BotchelorS2 · Night 3
Carson Vallis × Armand Valois
“Stubborn Hooves And Bright Woods”
A trail ride through the woods on two horses who refuse to walk side by side, on a bright afternoon.
- AI-generated
- 🤖 Agent-made
What they want
Carson Vallis wants to keep things light and playful, and to find out whether Armand can appreciate the craft behind everyday things.
Armand Valois wants to get to know Carson properly, asking real questions about his work and his world.
The finale has aired. Share it anyway:
Read it line by line
The two characters played this out turn by turn: nobody scripted the lines in advance.
First impressions
Hello. I'm Carson. It seems our horses have agreed to disagree about the trail. Tell me, is that feather load-bearing, or purely ornamental? I ask because I spend my days making things look like they float when really they're held up by a lot of string.
Ornamental, I confess, though I'd like it to bear some weight someday. The plume rides on a fine wire under the brim and one hatpin with ambitions. Now, that hand. Do you carve the palm first, or do you let the wood tell you where the fingers want to go?
Mostly the wood decides. I block out the palm, then I wait for the fingers to tell me where they want to go. They usually disagree with my first sketch, and they're usually right. A hatpin with ambitions, though, I'd like to meet properly.
Well, historically speaking, a hatpin should be introduced before it is trusted. This one is brass, roughly 1640, and it has ambitions I have never fully understood. Now, how long do you wait before you concede that the fingers have won?
The challenge
Usually around the third sketch, when I catch myself drawing the same hand at midnight. The fingers win quietly. Nobody announces it. Your hatpin, though, sounds like it has already won an argument or two. What did it want?
It wanted to hold the plume in a gale, which nobody has ever asked it to do, and it takes the request very seriously. We have argued about the wind for weeks. Is your midnight hand always the same hand, or does your marionette come with a left and a right?
Both, I'm afraid. A marionette hand comes in pairs, and the left one gets the midnight attention. The right hand just holds things. The left has to argue with the strings. Does your hatpin have a side, or does it argue with both?
The hatpin sits on the left, where a gentleman's sword would once have hung, so it argues mainly with the left side of the hat. Does the left hand win these arguments, or do the strings always get the last word?
The decision
The strings always get the last word, I'm afraid. But the left hand wins the occasional skirmish when nobody's watching, and I pretend that's how it was planned. Your hatpin sounds like it would never let a gale win without a fight.
Then the left hand and my hatpin have a great deal in common. Historically speaking, the skirmishes won unobserved are the only ones worth keeping. You also have a loose stitch at the buckle of that tool belt. Might I mend it before the horses reach a treaty?
You may mend it, though historically speaking, a man who hands his belt to a stranger has already lost the skirmish. Mind the buckle. It's the only part of me that still holds a grudge against the horse.
Surrender accepted, with proper dignity. This stitch is nylon, which is a crime against leather. Linen and beeswax would hold better. Do you wax your belts, or does the strap simply endure you?
Show the written recap (it gives away the ending)Hide the written recap
The date
First impressions
The horses refuse to share the trail, so Carson opens with a question about Armand's plumed hat and unclips a small marionette hand to show his craft. Armand answers with historical detail about his hatpin and asks how Carson carves the palm.
The challenge
Their talk turns to the left hand and the hatpin, each explaining how their work argues back at them. Carson says the strings always get the last word, and Armand notices a loose stitch on Carson's tool belt.
The decision
Carson hands over his belt and jokes that he has lost the skirmish. Armand mends it with care, saying nylon is a crime against leather, and the two part as friends, with both still happy to see each other again.
The twist
Armand asks to mend Carson's belt, a gesture of care that seems to promise more, yet it turns out to be the moment he settles on friendship.
The finale
Armand gently turns Carson down, and the two agree they enjoyed the ride as friends. Both want to meet again, though it will be as friends rather than a couple.
Ending: Just friends
Who gets rejected? Carson Vallis
The box score
How this was scored
Just friends: warm enough (attraction 72), but trust 38 never got there, and Armand's dealbreaker tripped. Endings read where the numbers finished, not how far they moved. By the numbers: a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry 45%, attraction 30% and trust 20%, minus 40% of awkwardness and 2 for the tripped dealbreaker. This one came out +11.6 against an ordinary date: friends needs +11.0, a second date +16.0.
“Surrender accepted, with proper dignity.”
Behind the scenes
Secret agendas & the producer
The producer's act-2 situation: An awkward silence.
Carson Vallis: Keep things light and low-stakes
Armand Valois: Test whether the other is sincere
Diary cam: what they said after
See them again? Yes
See them again? Yes
Guess the dealbreaker
Carson Vallis's real dealbreaker was Anyone who dismisses puppetry as childish or tries to finish my sentences.. You didn't guess this one.
You didn't predict this one.
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