Mr. Orange/Mr. White
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Mr. Orange/Mr. White |
| Alternative name(s): | Creamsicle, Freddy Newandyke/Larry Dimmick |
| Gender category: | Slash |
| Fandom: | Reservoir Dogs |
| Canonical?: | It's complicated |
| Prevalence: | Primary |
| Archives: | Mr. Orange/Mr. White on Ao3 |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Mr. Orange/Mr. White is the primary slash pairing for the Reservoir Dogs fandom between Freddy Newandyke and Mr. White, and the most popular relationship by far. The ship is alternately called Creamsicle, which is a searchable pairing name on sites like Tumblr.
Canon
After a brief introductory scene, the film opens with a bloody, gutshot Freddy in the back of a car driven by Mr. White as they rush to a warehouse. The two men are notably physically intimate throughout the film. Freddy spends the majority of the film slowly bleeding out in the warehouse while Mr. White and the other characters discuss a diamond heist went wrong. Through flashbacks, we learn that Freddy - code name Mr. Orange - is actually an undercover cop. Mr. White, not knowing this, spends the film defending Mr. Orange from the suspicions of the others. After a three-way Mexican-standoff shootout involving Joe Cabot and "Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot, who arranged the heist, Mr. White is critically injured. The movie ends with Freddy admitting he is a cop, and it is implied that Mr. White shoots him, and is killed by police in turn immediately afterward.
Fandom
The homoerotic subtext and queer-coding between these two characters is a major draw for many fans and the subject of many fanworks, with most fans considering this film a quintessential gay tragedy and joking that it qualifies as a romance film.
anon: your favourite romcom? timrothing: reservoir dogs [1]
reservoir dogs is like a shakespearean romantic tragedy that’s masquerading as a macho heist film [2]
its so weird that the *iconic shot* from reservoir dogs is usually presented as some hypermasculine stoic standoff when its actually an old white guy getting pissy at his coworker because he implied that his bf might not be trustworthy [3]
bf: (slow smile) what?
me: nothin :)
me, internally: but was “reservoir dogs” actually meant to be that gay? the moony eyes, the first names, the hair combing, the shakespearean bloodbath, the tender cradling, the tortured deathbed confession. is tarantino capable of that kind of emotional sensitivity? even if he didn’t intend it, does it matter? can’t we assign meaning outside the intention of the artist? maybe the issue is not with tarantino, but with myself. am i ascribing homosexual undertones to a fundamentally paternal relationship, does my confusion about the nature of the interactions between mr. white and mr. orange reveal not only my own problematic expectations for “normal” male interactions, but the uneasy role of the Father in our society? truly the patriarchy confounds at every turn [4]
tarantino: so which song is it going to play in the background when my main character gets dressed to meet another guy in my completely straight and heterosexual movie?tarantino:
tarantino:
tarantino: ... fool for love[5]
As of Feb 2021, this pairing tag was found in 304 of the 529 fanfics for Reservoir Dogs on AO3, making it overwhelmingly the most popular pairing.
Common Tropes
- Angst, particularly surrounding Freddy's concealed identity
- Hurt/Comfort, which is considered a canon element of the film due to Freddy's wound and the way Mr. White takes care of him
- Post-canon Fix-it fics, sometimes where both of them survive the events of the film
Fanworks
Archives
- Mr. Orange/Mr. White on AO3
- Orange-white on Livejournal (defunct)
Fanart
- Untitled drawing by yaahooo, Sept 29 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
- (Untitled) Kate Beaton redraw by spengs, March 3 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021), archived post
- Screencap redraws by choodraws, Sept 11 2016 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
- (untitled) Freddy/Larry by cherloak, July 15 2017 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
- Now/Then, a comic by anticmiscellaney, Oct 7 2019 (accessed Feb 23 2021)
- Untitled art showing an orange 'flagging' handkerchief by anticmiscellaney, Oct 31 2019 (accessed Feb 23 2021)
Fanfiction
- Cut My Throat by Delphi. The problem with trust is that it's a two-way street, and Freddy has a lead foot. The fic with the highest Kudos for the fandom as of Jan 2021. Written in 2012 for the resdog-kink community on LJ. Prompt: "Orange/White, shaving kink - White suggests a trust-building exercise, and he hands Orange a straight razor."
Edits
- (untitled) gay pieta by floydmatique, Feb 21 2018 (accessed Feb 23 2021), archived post
- Because it’s never too early in the day to feel sad about Freddy and Larry via Asofterworld comics and quotes, am I right? by suzirya, June 23 2014 (accessed Feb 23, 2020) archived version
Memes
- (Untitled) American Chopper Argument meme by n-oxie, May 3 2018 (accessed Feb 23 2021) archived post
Fanmixes
References
- ^ post by timrothing, Archived version, July 18 2014 (accessed Feb 23 2021)
- ^ post by marwoodly, Archived version, Sept 18 2014 (accessed Feb 23 2021)
- ^ post by quetzalcoatlisborn-archive, Archived version, Dec 20 2014 (accessed feb 23 2021)
- ^ untitled post by clarabeau, Archived version, April 15 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021)
- ^ Untitled post, Archived version by tothetrashwhereibelong March 31, 2015 (accessed Feb 23 2021)