[It's been a while since Carlos has made a post to the network. In his defense, he's been running experiments, traveling, and moving in with his boyfriend during this time.

He's currently sitting outside in Lavender Town enjoying the sunshine. His Mareep is curled up in his lap, just visible from the angle of the camera, while his Amaura is peeking over Carlos' shoulder and his Kefkli is hovering about level with Carlos' head.]

Hi everyone. It's Carlos. Carlos the Scientist! I have a lot to say, but first off, it's been really amazing seeing everyone's powers on the network, so if anyone wants to talk to me about them, or even just show them off, I'd love that! Or, if you don't have powers, you can totally talk about the amazing world you came from. I'm always excited to hear about that.

[He grins.] That said, I have important scientific news! I decided to try out the whole 'hanging your wishes on a tree thing' for science, and it totally worked! I'd been working on constructing some of my own equipment here, but after wishing for one of my machines, I actually received it! [He holds up his device, which doesn't look incredibly complex, but he looks pretty proud of it, anyway.] It's called a danger meter, and I thought it up in order to measure the current level of danger in an area at a time. It's been...kind of buggy, but it's better than nothing, right? Anyway, I think this will be SUPER helpful the next time something strange happens around here. Oh, and if anyone else has tried wishing for things, has it actually worked. I really want to learn more about this!

Finally, if anyone at all is interested in science or technology, I'd love to work with you and compare ideas! I'm sure the level of technology of my world is pretty primitive compared to others, but it could also be advanced, or just plain different. So if anyone would like to talk about those things, I'd be really happy to exchange ideas!

Okay, that's all for now! [He shuts off the feed with a dorky little wave. What a nerd.]

Player
Name: Becky
Personal Journal: anendlessaria
E-mail: singingfreak5@gmail.com
AIM/Plurk/Etc.: songsofthespring
Timezone: GMT-8 (Pacific) at school, Mountain Time Zone (UTC-07:00) at home
Current Characters in Route: n/a

Character
Name: Carlos (The Scientist)
Series: Welcome to Night Vale
Timeline: During Episode 49, “Old Oak Doors Part B”. I.E. Carlos has just realized he’s trapped in the desert Other World.
Canon Resource Links: For general information about the canon
For info about Carlos

Personality:
Carlos was originally introduced as the “straight man” character, a scientist from the “real” world who was baffled and alarmed by the strange happenings in Night Vale. He would often outright panic at the outrageous results he was getting, yet he never stopped trying to step in because he believed he was protecting the citizens of Night Vale. When he visited the radio station for the first time, for example, he began to pick up high levels of radiation from Cecil’s microphone and stressed that everyone should leave for their own safety. However, he often came off as somewhat ignorant as a result of these passionate outbursts because he was largely unaware of Night Vale custom and what is actually considered an emergency. In that case, Cecil cheerful continued the broadcast and no one was seriously injured or affected by the radiation whatsoever.

Carlos has evolved a lot from his straight man image. In fact, it’s been recently revealed that Carlos worked for the “University of What It Is” before he came to Night Vale, perhaps implying Carlos was not from the “real” world at all, as previously speculated. It is also unclear exactly how much actual scientific knowledge Carlos has. He refuses to be specific about what sort of science he does, only referring to himself as a scientist, but clearly stating he was not a botanist or dendrologist in episode 38, “The Orange Grove.” He also uses instruments such as a “danger meter”, which apparently changes colors and makes noise depending on the level of danger in the area. The science he’s being described as doing is mostly experimenting on strange happenings and things he finds interesting or unusual. Early on, he was studying time in Night Vale, becoming distressed by the fact that clocks didn’t work and when he opened them, he found nothing but a gelatinous gray lump that seems to be growing hair and teeth.

After the events of “One Year Later,” Carlos comes to the realization that the unfamiliar is not necessarily bad, and that often things that he thought were malevolent, perhaps at some point even Cecil himself, turn out to be much more innocent than he had thought. This represents a major shift in terms of his character. Carlos starts becoming much more accustomed to living in Night Vale, such as in episode 31, “A Blinking Light Up On the Mountain” when he nonchalantly explained that the Blinking Light everyone was seeing was actually a mirage.
Carlos is extremely passionate about his career as a scientist, to the point where he has a tendency to let science supersede everything in his life, including his relationship with Cecil. In episode 31, Cecil says in a backhand manner, “Carlos says he would like to study it, but that he promised to make a certain person dinner, and he has to learn how to put other things besides science first. Some of this realization might have come with help from those around him.” Carlos’ tendency to get caught up in science and Cecil’s frustrated with this is only aggravated when Carlos becomes trapped in the desert Other World. Carlos immediately becomes fascinated with the science of the other world, and actually hangs up on Cecil on air in episode 51 to go study mysterious rumbling. Cecil is clearly frustrated with this and stresses the importance of finding a way out to Carlos, something that Carlos doesn’t seem to be as concerned with. It’s obvious however that Carlos loves Cecil, as is shown in episode 51 when Carlos despairs because he thinks he’s lost contact with Cecil for good.

Carlos has a tendency towards optimism (“But I promise I will find a way back. It’ll just take a couple of days, a week max. I’ll be fine. I’m a scientist”), even when situations seem bleak and he may not even feel very optimistic himself. When Cecil is obviously upset about their separation, Carlos does his best to reassure Cecil that he’s looking for a way to bring them together and that he’s having fun doing science. Carlos also has a somewhat reckless desire to study everything he finds scientifically interesting despite the potential danger to himself and his lack of knowledge about that subject, especially showcased in the events of “One Year Later”, where Carlos is nearly killed in his attempt to show the citizens of Night Vale that the members of the underground city were very small and therefore, he believed, not dangerous (although that’s quickly proven false). Those two qualities together mean Carlos can be extremely stubborn about studying something even with numerous warnings from Cecil about the potential danger. It also means that when he’s succeeds, he’s been referred to as brave and as a hero, especially after he saved the town from the bright light during the events of “Old Oak Doors Part A”.

Strengths/Weaknesses:
+SCIENCE! Carlos is a scientist, though what that means in canon is a little unclear. We do know however that he has some level of competency with scientific instruments and technology as well as a strong curiosity and desire to study and understand. Based on what we’re told in “The University of What It Is”, Carlos has been a practicing scientist for decades, and he’s also taught science at the university level.

+Bravery. Carlos has frequently been called brave and a hero, although mostly it’s been Cecil calling them those things, so there’s some level of bias there. However, Dana also refers to Carlos as a hero in “Old Oak Doors Part A”, to which Carlos replies, “I’m not a hero. I’m a scientist!”

+Caring. Carlos genuinely cares about the people of Night Vale from the outset which is why he’s so panicked about his science not making any sense. Even though his relationship with Cecil has been rocky at times, he’s always clearly expressed how much he loves Cecil and that he misses him. When he discovers Cecil is bothered by things he does, he does genuinely try to fix them, even if his attempts to do so sometimes fall short.

+Optimistic. Carlos has been affected by being parted from Cecil just as Cecil has, but when he speaks to Cecil over the phone he always tries to take a positive tone. Some of this is because he’s so enthralled with the scientific opportunities of the desert Other World, but part of this is also because Carlos is optimistic. When they first become separated, Carlos tells Cecil not to worry because a scientist is always fine and that he’ll be back in a few weeks, even when he’s obvious he’s really upset and feeling discouraged himself. When it becomes obvious that Carlos has been unable to find a way out of the desert Other World, he starts concentrating on finding a way for Cecil to visit him there and tells Cecil to stop referring to Carlos as being trapped in the Other World.

+Physically attractive? It’s hard to tell just how attractive he actually is, since Cecil’s narration is incredibly biased when it comes to the subject of Carlos’ looks. The whole town reacts poorly when Carlos cuts his “beautiful perfect hair,” although whether that’s a product of the power Cecil’s words have on the townspeople or a general belief that Carlos’ hair is beautiful, it’s hard to tell.

+He’s recently gained the ability to project himself into Cecil’s studio, and though he can’t physically touch things, he does have the ability to communicate with Cecil. It’s implied he learned the skill from Dana, and he seems to be getting better at it, since the first time he attempted it he was only able to be seen and speak to Cecil for a relatively short amount of time. However, it’s unclear in canon just how proficient he is at this and he’s never projected himself anywhere other than Cecil’s studio or stayed for an extended period of time.

-Social graces aren’t his strong suit. He’s frequently awkward in his earlier appearances, especially around Cecil, and takes Cecil with him to do science on trees during their first date. He also has hung up the phone on Cecil to go and do science. However, he is trying a little harder to improve in this area, since he has enough social grace to realize Cecil isn’t exactly thrilled by his behavior.

-SCIENCE! Yeah, Carlos’ love of science is also probably Carlos’ biggest weakness. Carlos has a strong tendency to get caught up in his work, which can lead to him being insensitive to those around him in favor of studying various phenomenon.

Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer.
Starter: Mareep (Tesla)