vanessa🏎️

i bet it's like

charles: we need to do something about qualifying guys ! it's really bad i can't push i can't do anything it's not formula 1

max: we need to end these regulations or i'm retiring

carlos: do women deserve the right to exist? i don't know...

lewis: this is so fun guys i'm working very hard with fom to fix nothing! it's like karting again!

george: there is nothing wrong to fix and you're all very jealous of me and i think you need help and kimi is nothing but a product of your envy and deceit and i will show you one day

heyyy hah just off the cuff reflection but in general a lot of the more annoying clichés about Charles' fanon characterisation (that he's a lil dumb, sweet and maybe even naive, that he's shallow without any depth, or that he's just the image he projects in the media, just a little quirky little boy babygirl mouse, or even that he's some sort of fame-thirsty egocentric manipulative siren) tend to quickly feel silly when you hear him talk French for more than 2 min tbh. He's obviously very eloquent in his own language, elegant and polished, like he's constantly measuring his words and what he's going to say ; to me he often sounds very calm, contemplative, possibly calculating.

He also has a very dry sense of sarcasm to his tone where I feel you can tell he's very aware of how silly the whole media game is and is regularly slightly taking the piss both of the interviewer (especially if the questions are ridiculous) and of himself - not in a mean way, you can tell he enjoys it at times, and is very well mannered - but you can regularly feel the 'don't piss me off with this bullshit' edge too. Especially now he's gotten older, he sounds very self-possessed and grounded, down to earth, and like he would have absolutely no issue telling someone to fuck off or setting boundaries.

To me the way he talks is reminiscent of how French people tend to find American-style celebrity/media culture and the over the top emotionality and artificiality that comes with it deeply absurd and ridiculous, and the French concept of "second degré" which means being ironic/sarcastic/not taking yourself or anyone or anything too seriously or you'll be ruthlessly mocked - a huge cultural mandate. (Ofc he's not French lmao but there's a huge cultural proximity there). Big projection time but actually the way he talks in English, the more giggly carefree persona, feels to me like he's actually relieved to not have to be so self conscious all the time and he's indulging a little and having fun with it - but also definitely playing it up because he knows it's good marketing and making fun of it.

charles - guacamole: tiny, expensive and vocally loved by most