Maximus is such a sweet little munchkin. I loved him getting cozy in his comfy robe and slippers. I loved that he got to eat and watch tv. I loved that he wasn't nervous about making his cock explode anymore cause he realized that new experiences weren't scary.
the way Lucy and Maximus help each other to adjust to each others’ worlds and experiences, which then in turn causes them to see the flaws in their backgrounds and upbringing um HELLOOOOOO
Like when Lucy was so excited in vault 4 to have Max adjust, only to find out his initial skepticism was warranted
And Lucy showing him that hey sex and relationships are okay despite what your culture has taught you
And the way they bring out the best in each other and give each other something to keep going for and find each other as what keeps them going instead of the original thing they set out to do
the line from Dane about nowhere being safe when Max was talking about going to Lucy’s vault is so hard-hitting like there really is nowhere for them to go away from corruption and violence… and yet… maybe safe would just be with each other. maybe home isn’t a place but another person.
A common problem with a lot of swapped gender role stories is the lack of any real research or sympathy for the male characters in these situations.
If you are under the impression that no man alive can be a victim of any kind of abuse without writing these kinds of stories where they are in a "woman's" position, you need to seriously consider a career change.
Also, lovely stereotyping.
It gets even worse when the writers who make these stories have a "Now men knows what it feels like!" attitude. Turning the whole thing into a kind of "abuse fetish" story, for a lack of a better term, as opposed to telling an actual story to begin with.