Thanks for calling. If you're reaching out to sell your soul, I'll already know and I'll be there soon. If you're calling to just talk, leave a message and I'll call you back when I can. Which will probably be soon. Talk to you then~
"The string of questions is okay, I get it. Esme's contagion strain is fairly unintrusive most of the time. It links those infected to Esme emotionally. He can check on them via this connection. Know how they are feeling and if they are physically harmed. And in return, their emotions and feelings towards Esme become heightened. Stronger than what they already were," Max explains.
"And yes. This could mean MK is infected too. And Esme is okay. This strain doesn't cause any strange happenings for him. He just can't share certain life experiences with people in too detailed a manner. It risks the spread of the original contagion strain to do so. In which case, he must infect someone to save them from that fate."
"So it just makes them attached to him, that's all it does?" This explains why Candid was suddenly getting feelings for Esme. Fuck. It sounds so not a big deal but giving someone feelings without their consent isn't something Macaque approves of.
"So he shared something with MK or Candid or both that spread the contagion to them? Okay, is it possible to get rid of it without harming them?"
"Yes. Esme never flushed out or strengthened his strain. It has the potential to do a lot more. But without Esme wanting it to grow, it won't." A blessing there.
"That is possible. If one of them perhaps during that dream sharing thing ended up in his memories of Lakeland and the original strain? I would have spread to them. It is an idea. That original strain is. Without going into too much detail, if one learns of the idea, and it enters the mind, it spreads like wildfire. The only way to stop the spread, is to head it off with another stronger strain. Esme's strain."
"So your guess is that Esme did it to save them. That tracks." But... "Can both strains be removed safely or is that a pipe dream? Them having feelings for Esme isn't the worst thing in the world but it's not exactly with their consent."
He tries to imagine what Sunset would say about that. Then decides he doesn't care, that he wants MK and Candid to be able to make their own choices about who to love.
"It isn't a pipe dream but it isn't feasible right now. Only because Esme doesn't know how. He never explored the strain enough to learn to release people. I can't remove it personally either of my own will. I can only do so using a deal with the infected person of their own free will. So that might not go over well since it's a big ask. Best bet is to support Esme to learn how to do so and then see if MK and/or Candid even want to be cured."
Max pauses and thinks for a second. "Best bet to start learning what happened is to ask Esme, MK, or Candid. You talked to Candid. Did he say anything about when this started for him?"
"If they want to be cured? Isn't the very nature of how this thing works interfering with their ability to make that call themselves? If someone told me that they could stop me from having feelings for someone that I felt very intensely about, I might not want it either."
"Candid said that it happened to him after he got popped and brought back. So it probably does mean that MK is infected too. Great."
Macaque flops down onto the couch and puts his head in his hands.
"In a way. But those infected can still be angry with Esme. Can think he's doing something wrong. Perhaps it would partially influence them to not want to be cured. Or need to be talked into it. But that doesn't mean the want to be cured won't be there," Max said. He thinks for a moment.
"If that was the order of events, likely MK was infected first then passed it onto Candid when he popped and came back. Huh. Interesting development on how it can transfer to clones."
"Hm. Fair enough." Maybe he'll talk to Wukong about this. He's the most protective of MK, he'll have a good bead on whether it's worth trying to bring up.
Then an unpleasant thought forms.
"--Could I be infected? I shared a dream with Esme too."
Macaque doesn't realize until after he says it how unintentionally revealing this question is. He wouldn't be asking if he didn't have strong feelings for Esme.
Max looks over at Macaque and shakes his head. "No. I'd have sensed it when we merged. Likely you avoided the Contagion filled memories. Which is fortunate for you both," he says before he gently judge Macaque.
"Anything you feel for Esme is one hundred percent you."
"I'm confused. You're talking about the Contagion like it's not that big a deal and doesn't need to be removed especially, but also saying that is fortunate that I'm not infected." How can it be both?
Macaque flushes a bit, realizing what he said and not knowing if Max is irritated that he has feelings for Esme. He assumes that their relationship is closed.
"...Sorry. I didn't intend to make things weird." What can he say? He can't deny it.
"Part of the dissidence is very much I'm so used to the Contagion at this point. It's a part of me now. Also, Esme's strain, as terrifying as the possibilities are, it takes after Esme's personality. And we both know mind controlled love zombies are not what he would want. He wants people to love. To love him. To feel like they won't disappear on him. The Contagion makes that kind of impossible."
Max isn't upset about the obvious feelings.
"Don't apologize. It's alright. And things aren't weird. I already share Esme with a one-eyed cat and a hunky crocodile. Sharing with you too is just the norm. Esme grows close to people quickly and often can develop reciprocal feelings for them back. It's just part of who he is. Him and his Swiss cheese heart. I love him with all of my heart and he loves me and so many others and that's how it is."
"... Right." Esme wouldn't want anyone to love him because they had to. Which makes the contagion all the more tragic. "I'm not sure how i feel about this, but it's also not really my call. I'm not even sure if I should tell MK about it." He'll have to think on that, maybe talk to some people.
Macaque looks at Max hard. "I'm not sure how my telling him would go, but I will do it. Eventually."
He draws a slow breath. "I feel the same way about you, if I'm honest. I'm not expecting anything from you," he adds quickly. "I know Esme is everything to you and I want that for you both. But I never got anywhere by hiding my feelings, so..."
Max thinks on that first part for a moment. "Talking to MK about it may shed some light on it but he can't be too specific on how it happened. Or you might catch it too, as a fair warning."
Then comes that two parter admission. Telling Esme and Macaque has feelings for him too? He blinks and a pink blush spreads across his cheeks. He swallows and feels awkward suddenly. He looks down at his hands and then back at Macaque.
"Oh. Uh...I kind of expected you to get feelings for Esme. A lot of people do. ...People don't usually get feelings for me. Wow." He pauses. "Thank you, to start. I mean..." he twirls his fingers and looks nervous and cute suddenly.
"I...do like you. A lot. I'm fond of you. I feel a lot of affection for you. It isn't like I don't return some of what you feel."
"At least if I catch the Contagion, I'll know that I had feelings for Esme before it happened. I still don't want to catch it, but that somehow helps." At least he'll know that his feelings aren't false. And he could make a deal with Max to get rid of the Contagion, there's also that.
Max's reaction is honestly adorable. Macaque can't help but smile a bit.
"No need to thank me. Esme is easier, it's true. You're like a puzzle that I'm solving little by little. It's undeniably appealing."
He watches Max fidget and thinks he knows what Max is going to say next, but it only seems fair to let him say it.
"That's valid all around," Max nods and keeps fidgeting with his fingers. He looks at Macaque, meeting those eyes. He swallows.
"Glad I'm a fun puzzle and not just frustrating. And...I mean...we would need to have a talk. About expectations. About...what it is you want. And need and what I can give and take." He does scoot closer to Macaque after he says it.
"And we could do that now or later. I mean you got a lot on your mind right now. But being like with me and Esme is totally doable. Esme will always be my number one. I can't, and I mean can't, love you the same as I love him. I can be fond of you and give you affection and attention. Gifts and me. But I am unable to feel as deeply for you as I do Esme and I wouldn't want you to go into something that could hurt you. Being a known secondary...I've been in your soul twice now. I know you struggle with that and I wouldn't want to reopen those wounds you're still working on healing."
Macaque pauses to consider, but he doesn't need to for long.
"Generally yes, I struggle with feeling second. But with you and Esme, it's different. You're a pair. I couldn't see anyone getting in the middle of you two. It just wouldn't feel right. I always thought you'd be closed to other people, truthfully. I hear what you're saying and I'm fine with it. I can't explain it better than that. As I said, caring about you both means that I want you to have each other first and foremost. And I wouldn't want to ask more than you can give."
He doesn't know why it's different, or just is. Maybe he's actually grown out of some of his feelings? ... No, that doesn't feel right. With his other partners he still can struggle. But with this situation, it would feel wrong to want or expect to be equal to Esme. He couldn't do it if he tried.
Max feels his cheeks warming more as Macaque goes on. He listens to him and he can tell the words are honest. Macaque being so open right now feels almost surreal from where they started. Snarky back and forth, both of them guarded, like a rapier duel. Now? This is open and soft and earnest. Such a crazy change. Max scoots a little closer again, like a nervous boy with a crush, until their knees touch. He is still fiddling with his fingers.
"Sharing understanding and affection, enjoyment in each other's company and more. Sounds like a fair trade to me. You'll need to talk to Esme, of course. And if he's open and willing, I don't see why we can't give something a try. Just to check in because, I mean, that would mean sandwiches with us. Shifting whom is in the middle. And you'd be okay with that? Sharing in the moment, I know, isn't always the easiest for you." Max chuckles.
"Which is ironic when you think about it considering, you're giving Esme a run for his money with your own partner collection. Do you have a bit of a Swiss cheese heart too?"
The change is a bit crazy. But Macaque started to see below Max's shell and to the man beneath, a little at a time. And in Max's dream when he finally saw the core of him, Macaque got his questions answered and his curiosity satisfied. It was what he needed.
Macaque reaches over to hold Max's hands in his, and then he bends down to kiss each one of them in turn. He sits up and looks Max in the eye, a soft smile on his face.
"You're not really trying to make a deal with me right now, I hope," he jokes. "But in any case, I accept your terms. I'll talk to Esme. It's only fair to give him a chance to speak his piece, and I know that you'd never do anything to hurt him."
Macaque huffs a warm laugh. "If sharing bothered me, I wouldn't have done what I did with you and Esme at Organized Yoga. It's different with you two. So I'd be fine with it. No discomfort I can foresee. Maybe it'll even help me get more comfortable with the idea of sharing overall." He could see that happening, given enough time and experience.
A Swiss cheese heart, really. "I only have seven right now. Is that so many?" That makes nine if Esme says yes to all of this... Macaque's ears flush a little, just at the tips. "I guess it is a fair few. I don't know what to say, other than I'm healthier this way. When it was just Wukong I got weird about it. But I don't think my heart is anything but flesh and blood. I just met a lot of the right people who make me better in their own ways."
Max laughs at the hoke and shakes his head. Nope. No deal here. "Just open communication and expectations, nothing more," he says with a smile. He gently nudges Macaque with the terms part. It's funny and all in good fun.
"I mean, seven is a decent number. But that goes up to nine. Sounds like you might have a bit of a Swiss Cheese heart. And not literally, you silly monkey," Max gently taps Macaque's nose. A soft little affectionate boop.
"And maybe fill a little space in your heart that just fit snuggly into? That's all I mean. A heart that could use love to fill the holes. And you've found your collection of love so far. And who knows. Maybe it'll keep growing? We never know what the future holds. Well, most of us anyway."
"Well, as long as we're being open," he says, nudging Max with his shoulder, "I want you two to dance at my wedding to Lucifer, together and with me. I want to dance at yours. So hurry up and ask him." Just saying. Plus, Macaque would have people to bitch to about wedding planning. Win-win.
"I have learned that love is not finite in quality, that's all. Every one of my partners improves my life, even Miyuni who isn't here right now. I'm happier than I've ever been between that and my kids. And all it took was getting over myself, how novel."
He chuckles at the future comment. "Not in my particular power set, that. I'm good at the present, not the future. But I'm not opposed to it growing as long as it suits my current partners."
Max smiles and nudges back. He chuckles at the hurry up comment. "Hey. We can't rush these things. I'm working on it. I want it to be perfect. Well as close to perfect as I can get it, anyway. The proposal, I mean."
He is all smiles now. "I mean, that's true. Love definitely isn't. Like a river, the direction and destination of the flow can shift and be varied at times."
"The getting over ourselves part can be a tough hill to surmount sometimes. And I have no idea what the future holds here in Ellipsa. I am hopeful though. This place, despite the interdimensional kidnapping charges, isn't as bad as it could be."
"You know damn well that he'd rather be engaged to you sooner than have everything storybook perfect. If you wait for perfect, it'll never happen. And I want to see you both happy. As happy as Lucifer and me." Macaque fiddles with his gold ring that has six wings engraved on it.
"A river that can wear down any stubborn old stone given enough time, which is what happened to me, I suppose."
Macaque nods at that last part. Anything would be better than their world of origin.
"Excuse you. I can so make the proposal perfect. I am certain, 115% certain, if you asked Lucifer if the proposal was perfect, he would say yes. And if I asked you, 115% sure you would too. It was perfect, right?"
Max still smiles wide. "I mean that kind of thing eventually can make a beautiful precious or semi-precious stone. Though there is semi about how precious you are~" Max grins.
"All that I needed to make it perfect was him and privacy, and all that he needed was for me to say yes. So it was perfect, but it's going to be perfect no matter what you do. I couldn't even tell you what decorations there were, it's all a delightful blur."
"I mean, fair enough on all counts. I'll make sure I propose soonish. Not sure when but I will. By the start of Spring at the latest," Max smiles and chuckles back.
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chiming
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-10 11:43 pm (UTC)From:"And yes. This could mean MK is infected too. And Esme is okay. This strain doesn't cause any strange happenings for him. He just can't share certain life experiences with people in too detailed a manner. It risks the spread of the original contagion strain to do so. In which case, he must infect someone to save them from that fate."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-10 11:46 pm (UTC)From:"So he shared something with MK or Candid or both that spread the contagion to them? Okay, is it possible to get rid of it without harming them?"
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-10 11:50 pm (UTC)From:"That is possible. If one of them perhaps during that dream sharing thing ended up in his memories of Lakeland and the original strain? I would have spread to them. It is an idea. That original strain is. Without going into too much detail, if one learns of the idea, and it enters the mind, it spreads like wildfire. The only way to stop the spread, is to head it off with another stronger strain. Esme's strain."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-10 11:54 pm (UTC)From:He tries to imagine what Sunset would say about that. Then decides he doesn't care, that he wants MK and Candid to be able to make their own choices about who to love.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-10 11:57 pm (UTC)From:Max pauses and thinks for a second. "Best bet to start learning what happened is to ask Esme, MK, or Candid. You talked to Candid. Did he say anything about when this started for him?"
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 12:02 am (UTC)From:"Candid said that it happened to him after he got popped and brought back. So it probably does mean that MK is infected too. Great."
Macaque flops down onto the couch and puts his head in his hands.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 02:16 am (UTC)From:"If that was the order of events, likely MK was infected first then passed it onto Candid when he popped and came back. Huh. Interesting development on how it can transfer to clones."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 02:21 am (UTC)From:Then an unpleasant thought forms.
"--Could I be infected? I shared a dream with Esme too."
Macaque doesn't realize until after he says it how unintentionally revealing this question is. He wouldn't be asking if he didn't have strong feelings for Esme.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 04:06 am (UTC)From:"Anything you feel for Esme is one hundred percent you."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 01:34 pm (UTC)From:Macaque flushes a bit, realizing what he said and not knowing if Max is irritated that he has feelings for Esme. He assumes that their relationship is closed.
"...Sorry. I didn't intend to make things weird." What can he say? He can't deny it.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 03:37 pm (UTC)From:Max isn't upset about the obvious feelings.
"Don't apologize. It's alright. And things aren't weird. I already share Esme with a one-eyed cat and a hunky crocodile. Sharing with you too is just the norm. Esme grows close to people quickly and often can develop reciprocal feelings for them back. It's just part of who he is. Him and his Swiss cheese heart. I love him with all of my heart and he loves me and so many others and that's how it is."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 04:10 pm (UTC)From:Macaque looks at Max hard. "I'm not sure how my telling him would go, but I will do it. Eventually."
He draws a slow breath. "I feel the same way about you, if I'm honest. I'm not expecting anything from you," he adds quickly. "I know Esme is everything to you and I want that for you both. But I never got anywhere by hiding my feelings, so..."
Macaque trails off, feeling awkward.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 04:49 pm (UTC)From:Then comes that two parter admission. Telling Esme and Macaque has feelings for him too? He blinks and a pink blush spreads across his cheeks. He swallows and feels awkward suddenly. He looks down at his hands and then back at Macaque.
"Oh. Uh...I kind of expected you to get feelings for Esme. A lot of people do. ...People don't usually get feelings for me. Wow." He pauses. "Thank you, to start. I mean..." he twirls his fingers and looks nervous and cute suddenly.
"I...do like you. A lot. I'm fond of you. I feel a lot of affection for you. It isn't like I don't return some of what you feel."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 06:03 pm (UTC)From:Max's reaction is honestly adorable. Macaque can't help but smile a bit.
"No need to thank me. Esme is easier, it's true. You're like a puzzle that I'm solving little by little. It's undeniably appealing."
He watches Max fidget and thinks he knows what Max is going to say next, but it only seems fair to let him say it.
"And...?"
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 06:17 pm (UTC)From:"Glad I'm a fun puzzle and not just frustrating. And...I mean...we would need to have a talk. About expectations. About...what it is you want. And need and what I can give and take." He does scoot closer to Macaque after he says it.
"And we could do that now or later. I mean you got a lot on your mind right now. But being like with me and Esme is totally doable. Esme will always be my number one. I can't, and I mean can't, love you the same as I love him. I can be fond of you and give you affection and attention. Gifts and me. But I am unable to feel as deeply for you as I do Esme and I wouldn't want you to go into something that could hurt you. Being a known secondary...I've been in your soul twice now. I know you struggle with that and I wouldn't want to reopen those wounds you're still working on healing."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-11 06:54 pm (UTC)From:"Generally yes, I struggle with feeling second. But with you and Esme, it's different. You're a pair. I couldn't see anyone getting in the middle of you two. It just wouldn't feel right. I always thought you'd be closed to other people, truthfully. I hear what you're saying and I'm fine with it. I can't explain it better than that. As I said, caring about you both means that I want you to have each other first and foremost. And I wouldn't want to ask more than you can give."
He doesn't know why it's different, or just is. Maybe he's actually grown out of some of his feelings? ... No, that doesn't feel right. With his other partners he still can struggle. But with this situation, it would feel wrong to want or expect to be equal to Esme. He couldn't do it if he tried.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-16 04:47 pm (UTC)From:"Sharing understanding and affection, enjoyment in each other's company and more. Sounds like a fair trade to me. You'll need to talk to Esme, of course. And if he's open and willing, I don't see why we can't give something a try. Just to check in because, I mean, that would mean sandwiches with us. Shifting whom is in the middle. And you'd be okay with that? Sharing in the moment, I know, isn't always the easiest for you." Max chuckles.
"Which is ironic when you think about it considering, you're giving Esme a run for his money with your own partner collection. Do you have a bit of a Swiss cheese heart too?"
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-16 08:03 pm (UTC)From:Macaque reaches over to hold Max's hands in his, and then he bends down to kiss each one of them in turn. He sits up and looks Max in the eye, a soft smile on his face.
"You're not really trying to make a deal with me right now, I hope," he jokes. "But in any case, I accept your terms. I'll talk to Esme. It's only fair to give him a chance to speak his piece, and I know that you'd never do anything to hurt him."
Macaque huffs a warm laugh. "If sharing bothered me, I wouldn't have done what I did with you and Esme at Organized Yoga. It's different with you two. So I'd be fine with it. No discomfort I can foresee. Maybe it'll even help me get more comfortable with the idea of sharing overall." He could see that happening, given enough time and experience.
A Swiss cheese heart, really. "I only have seven right now. Is that so many?" That makes nine if Esme says yes to all of this... Macaque's ears flush a little, just at the tips. "I guess it is a fair few. I don't know what to say, other than I'm healthier this way. When it was just Wukong I got weird about it. But I don't think my heart is anything but flesh and blood. I just met a lot of the right people who make me better in their own ways."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-18 10:53 pm (UTC)From:"I mean, seven is a decent number. But that goes up to nine. Sounds like you might have a bit of a Swiss Cheese heart. And not literally, you silly monkey," Max gently taps Macaque's nose. A soft little affectionate boop.
"And maybe fill a little space in your heart that just fit snuggly into? That's all I mean. A heart that could use love to fill the holes. And you've found your collection of love so far. And who knows. Maybe it'll keep growing? We never know what the future holds. Well, most of us anyway."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-18 11:09 pm (UTC)From:"I have learned that love is not finite in quality, that's all. Every one of my partners improves my life, even Miyuni who isn't here right now. I'm happier than I've ever been between that and my kids. And all it took was getting over myself, how novel."
He chuckles at the future comment. "Not in my particular power set, that. I'm good at the present, not the future. But I'm not opposed to it growing as long as it suits my current partners."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-21 02:55 am (UTC)From:He is all smiles now. "I mean, that's true. Love definitely isn't. Like a river, the direction and destination of the flow can shift and be varied at times."
"The getting over ourselves part can be a tough hill to surmount sometimes. And I have no idea what the future holds here in Ellipsa. I am hopeful though. This place, despite the interdimensional kidnapping charges, isn't as bad as it could be."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2025-12-21 03:14 am (UTC)From:"A river that can wear down any stubborn old stone given enough time, which is what happened to me, I suppose."
Macaque nods at that last part. Anything would be better than their world of origin.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2026-01-06 11:35 pm (UTC)From:Max still smiles wide. "I mean that kind of thing eventually can make a beautiful precious or semi-precious stone. Though there is semi about how precious you are~" Max grins.
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2026-01-07 02:18 am (UTC)From:Macaque chuckles. "You're sweet. And a tease."
Re: After talking to Candid; voice
Date: 2026-01-08 03:22 am (UTC)From:"I am definitely both of those things."
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