#but that was more from esteban's perspective

[notmoreflippingelves]

I'm biased as heck and I'm gonna go with one of my faves - how about 18, 22 and 25 for Francisco from EoA and a freebie question - thoughts on his relationship with Esteban pre and post series?

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

It gets much less screen time/focus than his relationship with the other characters, but Francisco's relationship with Isabel is very underrated and one of my favorites to watch. It's especially poignant and striking as Francisco is the oldest of the main characters, and Isabel is the youngest--but there is still so much understanding and affection between them. And the two of them have such similar personalities.

I feel like they are probably the most alike of all the Flores family members. Both are quieter and relatively even tempered (or at least compared to the rest of the family who are much more talkative and hot-headed), sensitive, creative/artistic. I'd also say that they are the two "wisest" members of the family and the most open-minded. (Though of course, they do have their very stubborn moments as well!)

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

Honestly, I don't think I've read a ton of Francisco fic, but not really sure that there's a ton out there. But I do enjoy the little I see of him as a background character in other fics. In terms of an aspect that I like (and would love to see more of), I really enjoy seeing focus on his relationships with Isabel and Esteban. Much of the Francisco content that we see in the show itself is understandably focused on his relationships with Luisa and Elena, so it's always nice to see fanwork delve deeper into his dynamics with the other members of his family. I've already talked a bit about his relationship with Isabel and I will talk more in another question about his relationship with Esteban. But yeah, these are really rich, underrated dynamics that have so much wonderful potential to be explored.

As for something I don't like, I read a fic once where Francisco died the day after "Coronation Day," and he sort of knew that it was going to be his last day, which gave him a bit of an extra vitality on the day itself. And just...it made me too sad. Plus, like Esteban was just finally reintegrated into the family again, Elena just ascended the throne. There's so much going on in Francisco's life at the end of the series that he should be there for. Yeah, I get that he's older and he might not be in the best of health (especially given his sweet tooth). But no, in my mind, all the characters (except Shuriki, lol) are functionally immortal for the foreseeable future.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I liked Francisco reasonably well from the start, and I like him even better now. I find him a nice, calming presence for the Flores family. He gets a long reasonably well with everyone and is able to provide some very sweet moments as well as a little bit of humor.

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!-- thoughts on his relationship with Esteban pre and post series?

While we really don't get to see all that much of it, I feel that Francisco's relationship with Esteban was very, very good-- pre-series, during the main timeline of the show, and post-series alike. In fact, I feel like I would go so far as to say that it's probably one of (if not THE) most positive relationship in Esteban's life. Esteban was around 8-9, when he was orphaned, so he likely remembers very little about his actual father. Instead, Francisco was the fatherly presence guiding Esteban through the struggles of adolescence.

He would've been the one who taught Esteban everything he knows about being a man. He would have been the one to teach him how to tie his cravat and how to shave. (My headcanon is that adult!Esteban decided to grow out his beard and mustache during the Dark Times specifically as a way of honoring his absent abuelo who has his own impressive facial hair). He was probably also the one to teach Esteban how to play the guitar and the one we see in "Secret of Avalor" may even have been a gift from him. (Shame that Shuriki probably had it destroyed at the end of the scene).

And the little hints that we see of their relationship in the main series suggest that the relationship continues to be strong. During Esteban's trial, Francisco is the only one to vote in his favor. His line about judging Esteban not for the mistakes of his past but the man he has become in the present--suggest that in Francisco's view, Esteban has become a man that he is proud of and one that is already worthy of forgiveness/a second chance. As a lonely, love-starved, fatherless boy, Esteban probably worshipped Francisco when he was a child, and so to hear that --even knowing Esteban's greatest mistake--Francisco is still proud of what he's become must have been so validating for Esteban as an adult. That's all he's ever wanted: to be a great man, a true son of Avalor just like his abuelo. Too bad Luisa then totally crushes Esteban's heart immediately afterwards.

I am also very struck by the throne room scene with Francisco, Luisa, and Cahu in "Coronation Day." While Luisa has the flashier role in the scene and the more powerful lines, I'd argue that Francisco is actually the one who ultimately inspires Esteban's decision to sacrifice himself for Elena.

Esteban watches Francisco call for a sword to defend Luisa from Cahu, hears Francisco ask him "why are you doing this, Esteban?" because Francisco still cares enough about him to want to understand. Esteban knows that Francisco is the kind of man that he himself has always wanted to be, the man that he should be. The man that maybe he still could be if only he had just one more chance. And then he does get that chance, and he's finally able to do exactly what Francisco would do--sacrifice himself to save his family.

I also have a lot of feelings about how the last interaction we see between the two of them on the show is at the end of Esteban's sacrifice-redemption-and-resurrection scene. We see Francisco place a hand on Esteban's shoulder as the scene fades to black.

[lipswoaface]

sean diaz fluff alphabet (rq)

(A) attractive - what do they find attractive about u? how do they show this?

sean is attracted to anyone or anything that deviates the norm. dyed hair, unique background/perspective, and unconventional features. literally anything u think is unattractive and not up to the beauty standard about u, he probably rlly digs it. hell draw it in his journal always! but not in a way that comes across performative—he just draws u authentically. he doesnt feel the need to modify how u look in his art bc he thinks ure perfect as is (booo corny).

he shows his attraction through flesh-blazing, skull-burning staring. he analyzes his muses thoroughly after all... he knows where all ur freckles/moles are and can draw ur smile from sheer memory. in the months that he crushed on u, u couldn’t help but feel this pestering feeling of being watched in class constantly.

hes still a dorky teenage boy so if u share the same music taste as him or have the same hobbies hell geek out!! “no way she can skate AND listens to my favorite songs…” lyla will just roll his eyes at him in response. he acts like tom from 500 days of summer 😭

(B) baby - how do they act around kids?

sean definitely says he hates kids. hell talk about how annoying they are and use daniel as an example ALWAYS. that however does not hide the fact that he is REALLY good with kids. i wouldnt say its in a fatherly way but kids tend to look up to him as a cool older brother (even when he doesnt try to be one).

sean also secretly loves it when ur good with kids, despite him allegedly hating them. he cant help but grin ear-to-ear when he sees how happy u make daniel. once he becomes self-aware he tries to wipe his smile off asap. when u, sean, and daniel go out u guys are practically his parents. both of u know how to shut down daniels whining fast. albeit sean does more of the hushed, frustrated demands and u just try to defuse daniel.

(if u guys have ever seen the video of jake and tara with that baby thats how i imagine u guys with kids 😈 except ur both a mix of tara n jake)

(C) cuddle - how do they like to cuddle?

honestly the two of u can never decide who’s big spooning and who’s little spooning. to solve this issue the two of u just kind of… stack on top of each other.

esteban will do his routine dad check up on the two of u (preventing teen pregnancy) and walk into u guys jenga-ed on top of each other. ur legs are a tangled mess and u look like two corpses laid on top of each other. scrolling through ur phones while stacked is the go-to. ull be muffled chuckling into sean’s stomach at random videos for an hour…

while cuddling sean always traces little drawings/words on ur body. when u ask him whats hes drawing hell probably say its a dick LMFAO. so romantic 🙄

at the beginning of ur relationship, sean always felt the need to be the “man” and cradle u like some big infant. overtime he got more comfortable and whenever u guys watch movies on the couch hell be sprawled out on top of ur lap. one arm up supporting his head and a leg propped up like a princess xoxo

(D) dates - what are dates with them like? what do they like to do?

concerts, fairs!!! and MOVIES for sure

sean casually drops half his check on good seats for one of ur guys favorite band. the two of u have a tradition of replaying their music for weeks until the concerts about to start. it literally does not matter how many times uve gone to concerts with sean—u guys stay excited every single time. the after concert high is so good and u guys always kiss in the car afterwards. the two of u mess up each other’s hair and shuffle back in ur seats with swollen lips. sean backs out the parking lot while awkwardly clearing his throat 😭

SEAN IS SUCH A BIG FAIR GUY. he gives less than two shits if the pop-up fairs are shady and will probably collapse at the slightest gust of wind. he WILL take u on all the janky rides and tease u for being freaked out. he holds ur hand while giggling like a lil boy on the ferris wheel bc the creaking starts to freak the both of u out. he also tries to win fair prizes for u and say its a “bullshit scam” when he loses.

u beg him to go into the photobooth and take cute little couple-esque photos. he says “fineee” after some convincing with a smile and he avoids ur gaze after too. he definitely secretly wanted to the whole time though!! when they print out, they come out with those face-adjusting filters. u guys are WHEEZING laughing in front of the slot where they regurgitate out those abominations. sean puts it on the back of his phone case bc he thinks its so hilarious 😭

sean is a film nerd considering he had goodlands on his laptop. hes definitely up to date on any movie releases and will want to watch anything new with u. u guys always dissect the movie aggressively afterwards. the both of u will forever and always argue about which characters u liked and didnt over some takeout.

(E) equal - are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

sean on the regular is passive. he never was the “dominant” type to like… back u into corners. in fact he was really awkward when u first met him. hes lowkey scared of women 😭

it took him a while to get comfortable/assertive. by “comfortable” i mean gaining the ability to tease u back LMAO. when he first gave u a snarky remark ur jaw kind of hung open and u guys HAVENT STOPPED SINCE. overall, sean usually was the one to wait for u to initiate something. he never wanted to put u in a situation ud be uncomfortable with.

(F) fight - would they be easy to forgive their s/o? how are they fighting?

u guys fight like an old married couple. playful arguments always happen but once it becomes serious/personal things go south. one thing leads to another and the two of u just get agitated with each other

when u guys do seriously fight sean eventually lets u have ur way ALWAYS. he always prioritizes what u need/feel in the end and is really good at saying sorry. a part of him feels like big fights indicate ull leave him so hell always choke out things like “i just dont wanna lose you” after arguments. it sounds really dramatic but he has DEEP-rooted abandonment issues. hell hold u—whether it be an embrace or ur hand just to feel comforted afterwards.

(G) gentle - how gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?

GAWWWWWWWWWDAUH sean is so incredibly very gentle. sure, he teases u sometimes but in the end, again, he always makes sure ur comfortable! he asks u if ur okay when u look clearly overstimulated/out of it.

physically, sean doesnt mess around. he will constantly playfully shove u, mess with ur hair, etc. obviously its never to the point where it hurts but this is the only way he can get his daily dose of pda, so!

(H) hugs - do they like hugs? how often do they do it? what are their hugs like?

sean is crazy on back hugs. he will always surprise u with one and he WILL trap u in it. ull be walking around his house and chatting with his leech-self wrapped around u. he likes nuzzling his nose in and u can feel his lips curl into a smile on the nape of ur neck when u make a joke (😢)

sean takes the opportunity to embrace u at any moment of privacy hes given. when daniel or esteban catches him he immediately flings off u and starts stuttering LMAO. hes kind of lanky so if anything his clothes are what cushion u. BUT he is very warm and is a personal heater #tbh. who needs a coat when u have sean???

(I) i love you - how fast did they say the l-word?

i feel sean is VERY quick to fall in love but takes forever to actually utter the words out. he will have a love at first sight moment with u and only have the feelings grow bigger and bigger as time goes on. sean is overall a reserved person and wouldnt go out of his way to tell u, no matter how much lyla encouraged him.

he would only say it once it becomes overbearing for him. like, to the point where the extent he loves u has become pervasive and PERSISTENT. it will just explode out of him at some pivotal moment. u guys will be laughing hysterically at something only u guys would laugh at. then, boom, it slips out like its something he had to swallow back down a hundred times before. because its so sudden, it will definitely catch u off guard.

he would repeat it because he didnt think u heard it the first time like a dork. his stomach acid is doing fucking somersaults at this point. u will visibly see this guy’s face drop and his hands start to fiddle anxiously. his eyes will kind of dart all over ur shocked face in fear. he’ll choke a lil “sorry i have no clue why i even said that-“

u lean in and the rest is history 🤓

(J) jealousy - how jealous do they get? when do they get jealous?

sean is always a bit wary of specific guy friends or potential suitors u have in ur life. again, sean picks up on LOTS that most people brush over. he knows when people flirt with u and he always bites his tongue before he says anything.

whenever u talk about other people too much, he gets a little… sassy. ull be thanking some guy in ur class for giving u the answers and hell be grumbling “i wouldve gave them to u…” under his breath. u shoot a look at him and he just defensively puts his arms up LMAO. he never seems to stop either. the amount of times u caught him rolling his eyes… criminal.

(K) kisses - what are their kisses like? where do they like to kiss u? where do they like to be kissed?

sean is so shy when it comes to kisses. when u first began dating, sean never kissed u without a shy “can i?” before. he never knew when was appropriate or if u wanted to kiss him at all. his ears would flare up in red and his eyebrows would furrow in concentration each time.

overtime, as he got more comfortable, sean began finding the “right times” himself. whenever u leave his house he always gives u a quick peck. daniel never misses his opportunity to scream “EWW” as loud as he can. sean will be like “one more” and smooch ur cheek and then say “wait another one” and just KEEP GOING. if he wore lipstick u would look like u were dunked in a pig’s blood.

smiling into the kiss happens without fail—every single time. sean cant help himself, hes a lover boy!! he will always slowly open his eyes and pray u wont catch him sneaking a look. once he pulls away, he laughs while covering his mouth with his wrist. he gets butterflies still, no matter how many times u kiss 😭 im sick.

(L) love language - what is his love language?

sean’s family is big on quality time so he definitely prioritizes it. impromptu hangouts are his absolute favorite and if he could, hed spend every hour he could with u. sean never fails to randomly invite u over and hold u at gunpoint to do family time with him, daniel, and esteban.

also sean is a big gift giver! he will always give u doodles of ur favorite characters and little things that remind him of u. u guys have matching pins, keychains, bracelets, etc. not only does he go all out, but he also knows EXACTLY what u like. again, sean is the most attentive bf ever. hes the kind of man who would spend hours making coraline dolls of u two.

(M) mornings - how are mornings spent with him?

sean is not a morning person. he is almost always running late to first period, so oftentimes u cover for him. he will come to class with messy hair and will lizard-blink at literally anything u say. when u tell him that u gave the teacher an excuse, hell let out a croak-ey "thanks" and he will on a 99% chance knock out right after. he'll probably dazily open his eyes at u every so often and go back to sleep LMAO.

on weekends, sean will... barely be awake for mornings. ull be up and ready, watching hawt dawg man on the couch with daniel while eating cereal. sean shortly comes out of his mancave, stretching and yawning. hell come to lean on ur shoulder and stare blankly at the screen. its never particularly productive but sean couldnt care less honestly.

(N) nicknames -what does he call u?

sean has a disdain for nicknames. uttering any of them out loud just seemed so embarrassing to him… unless he’s making fun of them. he does however love “girlfriend.” its not exactly a nickname but he loves saying ur his girlfriend or “my girlfriends coming over” to people.

at a certain point he started using it in sentences that wouldn’t make sense. he’d go “hi girlfriend” every time he sees u. he’s so stew peed… 😢

(O) on cloud nine what is he like when he’s in love? is it obvious for others?

lyla never hears the end of u. shell be talking about something entirely unrelated and sean will be disassociating with his mouth open. when he finally snaps back into reality the first thing that comes out of his mouth is “do u think she would find it a turn off that u drive me everywhere?…“

“yeah obviously— were u even listening sean?”

“mm okay…” he just goes back to tuning her out again LMAO.

esteban will be asking for his tools from sean and he’d be totally zoned out just thinking about u. esteban will pull himself out from under the car and groan “augh… lover boy…” without sean even saying anything to him… so yes hes obvious.

(P) pda - is he upfront about your relationship? does he brag about you with others? or he rather shy to kiss, etc. when others are watching?

i already wrote on this but sean would rather keep intimate contact privately. that is, unless hes really in the heat of the moment. for example, at a concert hed just get so riled up. the lyrics of the song perfectly aligning with the way he feels about u MIGHTTT just make him collide lips with u, who knows! at special moments he won’t hesitate to kiss u but he’s just usually not a show-ey person.

too many times have the two of u attempted to sneak away to be romantic alone and gotten caught. whether it be lyla, esteban, daniel, or any of sean’s guy friends—they always tease u guys. lyla is so dramatic and she’d probably do the most, screaming and squawking when all she sees is sean hugging u 😭

(Q) quizzes - how much would they remember about you? do they remember every little detail you mention in passing or do they kind of forget everything?

just like i mentioned earlier, sean remembers every little thing. he knows which side of ur smile leans more toward, the distinctive mole on ur arm, etc etc etc. he loves u like how a husband with a camcorder loves his late wife <3

sean has pulled multiple joe goldbergs before u started dating. he will give u some small knick knack of ur favorite video game/show/band and ull thank him, visibly confused on when u mentioned it. hell notice and just go “i heard u talk about it like three months ago.” he only realizes HOURS LATER how creepy he sounded and his ass will start sliding down a wall dramatically in his room.

(R) rosy - what makes them blush?

sean is quick to blush. honestly, any time u guys are intimate in any sort of way his ears are probably burning up. he’ll try to hide that he’s nervous by giving u quick one-liners back but inside his heart is RACING.

(S) security - how protective are they? how would they protect you?

sean goes to great lengths to protect people he loves, like u. in relation to actual life is strange 2 lore, sean definitely does anything in his power to not involve u in the incident. if u try to contact him or find him, he’ll probably be EXTREMELY upset. at first, all he can think about is how much he wants u away from all this mess. he just wants u to live a normal life—and if that meant being far away from him he’d be okay with it. u would beg him to let u back in his life and eventually, with much hesitation, he’d oblige. keeping u alongside daniel on the road allowed u to see another side to sean. he had been hit and came back up so many times just for u. all he wants in his life is to keep u safe.

exempt from life is strange 2 lore, sean always does little things to keep u safe. there are many times where he treats u like daniel—aka a big baby LMAO. he’s big on acts of service as well so he’ll always make u walk on the inside of the sidewalk, hold ur hair away from ur face when it’s windy, help u jump off of places too high up, etc.

(T) try - how much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?

he’s so bf coded of course he puts maximum effort at all times! he gets crafty for you every anniversary—a collection of drawings of u and a curated playlist/burnt cd is the MINIMUM he’s capable of. he’s the kind of boyfriend that can actually pick up on subtleties. something u mentioned liking once? it’s now in his cart.

when sean feels like switching it up he’ll try to do things he’s not used to like pottery and completely fail 😭. he has some place in the back of his closet for all the clunky diy gifts he’s tried to make for u in the past. despite this, he’ll give u a perfect trinket dish and u’ll wonder how he’s so good at everything… well, one day in his room he’ll ask u to go get something from his closet. u go inside and see a cardboard box with 15 versions of that very same trinket dish he made.

(U) understanding - how well do they know their partner?

sean does his best at understanding you as a person. when u talk about complicated emotions and unique experiences he doesn’t quite share, he’ll have this really pensive expression. he nods along and tries to understand ur perspective to the best of his ability. because of this, its really easy to open up to sean.

sean has you down to a T. hes so so so perceptive and knows when u feel uncomfortable. a small falter in ur smile, the glossy glint in ur eyes, ur lip quivering, he sees it ALL. he will immediately try to get u out of whatever situation ure in.

(V) vanity - how concerned are they with looks?

he could give less than two farts tbh. he loves when u look like a mess, more drawing opportunities for him. he however will make a big deal about looking good in front of u. he will be styling his hair for an hour in front of the mirror before going on a date with u, hogging the bathroom. he also practices the way he approaches u and lays out his outfits to impress u LMAO.

(X) xtra headcanon

sean loves cats so much. if u have a cat, he will spend the whole time at ur house trying to befriend them. bro will be crawling all over ur house on all fours... it gets to the point where u guys can never pass by a petsmart without sean making an impromptu visit to see the cats. plus, u guys have matching cat profile pictures!!!

(Y) yearning - how will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

sean coops up and calls and texts u as much as u can. its to the extent where he will send u nonsensical texts just so he can open ur guys' chat. ur phone will be vibrating so much and out of curiosity ull open it to just see random symbols and letters strung together. he'll send u random photos throughout the day that remind him of u and make unplanned video calls. u guys do mundane tasks together in silence for HOURS. they never fail to end with him just falling asleep on call.

(Z) zzz - what are their sleep habits?

sean is NOT a morning person. because daniel’s usually the one that wakes him up, he will slam a pillow into ur face when ur just trying to wake him up. he will open his eyes to see u and mumble a “shit sorry…” and snake his hand around u back into bed. he will hold u PRISONER under those sheets. if u try to shuffle out he will snake another arm around u. u're essentially held hostage until sean decides he wants to set u free... cruel world.

unfortunately i feel like this is very lackluster and COULDVE BEEN BETTER idk. also not proofread so sorry if this was... inchuresting to read... it also sucked me dry so i think i may have to start writing ACTUAL fanfics instead of hcs😢😢😢 thank u if u did enjoy though...

[giuseppe-yuki]

I feel like Kimi's gf's job in the shapeshifter au is just to sleep and his job is to facilitate that

Esteban's flying squirrel gf has to talk him out of buying her tiny superhero themed clothes

Logan and Alex's gfs love to get their feathers everywhere and perch together to watch their boys race

Lance's gf sometimes goes out in her fox form alone at night and gives him a heart attack

George and Kimi both struggle to explain how they got legal permission to bring a tiger and a deer around with them

the term cat naps was made for kimi's gf. she'll find any excuse in order to stretch out on the deck of the merc hospitality or in the middle of the walkway to kimi's driver's room. you should see kimi snapping at his poor engineers to lower down their talking levels so his gf can take her like 12th nap of the day.

more underneath the cut :))

haha, esteban's gf probably saw max's gf dressed in the sanrio clothes and zhou's gf in the cowboy outfit and was like NOPE, i'm not doing that. she might do wonder woman (aka just a tiara, miniskirt, and lasso) if esteban asks really really nicely, but she draws the line at the deadpool body suit that esteban might or might not be looking at on his phone.

yessss bird shapeshifter!gfs unite :) from an outsider's perspective, it might seem alarming to see alex's gf, a small cockatiel, perched next to logan's gf, a mighty hawk, but the boys always reassures them that 'it's alright, there will be no birds dying in the williams motorhome today.' as for the feathers, they first do it accidentally, but then realize how funny it is when james vowles slips on a stray feather on the ground, flies across the room, and almost impales himself one of the tyre wheel guns. (alex and logan swear they didn't burst out laughing after witnessing the scene- promise 🤞)

fennec foxes are naturally nocturnal animals, so it only makes sense that some of those characteristics transfer into lance's fennec fox shapeshifter!gf. when she can't sleep at night, she likes to lightly slip herself out of lance's warm embrace and let herself out. it only takes an hour and a half of padding outside in the darkness around lance's sprawling estate before she finally gets tired and comes back inside. however, sometimes lance wakes up while she's running around outside. in his groggy state, his mind automatically assumes the worst, like she's been kidnapped, and almost passes away with fear, but he always realizes quickly that she's doing her late night zoomies. he can't really sleep without her there, so he goes to stand at the backyard door like🧍until she comes back in.

definitely! the question always pops up with new merc employees. the more uptight ones usually say something like, 'this cannot be legal!' and goes to toto's office to tattle, but are pretty much silenced after the merc team principal opens the door with a bored 'yes, how may i help you,' while his wolf!shapeshifter gf blinks at them from behind his legs. (the experienced employees cannot interfere- it is a canon event) meanwhile, the more curious new employees usually go up to kimi and george themselves to ask. kimi will answer with a shrug while george, flustered from being put on the spot, ends up stuttering a bullshit answer (guide deer (?) on loan from the zoo (?)) and running away. but, once the employees have enough experience with the team and the drivers trust them enough, they are allowed to know the secret.

[notreyev]

abby & cecil from recent wtnv eps (i love you abby you are the older sister of all time) + esteban <33

thinking about how cecil has a Huge presence in night vale as the Voice of it all but to abby he is her gay little brother. cecil being perceived from many different viewpoints--from carlos' perspective to abby's to a third person pov in the books--is something i love so much. i love how his character has become so much more real over the years :(

+ esteban the loml. little baby. i think he looks a lot more like carlos. i'll post a colored design of him soon

[angelshizuka]

Unpopular opinion. Elena of Avalor should have ended with Estéban surrendering to the authorities knowing that he probably hasn’t done anything that could earn him any mercy, instead of that whole sacrifice thing. I know this isn’t popular with people, but it often takes more character to surrender knowing that you’ve probably done nothing that could earn you mercy, than to sacrifice your life for a loved one. Mark my words, there are many escaped convicts who would sacrifice themselves for their love ones if given the chance, but few of these people would surrender even if they have no long term plan to evade the authorities. Should we release from prison every convict who has ruined countless lives because they love their loved ones? Does that absolve them of everything? I like to think Elena still could have shown Estéban forgiveness and mercy, even if he hadn’t been granted the opportunity to sacrifice his life for her, if only because I pity him. Not sure he deserves forgiveness more than other convicts who have loved ones. The whole “sacrifice yourself for your loved ones” thing is overrated, while “surrendering to the authorities” is underrated.

I'm personally fine with the way Esteban's redemption went. Maybe not perfect, but I don't expect perfection from any story.

Sure, it would've probably been better if this was irl, but ngl, from a storytelling stand point the sacrifice plotline just usually works and I've never considered it overrated (when done right). At least to me it definitely worked in this show.

Also, isn't "surrending to the authorities" literally just Elena (and the counsil)? Even if he went to the guards first, they wouldn't be able to (legally) do anything without consulting Elena first. Which already happened when they banished him, and he also tried to plead with Elena before she disowned him. So, I can't imagine that being something Esteban would quickly consider to try again, especially if nothing has changed in the mean time.

The sacrifice also made the forgiveness magic more powerful, because I can't imagine it hitting nearly as hard if it happened on a regular tuesday when Esteban randomly turns himself in. Elena's forgiveness for him would've probably been a lot slower and less of a "moment". Compared to the sacrifice, where Elena had a lot to reflect on in only seconds, because losing a loved one, even when you're mad at them, puts a lot into perspective.

Anyway, I get having preferences and not always liking canon writing choices (I have my fair share of those), but in this case I can't imagine me liking this better than what we got.

[your-ace-cousin-clover]

60? 74? anddddd 18? :0 :)

Hi Viv :))

60. Which is the ship everyone loves but you don't?

Oooooh controversial af, but I don't get the ship between max and Charles (not naming it cause I don't want it to get on some poor shipper's tag and justifiably annoy them). I see where people are coming from, but it's not for me and doesn't compel me.

74. Are there any F1 blogs that you change your perspective on somethings?

I am a big fan blogs which are essentially God's strongest soldiers aka fans of quote unquote unpopular drivers. @wewentcarracing strongly made me into a Lance aficionado, @estebanbicon is the person who similarly made me very affectionate of Esteban and I gotta say @itsblasttothepast who is the first person I turn to when any Checo news comes out. Cinn had done a post about Checo's different eras and while I had initially disagreed with Red Bull not being great for him, as time goes I do start agreeing more and more with it. There's also a lot of other people, but definitely these blogs have been super awesome!

18. Is there a driver that you hate?

Honestly, not really - there's ones I dislike or don't wanna take part in discoursing, but I honestly don't hate any one of them. They're just doing their job.

Thanks <333

[abovecalamity]

Brain won’t stop thinking about Pierre and Esteban. Pierre compelled me to go back to the cheesy sign they did for Seb’s hotel event in Suzuka—

✨{Este💛+🖤Pierre} ✨

🤨—and look at it from a “he won’t invite me for dinner” perspective. Will not interpret too much into this *art* but it somehow feels more like something Pierre would’ve done with Yuki if it had been the year prior.

[annabelle--cane]

pls I need episode sources for the true ones in the wtnv polls

this is about my "which of these is a fake fact about welcome to night vale" poll and ideally one should take that before reading these answers. having said that, let's go:

NVlians have to fill out triplicate sex paperwork with all potential partners: canon in the novel it devours! a few paragraphs from chapter 13,

2. cecil is an avid tiktok user and regularly records dances at the radio station: this is the false one, it's actually carlos who is the wannabe tiktok star. from episode "218 - the sitter cancelled,"

I tried to get Carlos to take Esteban to the lab, but apparently today they’re doing a dangerous experiment and he doesn’t want our son to get hurt. I’m not sure I believe that. I think Carlos might just want some time alone to work on his Tiktok dances. He’s obsessed these days with getting one to go viral, and he’s putting a few too many hours into choreographing and filming these things. 

3. k[h]oshekh the floating cat is a misogynist: from 195 and 196, silas the thief parts 1 & 2. these episodes are told from the perspective of silas, a former successful art thief who used to work with a partner called sandrine whom he never got on with, largely due to his self-centeredness and misogyny never letting him see her as a full person. it all came to a head when sandrine, as an act of revenge, cursed him to be an immobile mutant cat for the rest of his days, and this is the cat we have known all along as khoshekh gershwin-palmer. however he has mellowed since then and his misogyny has kind of cooled, having kids really changed him.

4. cecil turns a recurring nightmare of his into an nft: I feel the need to say he turned the nightmare itself into an nft, not an artistic representation or anything. from "199 - guidelines for retrieval,"

And thus ends the new Guidelines for Retrieval. Aw, that’s such a nice offer from the Sanitation Department! A little long winded maybe, but I don’t want to be too critical. I know their public communications department has had a lot of turnover lately. Anyway, I definitely will be taking them up on that offer this week. There’s a super vivid recurring nightmare I used to have that would make a great NFT.

5. cecil doesn’t know what fridges are: this one comes from the 2017 live show "ghost stories,"

Cecil: Oh yeah! Carlos and I have one of those humming closets, and when I open it up, there’s a light inside and cool air washes over me and I’m just like – what is this thing? Earl: Well, that’s just your refrigerator, Cecil. Cecil: Wait, that’s a refrigerator?! Earl: What have you been using as a fridge? Cecil: [beat] So tell us more about this master class um, Earl.

6. carlos climaxes in person in voice on podcast: from the patreon bonus episode "holiday." thinking or talking about science at too great length has a long canonical track record of getting carlos hot and bothered, and in one passage of the episode he starts talking about how much he loves doing science with a romantic partner, and, well. I'll just link the clip.

7. a big villain is defeated by getting squashed under a falling cow: major spoilers for very recent content here. in episode "230 - carlos explained," right as dr janet lubelle is giving her big villain monologue, this happens,

DR. LUBELLE: Now you’re starting to understand. There is no defeating me. No trick to wriggling out under my thumb. I’ve gamed out every gambit. Foreseen every fumbling, sweaty strategy. You have lost. And now…now Carlos, I will explain you away. You, Dr. Carlos Robles, were the son of [WHISTLING SOUND OF SOMETHING FALLING FROM THE SKY. LOUD SPLAT] [LONG PAUSE] CECIL: And that’s when the Glow Cloud dropped a dead cow on Dr. Lubelle. I sure hope she wasn’t injured. We should definitely check on her at some point, you know, eventually.

8. joseph fink, irl writer of the podcast, has been a NV radio intern twice: once, in the live show "the investigators," an intern played by joseph fink introduces himself as intern joseph fink. in all fairness, he could just be playing a character with his exact name, I mean, that's what maureen johnson does. however, from episode "188 - listener questions" onward, our world has in-universe been merging with the night vale world, and the actual writer joseph fink has been trapped in the town of night vale for over two years, at one point doing a stint as an intern.

9. a big villain is offered “an extra hour in the ball pit” as a bribe to go away: this one's about dr janet lubelle, again. in the last couple of seasons, tamika flynn has been feeling like she's outgrowing using violence as a tool to solve her problems, so in "228 - diplomacy," she tries the following,

Frustrations have swelled to a new high in Night Vale after Councilmember Tamika Flynn’s failed diplomatic attempts with the University of What It Is. Tamika tried offering them everything from limitless use of the scrublands to a coupon book full of cute tasks like free backrubs. She even offered an extra hour in the ball pit at the Night Vale Convention Center. But Dr. Lubelle and all of her henchmen will not budge.

[alexfeelyx]

Ok I'm curious, what's special about the Bavarian coat of arms from a heraldry perspective?

I am horribly, horribly biased towards the Bavarian flag and coat of arms for personal reasons (visited as a kid, had a lion plushie with the flag pattern on its body), so I think it's probably more interesting or special to me than others 😅 but

the white-blue diamond pattern is called losengy. I can't find a source for how common it really is, but it's pretty striking and memorable imo. It certainly is memorable enough to be on every souvenir you can buy in Munich, lol. It's kinda like the checkerboard part of the Croatian coat of arms; it's not that nobody else has that, but if you had to remember what the Croatian coat of arms looked like, would the checkerboard be the first or the only thing you could remember? Because it certainly would for me!

the specific shade of blue to be used hasn't been officially designated. But the one you see most places is again kind of unusual — not unique by any means, but not typical. It's not really azure or bleu celeste, blue and sky blue in heraldry, it's somewhere in-between usually, it's another thing that kinda sets it apart.

So it's a strong design and a strong colour choice to double down on the memorability. None of the things that make it interesting are totally unique, but together I think they end up creating something pretty rare. There are lots of people with the first name Esteban or Ildikó, lots of people with the surname Nikolić or Watanabe, but I'd definitely remember an Esteban Nikolić or a Watanabe Ildikó, if I ran into them, you know?

[letsgolando-4]

Formula 1 explained (I think)

Here is a not-so-brief explanation of some of the important things in formula 1. Enjoy!

Free Practice

Free practice is drivers remembering how to not suck before they have to go and not suck in front of a lot of people with a lot more cameras. Whoever goes fastest gets people to momentarily hope (on the rare occasion that it is not Verstappen) that someone other then Verstappen will win a race. To put things into perspective, this never happens. Takes place on a Friday.

Qualifying

Qualifying is like a race but not a race. It’s short and if you suck in qualifying, unless you’re god (or again, Verstappen) you’re gonna suck in the race as well because however you finish is however you start in the actual race. If you manage to finish first in qualifying your on pole. Unfortunately, it no longer matters if anyone other than Verstappen is one pole because the guy somehow manages to clinch a race win anyway. Takes place on a Saturday.

Grand Prix (the actual race)

Finally, we have reached the actual race. There’s a lot of panic and stress for nothing and they make a big show of five lights going out and then people race. A lot of people go out in turn 1 so try to keep your head screwed on for the first few laps. If Williams are higher than P20 and P19, look outside because the world may be ending. Alfa Romeo disappear out of the points and tend to just suck in general. McLaren will either do really shit or really good but they can never actually WIN a race, just get onto the podium. Ferrari will occasionally let their fans sniff the air in P1 before either crashing or getting taken out by Verstappen. One of the two. The Mercedes will probably be nice and comfy having not moved from their cemented P4 and P5, and the Redbulls? Well, Checo doesn’t really get a lot of limelight but the aforementioned Verstappen will be winning. Not a negotiable fact. The other teams will be somewhere in between. Takes place on a Sunday.

Sprint Races

Occasionally the FIA are feeling quirky and they decide to have a sprint race which is like a race but not a race. It’s short so you don’t need to pit. Sometimes when they decide they don’t want blood on their hands they’ll stop a race halfway through if the conditions are dangerous and then resume it when the weather dies down. These are also technically little sprint races. They do regular qualifying on a Friday and then on Saturday they have what the FIA like to call a ✨sprint shootout✨ which is qualifying for a sprint race. Same rules apply. Then they have some fun with a sprint race and when they’ve calmed down a bit, have a normal race on Sunday.

Teams And Drivers

The current formula 1 grid has 20 drivers, two drivers per team, and in case you suck at maths, that makes 10 teams. Teams have first and second driver. This is a way of saying who is shit and who is not without hurting their feelings. These teams and their drivers are as follows:

Redbull: Max Verstappen (first driver) and Sergio “Checo” Perez (second driver)

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. No first driver because the team principal likes Leclerc more but Sainz’s father realised this.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (first driver) and George Russell (second driver)

McLaren: Lando Norris (first drivers) and Oscar Piastri (second driver)

Alpine: Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Again, no first driver because the French civil war is too intense. At least I think.

Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas (first driver) and Zhou Guyanu (second driver)

Alpha Tauri: Yuki Tsunoda (first driver) and Daniel Ricciardo (second driver) although Ricciardo had a bad crash and broke his arm so as of October 2023 Liam Lawson from F2 is stepping in.

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso (first driver) and Lance Stroll (second driver)

Haas: Kevin Magnussen (first driver) and Nico Hulkenberg (second driver)

Williams: Alexander Albon (first driver) and Logan Sargeant (second driver)

So that’s the low-down on the bare bones of an F1 race. Tell me if I’ve missed anything or got anything wrong!

Danny out.

[notmoreflippingelves]

It suddenly occurs to me that although "Island of Youth" seems at first a relatively innocuous fun little adventure on the surface, it's actually one of the more quietly devastating Elena of Avalor episodes when you consider it in the context of Esteban's backstory and stop to think about its wider implications. I'm going to put the rest below the cut as it got VERY long and because I do briefly touch on some character headcanons that may be triggering for some people. (warning for some discussion of abusive power dynamics especially as they relate to sexual harassment/coercion).

The episode is set on Esteban's birthday but even though the show does not explicitly remind us of this, this isn't just any old birthday for Esteban. This is specifically during the first birthday that he's had since the liberation of Avalor. It's set during the first birthday in forty-one years (!) that Esteban will be able to celebrate with his family again.

And while Esteban himself is acutely aware of its special significance, the rest of his family is probably not. Because from their perspective, they celebrated Esteban's birthday with him only last year--even if they did so with an Esteban who looks and acts distinctly different from this one. (Elena is the only probable exception as she was the only one besides Esteban to really feel the passage of those long years, even as they did not physically age her as they did him. It's probably why she organizes the surprise party in the first place and charges herself to keep Esteban company while"distracting" him from the surprise).

And though it's only just-barely alluded to in the show itself, this is also the first birthday Esteban's had since he was a teenager--the first birthday in over four decades--where he wasn't eking out a miserable existence trapped under Shuriki's thumb.

His decision to look for the fountain of youth is not the rather pathetic wish of a vain, bitter older man wants to relive some of the glory days of his youth. It's the very understandable wish of a tired, jaded (if also admittedly vain) older man who who never got have a proper youth in the first place--let alone any glory days to cling to.

He did not have the opportunity to squander his own youth, because that youth was taken from him by Shuriki--just as she took Esteban's family, country, and innocence away from him. (And yeah, I know he is partially to blame for his own bad situation, but in Esteban's defense, he was an insecure, frightened and stupid teenager at the time and as a result made the same sort of bad decisions that insecure, frightened, stupid teenagers are wont to make.)

In order to survive--not thrive, merely to survive--under Shuriki's thumb, Esteban was forced to grow up and grow up fast. And grow up in ways that no one should ever have to.

This is true in general but especially true if one tends toward the interpretation that Shuriki may have abused her power over Esteban to take advantage of him in other ways (i.e. sexually) .

In which case, his vanity throughout the show might also have this underlying Freudian excuse undertone to it that Esteban himself may not be consciously aware of. Over the years of Shuriki's reign, Esteban learned to view his looks as perhaps the only thing keeping him alive. So he learned to meticulously maintain his appearance, because as long as he remained handsome, virile and charming, Shuriki would be less likely to have him executed.

And I highly doubt that Esteban would be able to break out of this conditioning--that losing his looks might mean losing his life-- even after Shuriki's defeat. In Esteban's paranoid mind, finding the Fountain of Youth is just another way of protecting himself in the event that Shuriki should return (because there's no way he's not going to be looking over his shoulder for her the rest of his life).

All of which frames his ultimate decision--his choosing to save Elena rather than the canteen of youth-restoring water in a much more complex and noble light.

He's not giving up on a second chance on a youth that he'd voluntarily squandered; he's sacrificing his last opportunity at a real "first chance" of youth on his own terms. Because he recognizes that Elena's life is worth more than the life Esteban never got to have.

He's not reluctantly conceding that his cousin's life is worth more than Esteban's own vanity. He's conceding that his cousin's life is worth more than his own means of survival. In a small, understated way, he's making the choice that he should've made decades earlier: putting his family's safety before his own.

Although the show really doesn't dwell too much on the meaning of this (unsurprisingly), this episode provides a really interesting parallel with the finale. We see early signs that when it really comes down to it, Esteban can be much braver and much more selfless than even he realizes.

[mschupacabra]

Isabel Allende’s characterization of Esteban in The House of the Spirits is really good. At first, I did not like how his characterization seemed to differ when she switched perspectives.

When the narrative shifts away from his point of view into third person, I have seen some people complain that he seems like a caricature and a far cry from how he presents himself in first person. At first, I agreed. In third person, he becomes an entirely different character. He turns into a stereotypical patriarchal misogynist, always screaming for control, threatening to hit his wife. It is completely different from his inner voice, but I realize now that is the point. When his voice is not there, we can observe him objectively.

When the story is told through the first person perspective from Esteban himself, he seems to make more logical sense, and you can understand his point about of view or why he thinks the way that he does. He even seems like he has the right to be furious that his workers would try to organize for better working conditions and socialism, because they were living in squalor before he arrived to improve their overall living conditions. Overall, he is very convincing.

But then the story switches to third person and you see how he really is without his own internal monologue getting in the way - that he is simply a tyrant who rapes and pillages the people who serve him. Because ultimately, he is incorrect. Even if they were entirely in his debt as he believes — which they are not — it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what he internally tells himself that he has done for them to supposedly improve their lives. None of it will justify his brutality or buy him the right to own other people.

[lpsluvblr]

I know I said I would send in those Hazbinverse stuff but now I am in wild Vinnie x Esteban (uhhh Estennie?) mood so I want to talk about them a bit.

I said it a few times but I don't think I ever went into detail how exactly I see their dynamic and it's very unique for my Vinnie because Esteban is the only one he has a sorta enemies-to-lovers dynamic and you probably remember that I hate this dynamic normally. Not here though, but honestly it's not even exactly enemies to lovers or rather it's only that from Vinnie's perspective.

The way I think of them in human au is everything happened like it happened in the episode: they all met Esteban and he told a bunch of lies about himself to be praised and adored, Vinnie was the only one who thought of checking if it was true since his legend apparently went viral (I don't know in what world Vinnie of all people would be the only one to think to check that but that's what happened in the episode so that is also what happens here), he got pissed when he realized that Esteban lied to his friends (that damn hypocrite) but then Esteban did something that helped his friends and so Vinnie decided not to reveal the truth (but I'll be honest, I have no idea what that something could be in human au, I mean they couldn't get trampled by humans cause well, they are humans etc).

So from then they went like that for a while but then at one point Vinnie realized that no, actually he was not fine with Esteban lying to his friends at all, how dare he! But... he had already promised he wouldn't say anything and we both know how seriously he takes keeping promises/secrets. So now we have Vinnie that with every day gets more and more pissed at Esteban but can't say anything and Esteban who thinks they are cool and even more cause holy crap it was so nice of Vinnie to spare his pride so he has even bigger fondness for him. Because of that he starts hanging out and talking with all of them, especially with Vinnie, more and more often.

The result is that Vinnie is super passive-agressive, grumpy, sarcastic and uses a lot of irony with him. On one hand he genuinely likes Esteban and wants to keep up this image but on the other he is still angry at him. It's even funnier if we give them a crush on each other cause Esteban I imagine would remain the same yet trying out some flirting and being more touchy here and there. While Vinnie is just >>>>:( cause he kinda likes it and he hates it. As for everyone else? They are just really confused cause Vinnie does not act like that around anyone else, sure he can get a bit mad or grumpy sometimes, but this is connected to his mood, not to a specific person. Well, normally it is because in this and only this case it is connected to Esteban and they're even more confused since as I said Vinnie used to be completely normal and even really friendly with him but then suddenly started getting all riled up as soon as Esteban as little as shows up.

Bonus though: at one point Esteban just casually drops that whole bomb of his heroic stories being a lie because he started feeling really guilty and has known them all long enough that he believes they will still like him even with knowing the truth and Vinnie thought he was gonna explode once that happened. Before anyone else could even say anything Vinnie snapped his neck towards him and yellled "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???! i HAVE BEEN FIGTING DEMONS FOR MONTHS NOT TO REVEAL YOUR DAMN LIES AND NOW YOU'RE JUST SAYING IT ALL SO CASUALLY? THE FUCK WAS ALL MY EFFORT FOR THEN?!" and queue everyone else being even more confused while Vinnie is still screaming away at Esteban and shaking him like

Yipee!

That ending made me laugh so hard and now he’s dead and Vinnie can know peace.. just kidding lol

I love the fact that Vinnie still keeps his word to not say anything because he’d rather let his friends believe this guy and make a new friend than rob him of that chance In general.

Also I feel like the only reason Vinnie checked was because he was the only one who thought this guy was too much and Russell got him into the habit of double checking his facts after being wrong about so many things so he’s just like “fine I will” I also think maybe it could be Vinnie just being nosey and trying to figure out more about this guy and what he’s really like and when some people meet someone new they tend to search for their internet profiles and such so maybe something like that?

In conclusion for now Vinnie is a great friend and Esteban is fine.

I also would like to imagine that Esteban is working hard on not lying or stretching the truth so when Vinnie catches him doing it he hits him in the back of the head.

[inchidentally]

ok so I'm going to another of tricky asks below - prob just skip since I can tell I'm repeating myself a lot lol

if I hadn't gotten asks about it I wouldn't have known that a subsection of dando people were as serious as they were which is… odd to me. I totally get shipping dando for fun and that Daniel and Lando are buddies but. why pick the guy who's friends with everyone he meets and pretend that is the guy Lando's "secretly in love with" or that they're "more" friends than Lando's other friends... just bc they hang sometimes kasgfkaglh

I've got to stop trying to find any sense in rpf truthers.

but yea Lando and Martin are so sweet together and I hope Martin doesn't have to deal w any of this bullshit in his comments. guy is just enjoying traveling with Lando and vice versa.

(no worries anon I got your intent!)

honestly from a straight up racing perspective it's enough evidence in itself. the fact that Lando has repeatedly said how well Oscar suits McLaren and is pushing him to be his absolute best is all anyone should need.

but also look at the standings! Carlos and Charles, Lando and Oscar - they're doing amazingly well with the current partnerships !! it's why Carlos is so eager to remain where he is, he's already in the best place for him to get not just another race win but a shot at WDC. Lando and Oscar are a natural part of the McLaren youth legacy and Max has pipped them as being his biggest potential headaches in 2024 lol. everything is good and we still get plenty of car|ando content so let's leave it alone!

oh babe I'm sorry that was misleading there's no extensive drama (that I know of) back when I started following Lando content I noticed that the LN4 account (mainly the twitter one) is run by people who get waaaayyyy too into pushing rpf ships for my comfort. I'm massively against containment breaches between fandom to official accounts.

if other ppl enjoy it then it's their choice but it's not my cup of tea!

honestly this is just how it's going to be from here on out. Liberty Media and Netflix already have relationships with certain podcasts and social media accounts and "bromances" are an easy way to get merch, subscriptions and tickets sold. as a sort of fake fan myself I rly can't be on any high horse about "real fans" lol but I do at least keep all my silly shit on tumblr and ao3 alone.

block and unfollow like crazy, anon. eventually your algorithm will learn like mine has!

when has Lando never not been fun ??? he did the screechy laugh Spanglish fun with Carlos, the doofy fake gay fun with Daniel and now he's gen z funny w Oscar whennnn did Lando ever stop being fun oml

babe it wasn't even that, he was replying to the millionth person asking about his and Esteban's lack of personal friendship and he said that no one should assume a friendship between two drivers. he never said "Charles and Carlos hate each other" agflaslfsa as if F1 media wouldn't be all over that

-----

ok so there were two others that I'm not going to screenap bc I do NOT want the heat for those opinions lol.

to answer without being too specific: everyone knows how I feel about people who invent conspiracy theories about girlfriends and wowwww that is a leap. and yea shouldn't the fact that they both went offline when we knew them to be alone together at his ranch actually be evidence that they're really in love and not needing to broadcast it ?? that he only pops back up when he's hanging out w guy friends?

I will have a good laugh that ppl managed to leap to not only them having broken up in the past week with zero evidence but that Lando suddenly hopped a plane to "comfort him" and finally be a gay couple jesussss

ok guys this is as much time as I can stomach knowing about this side of fandom for a good while.

remember: block, blacklist, gatekeep, stay safe out there xx

[lieutenant-amuel]

My humble takes on Gabe’s development.

So, my friend and I talked about Gabe some time ago, namely his development, since it being subtle has always been one of the hottest takes in the fandom. She pushed me to share some of my thoughts, and I couldn’t resist, sure thing, so catch a little analysis that is actually not little.

***

I’d like to start with his relationship with Elena, since this is the aspect where his development is the most noticeable and I already brought it up in some of my previous posts, like my thoughts on Gabe’s relationship with Elena and Naomi and I also made a gifset displaying their growth. But this time I strictly focus on Gabe.

In early season 1, we can see Gabe acting like “a tough macho” but the thing I want to point out is that he acts like that around Elena only (we can see him being formal with Francisco and Esteban in the early episodes and strategizing how to stop the lava in All Heated Up) because he wants to impress her (I’ll elaborate it below). However, it comes to nothing almost completely after Olaball where he opens up about his insecurities to her.

The take I’m truly stuck with is that Gabe is deeply concerned about his origins. It doesn’t make him think he’s worthless or useless, though, but he still strives to impress people (especially Elena, because she’s the crown princess and he’s just a baker boy) around him and prove that he’s capable of doing everything that other guards can.

Once he lets Elena see his true self, he doesn’t need to impress her anymore. She sees him as her friend (which she directly tells him) and it allows him to see her as someone beyond a crown princess as well.

Their relationship is super dynamic, and it does affect Gabe as a person.

Early season 1 - he’s cocky, overconfident, and overprotective because he sees Elena and himself in the princess and her guard pattern. He’s a knight, she’s a princess, therefore, he has to protect her.

Mid-late season 1/early season 2 (aka post-Olaball/pre-Shapeshifters) - he’s Elena’s friend. It makes him more flexible and cooperative, although his protectiveness doesn’t leave him which means this is simply one of his personality traits that gets more or less intense depending on the situation. Another interesting thing is that his guard self around Elena gets nearly erased. He’s not bothered by being bold towards her in The Princess Knight, he joins her in the friendship activities like going to the beach (unsuccessfully), playing olaball, and even calls himself her best friend.

Season 2 - Gabe gets promoted to captain. He gains a higher rank and more responsibilities which affects the way he sees Elena. He’s back to his guard mode but from a different perspective this time. He’s not a knight in the shining armor who needs to protect and impress a princess anymore - he’s an officer who holds a huge responsibility. He becomes more overbearing even when he’s out of duty since we see how he basically gives orders to his friends and sees their search for Shuriki as a military mission (The Scepter of Night). I think he chills out a bit in the second half of season 2, but it’s hard to say anything about it, specifically about his relationship with Elena, since he goes on a mission and barely interacts with her. But it also speaks about how much his new position changes him, he embraces it and understands what he has on his shoulders now (although I wouldn’t mind seeing how he gets used to being a captain but it’s a topic for another essay).

Season 3 - their relationship is balanced out, as is Gabe. Season 3 really is the best at showing how much Gabe and Elena grew at understanding each other, and Captain Mateo is the display of it. Gabe does get hurt by the Grand Council’s decision but he still agrees on it after he has a conversation with Elena. He understands that her decision has nothing to do with how she views him as her friend (and at this point we can imagine a late season 1 Gabe being much more offended by her decision) - this is how the crown princess is supposed to act. They both get more professional and learn to see the border between friendship and duty without erasing one of these components. It’s balanced out. Gabe understands when he should let Elena take a lead and doesn’t stand on her way, while he’s able to see when she actually needs his help, too.

Elena forms Gabe as a person, as does the relation between them (a princess and a guard), and in my opinion, this is really one of the core aspects of his development. Gabe wouldn’t be the person we know without Elena.

***

Back to Gabe’s inner self and origins. As I already mentioned, the reason he could be considered “cocky” in early season 1 is his wish to impress people around him. We see these insecurities pop up in The Curse of El Guapo when he interacts with other guards in the barracks (“if I make captain, it’ll be because I earned it”; “I don’t need a fancy sword to win the competition”), and an interesting thing is that he steps back each time Rico talks about Gabe’s family which is why I think he does care about his origins a lot and it hurts him when it’s used in a derogatory manner.

But in this episode it’s shown from a bit different perspective than from what we see in Olaball (where he tries to make his father proud), because Gabe has no reason to doubt his worth as a guard here. He’s friends with a crown princess, his dad accepted his choice, he’s among the guards who are chosen as the next captain. But all his achievements get erased only because he was born in a humble family (and because of Rico’a envy, to be honest), and this time his problems basically get solved by the same solution again: he talks to Elena.

Gabe’s conflicts come from his desire to be respected, and it got developed because of his relationship with Roberto, aka his father, aka one of the most important people in his life. Gabe couldn’t gain his approval, and it made him strive for other people’s respect or even admiration so he could feel satisfied. And it overlaps with his insecurities about his origins plus his disability to talk about his feelings with other people (although we don’t know what caused it, perhaps it’s Roberto’s influence again).

I think this is a pretty neat detail, since this is not as obvious as his relationship with Elena, yet I still wouldn’t say it comes from nowhere. We get to see Gabe as a round character in Olaball, and this episode does explain why he acts the way he acts in the first episodes plus it gets a bit deeper in The Curse of El Guapo.

***

Gabe’s development in season 3 is one of the things I talked quite a lot in the past, when the show was still going, but I’d still like to highlight it a little here as well.

Season 1 is mostly about Gabe’s growth as a person. We meet him in his roughest and by the end of this season, we have a clearer and deeper picture of him. Season 2 is about his guard self. He gets promoted to captain, and we see him growing in this area. And season 3 is about his relationship with magic. This is how I would characterize his role in each season.

Magic has always been foreign to Gabe which can be easily explained by the atmosphere of his childhood/adolescence when magic was forbidden. He doesn’t trust it at first and then simply doesn’t take it seriously, occasionally teasing Mateo. But what’s the most important: he can’t confront it which erases his skills in magical battles. He’s the first one (and basically the only one) who gets defeated in The Scepter of Night, he can’t fight Fiero in Song of the Sirenas, he becomes a magical snow storm victim in Snow Place Like Home, he ruins his own plan in Naomi Knows Best, and finally, he lets Delgados and Esteban escape.

Gabe never realized any of his failures until Doña Paloma directly pointed it out. It brings us back to the previous points I made in this post: Gabe wants to be respected. It is important for him to be respected by other people. But in Captain Mateo this wish is crashed down, he’s neglected, and it explains his rage at the Grand Council’s decision.

In Crash Course, Gabe gets a chance to make up for his mistake and it happens through learning magic. We all know how “stick to the plan” Gabe is, but despite this feature of his, I do find the way he acts in this episode valid. We basically see him at his lowest here, since Gabe is not good at talking about his feelings and he had to keep everything he told Mateo about to himself since Captain Mateo which is quite a long period of time. He doubted his worth as a captain and had to prove he deserved it via something he was terrible at.

Gabe learns magic because he understand that this is his main weakness and it prevents him from being the one he wants to be. But in Coronation Day, we see him combining his swordsmanship skills, something that determines who he really is, and magic, something that he had to grow on to complement his strengths.

His relationship with magic is also connected with his relationship with Mateo. He doesn’t trust magic, therefore doesn’t trust Mateo, a wizard, and it explains why Gabe treats him like that in Spellbound. He becomes friends with Mateo which makes his attitude towards magic either more playful and teasing-like or even admired. Generally, the way Gabe sees magic is usually linked to his mood around Mateo at the moment. Mateo broke the rudder? Ewww, magic is bad. Mateo shielded him and Naomi from Shuriki’s attack? Ooo, nice spell!

To conclude this part, I just want to say that through learning how to cooperate with Mateo and understand his strengths, Gabe also learnt the necessity to know magic. And the other way around. Through learning magic, Gabe learnt to appreciate Mateo and be patient with the differences between them.

***

Why did I even write this post? Yes, my friend inspired me to, as I already mentioned. But also, as somebody who has been a silent observer of the fandom for a very long time, I really often saw the takes I disagreed with but never debated with. I never considered Gabe’s development subtle (although at this point I just don’t know what development even is, perhaps) because I can clearly see how different season 1 and season 3 Gabes are.

One of the reasons Gabe became my favourite character is how much he grew on me. I didn’t like him in season 1 at all, but something turned upside down inside of me in season 2 and now he’s possibly my favourite fictional character of all time. It wouldn’t happen if he didn’t change.

Anyway, it got a bit personal at the end, so I’ll finish here! Thanks everyone for reading and feel free to share your thoughts!

[latamclassiclitbracket]

La casa de los espíritus - Isabel Allende

La casa de los espíritus es la primera novela de la escritora chilena Isabel Allende, publicada en Barcelona por la editorial Plaza & Janés en 1982. Tuvo un éxito inmediato de superventas a nivel internacional, ha sido traducida a numerosos idiomas. Calificada dentro del realismo mágico, la novela incorpora elementos inverosímiles y extraños a lo ordinario. La historia relata la vida de la familia Trueba a lo largo de cuatro generaciones desde inicios del siglo XX hasta los años 70 y sigue los movimientos sociales y políticos del período poscolonial de Chile. Está narrada desde la perspectiva de dos de sus protagonistas, Esteban y Alba Trueba (abuelo y nieta), y de un tercer narrador omnisciente testigo. Los acontecimientos retratados en ella tratan sobre el amor, la familia, la muerte, los fantasmas, las clases sociales, la revolución, la política, los ideales y lo maravilloso.

Lee más sobre esta novela en Wikipedia.

The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende

The House of the Spirits is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best-seller, was critically acclaimed, and catapulted Allende to literary stardom. The novel was named Best Novel of the Year in Chile in 1982, and Allende received the country's Panorama Literario award. The House of the Spirits has been translated into over 20 languages. The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of Chile – though the country's name and the names of figures closely paralleling historical ones, such as "the Candidate/President" (Salvador Allende) or "the Poet" (Pablo Neruda), are never explicitly given. The story is told mainly from the perspective of two protagonists (Esteban and Alba) and incorporates elements of magical realism.

Read more about this novel on Wikipedia.