#also that's carlos standing next to him i just forgot he existed | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cherry-leclerc · 3 months

Text

back to you ☆ cs55

genre: fluff, oldmoney!reader, strangers to lovers

word count: 3.1k

Fixated from the moment he first saw you, Carlos stays missing someone whom he never even properly met. But that all seems to change one night when you unexpectedly show up to a business dinner.

req!... i'm such a liar lmaooo (iykyk). hope you enjoy, my lil anons :) hope this heals some of the heartbreak we all endured today !!(*bashes head against keyboard*)

It almost seemed like you had something up your sleeve, a tactic to retrieve all of his attention away from the camera shoved right in front of him - media duties.

“Hello guys, just wanted to come on here to say that I think we gave it all we could during today’s race but there is definitely always room for improvement…” Blah, blah, blah.

He can’t quite figure out what he’s saying because his brown eyes are attached to the pretty girl walking right in front of him. Not behind him, trying to catch up. Not besides him, begging for a photo. Nope, right in front of him as if you could care less that you have one of the most popular drivers to ever exist almost chasing after you.

He could hear you mumbling about God knows what to the girl walking besides you. The Spaniard feels like a total creep when it comes to him becoming more alert to possibly catch your name. As you were saying? The media team manager stares back expectantly once Carlos blanks out. Though it wasn’t that unusual.

The 29 year old flickers his gaze back to the camera and then back to where you were, only except, you’re gone. Out of sight and his heart stops for a nanosecond.

“Onto the next week. Vamos.”

“So then, you have your upcoming shoot for the new fireproofs, testing, stimulator - if we have time, interview at…”

Carlos tunes out as he blinks at the never ending list as if it were just another Monday. Charles nods attentively, though he also looks far too uninterested. They were exhausted.

“And dinner tonight to meet our new sponsors.”

“Another one?” Charles asks, a slight crack in voice as he tries to pretend he wasn’t at all annoyed. “We just had one last night.”

Maria musters up a stern look. “Yes, again. They’re a lovely family, so we want to impress them with two well-behaved drivers.” The Ferrari boys swallow their laughter as they nod their heads. Got it.

It takes all of Carlos’ remaining willpower to get ready for dinner that night. On the way to the small Italian restaurant, he second guesses even showing up. He could fake a fever. A sore throat. Shaking his head, he curses as he steps out of his custom Ferrari.

“Oh good, I thought it was just going to be me,” Charles jokes as soon as he spots the Spaniard. Carlos chuckles before greeting the team. About 10 minutes go by before the Monegasque grows impatient as a child. I could have finished watching my movie.

“Shut up,” Fred murmurs before abruptly standing up from his seat. “Ah! È così bello rivedere finalmente te e la tua famiglia!” Choking on his champagne, Charles scrunches his nose before flying up and introducing himself. Carlos bites back a smile as he follows his lead.

And there he sees you, standing elegantly with a silk dress that looks as soft as your skin. You’re smiling sweetly at everyone, stepping in to not just shake their hands, but also go in for a small hug. Your mother and father repeat the same action, though they later focus all of their attention on Fred and Maria.

The Monegasque kicks his teammate’s shin. Carlos winces as he shoots fiery daggers. “We hit the jackpot.”

“What?”

Charles' shoulders drop theatrically. “Are you kidding me? Are we looking at the same girl right now or are you just blind?”

But he did see you, and he never quite forgot about you since that day. He could feel the tips of his ear burn bright red as you made your way over to him and his teammate. Charles, so nice to meet you, the green eyed boy beams before going in for a hug. You smile from ear to ear.

“Nice to meet you, too! I must admit; I’m a little starstruck right now.” Charles blushes fast as he stutters his way around such a compliment, even if he’s received thousands of the same one before. “Ah, this is Carlos.”

“Hello,” he feels himself saying. “Carlos, nice to meet you.” As soon as you look up at him, his breath hitches and fears you might feel his sweaty palms flourishing against your soft ones. And if you do, you choose to ignore it as you share a small smile, the kind you share when you see someone after 15 years.

The kind that seems forced.

“Ditto.”

With one last glance, you excuse yourself before making your way over to where your parents and Fred chatter about upcoming plans. Carlos blinks. “Wow. No hug,” Charles points out. “That’s weird. She was basically giving them out for free.”

“Be quiet.”

The remainder of the night you kept to yourself, occasionally inputting your own opinion with a polite smile drawn onto your fruit punch lips. Very well mannered, Fred would approve as you would bow your head with shyness. Carlos quirked a brow of curiosity.

He wondered what he might’ve done wrong. Had he been too forward? Cold? Often, his parents would claim he could be like that sometimes, so maybe? He wasn’t clinging onto the fact that he was the only one who didn’t receive a warm greeting from you, but he was left with questions.

“E tu, tesoro?”

“What about me?” you repeat, hair fanning along your face like a shiny curtain. Maria chuckles. How do you feel about being a part of this new chapter? You think about it for a second before settling with the safest answer. “Very proud, there’s nothing better than tying links with such a superior team.” Fred roars with genuine laughter as he pats your father’s shoulder. Smart girl.

“Why fine jewelry?”

“Pardon?”

The inquiry was directed towards your parents - who would clearly have the answer - but his eyes were trained on you, leaving you to fend for yourself. Lips part slowly as you connect with Carlos’ intense attention. “I’m curious, that’s all. I’m delighted we have you as our sponsors, but I was just wondering what made you dive into the business? Must be hard.”

Squinting your eyes, you click your tongue. It’s in our blood, your father’s voice cuts your train of thought. It’s what we do, what we love. But his warm gaze sticks to you like hot glue. You clear your throat before returning to your wide smile.

“I think it’s safe to say that diamonds are beautiful. They are scarily so crystal clear that for a moment one might search for a trace of color. And then they do come in other colors, so it’s really no problem,” you say, soft chuckles circling the table. “But I believe it’s also safe to say that we don’t often think about how they got here, shining around many ring fingers.” Your mother approves as she shows her mind-blowing diamond cut.

“Miners are the answer. They work hard - get their hands dirty - because they know that while it may not be easy to find such precious things…” His eyes roam your lips before dancing back up to your orbs. “It’s very well worth it.” Taking a sip from your glass of wine, you raise a brow. “That’s why.”

“It doesn’t even feel that tough to wear these pieces,” Charles squeaks as he slips on a white gold bracelet around his wrist. “They’re breathtaking.”

Clapping, you squeal at his words. For a moment, Carlos thinks about punching his teammate for getting to see your good side. They’re great, thank you again. You just tip your head towards him to confirm you heard, and slide away. Carlos sighs.

“This is ridiculous. She can’t even look at me.” The Spaniard bites his cheek. “Do you think she hates me?”

“For doing what?” Charles asks, face pinched with confusion. Carlos huffs, arms flying up.

“I have no idea!”

“Well…I don’t think so, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?”

“No.” He groans. “Can you picture how awkward that would be? There’s no way.”

“Suit yourself.”

Pouting, the brown eyed boy zigzags his way into the studio, mentally preparing himself for hours of blinding lights. “Buongiorno, Carlos!” Spotting your father with his arms wrapped around his wife, he walks over with a tired smile. How are you guys? “We’re fine, son, thank you for asking. Tell me, are you excited for this weekend?” He instantly stands up straighter.

“I am. The Tifosi are always great to be around. Gets hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I can imagine. My wife and daughter are always amped up when it’s finally Monza’s turn.” He hums, almost as if he’s reminiscing. “Tell you, my baby would beg for us to take her to cheer on her favorite drivers. It’s kind of a full circle moment so don’t mind if my wife gets emotional.”

“Stop,” your mother sniffles as she shares a grimace. Told you, your father mouths. Carlos laughs.

“I completely get it, it must mean a lot to all three of you. Maybe that’s what makes this partnership work all the more.” Your fathers winks, large fingers wagging over at the Spaniard. Working over time. I respect it.

“I see why my daughter likes you.”

Carlos halts. “Sorry?”

The older man pants, seeming comedically defeated. “Are you kidding me? She adores you! You've been her favorite driver since you joined Formula 1.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Her love towards the sport had a huge impact on us to join as sponsors, but to be fair, we probably still would have done it. Like I said, it holds a special place in our hearts.”

“Buongiorno,” your soft voice echoes, skipping happily to greet the Ferrari team. Everyone’s energy quickly picks up as you flow with such easiness, skirt wrapping around your waist, making you seem like the only flower in an empty garden. Talk to you in a bit, you cheer as you make your way up to your parents. You stop dead in your tracks as soon as you spot the grumpy brunette. Like always, he can physically see you create a wall around yourself, keeping you from him. He felt like the Beast drooling over the rose inside the glass. “Good morning, Carlos. Logo looks good,” you hum, dark red pedicure pointing at your last name printed onto his fireproof. “Can’t wait to see how it looks on Charles.”

His jaw ticks. “Why don’t I call him then?”

“That would be lovely.”

He’s jealous. Of course he fucking is. He might have found out your whole act is a facade but that didn’t stop him from feeling this way. He could have been your favorite at one point, but what about now? It sure as hell didn’t seem like it.

“She wants to see you.”

The Monegasque furrows his brows. Who? But as soon as he notices his teammates' sour face, he registers the reason for his bad mood. “Stop pouting. You look like you just sucked on a lemon.” Carlos shoots a deadpan expression. “This has gone too far. It’s obviously bothering you.”

“What? You nagging?”

“Okay, ouch.” The green eyed boy takes a small step towards the Spaniard. “You don’t like it that she’s ignoring you because you like her.”

Carlos jumps off the couch. “I do not!” Charles hums.

“Oh shit, good, then I could ask her out.” He beams. “I wouldn’t want things to get weird between us.” Carlos' heart almost jumps out of his chest as he grows nauseous at the thought of you saying yes. He continues. “I’m telling you; I have a good feeling.” The brown eyed boy clenches his jaw. “It’s like this - I could see myself marrying her, having a baby heiress-”

“Okay fine, I like her!” He pants. “She drives me so fucking crazy. Whether she looks my way or not, she makes my head spin. Ever since I saw her at the Canada GP, she’s been imprinted into my brain like a lecture I’ve been told over and over, time and time again. It makes me sick that she seems to almost get sad when she’s around me. The way she can never look at me the way I’ve always looked at her. And I’m…” He looks down at his race boots. “I’m too afraid of ruining something that I don’t even have a chance at.”

The Monegasque pats him on the shoulder, lips stretched out into a teasing smirk. “Now, was it that hard to admit your feelings?”

It was that hard to admit his feelings. He thought about it for the first time since he met you. Confess everything that’s been locked away deep inside of him; claim his feelings like some kind of gold medal. But then he saw you radiating pure perfection and he would turn the other way. You hated him, he’s sure.

“Alright Carlos, push, now push.”

He could taste it - sweet victory that he badly craved. If he played his cards right then he could get second place, which was pretty good in comparison to past results.

The Spaniard tries to not feel too upset about coming in third and waves up at the Tifosi who let out blood curdling screams. Pride rushes through his veins as he walks onto the podium, he didn’t even mind all the attention. Especially the kind you were gifting him with.

The way you smile so big that your perfect teeth shine up at him, eyes crinkling like a love letter. Cheekbones slightly pink from cheering so loud but also from the bright sun. He swore he was on some kind of drug.

Making his way back into the motorhome after all the interviews, he bumps into you and your parents. “Like it?” he asks as he displays his trophy.

“Definitely,” your father beams. “You deserve it, son, enjoy it.” After a few more affirmations, he and your mother walk away. Brown orbs find your own.

“Have fun?” He tries to ease his deep voice, to appear more outgoing, to not scare you away. And yet, you nod, looking down.

“He’s right. You totally deserve it.” And for what seems like the first time, you bless him with your warm stare. “Felicidades, Carlos.” Pink paints his cheeks. You speak Spanish? Your eyes grow wide as you feverishly shake your head. “I-I- I don’t, but I’ve picked up on a few things here and there…”

“From me.” He tilts his head. “You actually pay attention to me.”

You can’t help stutter like a broken record. “Of course-e, I ha-ave ears.” You show them off like a weak justification. “See?” you squeak. Playing with the hem of your dress - that had him swallowing a string of moans the moment you walked into the garage that morning - you slowly started backing away. “I should go now…” You point towards the sliding doors. “See you later?”

But he knew there would be no later. Fuck, this was the most you’ve spoken to him since, well, ever. He wouldn’t let that slip away so easily. Even if his heart got bruised along the way.

“Did I do something for you to hate me?”

Your brows narrow like a little kid. “You think I hate you?”

“It’s okay if you do, I suppose, but I’m just lost as to where that happened? Did I-”

“I don’t hate you,” you softly speak up, eyes shut in disbelief that you’ve made him feel that way. You blink back at him. “I promise you, you’ve done nothing wrong.” Okay, he confirms.

“Why can’t you talk to me then like you do with everybody else? Why can’t you even spare me a passing glance?”

His voice sounds desperate now, he knows it, but he was desperate. Now you were embarrassed that he continues to bring up more and more of your poor behavior - but it was never intentional. You twirl a strand of your hair before releasing it.

“You intimidate me.”

The Spaniard squeezed his fist around the trophy. For a moment, he thought he would dent the steel. Your stomach drops at the sight and he feels guilty for proving you right. He lets out a shaky breath.

“I’m not a bad guy, y’know? I’m sure it may seem like it, but…” He licks his lips. “I’m not.”

Doe eyes flutter like butterfly wings. “I believe you, Carlos.”

“Good. Now, would you please tell me why you always escape when I’m around?” You softly curse as you pinch your hand for a second.

“I wasn’t lying; you do intimidate me. But not in the way you might think.” Like an angel, you make your way closer. “You’re my favorite driver, you know that?” The Spaniard’s brown eyes grow wide. You laugh. “Ever since you-”

“Joined Formula 1.”

Your jaw drops. “My father ratted me out?” Panicking, you pace the room back and forth. You could only look at him for a couple of seconds before planting your stare at anywhere else that isn’t him. “I told him not to say anything! Oh God.” You let out a maniatic chuckle. “I swear it’s just a tiny crush, it’s not even that deep - I’ll get over it!”

Now it’s his turn to geek out. “You have a crush on me?” Crap, you groan, biting down on your nail. He didn’t mention that part, did he? Brown strands of hair shake back and forth as you sigh.

“Forget I said anything, I am so sorry for making things awkward-”

“I’ve seen you before.” What? The 29 year old winces. “At the Canada GP. You were walking with a friend.” Synthia, you whisper to yourself. “I was being filmed for feedback on the race and you were about 5 steps in front of me.” You counted? “I said about - and for months, you were all I could think about. You sort of stuck to me like a nostalgic scent. I don’t know why I felt the need to talk to you, I mean, it’s never happened to me before. I looked away for a second and you were gone.” He shares a lopsided smile. “Then I saw you again.”

“And I blocked you out.” You bite your lip. “Shit, Carlos…I had no idea you felt this way.” He shrugs.

“It’s my fault. I never told you.” Still, you try to reason but he only brushes you off. “It’s not your fault.”

“But it is,” you whimper. “I acted like a complete snob and belittled you.” Your heart breaks at the image. “And you’re telling me it’s been mutual all along?”

“Looks like it. This is good though.” How? The brunette winks as he pulls you in. “Because now we do know and I can take you out sometime?” You quirk a brow.

“It works just like that?”

He hums, comfortable with the two trophies pressed up against him. “Only if you want it to be like that.” You can practically hear your crazy heartbeat with the way he’s looking down at you - as if he’s just discovered a previously nonexisting star. With soft hands pressed onto his suit, your eyes twinkle.

“Just like that, then.”

853 notes · View notes

reyesstrand · 7 months

Note

Now that you mentioned it I can't stop thinking about chopper just standing there like 🧍. To be honest I forgot all about him being there right next to TK. Just like TK probably did.

i loveee the idea of it representing how the world kinda stops existing around them in those moments. like….carlos is being sweet and understanding and giving tk what he needs after learning that he can’t be everything in the scope of tk’s recovery. there’s a level of trust there with cooper seeing this part of their relationship and carlos being the one to reach out to him.

it’s also hilarious because he’s just hanging out while they’re having a beautiful romantic moment. the best of both worlds ajdnskdn

#answered #tarlosluvr

3 notes · View notes

morganaspendragonss · 2 years

Text

before we both lose this fight (4/?)

chapter written by me and translated into spanish by @tarlos-spain! summary: tk struggles to contain his grief while looking after carlos prompt: grieving from my @mfbingo fandom: 9-1-1: lone star

ao3 | 1.7k | grief, guilt, mild amnesia

Everything seemed normal when TK woke up the next morning. Or, as normal as things could be, given the circumstances. Carlos was sleeping soundly, the sun was shining, birds were singing, and his mom was dead.

Normal.

TK scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. Everything in him wanted to just roll over and forget the world existed, but he knew that wouldn’t be possible any time soon. Not with Carlos’s injury; TK had to be to look after him, because God knew he wouldn’t do it himself. Plus, he’d have to go back to work soon — for the moment, he and Carlos were both on paid leave, but his was going to run out, and with the medical bills and funeral expenses, they couldn’t afford for him to take more time out.

So TK forced himself out of bed and padded slowly to the kitchen, making sure to slide the doors shut as he went. He didn’t want to wake Carlos prematurely, and if it would also serve as an alarm for the smiling mask he had to put on daily, then that was just a bonus.

He was able to drink one and a half cups of coffee before he heard stirrings from the bedroom. The caffeine was already giving him a headache, but TK was in desperate need of energy these days, so he threw back the last half, heedless of the way it burned his throat going down, then grabbed an orange juice for Carlos.

His boyfriend was already sitting up in bed and was making moves to stand when TK walked back into the bedroom. Carlos froze, caught red-handed, but TK knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on when it came to managing injuries.

Instead, he just rolled his eyes and set the juice on Carlos’s nightstand, nudging his legs until he settled himself back into bed.

“Sorry,” he said, smiling sheepishly.

TK stroked his hair and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “It’s okay. Just call me next time. I’m gonna go make us some breakfast, okay? Think you can handle buttered toast?”

Carlos nodded, but when TK turned to go he caught his hand and pulled him back. “Hey, Tee, I’m really sorry about last night, too. I was—”

“Carlos.” TK shook his head. “Don’t. It’s fine, I promise.”

“But—”

“Drink your juice.” TK smiled at Carlos, hoping he didn’t notice how fake it felt, then walked out of the room again. He didn’t close the doors this time — that would be too suspicious — and, for the first time since he’d seen it, TK cursed the loft’s open plan. There was nowhere he would be able to drop this façade without Carlos seeing, except for perhaps the bathroom.

But a bathroom breakdown felt a little bit too clichéd, and, besides, the door connecting it to the bedroom was more of a screen than anything. He wouldn’t be able to so much as sniff without Carlos hearing.

Existing like this was exhausting, but TK didn’t know how else to be. He could still barely believe his mom was dead and the last thing he wanted was for people to start trying to get him to talk about it. Especially not Carlos. He deserved better than the person he was when he was alone.

More than that, Carlos needed better.

But masks grow thin with wear, and TK had been wearing his for too long.

“Hey, babe?” Carlos said when he returned, plate of toast in hand. “How are things with your mom?”

TK almost dropped the plate. Once recovered, he set it on the nightstand and carefully lowered himself back down next to Carlos. “What do you mean?”

Carlos sent him a funny look. “Well, she called the other night, right? After the softball game? You never told me what she said.” He frowned, then reached up to touch his temple, a guilty look flashing over his face. “Or, if you did, I guess I forgot.”

Something broke in TK then. He looked down at the sheets to try to hide it, but, even concussed, Carlos knew how to read him.

“Shit.” Carlos sucked in a sharp, guilty breath. “I did forget, didn’t I? TK, I’m so sorry, I just—”

“My mom’s dead.”

Over the roaring in his ears, TK heard the click of Carlos’s jaw snapping shut. He heard his stumbling speech — “Ty, God, I… I didn’t… What do you mean your mom is dead? When…? No, that’s not what I meant to ask,” — and he felt the weight of his hand on his leg, his arm, his cheek, desperate to comfort him. The other went to his own temple — the guiltier he felt, the more his head hurt. “The trip…the plane. You went to New York with your dad because your mom… Tee, please, forgive me, I don’t know how I could forget that.”

But, for TK, the physical sensations were all dulled, overpowered by a sharp stabbing in his chest, guilt and grief and pain burning through his body. Guilt, because he hadn’t meant to say it that bluntly, because he hadn’t made it to the funeral, because Carlos needed him and he couldn’t be enough. Never enough, because he was overpowered by his feelings and there was no way of leaving this bottomless pit into which he was falling.

Then there was the grief, grief for his mom and for the life he’d had before this shadow fell over it all. He missed her so much; he was still thinking about calling her to ask what he could do to feel better, and then he realised that he couldn’t, because his mother was gone, she was dead, and he’d never see her again.

And the pain… It felt like the pain had always been there, waiting for its opportunity to twist ever deeper. There had always been pain inside him. First from his parents’ divorce and feeling like he had lost his father. Then everything had turned different shades of black with the drugs, with the abyss inside of him, until he’d met Carlos.

Now, he also felt pain for Carlos, for not knowing how to look after him and not being able to focus on him, the man he loved, because his sadness was stronger than everything else.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do anything.

“My mom’s dead,” he repeated, shaking Carlos’s hands off him. A second later, he hated himself for doing it, for pushing Carlos away when his boyfriend had done nothing but worry about him. But, without thinking, he stood up. “She… It was Enzo who called that night. He told me that she died.”

“TK…” Carlos breathed, horror and realisation dawning over his face as the memories clearly trickled back. “I didn’t… I… I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“Fine.” He smiled tightly at Carlos and clenched his trembling hands into fists behind his back, trying hard not to let Carlos notice how close he was to sinking. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, just focus on getting better, alright? I’ll just…” His gaze lit upon the bathroom door, and maybe a cliché was what he needed right now. “Give me a minute.”

TK leapt for the door and threw it shut behind him. On shaky legs, he stumbled to the far side, then pressed himself into the tile and slid down to the floor.

He pressed his fist to his mouth, and let himself go.

Carlos was already awake when TK’s voice began to filter through the bedroom door. After he somehow, inexplicably managed to forget about Gwyn, the day had been awkward, with him feeling guilty and TK withdrawing into himself, whilst still trying to appear normal. Carlos knew he wasn’t okay; if TK went under now, it could take too long to pull him back out.

TK’s excuse had been a weak cover, clearly too tired to manage anything more convincing, and Carlos had seen through it immediately, but he’d had no clue what to say.

There was nothing that could make this better.

His mom had picked up on the tension too when she arrived to bring them food for the week, but she’d also seemed to know not to ask. Instead, she just set about making some lunch, comforting them with easy conversation and good food.

For what was probably the first time in Carlos’s life, it hadn’t worked.

Now, he was laying wide awake in bed, wracked with guilt over what had happened. He’d tried to convince TK to come to bed too when he helped him over, but he’d refused, and it seemed like his boyfriend was planning on spending the whole night on the couch. Carlos was in the middle of trying to figure out how pissed TK would be if he got up on his own — his head wasn’t hurting so much anymore, but he still got dizzy and confused — when the low murmurs of one side of a conversation started up.

Carlos strained to hear, but TK was being too quiet. So, even though it made the guilt prick even sharper, he slowly got out of bed and went over to the door, cracking it open to peer through into the darkened front room.

“I don’t know,” TK said. He was curled on the couch, wrapped in his throw blanket, and his voice was thick with the tears that showed clearly on his face. “I can’t stop thinking about her, and I— Enzo, I swear, sometimes I just want it all to stop. I’d do just about anything right now to stop feeling like this.”

TK paused, listening, and Carlos just wanted to rush forward and gather him in his arms.

But he didn’t.

“No,” TK continued. “I can’t… He can’t know. He needs me, Enzo, and I can’t—” He broke off, a strangled sound that drove spikes into Carlos’s heart escaping his throat. “I can’t.”

TK dissolved into tears, and Carlos took one step back, then another. His head was throbbing again, but it was nothing compared to the pain that bloomed inside him as TK’s muffled sobs filled his ears.

#mfbingo #911 lone star #911 lone star fic #tarlos #tarlos fic #tk strand #carlos reyes #911ls #lone star #fanfiction #my fanfiction #writing #my writing

12 notes · View notes

hollywoodsargeant · 11 months

Note

🖊🧠🍰~

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

AH okay. well of course i will have to pick boyish since i have so many unposted words of that... and it is definitely my main wip of the moment so here is some of oscar taking care of a very drunk logan in high school :) still one of my fav scenes i've written for this

It takes some coaxing, but he gets Logan upright on the edge of the bed drinking his water. In the meantime, Oscar crouches down on the floor to get his shoes off, feeling a bit like a loser doing it, but he— Logan would do the same, for him. They care about each other. They care for each other. He sets the shoes out of the way and stands up, finds Logan laying down again, the empty glass set back on his nightstand.

“Thank you, baby,” he mumbles, words wet and blended together. He presses at Oscar’s calf with a socked foot. “Too good for this world.”

Oscar cracks a smile, shaking his head. “Can you get undressed yourself?” he asks, instead of acknowledging anything he just said. “I’ll get you more water.”

“Not thirsty,” Logan insists.

Oscar doesn’t listen to that, just gets him more. When he comes back, Logan is shirtless and fighting with his own belt, apparently not dexterous enough to get the thing undone. The second he sees Oscar, though, he kind of just flops back against the bed, arms limp, giving him this look, a bit helpless. It makes Oscar feel entirely too fond.

And it’s entirely too intimate, when he puts the glass of water down and undoes Logan’s belt for him, when he tugs his jeans down his legs. Oscar fishes Logan’s phone out of the pocket and puts it on the nightstand, plugs it in. He tells Logan to sit up and drink again before going back to the bathroom for some painkillers, just to leave next to the bed, so they’ll be there in the morning. He shuts the door behind, bathroom light left on on purpose.

Logan has his head on the pillow and is staring at him, still on top of the covers, one hand reaching blindly for Oscar’s hip. “Thank you,” he says again. It half-muffles itself into the pillow.

Oscar smiles, reaching down to ruffle Logan’s hair before he can stop himself. “No problem, mate,” he says, grinning when Logan bats him away. “Need anything else?”

He watches Logan consider it, biting his lip and avoiding eye contact. The hand he has brushing against Oscar’s side falls, and he looks up again, eyes a bit pleading. “Stay?”

Oscar breathes in slow, deep, and not careful enough. “Yeah,” he says without thinking, already toeing off his shoes. “I’ll get the light.”

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

well. maybe this is technically actually a wip but this morning in the midst of my obligatory daydreaming boyish scenes interlude (a real thing) i decided i need to write a lol college au with established liam/logan so that's my idea. it's only technically a wip bc a doc exists (mostly to write down one paragraph before i forgot the wording of it) but there's only like 300 words on it So. yes. :)

🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave)

comfort fic... well. to me that is just a fic i read a lot bc it makes me happy so my comfort fic is going to be Porn and it's six weeks by dropdeaddeadass. will not be elaborating. last time i read this fic was uh this morning. thank you

and special mention to and all of my wildest dreams (they just end up with you and me) by choripan (Carlos/Lando) for making me laugh out loud more times than i can count. like when a piece of writing makes me laugh Out Loud multiple times? immediate banger. though this fic also made me cry for the dumbest reason ever aka Logan is a background character and the line "Logan smiled so big his eyes disappeared" exists and i cried for 15 minutes so thanks for that too ig

#ask #ask game #i am going to lose my mind #that entire logan getting drunk ordeal is 7k words #including the morning after scene #WHICH IS ALSO VERY LOVELY!#they sleep in logan's fucking twin bed together. it goes as expected #and no! still not dating! spoilers they don't get together until after high school!#not dating but oscar is doing That #and logan calls him baby have we covered that yet #Yeah #shoutout to that #boyish.miamis

4 notes · View notes

missmitchieg · 3 years

Text

I.... Wanna talk about Bobby and his... Ehh, "friendship" with the boys, Bobby's feelings about his place in the band, and their feelings about him postmortem.

So in Whatever Happens, Luke was super dismissive of and straight up violent with Bobby for a while there and Alex and Reggie both took Luke's side in the Emily argument and were literally just casually betting on whether Luke was about to clobber Bobby, Reggie straight up said Bobby's not that good at guitar, Luke only sat next to him in the van not because he wanted to, but because with Reggie being Reggie, he had no other choice and he was ignoring Bobby for his journal, and with Bobby, who is probably the only one that can both drive and owns a vehicle, Sunset Curve looks like a "real" band. Bobby said he felt like he wasn't really a part of the band or their friendship and knew he wasn't as good as Luke at guitar.

In We Got The Music, Julie hates him for stealing Luke's songs and questions if they were really friends, Luke says Bobby sucks at rhyming and karma's going to get him, the guys made a list of haunting ideas, they all agree Bobby's unforgivable, and they drew devil horns and a tail on him.

In The Edge Of Great, Luke describes Bobby-Trevor as "greasy-haired" when they go to the mansion. He's doing the absolute most to mess with Bobby, traumatizing him in the process. Then when Julie shows up, Luke admits he's already more concerned with her and her happiness and trust in them than he is with anything else. But he still wants more revenge, so he asks Alex about Willie, who says he'll talk to him. At the club, Luke says they'll do whatever it takes to get back at him. After Julie quits, all Luke cares about is apologizing to Julie and getting her back in the band. Reggie just wants to go back to the club to eat pizza. When Julie does come back, they all care more about Julie and not messing up again than anything.

In Wake Up, none of them were like "aww, you don't have to get a hot dog. You can just hang with us." and they all just left without a second thought to Bobby and he was like "cool, I'mma hang out with the pretty girl". After they die, Julie never asked about the fourth member of the band and the guys never brought him up, either.

In Bright, (ooooohhh Bright) Alex put Bobby in an entirely separate category to both 'friends' and 'family' because he was neither a friend nor family to them. Now, an argument could be made for that meaning he was putting Bobby in a more important category, but an argument could also be made for Alex putting him in the least important category that was just an afterthought to friends and family. Also, Reggie entirely forgot that Bobby existed until Alex brought him up. Luke says with his whole chest "I'll tell you what we had. It's what we've had since the day we came together. Boys, we have us. We're the only family we're ever gonna need.", like, as if they're not literally missing 1/4th of their band. As if their not missing their other best friend. And then they just had a song about this band is back and were singing and dancing ll around the beach, and then they performed with Julie for the first time, with a Sunset Curve song they had planned to perform at The Orpheum together.

In IGTM, we find out that apparently, none of the boys have ever talked about Bobby to Julie to find out that he became Trevor Wilson and took a lot of Luke's music for himself and the gang only found out after... What, a week of knowing each other? Two weeks, at the most? So first, we hear Alex refer to Bobby as "our rhythm guitarist". Not, like, "our rhythm guitarist, our best friend", or like, "our little brother", just "our rhythm guitarist". Nothing more. Then Reggie says Bobby looks "old", Alex says he looks like "a substitute teacher", Luke instantly hates him for not mentioning them, and Reggie's pissed that Bobby didn't help their families with money and they go to revenge-haunt him. Reggie huffs and puffs and harrumphs about Bobby being the type that wears sunglasses indoors and says he can't stand him. Luke says it's "time for his past to haunt him." They moon him.

In The Other Side Of Hollywood, Alex introduces the guys to Willie who takes them to meet Caleb so they can get even more revenge on him. Instead of doing that, though, Caleb redirects their attention to food and music, doing Bobby a massive favor. Like, who knows what more those boys would've done in a wrath fueled second haunting of their most loathed ex guitarist?

In Finally Free, Reggie was pissed as all Hell at Bobby while Luke just completely stopped giving a shit about a large part of this fandom's favorite rhythm guitarist with a pretty voice, solely because Luke's insistence on getting revenge on Bobby made them miss a gig and it made Julie frown so he was like "Well, I never wanna be the reason for that happening ever again, so." and chose to remind Reggie, who calls Bobby a "jerk", to take Julie's words to heart and focus on the music they were making with her.

Then after that, the guys just kinda... Never bring up Bobby again? He's just kinda irrelevant to them and to the plot until the finale.

In The Edge Of Great, Luke's concerned with Nick's crush on Julie, finalizing the setlist for the garage party, cheering Alex up, and Julie. Alex is concerned that Willie suddenly changed his mind about him, and then sad that Willie broke up with him. Reggie helps Carlos prove a point to tia Victoria and then helps Luke cheer up Alex, then performs at the party.

In Unsaid Emily, Alex and Willie sort of make up, Reggie's just sort of bonding with Ray and he and Alex say they're gonna miss the Molinas, and Julie & Luke visit his parents to make things semi-ok again.

In Stand Tall, the guys commit some crimes to get the band to perform at The Orpheum and cross over. Reggie's mourning the Molinas and wondering if he'll still be with Alex and Luke in Heaven. Julie's morning her eventual inevitable loss of the guys. Then they perform and have the time of their life/afterlives and Julie removes Caleb's brand.

No one cares about Bobby Trevor anymore except for Bobby stans and, in a way, Bobby antis. 'Cause the stans are all like "wtf #JusticeForBobby!" and the antis are like "loooool the guys like Julie more than they ever liked Bobby. Sucks for him."

So now, Bobby is so far removed from the guys and so far from Julie that no one's thinking about him anymore. At all. They're only thinking about themselves and each other, like Julie and Caleb told them to. Even Carrie's more preoccupied with herself and Julie than her father. The only one thinking about Bobby is himself. Even then, he's also losing his shit because "The boys are back. Why are they back. They're supposed to be dead. What's going on. What is my life. Is this karma for taking Luke's music. I'm going to see my therapist, but first I need to lie down."

Every piece of canon content just constantly reiterates that Bobby was the guys' friend but the guys were not Bobby's friends.

#julie and the phantoms #bobby shaw #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie molina #alex molina #i'm about to ruin every Bobby stans mood

20 notes · View notes

jenniferstolzer · 3 years

Photo

Babylon 5 rewatch Episode 2.22: The Fall of Night

Babylon 5 is at the center of not one but three conflicts as John Sheridan agrees to shelter a wounded Narn cruiser. The Centauri don’t like this. Earth doesn’t like this. The Shadows don’t like this. But Sheridan has a strong moral compass and what he doesn’t like is how much the institutions around him are willing to sacrifice in the name of forging some kind of cursory peace.

Things I liked about The Fall of Nighit

1, Lennier and Vir’s friendship. If you ask me Vir, could be friends with literally anyone. He’s such an understanding soul. Lennier is by nature a little judgey. More closed off. So when they sit down next to each other and discover how much they have in common both of them look at each other like “hello what” and automatically agree to meet again. But even this exchange is done almost like spies meeting and I don’t think we stop to think about that very often. These are the attaches of two ambassadors for two of the most powerful races in the galaxy… they could very well be exchanging state secrets instead of expressing solidarity for their equally frustrating jobs.

2, The Centauri are apparently willing to put their ships on autopilot and black out from g forces if it means when they come to they’ll be in a better firing position. This seems extremely reckless and VERY Centauri. It is the spacebattle equivalent of the hair. Big. Flashy. Not well thought through.

3, In the wake of the mass driver bombing, Sheridan gives Londo an opportunity to speak and Londo is like “NOPE” and jets before he says something that’s going to get him and his whole race in more trouble than they already are. Garibaldi then reads Londo like a literal book, delivering one of my favorite analyses of the character. Everyone thought Londo was a clown, indulging in opulence, going into debt at the casino, drinking himself to a stupor in public, but Garibaldi was his friend and knows that Londo’s not dumb, he’s actually very smart and his mind moves really fast. His error is in his judgment and priorities and he’s currently in waters he did not expect to tread. He’s scared, and he’s going to keep darting in and out of cover until he feels like he has a handle on things or he gets picked off by a hunter, whichever comes first. Also a very classic JMS line “He’s a pain in the butt, but he’s our pain in the butt.” Hunt for that or similar lines in other JMS stuff, he loves that line.

4, The ache of watching McCarthysim at work is very effective. Zach knows the guys he’s ratting on don’t deserve to be ratted on and even says so. “They’re just fooling around” but we can tell by the level of interest and tone of the Nightwatch captian’s voice that they’re gonna get blackballed. Zach can’t deny that they said what they said, but can tell that ratting them out is the wrong thing to do. In the end he relents with a bunch of qualifications but the Nightwatch doesn’t want qualifications. They want names. Thank you for your service.

5, I love that the guy there to ally with the Centauri is from the Ministry of Peace. So poignant. They’ll get peace all right, by paying off the aggressors.

6, When the Narn ship was coming under threat by the Centauri warship, Sheridan opened a line to Londo just to spit in his face and hang up. It was amazing. Also during this crisis, Sheridan whips out a law book to smack the Nightwatch guy back in his hole. Sinclair would be proud.

7, Watching B5 come under attack is so emotionally stirring. Even on a rewatch, I don’t want to see it hurt.

8, We have arrived! The scene where Kosh reveals himself. I love that G’Kar is hiding in the plants – like he’s not a huge gecko man who people are going to notice. I also love how plaintiff his voice is, thinking if he speaks on Sheridan’s behalf it’ll help him in the political shitshow he’s currently in. I mean he’s issuing this apology for helping a Narn ship and G’Kar is very very very grateful for that. Also B5 blew up a Centauri warship so he’s pretty grateful for that too, I mean come on… I like that B5 has like a standard subway system in the middle of it and that they let the Puppet Friends ride. I miss the puppet friends. I love that the rotational gravity system means there’s a weightless portion in the center of hydroponics and that we used that to our advantage in this story. Also the vorlons in their native form play on the perception of the lesser races. They are light beings, and humans see them as angels. The rest of the races see them as prophets or gods, but none of these perceptions are perfect. We see wings and white robes and think Angel, but Kosh didn’t appear like a rennaissance painting. He’s got a butterfly look to him, too. The face he wears is a facsimile of a human not an exact human. He’s not perfect, we’re just in awe. Love that.

9 And finally a lot has been said about why Londo doesn’t see anything when Kosh appears. He’s been touched by the Shadows, so he can’t be converted by the Vorlons b/c we’re playing a game of Othello today I guess. Maybe because he doesn’t actually believe in his pantheon of gods so he doesn’t have any deities to witness. Maybe he’s lying because what he saw was his own greed and vanity. The general consensus is the first – that he’s incapable of seeing the light because he’s in the dark. For a fresh take on it, let’s look at the Vorlons through this lens. Kosh said before that if he revealed himself everyone would know him… I take this as being a side effect of being Vorlon. Vorlons are a feeling not an image. Like Magenta. Magenta’s not a real color, it exists on the color wheel because something has to connect red and purple on the color spectrum… but the spectrum of visible light is actually a straight line. The wavelengths for red and purple are far from touching, but our brains can perceive when they’re both present, so Magenta occurs. It’s imaginary, but we see it for real with our eyes. That’s Vorlons. Perhaps Londo saw a shapeless light thing in the sky, perhaps that’s what Vorlons really are… or perhaps they have no visible representation at all until they hit our brains. Our eyeballs behold something, but our brains have to construct it out of pieces. When the rest of the galaxy looked at Kosh they used the color wheel to construct him, but Londo was only given the wavelengths. He saw nothing, because nothing was there to see. I really wish there was another Centauri there to be like “I saw the goddess Li welcoming me to her arms!” and Londo’s over there like “I’m the problem” instead of not really answering that question. Maybe it’s answered in season 3, I don’t know. Did Vir see anyone up there? He must have been on break.

What I like Less about 22

1, So here’s where I’m going to talk about Keffer. I know the origin story…. that he was an unwelcome addition to the cast added per network request, but who the hell is he other than that? I think its remarkable how he slips right out of my head the minute he is off camera. We know he’s a pilot, that he was close to Carlos (whose story/death you may recall I was laughing at in a previous episode because its significance ALSO came out of nowhere), and that he made friends with the GROPOS grunts (who we incidentally learned to care about enough in that one episode that we were sad when they died…. Awkward considering Keffer’s contribution to this episode…) Honestly the most interesting thing about him is that he’s got an old-timey fighter pilot scarf he wears and he believes in ghosts and I bet you all forgot about the ghosts. Honestly, the most interesting thing about Keffer is how he’s a lesson in how not to write an interesting character – and no shade on JMS for that, I know he did it on purpose. Significant things happening to a character does not automatically make them a strong character. Keffer experienced loss, came face to face with the shadows, got in fights… a lot of stuff happened to him, but he was almost always the only named character in those scenes. We cared about the GROPOS because they cared about each other and we responded to that. Keffer was there to play cabbage head and ask questions. He’s not tight with any of our main cast who we’ve had tons more time to grow attached to, and dies for plot reasons without leaving an impact with his loss. Heck, you can see the value of interpersonal relationships on character development in action when the show used a shoehorn to try and force some in in context to Carlos a second and a half before he died. We had him drinking at the bar with command staff suddenly, we had him die as a result of a flight mission Sheridan was part of to make Sheridan feel guilty about it. Everyone was standing around going like “No, Not Ramirez” and if you recall on my previous episode writeup I was LAUGHING at how tortured this sudden human connection was. Keffer could have been made interesting. Follow me on this.

My treatment on how to make Keffer interesting:

Let’s say Keffer was introduced as an old friend of one of our characters – Fraknlin let’s say. He was a friend from the Minbari War days that helped him sneak behind enemy lines. Perhaps he was complicit in the covering up and destruction of Franklin’s notes on Minbari anatomy. As a result, the two hang out in medbay sometimes, talking about old times and comparing the current war to the one they fought together. We learn that Keffer has a fire for justice. Hates bullies. Sees the strong as absolute defenders of the weak and that any stronger race picking on a weaker one is a bigger coward than the unvierse can hold. Then when Carlos gets killed by the ghost he starts researching what it could be. Kosh and Delenn tell him to stay out of it. The audience assumes he’s going to uncover something and bring Franklin and other characters into Delenn and Sheridan’s confidence about the shadows through curiosity and honor, but we’re learning through the episodes that the Shadows are IMMENSELY powerful and have no patience for flies. When he breaks off from his squad to go have a looksee at what he suspects led to his personal friend Carlos’s death, we know this is going to kill him. He ignores the warnings of those who have more awareness and dies to bring back evidence of the Shadows to the station. Sheridan recognizes how Keffer’s curiosity and sense of judgment led to recklessness, something Sheridan himself is prone to. He vows not to let Keffer die in vain, but also states that the proof he got has changed everything… and that Sheridan would have done the same. Killing your men in the name of a mission is never the goal but there’s a line everyone crosses when the safety of the universe is at stake and sometimes things are worth dying for. Franklin walks into medbay, casts a look to the counter where Keffer used to sit all those nights, and turns away.

But that’s not what happen. Keffer’s dead now and I don’t miss him. Glad he emailed the Shadows to ISN five nanoseconds before he died.

Babylon 5 is now the last best hope for victory because sometimes peace is another word for surrender and because secrets have a way of getting out. On to season 3!

#Babylon 5 #babylon 5 rewatch #season 2 #episode 22 #babylon 5 spoilers #art #jenstoart #kosh #john sheridan

31 notes · View notes

this-is-a-podcast-fanblog · 5 years

Text

ok here’s my really long night vale meta

(I want to just start by saying that I love Welcome to Night Vale more than any other show that I’ve ever listened to or watched. I’m not sure if I would even still be here without the positive change it brought to my life and the art form it introduced me to. So although this post is critical of recent story develops, please understand that I critique with love, and that I have nothing but the highest respect for the writers and cast.)

So let’s get into it.

This turned out way longer than I meant for it to be.

Since the beginning, each season of Welcome to Night Vale is basically self-contained. The things brought up in them can stretch across seasons, but for the most part any conflict or Big Bad brought up will be resolved when that season ends, which typically is on June 15th.

Let’s look at the first five seasons and their overarching in-season arcs.

Season One: The introduction season. This season laid the groundwork for all the seasons to come and established Cecilos. The arc of the Apache Tracker was resolved within this season.

Season Two: The Strexcorp season. This season taught us a lot about the characters, and about Desert Bluffs.

Season Three: The auction season. This is also the long-distance relationship season for Cecil and Carlos. Both plotlines are resolved beautifully by the end and relate well to each other.

Season Four: The beagle season. Also known as “Who’s a good boy?”. The evil beagle puppy was defeated by the end of the season. I felt like this season’s arc felt very natural and was enjoyable to listen to.

Season Five: The Huntokar season. A lot of things that have been building slowly come together. We finally meet Huntokar after hearing a lot about her throughout the show. The small arc of converging timelines is resolved, but as we will see, it later comes back.

So that’s the first five seasons.

Now, as far as writing styles go, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor are pretty formulaic. (This is also evident in their other shows, Alice Isn’t Dead and Within the Wires). I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. Quite the opposite - I think one of the reasons why Night Vale is so endearing to so many people is because you always know what to expect: the complete unexpected. The world is weird and it doesn’t make sense, but it’s consistent in its inconsistency. You’ll get a community calendar or sponsor, you’ll get deep thoughts about life, and you’ll get a weather. Similarly, with the seasons, you’ll get a problem introduced over the course of the season, and then it will be resolved.

But as you can probably see from the list I’ve written out, the seasons don’t exist in a bubble from each other. The things that happen affect each other. The arrival of Strexcorp in town was what eventually drove Carlos through into the desert otherworld, which set up the conflict for season 3. The tiny city under the bowling alley in season 1 was revisited to teach us more about Huntokar in season 5. Each season has a different flavor, but they’re all ultimately the same dish, if that metaphor makes any sense.

And this is where we get into the issues I’ve been having with the most recent three seasons. My biggest problem is simple. They just don’t have a distinct flavor like the other seasons do. They don’t have anything that stands out to me.

Let’s take a look at seasons six and seven, and then the first episode that dropped today of season eight.

Season Six: The guest writer season. This season was mostly written with guest writers that would do a mini-arc of two to three episodes.

Season Seven: The Carlos’s Double/Blood Space/Lee Marvin/Thanos-Snap season. Not sure what else to call it.

The basic premise of season six was that it would be a bunch of character-driven stories set in the world of Night Vale, most of which were written by guest writers. To me, worldbuilding and characters are more important than plot every time, so I didn’t hate this as a concept. It was just... the execution honestly wasn’t all that interesting to me. I feel like the way the characters were discussed moved their placement within the world, but it didn’t actually change anything we knew about them. Tamika’s episodes, for example, didn’t really show us anything new about her, they just showed us how she acted as a city council leader instead of a militia leader (spoiler alert: pretty much exactly the same).

My biggest problem with season six is that it set up a lot without actually doing anything. All of the best moments from season six were things I thought we would revisit later: who will be the mayor now that Dana stepped down? What is it Carlos is still keeping from Cecil? What’s up with the shipwreck? But then all of these things were totally forgotten in season seven. It was like the writers didn’t care. That may be because they were established by different writers, but it still feels... I don’t know, *Cecil voice* Incomplete?

Now let’s talk season seven. I think season six was definitely the weakest of all Night Vale seasons, but this was a close second (and that shows you how much I love this show, because even the weakest seasons had moments that blew me away, and I’ve relistened to most of the episodes at least once, if not more.) Season seven, like season six, just had way too much going on. For the first few months there was no plot whatsoever, just a bunch of disjointed episodes with seemingly no relation to each other.

And don’t get me wrong - I think a lot of these episodes were amazing. Are You Sure? was thrilling, totally game-changing for podcasts. Save Dark Owl Records was a really great look at Maureen and Michelle. I’ve relistened to UFO Sightings a bunch. But there’s a difference between enjoying episodes alone and thinking they fit in a larger story. And so while I really like a lot of the episodes of season seven... they’re kind of pointless story-wise. What disappointed me the most was the Kevin mini-series near the start of the season - Kevin is one of my favorite characters, and so while I liked to see him happy, I was annoyed that they forgot about him again after the arc ended and they moved on.

That’s because season seven didn’t really have a story - it had a bunch of stories. The problem is that they weren’t introduced until near the very end. We had the Lee Marvin arc that started somewhere in the middle, and I did like that. I thought it was cool to take what seemed like a throwaway gag and turn it into a story, especially one that seemed relatable. But running this arc concurrently with the Blood Space War arc didn’t make any sense to me. There were a bunch of times that I thought the two could relate - linking time travel to being trapped in time would be pretty easy, I thought. But that never happened.

Then the Blood Space War arc nosedived into a pit of emotion after both Cecil and Carlos were erased from history, and I was ecstatic. Not that Cecil and Carlos had been erased - but that the show was taking such a drastic emotional change. It felt like a shift in tone, but also consistent to the show’s format, hitting that perfect sweet spot. I was even more excited when I found out that the resolution to this was that Leonard Burton would have to die again. That seemed like the perfect end to his (albeit brief) character arc, and a great emotional high for the season.

And then the next episode was just... Cecil saying everything had been fixed.

That really disappointed me. It felt so anticlimactic, especially considering the heights some of the other season finales had reached (I’m especially thinking of the dog’s ominous barking right before the finale of Who’s A Good Boy, and the town almost being destroyed). The ending to the Blood Space War arc felt rushed to me. I liked the close of the Lee Marvin arc, but everything else seemed a little off-beat.

I think a big problem with season six and seven is they try to take us to new things within the world of Night Vale, but they do that in a way that doesn’t actually show us anything we need to learn. Eunomia hadn’t been in any other seasons and her backstory was minimal, so her death in season seven had no real impact on me.

So why are they doing that? I don’t know. But it seems like the writing team has made the decision to utilize Cecil more as a voice for the town than an independent character, and are trying to let other people take the spotlight. However, because Cecil is by far one of the strongest and most beloved character, and because he drove most of the story for the first few seasons, this doesn’t work as well as you might hope.

I hoped that season eight might go back to the old format. However, the first episode was another self-contained episode (although I do love Josh Crayton), so that has me worried.

I guess I can say, there’s a difference between a story podcast and a storytelling podcast, does that make sense? Those might overlap, but they aren’t really the same thing. While a story podcast exists to have an overarching plot, a storytelling podcast just wants to put you in a world and let you look around. What I love so much about Night Vale is that it has always been able to be both. It has a plot, but it isn’t just a plot like many other shows are - it can let you walk around, run from government satellites, and NOT enter the dog park.

However, it seems to me that Night Vale is forgetting it does have a story, too. There are still SO many things from past arcs that haven’t been resolved yet. What’s more, the show doesn’t seem all that interested in resolving them. You can have floating cats and five-headed dragons, but you can’t give up an essential part of your show. That doesn’t mean the show can’t still be fun to listen to, if they decide the plot no longer matters. But I think it will be a little less rewarding.

And to finish I’ll just share my biggest fear: I really really really hope Night Vale isn’t going to become normal. At the end of season seven, time started working again. I’m so scared that they’re going to slowly convert the whole town to being normal before the show ends. And I think that would really suck, because it would change what Night Vale means to a lot of people, and what the town really is.

TL;DR: although it is one of the greatest shows ever, Welcome to Night Vale has recently started to stray from its established formulas, tropes and characters, especially in seasons six and seven. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, I feel like the way it’s been executed has weakened the recent episodes. Seasons six and seven also tried to fit too much in without actually doing anything to advance certain arcs or plot points. Nonetheless, it is a great show, and I’m optimistic about the future.

I’d love to have a dialogue about this so if you are the one person alive who’s going to read this, please don’t hesitate to comment or send an ask! Again, I absolutely love this show, these are all just my opinions, and my ability to critique the show exists outside of my adoration for it.

Now I should sleep.

#It's one am #this is not beta'd #and my formatting is all over the place #but here you go #please someone read this #welcome to night vale #night vale presents #podcasts #meta #my meta #cecil palmer #carlos the scientist #cecilos #all hail the glow cloud

59 notes · View notes

ra-lek · 5 years

Note

I have watched mr robot so many times and I am still confused to why they picked “red wheelbarrow” as season 2 and 3’s symbol and how it ties the show together? Where did it come from? What’s the actual significance of it?

aalright first thing’s first- i’m so sorry for the long wait. i’ve been busy & all over the place but i wanted to give this ask my full attention because i’m beyoNd excited to get into it!!

second- this gets long. like, very long. so if you’re cool w that; buckle up, click on that ‘read more’ and let’s go: the red wheelbarrow

i’m gonna attempt to explain all the questions above- to the best of my ability. but to do so i have to make something clear: as you will see in my analysis below, or if you’ve, y’know, seen the show- mr robot does not play episodes in chronological order. or scenes, for that matter.

there was absolutely no way to know anything about a red wheelbarrow until the end of s2- so, naturally, there are going to be gaps in my list. but in order to fill them, we need to see what we missed out on once s4 comes out. (this is basically my apologies in advance if some questions are left unanswered)

so, some facts: the red wheelbarrow is a poem written by william carlos williams & published in 1923. it’s a real, existing poem, and the first time it appears in mr robot is actually in the FIRST season. and that’s exactly why it’s such a staple to the rest of the story.

but you see, the scene itself is split into puzzle pieces across 3 seasons.

so let’s treat it as such. i’m going to list & highlight important scenes in each season the best i can and then we’ll piece it all together, sounds good?

SEASON 1

this is the very base of the series. so it’s not surprising the red wheelbarrow is nested within it. trust me, if i attempted to piece everything together in one post it’ll be longer than a fucking bible so i’m only going to focus on the god night™

okay, so- the first time some shady shit happened was in episode 8 when we saw an SUV parked at coney island in which tyrell and mr robot were sitting & having a discussion. tyrell starts the conversation by saying he has to know what mr robot is planning because they were meant to be allies; that they want the same thing & he wants to be involved.

mr robot responds with flat out telling him he’s wrong- that there’s nothing they could possibly agree on. tyrell demands more explanations and mr robot is so fed up at this point he goes to leave only to be pulled back by his shirt. tyrell asks “aren’t you forgetting i know about your dirty little secret? there are people close to you who wouldn’t be happy if they knew what i know” to which robot replies casually. they’re both too smart to allow pettiness to dictate their actions, there’s no benefit to either one of them to say those things to anybody- and that the best thing for tyrell to do when it comes to HIM? is nothing.

the scene ends there but transitions into mr wellick coming home lookin’ like a wreck and downing half a bottle of vodka- this surprises joanna since she actually heard some good news from tyrell’s lawyer- but he interrupts by telling her none of that matters; because there’s this tech he met a month ago, talks about his motives a bit to a very concerned woman at this point- and when he mentions not seeing what’s above them- she asks what it is exactly. he responds, “god.”

at this point into the show, the ‘who is mr robot’ reveal hasn’t happened yet.

the conversation he had with tyrell happened the day before it, actually. since, in the same episode, elliot gets to find out who his family is- and the episode ends with mr robot saying “it’s time to talk.” and the reason i know this is because the following episode starts and,

episode 9.

suddenly, it’s morning. elliot is freaking out and yelling and he’s confused and we’re confused and we’re yelling and mr robot is not helping at all by being so goddamn vague but there is one sentence that stands out and that is - “especially since that unprompted visit from tyrell wellick last night”

he is referring to the car scene only. because both he and tyrell came home after that talk- so it is not a 5/9 attack they did then. because, once again, there’s a sentence mr robot says: “i’ll explain everything. tonight.”

alright then so how do i explain the fact darlene was in elliot’s room looking for his meds after the reveal scene and THEN tyrell entered? – it’s actually pretty simple, it didn’t happen the day of the reveal.

because, remember, elliot realized who darlene was the day before. she is concerned because he forgot again. those are the meds she’s looking for- they never acknowledge HIM.

once she leaves, and says she’ll be back with the meds soon- it’s understandable why she’s been looking for elliot for quite some time earlier in the episode and why mr robot came to elliot’s apartment at night- but they only had the ‘talk’ in the morning.

that same, unfortunate night for elliot tbh, tyrell enters the room and says he’s been waiting for darlene to leave. he approaches him for the first time, tells him how he strangled a woman and how he knows everything elliot’s been behind. that’s he’s the one constant in the sea of variables. so, he puts on his ‘fighting’ gloves and-

next thing we know, we’re in the arcade. elliot talks about changing the world and whatnot- says no one else is involved- tyrell very beautifully says “well it’s you and me now” and the episode ends with elliot looking over to the popcorn machine.

this is the night of the 5/9 attack.

we know, because elliot wakes up in tyrell’s car- 2 days later- and is met with world destruction (the song) playing in the background. you know what i mean- the deed has been done we don’t have time for this.

one more thing to point out about s1 before we wrap that one up is: when elliot searches for tyrell, joanna recognized him as the young tech her husband told her about when he was going on about god or whatever. she asked him when she last saw him and if he seemed strange- elliot replied with “a week ago” and “no” which she found funny because, the last time she saw him, he was acting very strange.

SEASON 2

elliot put himself in jail out of spite. anyway, as i said, not a lot of time to decipher everything so let’s get to the main meal. we get some teasers about tyrell being a wanted criminal associated w fsociety and the one behind 5/9. that’s all the info we need cause the piece we’re searching for here is in episode 12.

we get the full version of the car scene!! this time, we see elliot as mr robot- delivering the same line. however, we were lead to believe that once mr robot exited the car it was the end of the scene but no no no no no- tyrell now opens his door and calls out to elliot.

he’s desperate and just wants to be a part of this project honestly so he says there’s something between them and he can feel it. now, mr robot/elliot says “you’re only seeing what’s in front of you. you’re not seeing what’s above you” tyrell asks for an explanation, doesn’t get one, and so he decides to fight cryptic with cryptic and recite the poem we mentioned like 7 hours ago.

“so much depends upon a red wheelbarrow, glazed with rainwater, beside the white chickens.”

now mr robot/elliot is intrigued. he lowers his head slightly and tyrell explains how his father used to quote that old poem all the time, how it meant so much to him, that it had been the only english he knew. so today, tyrell is using it as a reminder. a reminder of him, and a reminder of what he never wants to become.

i’m going to take one more paragraph to dedicate to this season and say: no this is not the only important thing. i’m just trying to not spiral out of the main focus. but if you’re interested you can send me an ask about red wheelbarrow spottings and meanings in s2 by just sending “godot?” and i gotchu, granted, in a few days- but i gotchu.

SEASON 3

this is where we get the full picture. well, sorta. because we don’t know exactly what happened after they part ways. but it’s okay, it’s not like the show is over.

now, a psychology break: elliot alderson suffers from dissociative identity disorder. (shocker, i know) mr robot is an alter. but you know a fun fact? most DID cases have more than just one alter. there’s at least two besides the host personality. and they all serve a specific purpose in order to keep you alive and help you cope with extreme trauma.

mr robot, as we’ve seen him, is a protector. the moment tyrell put on those beating gloves it was a trigger and mr robot took over. same for when those neo-nazis were punching elliot, same for when he took a beating from ray’s men, and so on. — point is: alters come out with a help of a trigger. just how elliot says talking to darlene makes him see mr robot more often, for instance.

this is important because, even though neither he nor mr robot remember the quote, elliot can’t stop thinking about red wheelbarrows. he’s named his journal after it, he draws wheelbarrows in it.

the red wheelbarrow. something tyrell associated with his father whom he despised. something about that changed something in elliot- it could’ve been a trigger, it might’ve pulled another alter forward.

so, without further ado, let’s paint:

how about we pick up from what we see in s1e9. since, all of this happens in that day. welcome to 5/9

elliot remembers leading tyrell into the arcade, he remembers looking at popcorn. and that’s it. (he says so at the beginning of his journal, too) elliot switched with mr robot for enough time to remember tyrell and popcorn. but also there’s just something about wheelbarrows that keeps ringing in his head during his time in prison.

next, everything is from mr robot’s perspective. he slowly reaches for the gun, aims it at tyrell, fires- but nothing happens. this leads tyrell to an impressive conclusion: they’re gods. he insists they were destined to be together and work together. so he says “now i understand- when you told me i wasn’t seeing what was above me” and while he goes off we see mr robot’s face frowning with confusion because.

“what the fuck are you talking about?”

he doesn’t remember saying that, doesn’t remember the poem. but he disregards all of that once tyrell drops on his knees and aims the gun at his own head. he wants to test fate once more, so they do. which is when mr robot decides tyrell is just the right amount of crazy to save him from himself.

as the hacking is happening, the dark army arrives. irving, walking in, explains the honeypot situation which was reported to the FBI (dark army owns them) so. they’re here.

remember, elliot had discussed the honeypot with whiterose- not mr robot.

irving sees the gun on the table, sees the situation, casually threatens both of them in this very charming way of his. it’s very clear they’re fucked and have to comply with what the dark army says. they ask mr robot if he knows how to drive that SUV out front- he says yes. irving explains they will be taking care of tyrell, cause now he’s the most wanted criminal there is- and robot is advised to drive it to a location elliot wakes up in season 1 finale.

above him, glasses with an usb containing the ‘boardwalk fail’ clip.

NOW,

tyrell got taken to a cabin, kept away from the world, chopping wood and asking where elliot is, chatting with irving occasionally- until one day he wakes to see some unusual things, among which is mr. williams if you remember, that’s the last name of the poet- but doesn’t have to mean much.

he asks him questions, until he proves he’s loyal to them. however, he says he is only loyal to elliot. which is a good answer- because the DA is now giving him a laptop and they’re starting to work on stage2. but then;

“the operation will be called the red wheelbarrow, mr. alderson’s request.”

THAT is how it ties everything together, where it came from, who said it, the only thing left to decipher is why it stuck. maybe we can leave that for another time?

there are plenty of different interpretations when it comes to the poem, honestly. it seems tyrell’s resentment towards his father, and mr robot calling elliot’s dad a zero- was what got to elliot, or whoever it was, that can relate.

lemme know what you think!! i hope you’re satisfied w the answer and, again, im so sorry for the long wait.

if there are any mistakes just keep in mind it’s 7am right now and i need some mercy.

#a very very long post #im not even gonna proofread it im so tired im gonna go straight to bed #mr robot #elliot alderson #tyrell wellick #/mine #shutupneil

17 notes · View notes

wtnvwritings · 5 years

Text

Forgotten Lunches

AO3 Version

Relationship: Cecil/Siren!Reader/Carlos

Rating: General

Wordcount: 2.4k

Summary: You, Cecil and Carlos are in a happy, loving relationship together. This is just a view into one day of your lives, a day where both of your boyfriends have forgotten their lunch at home--so you decide to bring it to them.

Note: Totally used the headcanon by @welcometonvheadcanons on how Cecil signs his text messages--I think it's adorable!

Click here for more information about the siren race

It comes as no surprise when it’s revealed that both Carlos and Cecil have left their lunch at home. When you stepped into the kitchen, half-dressed and still groggy with sleep, fate seemed more than happy to answer the question of ‘what will I do today?’ with a very simple answer.

Deliver the lunches of your forgetful boyfriends, of course. You can’t call yourself surprised, considering that not one, but both of them got up late for their respective jobs, tossed on clothes and tried to hurry their morning routine to but a fraction of what they’d normally give themselves.

For Cecil, it was a quick dash to the bathroom, a throwing-on of clothes and a very quick peck to yours and Carlos’ cheeks before he dashed like a breeze of cold wind out the door.

For Carlos, he was at least a little more calm, even while hurried--he had looser hours to his job in the research facility, after all, so the two of you were able to enjoy a joke or two at the expense of both of your lover. Still, he got ready and left before you could remind him to grab his lunch, the food you’d made for both of them the night prior.

What were the odds for the alarms for both of them failing to go off?

Not entirely impossible, as the morning itself would have.

You eye up the two neatly-wrapped lunches, only briefly considering if you were lazy enough to simply text both of them to come home on their break. The thought came, settled in your thoughts for a few seconds, and then you gently pushed them away in favor of being a more-or-less good person.

Besides, you haven’t had a chance to walk around town without the need of research on your back--a couple days off work has been sorely needed.

You ready yourself slowly, glamour forgone in choice of feeling the space and universe around you in your truest form. It isn’t much different from being under the shade of human glamour of course, not physically, but there’s the mildest sensation of freedom that comes with not having to wear another layer of being.

And it’s nice to shapeshift at will, if only to reach an extra limb or two out around you to gather up your outfit for the day.

Since most of your clothes fit a human form, you keep such a shape--two arms, two legs and a single head utop your shoulders, a bit of hair atop that single head. It means at least that you get to pick out something to wear with ease.

You pluck your way through the closet, passing over some of Cecil’s clothes with a soft smile on your face; though he’s quite comfortable in his human form and in human-shaped clothes, he is certainly not afraid of tailoring some outfits to match other forms with other shapes. You’re hoping that Cecil will one day feel more comfortable in his unglamored body, but that’s a personal issue for every siren to deal with on their own time and willingness--a life lived among humans can influence one’s sense of beauty and self-confidence quite a bit.

Just as you’re about ready to leave the apartment, you remember something important, and quickly grab the soft, thin cloak sitting on one of the hooks near the door. You pull it over your shoulders, the hood over your head, grab the forgotten lunches in a bag and make your way out the door.

The sun is always bright and hot in Night Vale--on the days it decides to lift into the sky, that is. Some days don’t have a sun and that’s alright, not everyone can be so confident in the way they light up the lives of others.

Still, today is one such bright, hot, sun-filled day. Though it’s certainly nice to have a step-up of cape twirling around your body with every hot, desert breeze, it’s not exactly an accessory by choice. For whatever reason it is, trying to bare your unglamored skin to the sun of Night Vale for long periods of time leaves you feeling ill, struck with flu-like symptoms that last a day or so, depending on the level of exposure.

It’s gotten better over time, and you are almost curious if it’s something specific to Night Vale’s sun, as opposed to the sun of other towns. You have yet the chance to ask Cecil, though you also wonder if he would know anything himself; again, he doesn’t tend to tend to exist outside his glamour very often.

An interesting thought, nevertheless. Maybe Carlos would like to look into such a curiosity, if he has the time between all of his other experiments and questions...and other things that scientists do.

You catch a familiar face every now and again as you walk, cloak billowing behind you in vibrant color that looks so stark against the dark of your skin and form. You greet them always with a smile, even a soft chuckle when you explain why you’re out and about.

“My boyfriends left their lunches at home,” you’d say to each one who asks. “They were in such a hurry this morning!”

“It’s a good thing they have a partner like you, dear,” Old Woman Josie had said, surrounded on either side by her tall, heavenly friends, friends who were certainly not angels, but who definitely waved at you in a warm greeting. “Tell Carlos that I’ll be coming by the center later today--he’s been wanting to look at one of my old family relics.”

It doesn’t take too long to get to Carlos’ research center. Maybe ten, twenty minutes at most of a walk, though most of it is spent at intersections, waiting for the flashing lights of wilting lilies so you can safely cross from one side to another. It lets you get your thoughts in place at least, let them jumble about your mind until they have found a place to settle.

By the time you arrive at the center, the sun is high and hotter than before. You’re eager to get out of the sweltering air and into a slightly-less-sweltering building, if only so you can finally pull back the hood on the cloak and see a little bit better.

You catch the attention instantly of one of Carlos’ scientists on his team. She’s a young girl, a bit newer than the rest but with eyes that glitter like stars and a mind as sharp as a knife.

“Hey Sammy,” you say pleasantly, gently raising the bag in your hands in a gesture. “Carlos forgot his lunch at home. Where’s he at right now?”

Sammy smiles in turn and gently points to one direction of the room--because the entire research facility is really just one big room, built using the foundations of the old Night Vale High School gym, which had been itself built before school officials realized that a gym shouldn’t be located several miles away from the school itself.

There’s some dividers separating the spaces claimed by several members of the team, but it’s still one large room filled with bustling scientists going about their daily experiments and research.

“He’s over by the table,” Sammy finally says. “You know, the one that’s not real?”

You can’t help but chuckle.

“The one that looks real but, by all accounts, is not?”

She echoes the soft noise of humor, the little joke between you staying just that before you step through the makeshift laboratory to find one of your two likely-hungry boyfriends.

Of course you find him by the table, an ordinary-looking table of four legs and mild detailing around the edges. He stands next to it, one hand on his chin and the other propped on his hip. His hair looks a little frazzled, as if he’s recently run his fingers through it, but he otherwise doesn’t look half-starved.

“Hey,” You say, gently pulling his attention away from the non-existent piece of furniture. “You left something at home this morning.”

It takes a moment before Carlos finally turns to look at you, recognition slowly dawning over his features where there was focused annoyance. You see his eyes light up behind the safety goggles over them, and he takes a few steps close to you.

You lift his lunch from the bag, carefully wrapped in decorative cloth, and handed it to him.

“You were in quite a hurry,” you say, gently teasing. “I don’t know how you and Cecil slept past your alarms.”

Carlos chuckles sheepishly, setting the wrapped box onto a nearby desk.

“It might have something to do with how late we were up last night,” You can almost feel a gentle warmth over Carlos’ cheeks as he speaks, not entirely meeting your eyes for a few moments. “I should have gone to bed earlier, but you sound so pretty when you sing like that.”

“Carlos!”

The reprimand is hardly firm, hardly with any edge--it’s said with a half-hidden smile behind your hand and a little blossom of warmth in your chest. It brings forth a flicker of memory from the night before and, oh yes, the three of you were up far, far later than normal.

Carlos takes a moment to adjust himself, gently pull at the buttons of his un-buttoned lab coat.

“I assume Cecil forgot his too?”

You nod gently.

“I’m planning on delivering it to him,” You feel a mild annoyance at the back of your words, but nothing that you try to hide from Carlos. “I don’t look forward to going back into the sun, it’s really hot out today.”

“Oh I know,” Carlos agrees quickly. “The sun was really loud this morning too--I had such a hard time focusing on the results from my tests.”

He sighs, and a moment passes between the two of you. It’s a moment of gentle familiarity, a moment that doesn’t inherently need to be filled with sound or words--it’s just a moment to let the topic of conversation flow and ebb as it needs.

After another couple breaths, Carlos perks up, looking at you in mild curiosity.

“Why don’t you see if Cecil can just come here for his lunch? You won’t have to walk anywhere--I don’t want you getting sick from the exposure.”

The words make you feel warm inside. Carlos knows very little about sirens, he hasn’t had much time to ask the sort of questions and in the level of detail he likes, but it’s obvious he’s made the effort to remember what little details he’s able to pick up from observations and conversational snippets. It means a lot to you and, honestly, he presents a rather nice idea.

“I can text him, I bet he’s probably hungry by now anyway.”

You set down the other wrapped box beside Carlos’ before shuffling up beside him, phone in one hand and a smile on your face, the unspoken gesture to get a picture of the two of you to send to your mutual partner.

Carlos doesn’t respond at first, so you start to wrap your arm around his shoulders-

-but quickly retract it when you feel him flinch against your touch. It surprises you more than worries you, bright eyes blinking against the shadowy backdrop of your face and realization slowly dawning over your thoughts.

“Bad touch day?” Is all you need to say, to ask in careful and loving communication.

Carlos mulls over the question and eventually nods, as if he was reluctant to tell you. It’s not uncommon for him to try and push his boundaries on comfort, especially on the days he can’t even stand to be brushed against, but you’re slowly learning to pick up the queues to help him communicate those little things better with you (Cecil has long-since learned of Carlos’ many nonverbals).

You offer him a comforting smile and situate yourself to stand beside him, far enough not to press against his shoulder, but close enough that you’re able to get both of you in the frame (though it does help that you can extend your reach farther than most non-amorphous beings). You snap the picture and quickly send it off with a couple ot teasing messages.

[11:46 a.m.] You: I think a certain radio host left his lunch at home this morning 🤔

[11:47 a.m.] You: If you want it, you’ll have to come visit your two favorite people before we eat it up ourselves ;P

[11:47 a.m.] You: [Photo attached]

You and Carlos find an empty table (one that actually exists) and a couple chairs to settle yourself down. By the time that you do, you feel the vibration of your phone and glance over the message sent in response.

[11:49 a.m.] Cecil: I’ve been starving since I left the apartment, it appears one cannot live off coffee alone. Sincerely, Cecil.

[11:49 a.m.] Cecil: Also, you’re both looking beautiful and perfect. I like how you shifted your hair today. Sincerely, Cecil.

[11:49 a.m.] Cecil: Give Carlos a kiss for me, I’ll be there soon! Sincerely, Cecil.

You smile and relay the messages to Carlos, who’s face lights up with warmth in return. With a great care, you lean across the table and lay a gentle peck of lips over his cheek, then sit back into your chair, chin lightly pressed over your palms.

"Old Woman Josie told me she’ll be stopping by later today,” Your words relay the message the woman had told you earlier. “Something about old relics you wanted to look over?”

Carlos all but blooms in excitement, the emotion unfiltered and absolutely beautiful over his face. It’s almost contagious to see him like this, surrounded by the things he loves and so ready to start babbling off about them at any given moment. He’s waiting for words though, a verbal confirmation that you want to hear his excitement as much as he’s yearning to talk about it.

“So,” You finally say, a smile on your lips, focus entirely on your partner. “Tell me about them.”

And so the air of that section of the laboratory is filled with the soft, energetic sound of Carlos’ voice as he explains just that, the two of you sitting together as couples do, waiting peacefully for the third member of your relationship so all of you can enjoy lunch together.

You couldn’t ask for better mates than Carlos and Cecil.

#wtnv #welcome to night vale #cecil #cecilos #poly #poly cecilos #readershot #poly cecilos readershot #cecil readershot #carlos readershot #sfw #sfw readershot #siren!reader au #siren!reader #siren!reader au readershot #writing #oh god so many taGS

22 notes · View notes

finalnocturne · 6 years

Text

Let’s talk about Evie.

So a while back I wrote a break down on disproving Mal being the toxic person a lot of people talk about her being by using a checklist of signs of if your significant other is a toxic abuser. Now I agree that there is a toxic main character in D2 and we’re going to talk about her today. Evie.

In D1 I didn’t mind Evie. She wasn’t a personality I liked but I understood why her character was that way. In D2 she does and gets away with so many things that can be considered toxic and abusive it angers me that I’ve never seen anyone else notice or acknowledge it. Instead of the checklist, I’m going to examine scenes with her and explain what’s wrong with her behavior.

Ways to be Wicked: A Mal dream sequence, so there’s not a ton of things to gather from this because of the way all of them are acting. But I’m going to note what she dreams Evie doing. Mostly that hers involves Chad and Fairy Godmother.

After the interview: Red flags immediately. Ben has to rush off to a meeting and is trying to give Mal a kiss on the cheek and say goodbye. Evie comes rushing over and roughly yanks Mal away from him. She scolds her that they need to get to a dress fitting right this second or Evie won’t be finishing her dress. She does a brief hi to Ben before dragging Mal away with “Let’s go, let’s go” and not letting them even have an actual goodbye. I don’t see this bit as funny or cute with her “you’ll be dancing in your bathrobe” I see the pulling and yanking as “you do things on my schedule and only my schedule.”

Dress fitting: We get the “I can’t breathe, you can breathe after” joke, which as a fashion designer myself, is terrible etiquette with a client, even if she’s your friend. Mal then continues on, expressing how she has so many things to do after Cotillion and she’s stressed out about them to the point that she can’t even keep it all straight. What is Evie doing when her friend is telling her about a problem? Ignoring her and praising her own work. Mal even makes a face, noticing this, but says nothing. Mal then asks a “what if we were still on the Isle” question seriously and Evie just scoffs and takes this tone to just shut her down. Mal realizes she forgot to read something, goes for her spell book and Evie, who was doing something else tunes right in on her flipping pages with this face of “she better not be doing things I told her not to.”

Just making a side note that some of the spells Mal had been using weren’t bad at all. She changed her hair color; no one was saying anything about it in D1 when she did everyone’s hair. She did a speed reading spell, she’s still reading just faster. The food spell, she had no time with everything else and Ben couldn’t take a cue that maybe he should provide the picnic since he has staff to get it ready for them.

When Evie takes the spell book, Mal acknowledges that she’s using it as a crutch. Does Evie say something like “why don’t I help you so you don’t need to use it?” No. She scolds Mal about secrets and pulls the “As your best friend” card. She further scolds Mal as if she were a child: “Don’t give me the face. Put the pout away. You know I’m right.” And basically just tells Mal that she’s out of luck doing all this because she can’t get help from anywhere. She is no way acting like a friend should when someone you say is your best friend is expressing that they’re having problems. “We’re Auradon girls now.” So shut up about the Isle and be a pretty princess Mal.

Chad’s fitting: This scene…. Really makes me angry, despite what makes me upset being so short. Now Chad is throwing out idea for his cape, trying to stand out at Cotillion. Evie does put the idea of King Chad in his head, and I will only give her this as a designer tactic since her client is trying to drastically change something when the item is mostly done. However, Doug even looks at them with the face of “are you really saying that to him?”

You get lip service acknowledging that Chad and Audrey aren’t together anymore. But when he leaves, crying mind you, what happens next? “Not a lot of there there.” Great, you’re calling back to the first movie, but the context is completely different. In D1, Doug said that to describe Chad to a girl he was looking at who was too busy staring at Chad. Chad also was spacing out so the point was being proven. This call back is thrown in in poor taste. The guy left crying and they laugh, say that line, and comment on him having a rough break up like a couple of mean girls.

Another side note, if Evie isn’t getting paid for her commissions until the dresses are delivered where did she get the money for all her equipment and materials? Nothing she has or makes is cheap.

Return to the Isle plans: “And we’ll bring the boys because there’s safety in numbers and none of us are too popular over there right now.” Okay so… if you didn’t have to bring them for safety, you had no intention of telling Jay and Carlos about Mal leaving? Even though they’re her friends too? You’re only bringing them for better protection?

“But let’s get two things straight.” She suddenly becomes very serious and demanding. Ben has to promise she won’t get stuck there again. Okay so her own personal well-being is paramount to her. The way she presents her conditions to Ben comes across like “if you don’t do this for me, I won’t help you at all then you won’t go.” This wouldn’t have been true, because Ben would have just gone over on his own then. She doesn’t control Ben like she acts like she controls Mal.

Dizzy: Evie’s not in the scene but we get important information. Evie has someone, much younger than them, still on the Isle that seems to adore the ground Evie walks on. But Evie earlier said “let’s leave the past in the past okay?” and forget everything about the Isle. So what does that say about what Dizzy means to her?

Leaving for the Isle: “Wait something’s wrong. *fixes Ben’s hat*” I just think this is a dumb pointless joke. That’s all.

Chillin’ Like a Villain: This sequence is fine. Since they do need to put reigns on Ben since he doesn’t know how to behave on the Isle. Also it’s all three of them and not just Evie doing it.

Reunion with Dizzy: You actually see Evie’s guilt starting to build when faced with having left Dizzy behind. I enjoy it. But it does show in hindsight what she was throwing aside to live as an Auradon girl and pretend never existed in her life.

Pre-Space Between: All of Evie’s reactions indicate a person being pulled out of her bubble and faced with reality of things not playing out the way she thinks it should. Mal saying that she didn’t want to spoil things for Evie when it came to Auradon really has no basis until this moment. When they first walked into those dorms in D1, Mal would’ve said something mean with Evie’s reaction. (Though that is a moment from D1 I love since it was executed well.) Up to Mal leaving in this movie, she had been trying to express herself about thinking back to the Isle and Evie was the one brushing her off. That’s not Mal apologizing for something she actually did, that’s something an abused says to their abuser to keep them satiated.

Space Between: I really can’t talk about this song much. It’s my least favorite and have to skip the scene every time. I honestly think this would’ve worked better as a Mal and Ben song (of which they don’t have a love song between them in either movie). I don’t like how it is used to basically brush off everything that happened with these two.

Returning to Auradon: After Ben goes to talk with Jane, what does Evie do? Grab Mal by the arm and start leading her away with a very firm “we need to talk.” Mal is in a fragile state so she lost her previous backbone stance and just goes with her. When Carlos stops them, she turns on him with this look of “Did you dare just say no to me?” After everything that happened on the Isle and showed Evie realizing her mistakes, she goes right back to pulling Mal around.

Evie and Doug: “Don’t be dopey.” It’s a cute scene and small confrontation, but it’s not bad. The only thing that bothers me is on both sides. I don’t like that line, it feels condescending. Doug ignoring what Evie just said about Ben. And then they both shrug the whole thing off. The scene’s not horrible it just doesn’t sit 100% with me.

Evie of the Isle: “…and his councilor Miss Evie of the Isle.” It’s implying that Evie is going to be Ben’s advisor and ambassador when it comes to Isle relations. Honestly, I think that should be Mal since she was also made a Lady of the court and all, and it would make sense to give her court responsibilities like that instead of just being a Lady to be Ben’s trophy arm candy as far as the rest of Auradon sees. But I reserve this for D3 and we’ll see what the case is then.

So while Evie does have some of her behaviors fixed by the end of the movie, her depiction throughout bothers me so much. She is the toxic member of the Rotten Four as far as I’m concerned and I don’t think all of it should be brushed off like it seems to be.

#Descendants 2 #Evie #ranting #descendants

7 notes · View notes

entertheolivezone · 7 years

Text

Okay, so made for tv Disney movie time. *cracks knuckles* Descendants 2 time!

Oh shit the evil kids are casting a spell

No, wait...they're singing?

They're singing out how evil they are.

Tina thinks that this probably takes place in the past.

They're giving everyone apples that make them evil.

Oh shit, Mal's mommy issues are back. Like, already. We're not even through the first song.

No, wait, everyone has mommy issue.

The apples made everyone evil and also made they learn a bunch of over-produced dance moves.

OH SHIT MAL'S BEEN STEPFORDED!

Ben's trying to stop her from getting roasted by the press.

Ooh, he sent the press away to stop them from asking uncomfortable questions. That's questionable, politically.

Tina's all mad because part of Mal's good guy makeover is dressing her LIKE BEN'S MOM.

Apparently being the king's girlfriend means running everything.

Mal look

They showed Mal spitting out food at Aladdin and Jasmine's. Fuck you, Mal.

Mal's using magic to keep up! Evie's mad at her! It's all season 6 of Buffy in here!

Tina: *gasp!* They're MAGIC-SHAMING her!

Evie got rid of her mirror? Why? That shit was so useful.

Tina: Yeah Evie, it's weird that Mal's nervous about being the steady girlfriend of the President-For-Life.

TIME FOR SUUUUUUUBTEEEEEEEEEEEXT

Evie's super in respectiability politics.

Jay's really into orgies.

But he doesn't want Carlos there.

Oh my god, are they trying to play Carlos as straight?

OH MY GOD ARE THEY TRYING TO PLAY CARLOS AS STRAIGHT

Well Jane, maybe if you weren't crawling up Mal's ass she wouldn't make evil eyes at you.

Apparently everyone thinks Ben's going to marry Mal. Makes sense, they're all the kids of Disney characters.

Ben's trying to get a stained glass couples picture of him and Mal. I sense a plot point.

Tina: Just wear a sign that says "Desperate," Ben.

Shut up, Jane.

Why is Chad going to Evie for fashion tips? She hates his ass.

Chad's gonna try to usurp. Dang.

After having locker room sex with Jay, apparently.

Evie's got cash now from selling her designs. Upgrade your boyfriend too.

Okay, Ben is trying waaaaaaaaay too hard.

Mal's really easily bought off.

OH SHIT FENCING.

Too much cherography.

Who says FINISH HIM at a fencing match?

Wait, are they just doing Mulan but with Lonnie as Mulan and a fencing team as the Chinese army.

They are.

Chad is sexist, surprising nobody.

As is the rulebook.

Geez Jay, stand up for your friends.

STOP TRYING TO MAKE CARLOS STRAIGHT.

And jeez, don't make him straight so he can date Jane.

Jane sucks.

OOPS FORGOT YOU GREW UP IN ABJECT POVERTY HA HA I'M JANE

Ugh, a friendzone joke.

...did Mal just have an evilgasm?

Wow, going into surprsingly casual detail about Carlos' abusive childhood.

Hey Chad, don't break into other people's rooms while those people are in there.

What's with the 3-D printer stuff?

Mal made Carlos a truth gummy. So he can be honest. About being attracted to Jane. Yeah, sure, whatever you so.

The dog ate the gummi and now we're in a talking dog movie.Wasn't expecting that.

Poor Carlos. Did that dog imply he has crabs?

Welcome to the movie, Hook's kid.

This kid is 500% drama.

I think we're meeting kid!Ursula.

Oh geez, these were the kids who weren't cool enough to join Mal's gang. That's a low bar.

Kid!Ursula is named Uma. I know because they're singing a whole song called " My Name is Uma (please buy my dolls)"

She wants to take over the world because she didn't get into the first movie.

I think Harry Hook is going to be this movie's "character who seems like he want have sex with everyone in every scene he's in." (A role previously held by Ben in the last movie.)

Oh shit, Ursula does not like it when people sing in her bar. Her bar that is mostly populated with teenagers played by twenty year olds.

Harry Hook is getting handsy with Gaston Jr.

Mal is performing traditional feminity to please Ben. Gross.

Uh oh, Ben found her magic book.

Ben, don't be an asshole about this.

Okay Mal, magically date-raping your boyfriend can't be the solution to all of your problems.

Ben doesn't get how the class system works.

Bad saving throw, Ben.

Uh oh, Mal's running away with her lizard mom. Back to Bad Guy island.

Mal, did you forget that everyone hated you back home?

We're getting a leitmotiff from the first movie. Mal's going bad again.

Being King-for-Life can't be that stressful if a dance is your main concern.

At least Ben admits that it's his fault that Mal ran to the island.

Tina: It's so sad that sixteen Ben already realizes that he's doomed to repeat the cycle of abuse he parents went through.

Looks like the old gang is going back to the island. And they're gonna disquise Ben. AWESOME.

Aw, Evie doesn't want to get trapped in the place she had her hellish childhood.

Tina: OH MY GOD THIS IS THE PLOT OF WHITE NIGHTS

Lady Tremaine owns a styling parlor. Yes. Mal's gonna get a re-evil makeover.

Kid!Stepsister is definitely a character who definitely existed before this.

This salon has a giant picture of Lucifer the Cat. Good.

Oh good, they had a spare costume from Katy Perry's California Girls video for Mal to wear.

Harry's trying to intimidate Mal, but she's knows he's Uma's bitch.

Ha ha, Ben's dressed like an evil longshoreman.

All of the ex-evil kids are afraid of being trapped where they had their incredibly abusive childhoods. Ben almost walks into a vent.

Ben, stop wandering off.

Oh, Ben. You sweet, stupid baby.

Are the ex-evil kids teaching Ben about the evils of the class system through song? Yes. Yes, they are.

"Remember the way to be cool is to be oppressed and hopeless."

Ben is having way too fun here.

He just danced into Gaston Jr. And the subtext returns.

Ben's just going into their secret hideout alone? I know he's here to have a serious talk with Mal, but they don't know who else could've moved in.

That dude still doesn't get it. I'd say that he should just leave her alone, but it's obvious her insecurities about fitting in are the root of their problems.

Aw, Mal thinks that the myth of upward social mobility is bullshit and that's why she can't date Ben.

She's so upset about this that she won't even talk to her gal pal!

Harry Hook has grabbed Ben! Those two shouldn't be in the same room together. All of the goggles in the world couldn't contain that much sexual chemistry.

If Mal wants to see Ben again, she'll have to face Uma in a fight that definitely probably won't involve singing and dancing.

Sorry ex-evil kids, Mal's gotta do this alone.

OH SHIT MAL'S SITTING IN A CHAIR BACKWORDS.

"I'M SO FLATTERED THAT YOU DREAM OF ME!"

Uma wants to nail Mal to the wall. In more ways than one.

This is the way all disputes between villains are solved. By arm wrestling.

Uma wants...the fairy Godmother's wand? Is it the first movie again?

They're going to use the previous established 3-D printer to make a fake. What an odd thing to be running plot point.

Girls sure do like talking about hair I guess.

Dizzy just reminded Evie that she'll never be more than an island girl.

Oh geez, now Chad knows about it. And Lonnie.

Tina: They just gave up the whole pretense that this society is a democracy.

Why does Chad think he'll be next in line for the throne?

Dizzy: Boy, it sure sucks being an untouchable.

...are Mal and Evie going to make out?

...ARE MAL AND EVIE BREAKING UP?

Aw, Evie's willing to subject herself to abject poverty to stay with Mal and Mal won't let her.

Now they're having a romantic montage of moments between these two characters as they sing a song about how much they love each other.

Forehead bump of love.

This is one of the least subtle things ever.

Tina: There is no part of this that is not a love song.

And we cut to Jay and Carlos sleeping on top of each other. WELL

I appreciate how much everyone does not want this movie to become a talking dog movie.

Mulan grew a personality in between movies. Tina doesn't know how to feel. On one had, it was well needed. On the other, she's basically a completely different person now.

HARRY HOOK IS STROKING BEN'S FACE WITH HIS HOOK!

Did all of the gay subtext fly out of Carlos and coat everyone else?

...Harry Hook is counting down the minutes until he gets to stick his hook in Ben. His words, not mine.

Ben's trying to get out of this using his one main skill from the first movie: seduction.

He's going all in, but Uma's not buying what he's selling.

Oh great, the talking dog is here.

Everyone's off to save the group's collective boyfriend. (Ben.)

Time for some good old fashioned sing-fight-dancing.

Tina: Is this supposed to a rap battle?

Yes. Yes, it.

"ALL IT TAKES IS ONE SWING AND I'LL HUMILATE HIM."

Oh god, Ben's trying to defuse the situation by seducing a whole crowd at once. I know it worked in the first movie, but this is so not your territory.

Turns out the talking dog thing was a plot point.

Gaston Jr wants Ben to tell his mom that he's still single.

Like, yeah, the wand was fake, but why did Uma just assume that she could do magic?

FIGHT SCENE WITHOUT RAPPING

Well, that extra's dead.

...did Harry and Jay hook up in the past?

Quick, everyone swordfight with whichever character you have the most sexual chemistry with.

Except Evie and Lonnie, who just get extras because we ran out of front-credited characters.

Harry's taking another crack at Ben because of course he is.

The good guys are escaping in a limo because Ben's real power is privilege.

Uh oh, Mal left her evil spellbook behind.

Ben just realized that his duty as King-For-Life is to everyone, not just the people in the magical suburbs.

Lonnie is going to bang Jay SO HARD.

Tina: OH MY GOD THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THE GIRLS NEVER LISTEN TO THE GUYS.

Carlos is totally pitching an orgy.

A therapy orgy.

Tina: This is where everyone is realizing that fuck Respectability Politics.

Carlos, that's not the right problem to focus on. Of course Ben's not in love with you just because of the spellbook, that's why he was all mad that you were using it early. Also because you were trying to use magic to wipe his mind.

The dog is trying to get Carlos to be hetrosexual. So that happened.

Tina called Jay using a loophole in the fencing handbook to get Lonnie on the team. By making her captain! And she's gonna make all those boys grovel at her feet.

Ugh, Doug.

Evie, you can do better.

Doug thinks that Evie might be banging Happy's son because he has a dark streak.

Tina: Why can't we see Happy's son? An evil Happy is so much better than Doug!

BOOOOOOOO.

Oh, Carlos is trying to ask out Jane. I repeat, BOOOOOOOOOO.

We went from one of the worst hetro romances in the movie to the other.

Chad needs find his chill.

Evie is trying to establish Dizzy as an up and coming designer to get her off of the island.

Is Jane just dating Carlos to get back at her mom? That's gross. Don't use people like that.

Ew, the manservant just told Mal to work it. She's, like, sixteen. Back off, creepy.

Mal: Father-tested, Mother-approved.

Ben invited Uma! Wow, dude is really doing the groundwork to set up this threeway.

Tina: Ben is going to bring over the villains over one at a time. With his dick.

Nah, it looks like Uma probably used magic to brainwash him. The dude has no luck in the "getting magically brainwashed into dating girls" department.

Or lots of luck in that department, depending on your view of things.

How are they not getting this? This is exactly what THEY did to him last movie?

Tina: They're dancing to an orchestral version of Kiss the Girl. That makes sense.

Boy, now's a dick time to unveil that stained glass window of Mal that Ben comissioned.

Uma used the book to command Ben to bring down the mystical barrier seperating the Island of Poor People from the rest of the country. This is...a bad thing, apparently?

They're doing the thing in which two people stand on opposite sides of a room and try to get the dog to come to them, except with Ben instead of a dog.

True love's kiss, wah wah wah.

Tina: Why's Uma jumping in the water? Me: Maybe she's going to pull an Ursula and turn into a giant octopus woman.

Holy shit, I was kidding.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand now Mal's a dragon.

Think Ben still wants that threesome?

WELL APPARENTLY HE DOES.

Tina: I know Ben's right, but also shut up Ben. I want to see a giant octopus lady fight a dragon.

It took him a while, but Ben finally managed to seduce Uma.

They came so close to having a good message.

Oh, okay. Apparently segregation is wrong, but only in some cases. That's...better, I guess?

And so everyone who didn't live in the island of abject poverty lived happily ever after.

Looks like Carlos is getting that orgy he was gunning for earlier.

Mal and Evie are working the subtext right to the bitter end. And Ben's getting that threesome one way or another.

Oh right, Doug exists.

Tina: Why is everyone dancing in the water? You can tell that the choreographer thought that this would look so much cooler than it does.

I guess Mal and Ben are engaged now? Well, I guess having a wife who can turn into a dragon would come in handy if you were King-For-Life ruling over a bunch of recently deposed royals. Especially since Chad is definitely going to try to overthrow him at some point.

Uma just broke the fourth wall and threatened another sequel.

Hey, they saved the cover of a classic Disney song for the credits.

Tina: Pop cover of Kiss the Girl better than rap cover of Be Our Guest?

Me: It'd pretty much have to be.

#i may have been somewhat intoxicated when i wrote this

18 notes · View notes

michaelfallcon · 4 years

Text

2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview

Add another trophy to the shelf for Mexico’s Carlos de la Torre! The Mexico City coffee polymath has already taken home some serious hardware, having won national titles at Cup Tasters (2012), the Brewers Cup (2015, 2016), and the Barista Championship (2018, 2019). And he has just added Coffee Masters Champion to his CV in his first-ever appearance in the competition. If this isn’t a coffee EGOT, I’m not sure such a thing exists.

Yet, even with his impressive résumé, keeping the US Coffee Masters title in a producing country (matching the efforts of 2018 New York Coffee Masters Champion Remy Molina of Costa Rica) would be no easy task. Standing in de la Torre’s way were no less than three national champions, multiple finalists, and two Coffee Masters Runners-Up. But even as a rookie, de la Torre was able to call upon his vast competition experience to rise to the occasion, even mowing down two of those national champions along the way.

To learn more, Sprudge caught up with Carlos de la Torre after his big win to find out what the fast-paced weekend was like and what’s next in store for him.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Hey Carlos! Congratulations on your Coffee Masters victory! By way of introduction, can you tell us a little bit about what you professionally in the coffee world?

I’m the green buyer and head roaster at Cafe con Jiribilla and I’m in charge of Quality Control and Training at Café Avellaneda, both in Mexico City. I have an oncoming Cold Brew project and I run the coffee program for the new bar Cafe Ocampo. I’m also the current Mexican Barista Champion and I’ve been involved constantly in barista competitions as a competitor and coach for other baristas, and randomly I give some workshops and lectures on coffee.

As an experienced coffee competition veteran, what was it like competing in your first Coffee Masters?

It was an amazing experience. Even before I knew I won the competition I was saying to my wife, “I guess I’m not winning, but it was a lot of fun, I’m going to try again next year.” But now I guess there’s no Coffee Masters for me in the future at least as a competitor.

How did it compare to other coffee competitions?

It has long performance times with the big stress of competing one-on-one, so it demands a lot of energy and focus. I was so tired after it all that I didn’t even go out to celebrate, just a quick takeaway dinner before going straight to bed. But the most notable difference is not just the variety of abilities that the competitors need to display, but the fact of having the competitors perform against each other under the same circumstances, which removes a lot of advantages some competitors may have; it’s all up to the skills and knowledge inherent to the competitors.

Do you feel like your extensive competition experience (and success) gave you a leg up in Coffee Masters?

Yes, for sure. I was already a national champion in Cup Tasters, Brewers Cup, and Barista, which relates directly with the cupping, order, sig drink, espresso blend, and brewing disciplines at Coffee Masters, so it was sort of familiar to me and I guess that helped me a lot. On the other, I have almost no experience at cupping various origins or presenting latte art.

There were a handful of other national champions at Coffee Masters this year. Was it intimidating going up against such accomplished competitors?

For sure it was intimidating. Since Round One I was asking myself, “what the hell am I doing here?” I heard a lot of great things from Cole Torode about the competition when we hung out in China at the Fushan Cup last summer, and that inspired me to compete but I never expected to face him in the Semi-Finals. I was just scared as hell since he is not just the third-best barista in the world but one of the professionals I admire the most. Then Shin [Fukuyama] at the Finals, man!! He is a latte art god (fourth in the world) from a prestigious company and he trained so hard. Obviously I was so intimidated by every competitor and I respect them A LOT, but they were very friendly and supportive with me because it was my first time and they had more experience in Coffee Masters, so it made for a good friendship.

What was your favorite discipline in Coffee Masters?

I guess it was the cupping, I’ve always loved the rush of combining speed and precision in a competition.

What was the most challenging discipline?

I guess the origin because I have so few experiences cupping non-Mexican coffees.

vimeo

Can you tell us a little bit more about your signature beverage?

It was a cocktail with “overnight espresso,” made with tamarind, lemon, Sotol (a Mexican distilled spirit), and gin. So refreshing, complex, spicy, and harmonious that I couldn’t resist to drink one with the judges so I crafted one for me too.

It’s actually a cocktail I created a while ago, thinking about giving “second chances” to the espresso that some times you don’t use when serving single shot drinks using a double spout portafilter, or just the coffee you forgot to drink at home and is “overnighted.” We used to have a lot of those espressos at the coffee shop and we would throw them into the sink, so this cocktail is crafted with stuff you can find at any party or in some fridges very easily; it’s almost a cocktail built from scratch turning a wasted espresso into an amazing drink.

Originally about recycling “overnight coffee,” for Coffee Masters we turned it into a concept drink using some Mexican ingredients representing the L.A. Mexican and Latin culture and also the second chances we look for when migrating to the US. Actually, that was part of bringing the ingredients across the border by car haha; we really wanted to build the experience of the drink and believe the story ourselves. For me, it was a very meaningful drink because it connected my passion, my origin, and my family (my wife is from Chihuahua, and that’s where Sotol comes from).

And more importantly, where did you get that wonderful pink silk robe in the video and will it a regular part of future competitions for you?

Hahaha! It’s my wife’s robe, I got it as a gift for her when I went away from home for two weeks to help out at Coffee in Good Spirits at the International Coffee Week last year. I don’t know if it’s taking part in competitions hahaha but surely in more funny coffee videos I’ll be borrowing it from her.

How does this win compare to your national competition victories?

It’s unbelievable, the warmth of an international audience giving you recognition as a well-structured professional in a field in which you have invested a third of your life in some way gives you a big satisfaction, but not quite as satisfying as having the opportunity to give a bit of exposure to Mexico and Latin America, not just as producing countries but also as consuming ones.

Any big plans on what you will do with the $5,000 cash prize?

Yeah!! I’m going to use it for the birth expenses of my son and the remaining cash I’ll use it for my road to WBC in Melbourne, maybe equipment, tools, or some training expenses.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

The other half of my success in coffee, Yaris Barrientos who supported me all the way, giving me advice, tasting, helping with stuff I may not be able to handle alone, even when she is currently having some difficult time expecting our first son. No one can read me better than her, she’s a wonderful woman and an amazing coach struggling with the fact that she cannot actually drink a lot of coffee or any alcohol. But she has that super-sensitive nose that her pregnancy gave to her as a very helpful side effect hahaha.

I also want to thank Cris Mancilla (Mexican Latte Art Champion) and Ale Lugo (two-time Latte Art finalist and Brewers Cup Runner-Up) who helped me improve my pouring. And last but not least, Sam Ronzon, my friend and coffee producer who supported us a lot during the competition days, showing that the relation between baristas and producers is not just about coffee; it’s not meant to be just a business relation but a great friendship supporting each other, not just as professionals but as human beings in regular everyday circumstances… and also, Sam smuggled my ingredients across the border.

Thanks, Carlos!

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Coffee Festival/Coffee Masters

The post 2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

0 notes

shebreathesslowly · 4 years

Text

2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview

To learn more, Sprudge caught up with Carlos de la Torre after his big win to find out what the fast-paced weekend was like and what’s next in store for him.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Hey Carlos! Congratulations on your Coffee Masters victory! By way of introduction, can you tell us a little bit about what you professionally in the coffee world?

As an experienced coffee competition veteran, what was it like competing in your first Coffee Masters?

How did it compare to other coffee competitions?

Do you feel like your extensive competition experience (and success) gave you a leg up in Coffee Masters?

There were a handful of other national champions at Coffee Masters this year. Was it intimidating going up against such accomplished competitors?

What was your favorite discipline in Coffee Masters?

I guess it was the cupping, I’ve always loved the rush of combining speed and precision in a competition.

What was the most challenging discipline?

I guess the origin because I have so few experiences cupping non-Mexican coffees.

vimeo

Can you tell us a little bit more about your signature beverage?

And more importantly, where did you get that wonderful pink silk robe in the video and will it a regular part of future competitions for you?

How does this win compare to your national competition victories?

Any big plans on what you will do with the $5,000 cash prize?

Yeah!! I’m going to use it for the birth expenses of my son and the remaining cash I’ll use it for my road to WBC in Melbourne, maybe equipment, tools, or some training expenses.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank?

Thanks, Carlos!

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Coffee Festival/Coffee Masters

The post 2019 Los Angeles Coffee Masters Champ Carlos De La Torre: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

from Sprudge https://ift.tt/37otCyX

#Sprudge

0 notes