but he does love to comfort them as a cat. Sometimes finding the right words to tell a rookie after a bad qualifying is hard, but sometimes all they need is a cat purring in their lap. Kimi has tried to get permission for Max to come with him to his meetings as a cat because he’s Kimi’s “emotional support animal”. George is the only one saying no and he is using full veto power. Max the cat is often seen around the paddock, and often seen with a gaggle of other animals or rookies trailing after him. Red Bull were suddenly dealing with the most confounding joint custody of their own driver.

This is all before the 2026 season, of course.