#[ specifically for boxing with maurice because he's so into it ]

[sketchbook-magic]

I don't have anything for WIP Wednesday (at least for this blog but my crochet blog Nerdy Stitches has a few projects) but I do have a new hyper fixation that has made me suddenly insanely jealous of my father and oldest sister for witnessing before I was even spawned.

So, my new hyper fixation this month is old animatronics, specifically the ones from the pizza chain Showbiz Pizza that is honestly scarier than FNAF in my opinion (Billy Bob haunts my dreams rent free) and my favorite animatronic out of the whole cast of characters to choose from is the first human character and also the first character produced after the launch of Showbiz named Uncle Klunk the Abomination: The Funniest Robot Science Has Ever Made. I just love watching old archived training tapes featuring him and seeing how these old animatronics worked. They worked through hydraulics which is a very misleading name for the technology because it was controlled by air pressure and not water. There would be a huge panel connected to several hoses installed behind the animatronic and under the stage that was accessed through a trap door and the animatronics would move based on these hoses creating and reducing air pressure and these hoses on the panels would be connected to a metal box that would respond to music tapes that were programed to not only play music but move the animatronics in sync with the track. And these tracks took months to program due to how specific you had to be with the air systems. And the character Uncle Klunk is my favorite character to study because he had the most range of movement out of the whole cast and his selling point was the fact he could pick up a telephone and a banana. And how this was done was four movements that would bring his arm to the side, lower the arm, lower the hand, and his thumb and middle finger would clamp onto the object like a claw in a claw machine would. And these objects had to be very specifically placed so he wouldn't accidentally knock them over or miss them entirely.

And what's even more special about the Uncle Klunk character is that there were only 50 of these animatronics because his whole gimmick and act was to be a traveling talk show host and would provide a humourous break in between songs in the main show. His talk show was called the Uncle Klunk Abomination Show where he'd have a cuckoo clock bird name Maurice make fun of him, his mom would call, and sometimes people would call him and have a wrong number (my favorite from old show recordings on YouTube was an argument hotline that called Klunk and started an argument with him so Klunk started agreeing with the man on the other line so he'd get flustered and try harder to continue the argument) so they only had a limited amount of these animatronics in circulation so he could travel to other locations to sell this gimmick. The only problem is he didn't attract as much revenue as was predicted for a traveling character because he only had one commercial and when people did see him in person he produced the effect known as the uncanny valley were something was so human like it was terrifying. (He was based on his voice actor who was a background singer in the Rockafire Explosion Band who was the main band of Showbiz Pizza but he didn't have his own character so they produced Uncle Klunk which is why he was human and looked so realistic minus the cartoonish stylization of the real person he's based on.) If they had advertised him more he would've had a strong fan base like he does now nearly forty years later.

Due to how badly this character performed he was scrapped pretty quickly and repurposed to be used as Santa Claus for Christmas shows, Uncle Pappy who would sit in the arcade and give life advice between folk songs, and an interactive attraction where customers could press buttons and control him over in the arcade and teach kids how animatronics worked and in order to do that they literally split him in half or skinned him entirely which is why a full skinned Uncle Klunk is extremely rare for collectors (I've only seen two on YouTube) and have a selling price close to a half million (his body parts that were skinned or replaced in his repurposing go for several thousand in today's market). So yeah, this character has gone through hell.

And why am I jealous of my dad and oldest sister because of this hyper fixation on Uncle Klunk you may be asking or completely glossed over that in my first paragraph? Because they saw him when he first came out. My sister was from my dad's first marriage and they lived in Richmond, Virginia that had a Showbiz Pizza location and was one of those restaurants that was so saturated with customers they try out all new products at that location and when Uncle Klunk came out my dad happened to be home from the military that weekend and my sister convinced him to take her to Showbiz Pizza because she was also obsessed with Uncle Klunk and they got to see some of his first performances. My dad says they were a 3/10 for him because he didn't particularly like the restaurant in general. And now I'm sad that they got to see such a cool animatronic and that I wasn't spawned in time to also witness the greatness that was Uncle Klunk the Abomination: The Funniest Robot Science Has Ever Made. 😢

[morulezopelforever]

Alec Scudder is fed up what with one thing or another...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31992058/chapters/79240288

I’d like to highlight a Maurice fanfic I wrote in 2021. ‘A Gentleman’s Tale’ is the first part of my series ‘For Maurice to End where the Muddle Begins.’

Meet Clive, Maurice and Alec, men in their forties in the 21st centurty, more specifically during one of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. Their story is told from Clive’s perspective.

Clive has not seen Maurice and Alec for years, and now he finds himself spending a weekend at their place. After a more than warm welcome, Clive feels he has to repay his hosts by inviting them to visit him and Anne...I’m afraid that is not going down all too well with Alec, who used to be an employee at Durham Logistics and who has his own bad memories to battle...

After Alec got home, he joined us in the garden. By now it was too late for a full meal, to my secret relief, because the couple must be nearly broke and I did not want to eat too much of their food. Lazing in his chair, smoking one of my cigarettes and guzzling Carlsberg from a can, Alec promised he’d make us some baked beans on toast with a fried egg on top. That sounded really lovely, but then he got up and announced that he’d clean out the shitty litter boxes first and take a shower and get changed. ‘He’s unbelievably energetic,’ Maurice said admiringly when his lover had gone back inside.

The meal was constantly interrupted by cats begging for bits. One crawled into my lap, settled down and fell asleep, only to wake up when Alec served bowls of tinned rice pudding and jam for dessert.

‘Don’t feed Lily, please,’ he said when I let the animal lick some sweet goo off my finger. ‘She’ll get the screaming ab-dabs.’ ‘That’s enough, Alec,’ Maurice sighed. ‘Don’t spoil Clive’s appetite.’ They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Then they kissed. ‘I love you, you dirty bugger,’ Maurice breathed.

When we were having tea, I conveyed my plan. Now I included Alec too, because I had just seen how inseparable they were. ‘You’re both very welcome to spend some time at my house, to get away from it all. Technically speaking, it’s forbidden because of the corona rules and yadeyadeya, but Anne would love it.’

Alec sat up with a jolt as if struck by lightning. ‘Your house? Are you daft? What if your mum sees me?’

Maurice smiled and lit a cigarette. I had nearly run out, so I decided to drive to the next service area after tea to get a carton. ‘Only Clive and Anne live there, love,’ Maurice said. ‘Why would his mother be a problem?’ Alec would not explain why, and after getting a string of pleading questions, he put down his tea mug with a bang. ‘O.K., so you fellers really want to know? Clive will kick the shit out of me.’

I gave him an encouraging smile, earning a grin of relief.

‘Remember our trip to Amsterdam?’ he began. ‘Must be twenty years ago now…a long time anyroad. I saw all that crazy stuff in the souvenir shops, nothing to my liking, but then I found something…and I got an idea straight away…That shop assistant must have thought I was mad, because I just stood there, nearly pissing myself laughing…So I buy the thing, right, and some other rubbish for my friends…I showed it to you, Clive, didn’t I, when we were having espresso at the airport.’ ‘You did,’ I said. ‘I thought it was grotesque, but I figured you’d bought it for yourself.’

‘So anyroad,’ he went on. ‘You should know, Clive, and I’m sorry if I insult you, you’re a fine bloke and all, but your mum, that’s a different thing. She had a company car, right, so she could have had it cleaned at a car wash and charge it to her credit card…But she wouldn’t. One day she comes up to me while I was outside loading a truck, and she says: ‘Oh, Mr. Scudder, would you be so kind as to clean my car in the washing area for our vans?’ ‘I’m sorry, Mrs. Durham, I’m a forklift driver,’ I say. ‘I can’t just stop loading, my supervisor won’t allow it.’ So she smiles and says I can do it after my shift and I’ll get paid overtime. So I say yes and since that day, it’s the same song, twice a week: ‘Oh, Mr. Scudder, would you be so kind…’ as if her Mercedes ever got dirty, it never did…Yes, I got paid, but then the complaints come. ‘Mr. Scudder, there is mud on the carpet under the pedals, don’t you ever wipe your feet before you get in?’ ‘Mr. Scudder, there’s dandruff on the headrest, would you please keep your head up when you drive my car?’ ‘Mr. Scudder, I found a dent in the number plate. It wouldn’t have been you, would it?’ And all the while my warehouse mates are laughing at me, thinking I’m sweet on the old lady…Sorry, Clive…I got pretty bloody sick of it, I tell you…So after we got back from Amsterdam, she comes up to me and before she can ask, I say: ‘No problem, Mrs. Durham, I’ll wash the Mercedes after my shift.’ And then…’

He started to laugh, coughing helplessly, shaking. Maurice was intrigued. It was a very exciting story. ‘Here, have one,’ I said to Alec, pushing my pack of Marlboros towards him. ‘I’ll get more later.’ Alec nodded, lit up and grinned.

‘So there I am, the Mercedes is all clean and dried and polished, and then I stuck the thing from Amsterdam onto the flap of the boot. And then I drove the car back to the executives’ car park and put it in its place with the rear end facing the wall…’ He started chortling. ‘So she never saw it when she drove off later…Well, next morning she calls me into her office…She’s mad as a bull, shouting at me because on her way home the night before, the other drivers had been honking and flashing their headlights and making all kinds of gestures…The print on the sticker was large enough for all to see…and for me to get fired on the spot.’

‘What did it say then?’ Maurice asked, puzzled. I knew, but I wanted Alec to tell, because every word out of his mouth was so deliciously sordid and juicy, as was this whole story. ‘Well,’ Alec sighed, out of breath with glee. ‘It said: Don’t walk on the grass – smoke it! See driver for details.’

Interested? Check this link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31992058/chapters/79240288

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Nun II (2023)

I wasn’t looking forward to The Nun II for the same reason that I wasn't looking forward to Annabelle: Creation in 2017. Like 2014's Annabelle, The Nun was an inferior, largely uninspired Conjuring spinoff. To my surprise and delight, this sequel is far better than its predecessor. It even sort of goes back to address some of what made the original so underwhelming in a way.

Four years after the events at Saint Cartha’s monastery, the Church dispatches Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) to investigate a series of deaths across Europe. These gruesome incidents, all eerily similar to the ones attributed to the demon Valak (Bonnie Aarons) follow Sister Irene's friend, Maurice (Jonas Bloquet), who now serves as the caretaker at a boarding school that used to be a church. Though seemingly defeated, the demon hides inside him.

One of the reasons I was so skeptical about this sequel is that it felt like there wasn't anything left to tell. We saw how Maurice became “infected” with Valak at the end of the first movie and the scene during the end credits reminded us that we knew he was going to be possessed by the demon because we heard about it while watching The Conjuring 2. Well, it turns out some elements of the story were missing. Enough that it would've kept us up at night if this movie had never been made? No, but the film’s last act contains quite a few surprises that make me say “This was worth coming back to”.

While this film’s status as a sequel to a prequel means we’ve seen the monster enough times for it to be less frightening than it was in 2016, director Michael Chaves brings some neat tricks to the screen. The film's best scene has Sister Irene running down a dark street at night when she suddenly stops in front of a magazine stand. The wind blows the pages over and over, the images revealed combining to make what looks like a shadow emerging from the floor. I’d tell other filmmakers to rip off this scene, but it’s so visually striking and memorable that the theft would immediately get called out.

I’m also going to give this film a recommendation for its ending. Early in the film, Sister Debra (Storm Reid), a young novice accompanying Sister Irene on her quest confesses that she has difficulty believing in the miracle of transubstantiation (the transformation of wine into the Blood of Christ). I don’t blame her, specifically because of the way The Nun concluded. In the first encounter with Valaak, our heroes have this big vial filled with the blood of Christ and they use every drop. I know it’s a powerful demon that does all sorts of scary stuff but I kept thinking to myself “Guys! This blood is a hot commodity! Save some for later!”. That concern is addressed here. Now, before you think this movie is going deep into Christian theology, understand that the screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing and Akela Cooper doesn’t explore this idea very much, instead taking some religious concepts and spinning them to their own needs in a way that I think is (dare I say it?) kind of cool and fitting for this expanding cinematic universe.

In several ways, The Nun II is what I would call a “Box Set Movie”. I don’t think you’d ever buy the DVD/BLu-ray/4K and add it to your shelf unless it was so you could have all of the Conjuring universe together, or because you got it as part of a box set. "The Nun II" is not as scary as it should be but it has enough memorable scenes for the scales to tip in its favor. Enough that maybe you wouldn’t mind seeing it again if you happened to add it to your collection. (February 14, 2024)

[eirian-houpe]

TMI Tuesday

Okay, so before I start, and because I love this fandom so much, and I’m just so happy to see the Rumbelle fandom thriving, here is a quick PSA. It’s been said before, but, I’m saying this again for a number of reasons.

We are a terrific fandom, who have new people still joining the fandom (or maybe coming out of lurking) even after many, many years of the show being off the air. We also have some incredibly talented writers and artist providing new content for us daily, weekly... frequently. A lot of them hold down full time jobs, care for families, have lives outside of the fandom so the time that these creators devote to our fandom in all the myriad ways is precious. It should be celebrated, and at the very least acknowledged, because that time spent is not without cost to the creators.

So if you read a fic you enjoy on AO3 or on Tumblr, please take the time to comment and/or leave kudos.

It is not a tired old litany to say that it is these things that encourage creators to continue and push through that difficult scene, or that tricky lighting effect etc. in their current work, to be able to bring it to the readers and viewers, it is the honest truth, and creators that feel ignored, who feel their work is not valued or good enough for recognition can become discouraged to the point of falling into the pit of, “why bother? No one cares,” and that, frankly, is hugely disappointing, and hurtful to the fandom as a whole.

Okay, jumping down off my soap box now.. except.. wait!

Congratulations to those six writers who have moved on to round 2 of this year’s @rumbelleshowdown. They are currently working on their fics, so as we wait patiently to be able to read those fics, let’s cheer them on!

So here we are at the beginning (more or less) of another sunny Tuesday.  Here’s what I’ve been up to this week, and I am (hopefully) looking forward to answering your asks.  Here is a link to my inbox.

Posted this week:

Secret of the Seas - chapter 2

Belle and Ruby take a much needed vacation, treating themselves to a fourteen day cruise. Jefferson is Head Miixologist aboard the ship, Secret of the Seas, and Gold is Deck Nine Supervisor, and amid much flirting, and false starts, holiday romances and forbidden loves ensue. Written from the Rumbelle Bingo prompts: Bed sharing, Vulnerability, Jefferson, Pesky Royals, Roses.

On the cards for this week:

Disparate Pathways - Chapter 41

Gold has a past, a past that he has rejected, but it seems one that will not let him go. Belle, daughter of Governor Maurice French has been kidnapped, along with her mother, and just as the authorities raid the organization that is holding her hostage, decides to make her own bid for freedom, unknowingly derailing an undercover sting, and Agent Milnor has not choice but to take her into ‘protective custody,’ but is he all that he seems? As the threads of the story grow more tangled and the threat to Belle, and to Gold, her appointed protector, grow ever more real, a growing, mutual attraction makes everything far more desperate and far too personal for Gold to ignore what he knows to be the truth.

Next up:

Lover’s Leap Series - Part 14

Rumplestiltskin has fallen foul of a fairy curse, and Belle volunteers to take on the curse herself in order to help break it.

Ask suggestions

Ask something about any of my fics (full list is below the cut). If you want specifics from some fics that are already outlined, you can ask about:

Disparate Pathways, Chapters 41 through 54 All Our Past Mistakes, Chapters 11 through 44 Lover’s Leap Series, Stories 14 through 31 Time’s Curse, Chapters 4 through 10

Ask something of any of my characters in general or you can get really specific if you like - for example you might want to ask Gold from Pawn Shop a question about a chapter, a thought, a feeling… (the world is your oyster really)

Ask about my process as a writer, what makes me tick,, or even ask about me personally.

Also, if you want to see a specific character or fic featured in Secret Saturday, feel free to send in prompts, if no one does, then the choice will be random.

You can find all my fics here, and there is a full list under the cut.

Storybrooke’s Best Kept Secret - Rumbelle

Darkness In Hyperion Heights - woven beauty au

Seven Tastes - Rumbelle

Tuesday - Rushbelle au

The Language of Flowers Series - Rumbelle

Disparate Pathways - Rumbelle

Scattered - Rumbelle

All Our Past Mistakes - Rumbelle

What the Actual Fuck! - Sutherelle

Breathe - Rushbelle

The Lover’s Leap Series - Rumbelle

Awakening - Rumbelle

War Is Coming To Storybrooke - Rumbelle

Given No Choice - Rush

Thoughts On A Happy Ending Series - Rumbelle

Darker Hearts Series - Wish!Rumbelle

Modern Wonders - a OUAT/Alice crossover

Time’s Curse - Rumbelle

The Pawn Shop On Main Street - Rumbelle

The Mansion On the Edge of Town - Rumbelle with a side of Jefferson

Cobra: In Your Prayers - Cobra/FatWS/UC:Undercover et al

To See Series - Rumbelle

Nobody Knew (Bingo)

Secret of the Seas

Here are fics that haven’t yet been started, but are in the Muse’s bucket.

The Miner’s Day Festival - Rumbelle

Aftermath - Rumbelle (with a side of madness)

Saving The Dark One (WT) A twist on a twist of Rumplestiltskin.

Brought To You By The Color… (Red)

Calcul(us)

(In)consistent equation

The Boston Storybrooke Line

Breaking the Waves (Movie AU)

ILP (or IEP) for Rumple.

One Last Wish

In Service to My Son

Playground Games

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

“Only Remembered For What We Have Done.”

[despiteherself]

King Julien?

THIS IS SO LONG RIP

King Julien my beloved…….

Also sorry this took me so long omgggg

* favorite thing about them

everything <3

okay, so this comes as no surprise to literally anyone who’s heard me talk about kj but his big heart. i absolutely adore that so much of his story is about how his big heart fumbling around saves the day, even when the story is about his own hubris. Whether it was intentional or not ahkj ended up being a powerful story about a kind-hearted party animal with an inherited legacy of violence and mistreatment heal from his own trauma with the love for his people. yes! it was messy and it is a kids show so it had a lot of continuity issues and like…. toilet humour, but underneath it was so tender. kj’s story of wanting to be king for perks, to feeling like he didn’t deserve to be the one true king but managing to unite the entirety of the kingdoms Madagascar under his love as a symbol was so…….. kj’s big heart saves the day <3

even in the movies, where he is classist and bigheaded he still manages to do it? melman is brave because of kj’s empathy for a talking head, and the circus goes back to the Central Park zoo to help the zoosters bc of kj’s love. his line about “it doesn’t matter what you smell like, or what i smell like, it matters what we smell like together.” is what prompts everyone to forgive the lies.

* least favorite thing about them

nothing he’s perfect <3

I don’t know how to feel about season 5 after exiled. I know it must have been hard trying to tie everything up, going back to the joke based continuity and toilet humour after the emotional sucker punch of exiled. it just. feels like it rehashes old plots but makes them more complex and I think if it hadn’t been after exiled I wouldn’t feel so…. Unsure. kj in this, starts off desperately trying to prove himself as king (again) for good reason, but then seems to lose himself in petty ways he out grow and serious things reveled through jokes get left behind to make more jokes and it just feels…… kj grew into being a good leader and i wish it wasn’t forgotten again. This isn’t rlly about him, more the writing, and the plot problem - episodic vs long form story telling is a hard one, but it’s what I dislike. Let kj have growth bc he was given some and it’s hard to see it’s gone when we know it’s possible.

* favorite line

Oh this is hard :/

I like whenever he does his little pep talks. Or when he says he loves his kingdom. Those are fun & nonsensical and yet, an encapsulation of why he’s such a good ruler. he does understand his people, in a way the juliens before him didn’t, because he was never supposed to be one of them, and left to his own devices with his big sensitive heart made a connection that would outlast even the cruelest of julien kings. julien wants to be loved so badly, and he makes a mess of it, but he holds together the cracks of the lemurs before him, hurt by others the way he was and together they build something worthwhile.

“think of it as me sandwich, stuffed with me.

Pretty good right?” Bc that’s one of the funniest scenes

* brOTP

royal quartet <3

kj and literally everyone. i love him being friends and loving towards just about everyone

* OTP

hmmmmmmmmm

kj x his kingdom as a wholistic statement <3 i think married to his kingdom is what’s most satisfying for me. Kj who makes the specific choice to focus on his kingdom instead of personal goals - and despite loving children so much, making the specific choice to end the julien line (it’s reign of terror) with him. Ahhhhhhhh that would be so satisfying narratively.

also, not to bring this up again but i do think it would be beneficial to both their characters of like kj and ted had a idk passionate summer fling and are now each other’s wingmen post divorce. i say again but i barely think I’ve hinted at it so you know, whatever. i just think their dynamic is SO interesting, and the one scene in exiled where Ted saves everyone is just……. ah, perfect. I wish we got a deeper exploration of Ted & Dorothy, and Ted & his rejection by julien at lemur school & losing prom king & his obsessed with being needed/wanted.

I have no issues with any of the pairings that happened lmao, but obv most of them are exes and i think they’re fun that way. Karen, rob, crimson, karl probably, idk, i guess skipper? i don’t think they date bc skipper is homophobic <3

* nOTP

There’s just way too much family symbolism & literally having clover and Maurice ACTUALLY taking his parents place for me to be anything but squicked by kj/either of them/both of them. no shade to anyone who does, but it just makes me feel :////// I also just love their dynamic as friends, and whilst exploring toxicity in relationships can be interesting, i rlly think that if the three of them became more dependent on each other it would just stunt them all. they do better as a unit in relation to everyone in the kingdom.

I didn’t include mort in the family part even tho he pretends to be kj’s son once but he’s included in that. people who say royal trio over royal quartet break my heart, mort is equally important in this dynamic and also. notp thanks

aslo don’t care for pancho :/ sorry pancho lovers <3 it’s just i don’t think he’s half as important as anyone makes him out to be and i don’t think he and kj rlly have that much chemistry, especially not compared to like his interactions with pretty much every single adult lemur. it’s whatever! ppl have fun with it, i just personally don’t see why you’d pick it over literally any of the other side but main-ish characters. i actually think, if anything, kj is more dismissive towards pancho than a lot of characters, especially considering he’s so flirty. and no amount of the Manchurian candidate can make up for that, especially when it was about family again.

ok now that I’ve alienated like 98% of the ahkj fandom it’s okay it’s not like super notp it’s just i don’t care for it <3

* random headcanon

kj starts watching todd’s unboxing videos one day when he’s relaxing, after he’s calmed down about the captain booty butt toy being stolen, like 3am channel surfing and like gets rlly into the concept bc like surprise toys out of box is peak adhd excitement. he wants to start his own channel and in his excitement gets everyone to watch his stuff which doesn’t have the care or knowledge (bc the excitement for kj is the surprise - can relate) that Todd’s has and Todd’s show gets canceled. he’s obv pretty sad bc that was Todd’s only hobby outside of doing what his mum makes him do & he gets rlly upset. eventually, somehow, kj stumbles upon Todd being sad and they have a convo and kj realises that he stole Todd’s hobby & that actually, the hovering, full attention of Tammy is suffocating and not something kj should long for. I rlly want Todd & kj to have an end to their “rivalry”. They make up, kj retires his unboxing channel and promos Todd’s, Todd gets to hang out in the plane as a friend to get away from his family for a while, kj learns the value of space.

* unpopular opinion

again… are there unpopular kj opinions???

i just think he should have had the proper number of rings on his tail. when i look at it I’m like, sir please give him the correct number it hurts me to see like 7 of each colour and i think it ends in a white tip which >:/ which is a silly thing to find annoying

[peralta-guaranteed]

hc of amy having a bad day and struggling with mac? say he’s very clingy or also upset

Guess what, this accidentally turned into a fic too. And it kinda shifted into 'Jake and Amy having a bad day and struggling with Mac for very different reasons'... I hope you still like it!

(read it on AO3)

It had become evident pretty early on that when Mac got sick, he gravitated towards Amy much more. Sure, Jake was also sometimes good for snotty cuddles and cough-soothing baths, but at some point he would call for his mom, or whine and spread his arms towards her with his legs kicking in frustration, and it said a lot about how much Jake has grown that he didn't even hesitate to hand him over without acting hurt. Maybe the blissful calm washing over Mac's face as soon as Amy was hugging him helped with that, too. It was such a wonderful thing to see after hours of crying, coughing, sneezing, whining and general sad pouting that only a Peralta-baby is capable of, Jake barely had the energy to worry about how it felt to be so blatantly rejected by his little boy.

It'd also become evident that Mac’s clingy phase had started a bit earlier than most of their parenting books prophesied. If Amy was home, he wanted to be on her lap, or in her arms, or wrapping his little arms around her leg as she tried to work in the kitchen. Jake got “NO!”ed and waved away far more often than he was asked for a hug himself, and again, it took a lot of newfound maturity not to let that get to him - and maybe he did not have enough of that yet, because it absolutely got to him in quieter moments.

(He knew it’d pass, like any phase in a toddler’s life passes at some point. Like the phase of Mac refusing anything but that one specific carrot puree passed, or the phase of him being unable to sleep anywhere except cuddled in between them, waking up as soon as they tried to carry him back to his own bed.)

The real trouble starts when both these situations collide.

-*-

Mac woke them up at 4:30 sharp, two hours before Amy’s first alarm, crying so hard it almost sounded like screaming. When Jake tiptoed into the nursery, he had to ignore the frustrated shouts of Nonono and Mamam that he was almost used to by now, to actually check what was wrong. Probably another ear infection, he realised after seeing the symptoms they’d become very familiar with during the last time they’d battled through one of those. They had to bring him to the doctor to be sure, but he already knew they were looking forward to at least two days of unsoothable crying and fussing.

He also knew that things would be hell for Amy.

In theory, it would make far more sense for him to call in sick to take care of Mac. As much as he loved his detective work, the simple fact that his wife outranked him (and thus outdid him in both salary and responsibilities, obviously) meant that if one of them had to take a few days off, it should be him first and foremost. In practice, however, Mac was going to be even more insufferable than just from his sickness if left alone with him at the moment. He was still crying for Amy as Jake lifted him out of the cot - he would be screaming bloody murder if she closed the door of the apartment behind her.

“Earache?” Amy asked already as Jake stepped back into the bedroom, Mac’s wailing lessening only slightly as he stretched his arms out toward her. She pulled him to her as Jake sighed and nodded.

“I think so. I’ll take him to the doc when they open.” He tried to offer, but he knew Amy would refuse it anyway.

“No, I can do it. I’ll call in sick - you get back to sleep for work.”

“I’ll try.” He sighed again as he dropped onto his back while Amy was sitting up to sway Mac, who’d actually quieted down into little sobs and sniffles in her arms. “I’m sorry, Ames.”

“It’s nobody’s fault he’s sick, especially not yours.”

“Yeah, but I wish I could help more. If he wasn’t- you know.”

“I know.” Amy let her free hand not holding Mac drift through Jake’s sleep-messy curls. She knew that, as much as he tried to pretend it wasn’t bothering him, he secretly hated the thought of his son rejecting him in any way, even if it was as nonsensical as a clingy toddler phase.

Luckily it didn’t take long for him to actually fall back asleep with her hand in his hair, and she carefully wiggled out of bed to let him rest while settling down with a still crying Mac in his nursery rocking chair.

-*-

They got to get ready together as they usually did in the morning, at least - even if Amy was only getting dressed to drive to the pediatrician and straight back again. She’d already called Holt and explained the situation before Jake handed her a mug of coffee, and Mac had been, at the least, not crying for the last ten minutes while sitting in his playpen in the living room. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as last time.

“I can pick up whatever the doc prescribes on my lunch break.” Jake smiled at her, ruefully, and she considered telling him again that it was okay, that she could do it - but something told her to keep her options of at least a few minutes not alone with a sick toddler open.

She desperately needed that option when lunchtime came around.

Doctor Maurice had quickly confirmed their suspicions and told her that there wasn’t much more they could do than wait it out, keep an eye on his fever and medicate with ibuprofen and warm compresses. Not that any of that had helped. When Mac wasn’t crying, he was screaming, and when he wasn’t screaming, he wanted to be close to her, but he couldn’t lie down without the pain getting worse, so simply plonking down on the couch with him was out of the question. She’d let him breastfeed far more than had been their norm now that he was slowly getting weaned, because it seemed to give him some relief at least, as well as quieting him for a blissful moment. But then the infection had travelled to his stomach as well, the same way it had last time, and he staunchly refused any and all food or milk. She’d seriously started considering foregoing the diapers completely and just letting him play in the empty bathtub so she could rinse him off from time to time, because five dirty diapers in under twenty minutes had to be some sort of new record.

So when Jake texted her he was on his way, with a picture of another box of ibuprofen and that herbal steam-bath mix that had helped last time, she sent a silent thank you prayer to anyone who wanted to listen. And she mumbled a not quite as silent thank you against Jake’s lips before he could even get his shoes off at the door.

“I got you one of the good bagel sandwiches for lunch, too.” He said as he hugged her and combed through her messy hair.

“I love you so much.” She hadn’t even realised that the only thing in her stomach so far was still the cup of coffee he’d made her this morning.

He grinned as he put the deli paper bag on the kitchen counter and went over to Mac’s playpen, to say hello to a currently only softly whining toddler smacking an innocent teddy against a pile of soft fabric blocks. Amy followed to wrap her arms around his waist from behind and rest her head against his back, taking in a few deep breaths of Jake, of something that didn’t smell of diarrhea, moist compresses, milk-hiccups and spit up.

“Also Holt gave me an hour for lunch, so if you want to take a nap or something-”

“God.” Amy groaned with pure happiness as Jake turned around in her embrace. “Marry me, Mr. Perfect.”

“Any place, any time, babe.” He kissed the crown of her head while returning her hug, sniffing her hair with a chuckle. “But maybe a shower first before the big day.”

“Rude.” Amy mumbled with her face pressed against his chest. “I rescind the proposal.”

His chuckle turned into a laugh at that, and he slowly unraveled her arms around him. “Nap first, then shower, how’s that sound? Then a bagel. I’ll give Mac his lunch.”

“Good luck with that.” She sighed before giving him another quick kiss and making a beeline for the bedroom.

-*-

She’d hopped straight from bed into the bathroom later, relishing in the feeling of the hot water washing away any aches left over after that much needed nap. Alas, when she stepped out of the oh-so-peaceful bathroom, she was met with a wall of sound.

Mac was wailing, hard, as Jake swayed him back and forth, holding another warm compress against his little ear, and trying to make soothing noises despite the shrill screams of No and MAMA! straight into his face.

“Shsshhshsh, hey, it’s okay, bud, it’s okay. I know you don’t like me much at the moment, but it’s gonna be okay, and mom is coming back soon-”

He stopped as he noticed her stepping into the room, giving her an apologetic smile as she took Mac from him. The wailing turned into regular crying at least, albeit still loud.

“I’m sorry babe - did he wake you up? He won’t eat either.”

“I set an alarm, actually. So you won’t be back late.” Amy sat down on the couch and pulled up her shirt (freshly changed after the shower, and god had that felt good as well). Mac latched onto her breast almost immediately, and a wonderful quiet settled across the room, only his little snuffling and suckling noises breaking through.

Jake’s face was unreadable before he turned towards the kitchen to plate her bagel, but that stoic, almost empty expression told her enough anyway. She grabbed his wrist as he set the plate down on the couch table, pulled softly until he sat down next to her, running her fingers through his hair again to comfort him.

“You know it’s not true, right?”

“Hm?” Jake looked up at her after watching Mac, who finally seemed to calm down completely in her arm, with a vacant look in his eyes.

“It’s not true that he doesn’t like you. He loves you just as much as me. It’s just a difficult phase.”

“I know that.” Jake’s attempt at a smile was still sad enough, and she wiped across the corner of it with the soft tip of her thumb.

“And I love you too. So much.”

“I know that.” And this new smile seemed to turn out right, at least. “You wanna re-marry me, after all.” He teased as he leant his head against her shoulder, looking down at Mac again with a much less forlorn expression.

“Hey, I rescinded that proposal!” She quipped back, falling into their usual banter easily now that she was rested enough and sure that Jake felt better as well. “But I might consider re-re-proposing again if you promise to pick up Polish for dinner.”

“I knew you only wanted me for all the free food delivery.”

“I also need you for other things.” Amy said as she sat up a bit straighter to finish Mac’s feeding, Jake’s head lifting off of her shoulder with the movement. “Like burping your kid. I really don’t want spit-up down this fresh shirt.”

“Aye aye, Sergeant.” Jake joked, already scrabbling for the burp cloth thrown over the armchair next to them and taking Mac out of her arms.

She watched him as he expertly settled the little, squirming bundle against his chest, the swaying and patting motion almost second nature by now, ducking his head down for a quick sniff of that perfect toddler hair scent. He’d have to leave for the precinct soon enough, and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to the rest of the afternoon probably being a reprise of her entire morning, and she didn’t even want to think about the night or next day to come.

Life with a toddler was unpredictable. Almost nothing was in her control anymore. But, as she’d learned over the years, as long as she was with the right people, she could handle anything. And Jake Peralta proved, again and again, that he was the right person for her.

[queenie-lexieee]

[[ CC Character Profile ]]

Fandom:

Once Upon A Time

Full name:

Belle Gold (French)

Nickname(s):

•Lucy

Sex/Pronouns:

Female

Birthdate:

December 27th

Age:

20-Old Age

(Season 1-7)

Skills/Powers:

•Book Knowledge

•Leadership

•Patiences

•Problem Solving

•Languages

•Map Knowledge

•A bit of fighting

•Manners of a princess

[[ About ]]

Personality:

•Caring

•Loving

•Forgiving

•Booksmart

•Bookworm

•Clever

•Loving

•Adventurous

•Hardworking

•Helpful

•Herioc

•Honest

•Humble

•Knowledge

•Loyal

Likes:

•Books

•Liberties

•Roses

•Traveling The World

•Yellow

•Fighting for what’s true

•Adventures

•Tea

•Helping people

Dislikes:

•Animals

•Jerks

•Being lied to

•Being tricked

•Being hurt

•Being mistreated

•Villains

•Being gullible

•Bullies

Occupation: Pawnbroker, Librarian, Maid

Fears:

Losing love ones

Losing her son and husband

Sexual Orientation: Straight

Species:

Human

Faceclaim: Emilie de Ravin

[[ Relations ]]

Farther: Sir Maurice/Moe French

Mother: Colette

Spouse: Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

Child: Gideon

Stepchildren: Baelfire/Neal Cassidy (deceased)

Grandchildren: Henry Mills (step-grandson)

Lucy Vidrio (step-great-granddaughter)

Significant Other(s):

Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

[[ Biography ]]

After the casting of the Dark Curse, Belle becomes a patient in the town hospital's psychiatric ward. Due to remembering his life from the Enchanted Forest, Mr. Gold has memories of how he lost Belle presumably at the hands of her father. One day, he takes away the delivery truck of Belle's father, Moe French, who is late on his rent payments. Later, Mr. Gold's house is ransacked and several items, including his only memento of Belle—a chipped cup—goes missing. All of the belongings except for the cup are returned. Suspecting Moe has it, Mr. Gold decides to take things into his own hands and tries to beat the truth out of the man while expressing a great deal of rage in blaming him for Belle's death. Instead, it is revealed Regina stole the cup, and uses it to goad Mr. Gold into telling her his real name. Satisfied, Regina gives the cup back and leaves to pay a visit to Belle at the hospital while Mr. Gold remains unaware his lost love is alive. ("Skin Deep")

Jefferson is jilted by Regina on her promise that if he helped her retrieve something from the Enchanted Forest to get rid of Emma, and then she'd bring his daughter back to him. To spite her, he decides to free the imprisoned girl in the psychiatric ward and bring her to Mr. Gold, who he knows won't be pleased at what Regina has done. He disguises himself as a hospital staff member and sneaks down to free Belle after drugging the nurse. He urges Belle to seek out Mr. Gold, and gives her instructions to tell him specifically that Regina locked her up. She goes into the pawn shop and informs Mr. Gold what happened. He is shocked to see her alive, and though Belle doesn't remember him, he promises to protect her. Whilst leading her out to the woods towards the wishing well, the Dark Curse breaks. Belle regains her Enchanted Forest memories, and reaffirms her love for Mr. Gold, who she still affectionately calls Rumplestiltskin. From the wishing well, she watches as Mr. Gold mixes the true love potion with the well water, which transforms it into a purple smoke and brings magic back to Storybrooke.

Following the aftermath of the restoration of magic in Storybrooke, Belle and Mr. Gold speak beside the wishing well. She tells him of her imprisonment and asks if the release of magic was to seek revenge for her capture. He states it wasn't his intention, but will use it as an advantage. She makes him promise not to use the magic and seek revenge against Regina, which he agrees to. However, Mr. Gold finds a way to harm his nemesis without himself being the actual person to do so by releasing a Wraith to suck out Regina's soul. Upset at his broken oath, she leaves the pawnshop in tears of anger and frustration. After the Wraith disappears through a vortex, leaving Regina unscathed, Belle returns and states she will remain with Mr. Gold because he is still a "monster". ("Broken")

On night, Belle has a nightmare in which Mr. Gold attacks Leroy, who has come looking for his axe. To her horror, he takes on his old appearance as the Dark One and proceeds to strangle Leroy to death. She wakes up in a cold sweat and goes looking for Mr. Gold; finding him in the basement secretly spinning gold thread and working on magic. The next day, she attempts to ask him about what he was doing in the prior night. When he tries to brush it off, she calls him a coward for not letting her into his life. Then, without informing Mr. Gold, Belle leaves for the diner, where Ruby helps her figure out a possible job at the currently closed down library as a librarian. She goes to peek at the inside of the building from the window, but is distracted and then kidnapped by William Smee, who brings her to Moe French. At first, Belle is overjoyed to see her father again, but balks when he insists that she leave Mr. Gold for good. Unable to convince her, Moe orders Smee to take his daughter outside the town line so that she will lose her memory. Belle is handcuffed to a mining cart underground as it sets off on the tracks. In an attempt to free herself, she grabs a key for the cuffs, but drops it. Belle is saved by Mr. Gold's magic, but makes it clear she doesn't want him in her life, since he is unable to be truthful with her, and is equally unhappy with Moe for making choices for her. While spending time getting acquainted with food at the diner, Ruby gives her a small box someone left on the front desk. The box contains is a key, which Belle uses to open the library. Inside the building, Mr. Gold admits bringing magic to Storybrooke because he doesn't know how to live without magic. However, the price of bringing magic to town is not being able to leave without losing his Enchanted Forest memories, and therefore, Mr. Gold is unable to search for his son, who was also his motivation for making the Dark Curse. He acknowledges experimenting with magic to figure out a way to break the price of magic. After telling her all this, he turns to leave, but Belle wants to start over with Mr. Gold, and invites him for a hamburger at Granny's. ("The Crocodile")

At the diner, Belle celebrates with the miners after the discovery of diamonds in the Storybrooke Mines, which can be made into fairy dust and rescue Emma and Mary Margaret from the Enchanted Forest. While drinking, she sees Ruby being asked out by Billy. Noting her friend's obvious discomfort, she comes over to excuse Ruby for the night with the reason being they are having a girls' night out. Billy takes the rejection in stride and leaves. Belle remarks that he seems nice, though Ruby is distracted and heads to the back room of the diner. The next morning, Billy turns up dead, and Ruby is accused of murder, since she shape shifted into a wolf the night before, but can't remember anything. David and Granny believe in her innocence, as does Belle, who allows them to hide Ruby in the library from the angry townspeople. Ruby is chained up as a safety precaution, but Belle releases her when she asks for a restroom break. Instead, she is cuffed while Ruby, believing the townspeople's hatred towards her is justified, goes to face the mob. Much later, David presumably unchains Belle after discovering Albert is the actual culprit in Billy's death and Ruby's name is cleared. ("Child of the Moon")

Belle and Mr. Gold finally go on a date at Granny's with a serving of hamburgers. They are interrupted by the presence of Regina, who needs Mr. Gold's help in dealing with their nemesis, Cora. Belle asks who Cora is, though Mr. Gold replies she will never have to meet her. Mr. Gold argues he has defeated Cora before, but Regina reminds him that was during a time he "didn't have anything to lose". From this, she indirectly references that Belle will be in danger if Cora reaches her, which makes the librarian nervous. ("Into the Deep")

In the pawnshop, Belle is getting ready for a picnic lunch with Mr. Gold when Emma, David and Mary Margaret arrive. They accuse Mr. Gold of causing Archie's death, to which Belle reacts in disbelief. Mr. Gold proves his innocence by giving Emma a dream catcher to look into the memories of Archie's dog Pongo, who witnessed his owner's death. She sees a recollection of Regina killing Archie in cold blood, though no one is aware it is actually Cora masquerading as the madam mayor. ("The Cricket Game")

She, along with the other townspeople, attend Archie's funeral where Mary Margaret gives a eulogy in remembrance of him. Afterwards, Belle meets up with Mr. Gold, who happily informs her about his success in making a potion to cross the border, which will work if poured on his son's shawl. She wishes to go with him, but he regretfully says the potion is only enough for one person. Later in the day, Belle goes to sort books in preparation for a future library opening. Once inside, she recognizes a stranger as Hook and runs away, but he blocks her. Belle pins him on the floor by toppling a bookshelf and scurries into the elevator.

She calls Mr. Gold and tries to give more details about Hook, but he can't hear her through the bad reception. She stays in the elevator until Mr. Gold comes to the library. Reunited, they hurry back to the pawnshop as Mr. Gold hesitantly tells her how Hook stole his wife, Milah, from him years ago. When she asks what happened to his wife, Mr. Gold says that she died. He discovers the shawl is gone and furiously plans to go after Hook alone. He hands her a loaded gun to defend herself with. She returns to the library and finds a knot Hook left behind. From browsing through a book about knots, she determines it comes from a ship. At the dock, she sees a bird standing on something invisible. Belle uses a pinch of dust to outline the steps onto a ship, and follows them up through a barrier onto the deck. She ventures below deck to free a trapped Archie and urges him to go back to town, which he does. Belle looks for the shawl, and distractedly sets down the gun. Hook makes himself known to her with the shawl in hand. They both lunge for the gun, but he grabs it first and aims it at her forehead. He reveals Mr. Gold killed Milah by ripping out heart and crushing it. Even knowing this, Belle still believes Mr. Gold has changed for the better. She hits him with a rowing paddle and runs away to above deck with the shawl, but Hook gets there first. When Mr. Gold shows up to beat Hook bloody, Belle pleads for him to stop as proof he has changed from the past. They leave together, and later that night, she watches as he uses the potion and shawl to cross the border while his memory stays intact. From the opposite side of the town line, Belle promises to wait for him. Suddenly, a bullet ricochets into her shoulder from behind. She falls over the border into Mr. Gold's arms and loses her memories as Hook is revealed to be the shooter. In an amnesiac state, Belle doesn't recognize her own name when Mr. Gold calls her, and witnesses him conjuring a fireball just as a car crashes into town. ("The Outsider")

Frantic and confused, she doesn't understand what is going on. Mr. Gold is worried about Belle's injuries, so he magically heals them, which only frightens her. Emma arrives in her sheriff car with David and Mary Margaret. While an ambulance is called, Mary Margaret soothes a panicked Belle, and later hands her over to a nurse at the hospital. Taken in as a patient, Belle tries to get some rest, but is startled awake by Mr. Gold kissing her. She screams in horror until he leaves. However, Mr. Gold returns later with a chipped cup, which he says is enchanted with magic, and insists that she try looking at it so her memories might come back. She becomes afraid and unsure when he mentions magic. She gives the cup back, though he keeps pushing it back at her. Frustrated, she angrily throws the cup at the wall as it shatters into pieces. She demands for him to leave, which he finally does in tears. ("In the Name of the Brother")

During Belle's stay at the hospital, Ruby tries to cheer her up with some familiar things, such as her favorite book. Belle suspiciously questions her about the accident and the man who used magic to heal her. Worried about exposing magic, Ruby ignores the inquiry and tries to persuade Belle that the tranquilizers must be giving her hallucinations. Upset no one believes her, Belle acts out violently and has to be sedated by the nurse. Later that night, Greg, who was the driver in car crash, visits Belle in her room. She thinks he doesn't believe her about the fireball just like everyone else, though Greg admits he saw it too. ("Tiny")

While still resting up in her hospital room, Belle meets Regina. Uneasy at the woman's presence, she asks if they were friends. Regina mentions they knew each other, and asks Belle about Mr. Gold and the dagger. She has no memories of anything, so Regina knocks the girl unconscious and uses magic to levitate the items in Belle's bag into the air to find clues on the dagger's location. ("Manhattan")

From her cellphone, she receives a call from Mr. Gold. Apologetically, Belle tries to tell Mr. Gold she doesn't remember him, which he knows, but wanted to give his last regards to her as he is dying. He describes the person he knew in her; a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man, and further explains that she creates goodness in those who don't have any. Belle begins to tear up at his words, but he hangs up before she can respond. ("The Miller's Daughter")

When Mr. Gold pays her a visit, Belle is happy and relieved to see he survived and didn't die. She is more trustworthy of him since their phone conversation and believes that he wants to help her regain memories. She tries to thank him for healing her, but he avoids the topic of magic, which disappoints her. While Mr. Gold is getting her discharged from the hospital, Belle packs up her belongings. Regina comes in to introduce herself as the mayor.

When she hears from Belle that Mr. Gold is going to help restore her memories, Regina is displeased. Thinking quickly, Regina bends down to pick up an item, and instead conjures an enchantment on little red card of the town bar, The Rabbit Hole. Regina asks if it belongs to Belle. Though Belle says no, Regina suggests she should take a better look at it. Belle glances down at the card and is surprised at the flood of memories, exclaiming she remembers who she is. In fact, Regina has given her false memories to replace the ones she lost previously. Belle assumes the name Lacey and leaves the hospital to hit up the bar by playing pool and chatting with Mr. Clark. Mr. Gold approaches her, and she remembers him as the man who visited her at the hospital. A man, Keith, tries to flirt with her, but she shoots him down. Mr. Gold asks Lacey out on a date at Granny's, which she accepts out of pity for him. Despite turning down Keith earlier, she makes plans to meet with him behind the diner.

During the date, Lacey is impressed by Mr. Gold's approachable personality since the stories about him say otherwise. She states that it's important to truly know someone by seeing what's in a person's heart. He accidentally spills wine on her dress, so she goes to clean up, but actually goes to make out with Keith outside. Mr. Gold witnesses them and shoves Keith off in the belief he is assaulting Lacey. Instead, she admits the real reason she agreed to the date. Lacey is simply not attracted to Mr. Gold's nice guy personality, and specifies they do not fit together because she isn't Belle. Later, in the bar's parking lot, she watches Mr. Gold beating up Keith. Intrigued, she realizes Mr. Gold is actually more than meets the eye, and finds herself drawn to his dark nature. She stands by with a mischievous smile as Mr. Gold continues to hit Keith. ("Lacey")

Afterwards, she and Mr. Gold leave and walk down the street chatting happily, which is secretly witnessed by Hook through a telescope in the clock tower. ("The Evil Queen")

One morning, while on the streets, Mr. Gold accuses Dr. Whale of eyeing Lacey in a suggestive manner and intimidates him into a cowered state. With Lacey's approval, he is inches away from stamping his foot in Dr. Whale's face when Neal rushes out of the bed and breakfast to stop the dispute. Neal is disgusted at his father's actions and reminds him of the time he turned someone into a snail. Amused, Lacey laughs and asks to know more about it, but Mr. Gold senses tension from Neal, so he sends her off to wait for him elsewhere while he converses with his son. Lacey spends more time with his Mr. Gold at his shop as they drink. She is exasperated and annoyed when asked to step in the next room after Mary Margaret and David come to Mr. Gold for help in finding a missing Regina. She overhears them bargaining with him for magic. After they are gone, she asks about his magic use and is amazed when he procures an expensive looking necklace out of thin air and helps her to put it on. After learning more about Mr. Gold inability to age due to his powers, Lacey wonders if she, too, could become immortal so they could be together forever. He says it's possible, but mentions that it doesn't keep a person immune from dying. Mr. Gold goes on to tell her about the prophecy a seer gave him a long time ago that a certain someone will be his undoing, which he takes to mean his death will occur because of that person. Puzzled, Lacey questions why he doesn't just get rid of the obstacle in his way as he's the kind of man who won't let anything stand in his way. ("Second Star to the Right")

After some of pawnshop guests leave, Lacey pops out from the backroom. When she spills a cup of scotch all over the table and hastily tries to use Baelfire's shawl as a wiping rag, Mr. Gold angrily berates her. Startled, she apologizes, to which he pulls out a bag and spills out the contents--broken pieces of the chipped cup--onto the table. Using magic, Mr. Gold reconstructs the cup to its unbroken state. Lacey expresses confusion over his fixation on the cup, but drinks a potion substance when he pours it for her. After a moment, Lacey's persona is replaced by the return of Belle. They have an emotional reunion. Mr. Gold apologizes for bringing her back when they are going to die from the trigger's effects, but needed the support. She comforts him as he cries over the loss of his son. The trigger is stopped with the combined magic powers of Emma and Regina, but Henry is kidnapped by Greg and Tamara and taken to another world. Mr. Gold decides he must go along to save him. Belle wants to go, too, but he instructs her to stay and keep the town safe. Sadly, Mr. Gold won't be able to return to her. Even to this, Belle keeps up her hopes that the future is uncertain and perhaps they will see each other again. They part with a kiss. Belle praises Mr. Gold for his efforts as Neal would be very proud of him. ("And Straight On 'Til Morning")

She watches the Jolly Roger sail off into a portal in the ocean and disappear from sight. Archie, Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Happy, Leroy, Mr. Clark, Mother Superior and Walter run up to her at the docks. Belle admits to them that the others went to another world on a ship to rescue Henry from Greg and Tamara's clutches. After showing them the cloaking spell Mr. Gold left behind for her to enact as he warned there will be more people coming to Storybrooke, they go down to the mines. Since fairy dust is necessary for the spell, Bashful, Dopey, Leroy, Mr. Clark and Walter quarry a large rock until opening a crack. With encouragement from Mother Superior, Belle dumps the vial's contents on the rock; causing a stream of magic to shoot out and begin covering a barrier over Storybrooke. Afterwards, she talks to Archie about missing Mr. Gold and worries he will die. Belle wishes to help save Henry, though Archie thinks she did more than enough by protecting Storybrooke. Yet, she is dissatisfied since pouring a potion over rocks isn't much to her. Belle also thinks no one is going to invade the town, and believes Mr. Gold doesn't need her. Suddenly, a guest from Neverland, Ariel, brings Belle a sand dollar from Mr. Gold. The two head over to the pawnshop where Belle triggers the item to reveal a message from Mr. Gold hinting at the location of the item they need to defeat Pan. He states that it can be found with "the strength of their love", and later recognizes the riddle's answer as the chipped cup. After placing the cup in the cupboard, it activates a hidden panel in the floor. Belle pulls out Pandora's Box, which legend says contains the world's darkest evil. They are ambushed by two strangers, Michael and John, who then tie them up. When threatened by their guns, Belle admits the box is magic, and learns they work for Peter Pan. After the men leave with the box, Belle pulls off Ariel's bracelet, which transforms the later back into a mermaid, allowing wiggle room out of the binds. Then, Belle stops John and Michael from smashing the box with a dwarf pickax by shoving them away with a mine cart. They plead for her not to help Mr. Gold, and admit to helping Pan because he has their sister Wendy captive. To this, she persuades them that the box is the key to freeing Wendy. Belle sees Ariel off on her journey back to Neverland with the box. ("Dark Hollow")

Following a safe journey out of Neverland to Storybrooke, Belle welcomes back Mr. Gold and Neal. Peace resumes as Mr. Gold seals the box containing Pan away in the pawnshop. Belle brings up the endless possibilities of his future now that everything is settled. Mr. Gold agrees, and states that the only future he wants is where they are together. The next day, as she and Mr. Gold are exiting the shop, David, Emma and Mary Margaret rush over to ask for the box as they believe Pan is controlling the escaped Shadow from inside it. Belle goes with them to the town border and watches as Emma steps over the town line and Mr. Gold opens the box to release Pan on the same side. Pan claims to be Henry, as the two switched bodies, and proves it by telling Emma something only the boy himself would know. They all regroup with Hook, Neal and Tinker Bell at the vault. where Regina took "Henry" for protection, though the door is locked. Mr. Gold busts the door open with magic. Inside, Regina is found unconscious while one critical item is missing and now in Pan's hands--the Dark Curse. ("The New Neverland")

Mr. Gold shares with everyone of the only viable way to stop Pan's curse is for Regina, as the original caster of the Dark Curse, to undo it by destroying the scroll, though there will be a steep price for this. They plan to switch Henry back to his own body so he will be in possession of the scroll and bring it to Regina. Mr. Gold can perform the spell, but needs a strong outlet in order for it to work. Tinker Bell has knowledge of a powerful Black Fairy wand that Mother Superior kept, so she, David, Hook and Neal go to retrieve it from the convent nuns. When the wand is procured, Mr. Gold uses it to transfer Henry's spirit back to his original body. Everyone leaves to find the boy while Mr. Gold stays behind. With Granny's tracking skills, they are reunited with Henry. Regina passes out after taking the scroll and awakens with knowledge of the price for stopping the curse. They are accosted by Pan as he steals back the scroll and freezes them in place. Pan narrows down his choice of first kill from Belle to Neal just as Mr. Gold intervenes. Belle listens as Mr. Gold declares his love for her, as well as Neal, but regretfully states that he can't be together with them. Mr. Gold summons the dagger and stabs Pan as well as himself with it; killing both of them as they fade away. After the freezing spell wears off, Belle collapses on the ground in heartbroken grief. Regina reveals the price for stopping the curse is all former Enchanted Forest inhabitants will be sent back to their old world while Storybrooke will disappear out of existence. Emma decides to stay with Henry, and will leave town while Regina crafts new memories for them. At the town border, Archie lends his shoulder to a despondent Belle. Once Emma and Henry cross out of town, Regina stops Pan's curse, causing everyone inside town to be sent back to the Enchanted Forest. ("Going Home")

A new curse is cast by none other than Snow White; returning Belle and the rest of the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to the town of Storybrooke. However, as a result of Wicked Witch of the West's interference, everyone's last recollection is the final day in Storybrooke when Regina stopped Pan's curse, but no one can recall anything further than that. Belle resumes life, albeit without Mr. Gold, and begins running his pawnshop. Emma returns and holds a town hall meeting to figure out who is behind the new curse. Leroy is quick to accuse Regina of wrongdoing, and Belle follows suit in agreement as do the other residents. Even Emma refuses to believe Regina, who causes a building tremor out of frustration, and then magically dissipates away. Unknown to everyone, aside from Leroy—who is also in on the scheme—this is a ploy Emma and Regina set up in order to make the townspeople believe the madam mayor is guilty while the two sleuth out the real criminal. ("Witch Hunt", "The Tower", "A Curious Thing")

One day, a midwife named Zelena comes into the pawnshop, mistaking her for "Mrs. Gold", and then asking for Mr. Gold himself. Belle quietly states that he died, to which Zelena gives her deepest condolences. As a customer, Zelena seeks Belle's help to pick out a baby gift for an expecting Mary Margaret. Belle happily assists and turns to search for just the right gift when she is magically frozen in place by Zelena, who grabs a plant called night root from a compartment behind a wall painting. Presumably, Belle is unfrozen and has no idea anything is amiss. ("The Tower")

Belle is alerted to the recent news about Mr. Gold's revival by Emma and is tasked with researching how he was resurrected. David and Emma go searching for Mr. Gold while Hook opts to stay behind in the pawnshop with Belle. She takes his decision warily, especially since he tried to kill her twice prior, though Hook states that he means to use this time to make it up to her. The two begin taking books off shelves when a noise erupts from pawnshop's front door. Believing Mr. Gold has come back, Belle sprints off; witnessing the door being rammed open, though the person is not her beloved, but a collapsed Neal. After taking him to the hospital, Emma snaps a photo of a triangle mark burned into Neal's palm, which Belle begins looking into it. Discovering the symbol's meaning in a book, she phones Emma to notify her that the mark originates from a key to the vault of the Dark One. Assuming Neal used it at some point, Mr. Gold was resurrected in this manner, but the catch is the Dark One will be revived while the key user will die. Emma discovers Neal is still alive due to being in Mr. Gold's body. After she magically separates them, Neal perishes. Saddened by the news, a grieving Belle is comforted by Mary Margaret. ("Quiet Minds")

In mourning, Belle attends Neal's funeral to pay her respects. Afterwards, at the diner, Zelena publicly reveals herself as Regina's half-sister and forces her sibling into a showdown on Main Street after sundown. In preparation, lest Zelena is planning something wicked, Belle, David and Tinker Bell seal off the streets. Hoping to swaying Mr. Gold to their side despite that Zelena is controlling him with the dagger, she sneaks into the farmhouse cellar to coax him out of his prison while David, Emma and Tinker Bell stand guard outside. Belle nearly succeeds until he warns her it's a trap, to which she notices Zelena has been quietly watching from the shadows. Fleeing, she stumbles out just before Mr. Gold, on Zelena's command, tells them to stay out of the way or risk death. During the evening, on Main Street, Zelena approaches while trailed by a helpless Mr. Gold. Belle witnesses Regina being thrown into the clock tower by Zelena, who later flees on her broomstick. ("It's Not Easy Being Green")

When Ariel enters the pawnshop, Belle is relieved that she is all right after not seeing her since the new curse has been in effect. She helps Ariel and Hook to search the shop for one of Eric's old belongings in the hopes of finding him. After Hook discovers Eric's cloak, Belle pours a locator potion on it. The cloak becomes enchanted and floats towards the location of its owner, to which Ariel and Hook follow along. ("The Jolly Roger")

After catching Regina sifting through items in the shop, Belle, still upset about being locked up for twenty-eight years, tells her to get lost. Regina offers an apology and asks Belle to think about Mr. Gold, who is still Zelena's hostage. Anger quelled, Belle calms down enough to admit she's been piecing together the ingredients Zelena has collected to find out what spell the witch is trying to cast. However, Belle is stumped over what is so special about Regina's heart that Zelena desperately needs it. Regina decides to find out what Zelena wants by talking to Cora, which is made possible once Belle gives her the now defunct candle to access the land of the dead. When Belle cracks Zelena's spell, she tells the others and they regroup at Regina's house where Mary Margaret was just possessed by Cora's spirit. Mary Margaret explains that her own mother, Queen Eva, caused Cora's marriage to Leopold to fall through, which resulted in Zelena being abandoned. Belle reveals the collected ingredients—David's courage, Regina's heart and Mr. Gold's brain—are items for a time spell to alter the past. Namely, Zelena desires to kill Eva so Cora would have never abandoned her first-born child. ("Bleeding Through")

Regina figures out the key to break the curse and getting everyone's memories back is to make Henry believe in magic. When Emma recalls believing in magic because of Henry's storybook, David, via a phone call, asks Belle to search for the item in pawnshop, but she does not find it. Once Regina bestows Henry with a kiss of true love, the curse breaks and everyone regains their memories from the lost year in the Enchanted Forest. ("A Curious Thing")

After Second Curse

Once the second curse is broken, Mary Margaret goes into labor at the hospital as Belle stumbles upon Zelena in the hallway. Zelena scoffs at Belle about not having learned her lesson the last time the dagger was utilized on Mr. Gold. Belligerently, Belle asserts her refusal to believe that, even though Mr. Gold desperately insists she must leave. Continuing to give Zelena a tongue-lashing over what she's put Mr. Gold through, Belle suddenly collapses, via the witch's magic, in his arms. Though Mr. Gold doesn't wish to leave his beloved, he is forced to by Zelena's will. In the aftermath, Zelena successfully makes off with the newborn as the last ingredient for her time spell, however, Regina herself defeats her sister with light magic. Regina, gaining the dagger, hands it over to Belle for safekeeping. She returns to the pawnshop where Mr. Gold is waiting for her. Once there, she relinquishes the dagger into his possession so he can be forever free of anyone's control. The only thing Belle asks of him is to not go after Zelena as she knows he is capable of being good. Due to Belle's immense trust in him, he affirms to do the same for her. As Mr. Gold hands back the dagger, he proposes to Belle, which she happily accepts by putting down the weapon and drawing him into an embrace. Without her notice, Mr. Gold switches the dagger; taking the real one while replacing a fake in the pawnshop. Unseen to Belle, he later kills Zelena; accidentally triggering magic in her pendant, which activates the time spell. ("Kansas")

Belle, unable to keep what she believes is the real dagger, tries to give it back again. Mr. Gold insists he trusts her completely and then changes the topic to their upcoming wedding. She happily informs him that her father, Moe, has given his blessing to them. During the diner celebration welcoming David and Mary Margaret's newborn son, Belle and Mr. Gold walk in as Zelena's time spell is activated. They both follow David, Regina and Robin Hood to check up on Zelena, who is now missing from the jail cell. Regina suspiciously accuses Mr. Gold of wrongdoing but he attests Belle has the dagger and wouldn't order him to harm Zelena. To prove it, David runs the security tape, which Mr. Gold secretly manipulates to give the appearance that Zelena used magic to turn herself into a statue, which shatters and melts away into powder. As a group, they agree to leave the time portal untouched, however, Emma and Hook enter through it to the past where they recreate a first meeting between Prince Charming and Snow White and then return to the present. Later, Belle witnesses David and Mary Margaret announce they are naming their son after a true hero—Neal. During the marriage ceremony, Archie acts as pastor while Belle is walked by her father to her future husband. Beginning her vows, Belle recalls losing Mr. Gold to darkness, weakness and death, but has actually spent her life finding him. He talks about being unloved and unloving since love has always given him pain, but she was the one who brought light into his life. Mr. Gold promises to never forget what he once was and what he is now. Belle believes the monster in him is gone, even though as a man he is flawed, everyone is too, which only deepens her love for him. ("Snow Drifts", "There's No Place Like Home")

Following the wedding, she encourages Mr. Gold into visiting Neal's grave site. Afterwards, Belle shows Mr. Gold a vacant mansion that she wants to use as their honeymoon suite. Inside, as she chatters on about the scenic ocean view, he magically freezes her in place and switches out the fake dagger in her purse with the real one. As he unfreezes her, Belle then leads him into a large dance hall. To have their first dance as husband and wife, Mr. Gold transforms their clothes and adds lighting and a playing gramophone as they waltz together. Later that night, an unassuming Belle is asleep when Mr. Gold takes the real dagger and uses it on a mysterious cylinder object in the house. At some point, he once again places the fake dagger into Belle's purse. ("A Tale of Two Sisters", "Rocky Road")

Returning to the shop, Belle and Mr. Gold discover it's been broken into. When the couple enter, Henry emerges and reveals he was hiding inside. As Belle walks into the back room, Henry greets her before he talks with his grandfather.[2][3]

Later, whilst working together in the pawnshop, Mr. Gold and Belle's martial bliss is interrupted by the appearance of David and Hook, who inform them that an ice magic wielder, Elsa, entrapped Emma in a cave where she is freezing to death. David explains Elsa is looking for her sister, Anna, whose pendant she found in the pawnshop. Belle fishes out a photo of the necklace, which David recognizes as belonging to a woman he once knew as Joan, whose real name must be Anna. ("White Out")

Inside the pawnshop, Belle stands by as Emma and Hook question Mr. Gold about his knowledge of Elsa. As Emma recalls, he had the urn, which Elsa was trapped within, in his vault. Mr. Gold professes he doesn't know Elsa and that items, like the urn she was trapped in, naturally fall into his possession as a collector, but the histories behind them are unknown to him. Hook counters that Mr. Gold wouldn't unless he had something to gain out of it. Owning up to his past, Mr. Gold affirms that was true once, but since losing a son and gaining a wife, he's "turned over a new leaf", which impresses Belle. In order to satisfy their skepticism, he allows Belle to command him, using the dagger, into revealing the truth. After she orders him into doing so, Mr. Gold professes that he did not know Elsa was trapped in the urn and that he doesn't know her or Anna, though it is a lie, as the dagger is a fake. Nonetheless, this declaration whittles Emma's doubts. ("Rocky Road")

One morning at the library, Belle discovers a drunken man sleeping on the floor near some book shelves. She phones Emma, who promptly arrives to apprehend the man into her custody at the sheriff's station. ("The Apprentice")

Assigned as Neal's caretaker for the day, Belle heads to the apartment where she cradles the cooing infant while sitting on Mary Margaret's bed. Nearby, at the counter, David quietly soothes Mary Margaret's worries about leaving Neal; saying that Belle is a natural with the baby and she has their emergency numbers if anything goes wrong. ("Breaking Glass")

Receiving an urgent call from Emma, Belle tracks down Mr. Gold at the pawnshop and they go to the sheriff station where David, Elsa, Henry, Hook, Mary Margaret and Regina are also gathered. Emma plays a camera recording, filmed when she was in a foster home, which reveals her then foster mother was the Snow Queen. At Henry's revelation that the Snow Queen has an ice cream truck, everyone splits up to search. David suggests Belle utilize tracking skills, but she'd rather research at the library. With hidden nervousness, she allows Elsa to come with her. Unbeknownst to Elsa, Belle once met Anna in the past and let her down. Losing hope, Elsa wonders if Anna put her in the urn, just as the Snow Queen claimed, and that her sister doesn't want to be found. Guilt-ridden, Belle excuses herself to make things right. Armed with the dagger, she commands Mr. Gold to lead her to the Snow Queen. After he does, Belle orders him onto watch duty while she goes into the Snow Queen's lair. Inside, she hopes to retrieve a Sorcerer's Hat to force the Snow Queen into revealing Anna's location. Unveiling a mirror, Belle's reflection taunts her about being a coward by having once valued a stone over Anna's life. The doppelganger nitpicks Belle into believing the dagger is fake. While in a trance, she slashes Mr. Gold's neck. Mr. Gold grabs Belle and teleports them to the pawnshop where she snaps out of it. There, she admits Anna is missing because of her and apologizes for abusing the dagger and using him. When Mr. Gold forgives her, Belle expresses remorse for keeping a secret from him as she knows he would never keep something from her. Rushing to the sheriff station, she reveals to Elsa how Anna was captured by the Snow Queen in the past. Relating knowledge about Ingrid's mirror, Belle explains it's key for casting a spell of shattered sight, which will make everyone turn on each other. ("Family Business")

Belle deciphers a spell to give Emma the opportunity to capture Ingrid. As the spell dictates, a candle must be lit with magic and then blown towards the target, which will form binds on the person's wrists. After Emma succeeds in doing so, she brings Ingrid to the station for questioning. Belle walks up to the clock tower where David, Elsa and Hook are studying a mirror previously placed by the Snow Queen. She hastily rushes over; warning the trio not to look in the reflection or it'll brainwash them. On closer examination, Belle notices it's not the same mirror she saw in the Snow Queen's lair. Realizing they have been duped, the group arrive too late to the station entrance, which has already been frozen shut by Ingrid. Storming into the pawnshop, they request Mr. Gold's assistance, and he only agrees after much imploring from Belle. Joined by Henry and Mary Margaret, everyone arrives to the station as an explosion tears open a hole in the building. A shaken Emma explains the Snow Queen got away, but she herself caused the combustion. With her powers spinning out of control, Emma then accidentally collapses a streetlight, which almost falls on Hook, but David takes the hit. Due to this, Mary Margaret reprimands Emma, but upon seeing her daughter's hurt expression, she retracts her anger. However, a shaken Emma flees and drives off in her car. ("The Snow Queen")

While everyone spends the entire night searching for Emma, Belle babysits Neal. She tells Mr. Gold about what's happening, and he secretly decides to use the situation to his advantage by attempting to trick Emma into giving up her powers to the hat. ("Smash the Mirror")

In a deal, Ingrid allows Mr. Gold to leave town with Belle and Henry once the curse is in effect. At the pawnshop, Belle reveals to Elsa and Emma that they can defeat Ingrid's curse with a hair strand from someone who has already been affected by the same spell and making a counter spell with it. Elsa suggests that she herself was sealed in the urn, by Anna, who was under Ingrid's spell, so her sister may fit the criteria. Under a magnifying glass, Belle sees mirror dust embedded in the pendant, which proves Elsa's theory. A plan is formed to gather the nuns for creation of the counter spell while Elsa and Emma use a locator spell to find Anna. With the nuns, Belle assists them at the diner when Mr. Gold arrives asking her to watch over the pawnshop. She insists on staying since the counter spell is very important, and he relents by deciding to keep her company until the business is finished. Elsa and Emma are led to a mine cave-in and are prepare to blast through to reach Anna until Belle phones David to let them know the nuns can make a counter spell with only the necklace. Elsa dupes them by handing over a pouch full of rocks and takes the real pendant to continue tracking her sister. After reaching the diner, everyone discovers the truth. Emma offers to retrieve the necklace, but Belle states that by the time she gets back, the counter spell will not be potent. Later, Belle receives word that Anna has been found and is on her way to the diner, so she leaves the remaining work to the nuns. She then departs with Mr. Gold; not knowing he is luring her away so Hook can help him absorb the nuns into the hat. They say their goodbyes outside the pawnshop, and Belle goes into the back room as he enacts a shield to protect her. ("Fall")

Under the curse, Belle's actions are not known. After the spell is undone by Ingrid, she is asleep in the pawnshop backroom as Mr. Gold watches over her. ("Shattered Sight")

After Belle awakens, her husband suggests packing for a trip to New York so they can have a proper honeymoon. While closing a suitcase, she talks to Henry about going out of Storybrooke. Puzzled, the boy informs her that remnants of Ingrid's magic will keep those who leave town from reentering. Although Belle did not know this, she assumes Mr. Gold has found a loophole around the issue. Noticing Henry is unhappy, she learns he is disappointed over the fairytale storybook and all the bad things that happen to Regina in it. She points out that it won't always be so since his mother is changing for the better. This cheers up Henry, who thanks her and endearingly calls her "Grandma", which makes Belle laugh and suggest he just refer to her by name. As Henry helps her pull out another suitcase, some stacked items fall in the process. Within the pile, Belle is shocked to see the magic gauntlet, an item used to locate one's greatest weakness, which Mr. Gold once traded to save her life. Troubled by the find, she tests the gauntlet out and it leads her to the real dagger. Witnessing Mr. Gold crushing Hook's heart, Belle orders him via the dagger to stop. She then commands him to drop the heart and unfreeze Emma and Mary Margaret. Thirdly, Belle makes him teleport both of them to the town line. There, she recalls when he traded the gauntlet for her, and her perception that this proved he had love in him. Instead, Belle recognizes he has not and will never give up power for her. He insists having power is not a bad thing, and they can have both, though Belle states she only wanted his love. Mr. Gold pleads for another chance, but she refuses. Having once said she saw the man behind the beast in him, Belle angrily declares he's just a beast now. In tears, she banishes him out of Storybrooke. ("Heroes and Villains")

During the six weeks after Mr. Gold's departure, Belle and Hook research a spell for freeing the nuns from the hat. One morning, she opens up the library as Hook meets her there after parting from Emma, who goes on sheriff duty. Once inside, Hook studies a board complied with information concerning the missing nuns, and in anger over the lack of progress, he knocks if off the wall. Belle tries assuring him that they do have a spell to release the nuns as well as the apprentice, but it'll take some time since she is consulting with outside sources to translate it. When Hook expresses guilt for imprisoning the apprentice and anger about Mr. Gold's trickery, she openly recognizes her own weakness in not seeing her husband for what he was due to being blinded by love. She believes Hook dealt with the same, except his love for Emma was used against him by Mr. Gold. Despite all the bad things her husband did, Hook asserts Mr. Gold did truly love her. Teary-eyed, Belle remarks that she hopes he found what what he was looking for. Later in the day, she receives an email from an Oxford professor, not knowing it is actually Mr. Gold, who gives her the translation, to which Regina uses the dagger to perform a ceremony on the hat. The nuns return safely, and while everyone basks in the reunion, none of them see a Chernabog being released from the hat and flying off. While the diner is bustling with activity to welcome the nuns back, the Chernabog makes itself known to the townspeople. With Emma, Hook, Mary Margaret and Regina, Belle ducks for cover behind a building as the group come up with a solution. After Emma and Regina temporarily stun the beast with their combined magic, Belle goes to look up information about the Chernabog at the library. Eventually, with knowledge from Cruella De Vil and Ursula about the Chernabog, the creature is forced across the town line and fades out of existence. ("Darkness on the Edge of Town")

Hearing of Cruella and Ursula's arrival to town, Belle prepares a transformation potion as a safety measure. Once the female duo enter into the pawnshop, she warns them not to try anything or the potion will turn them into toads. Giving congratulations to her for banishing the Dark One, they drop hints about Mr. Gold's sad circumstances in New York. As they tease her about whether she is satisfied with his suffering, Belle asserts she would never be pleased about someone else's misery. Without the brunette's notice, Ursula uses her tentacles to reach into the backroom and grab a wooden box containing Maleficent's totem. Belle then questions whether the two of them actually came to buy anything, so Cruella asks her to find something fashionable to adorn her car hood. After the women leave, Belle receives a phone from Emma about Cruella and Ursula's suspicious behavior. Checking the backroom, she finds the wooden box missing, to which David forces Cruella to pull over her car so he can search the vehicle. In the evening, as Belle is fixing one of the window displays, Mr. Gold secretly watches her from across the street with a longing gaze. When Will walks up to her inside the shop, she smiles happily before kissing him; much to Mr. Gold's shock. ("Unforgiven")

In the pawnshop, as Henry studies the storybook for clues on the author, Belle walks over carrying a snack as she inquiries about his research. The boy explains finding a page with a door, which he believes will lead to the author. She encourages him to continue investigating and then hands him the snack. While she is on a diner date with Will, Hook pulls Belle aside for a chat and tells her about Regina going undercover and finding out Cruella, Maleficent and Ursula are seeking the author to change their stories. Since the trio want Regina to steal something, he speculates they need the dagger to lure the Dark One into town and control him for the mission. Convinced that the dagger must never fall into their enemies' hands, Belle meets up with Hook to hand the weapon to him so he can hide it. Before doing so, she ominously considers the possibility that Mr. Gold is already in town. To quell her worries, Hook encourages her to order the Dark One with the dagger to face her if he is present. When her command yields nothing, Belle is relieved, however, she remains unaware Mr. Gold is already in front of her, except he is disguised as Hook. Turning the dagger over to him, she then returns to the pawnshop, where Will left a rose for her outside the door. Placing the gift in a vase, she busily admires it as Hook returns and persuades her into reciting a pirate's oath, in which neither of them must ever speak about the dagger to each other or anyone else. When questioned about her romance with Will, Belle admits the relationship is new, and she's not completely over Mr. Gold, but he makes her happy. Curiously, she wonders why he and Will are on bad terms, to which Hook states the man took something he cares about. Once he's outside the shop, Mr. Gold reverts back to himself and sadly regards Belle before leaving.

A lot more happens in between, she had a son named Gideon, things happen with him. Belle finally travels with Rumple, (her husband) and dies of old ages in the seventh season.

[recentanimenews]

REVIEW: US Release of Lupin the 3rd: THE FIRST Is a Vintage Treasure

  Just over a year ago, Lupin the 3rd: THE FIRST stole its way into Japanese cinemas. The film marks the first 3DCG animated outing for the gentleman thief, who debuted in 1967 in a manga penned by the late Kazuhiko Katō (better known to us as Monkey Punch). We brought you a fresh review right when the film first came out; but now that it's making its way to home video courtesy of GKIDS, we're taking another look — this time not only at THE FIRST itself, but also at its North American release.

  All images via GKIDS

  You'll be able to unlock the secrets of the Bresson Diary for yourself this month, but join us now for a look at the state-side release of the hotly-anticipated movie!

  The Story

    Lupin the 3rd tends to move with the times, updating the anime antihero to our modern life. But THE FIRST does the exact opposite. Set contemporary to the premiere of the manga, it reminds us of the whole point of the title: This is the grandson of literary thief Arsène Lupin we're following. And The First looms large throughout this film, not only in the title, but through the story itself.

  Lupin is looking to get his hands on the one thing his renowned grandfather failed to steal: the Bresson Diary (a throwback to a character in Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes). Locked in a puzzle box, the diary promises a great treasure to anyone who can open it. Also chasing after the treasure is Laetitia, a passionate archaeologist turned rookie thief. Oh, and the Third Reich is there, too: in typical post-War fashion, a few stragglers of the especially occult kind believe the Diary will lead them to a magical superweapon. And since this is Lupin the 3rd, they're probably not wrong.

  The truth of the Bresson Diary and the original Lupin's involvement is a bit more convoluted than first laid out. But as we move into the final act, it's full Indiana Jones energy: deadly science-magic traps, betrayals, Rule of Cool action, and the literal fate of the world hanging in the balance. Even Zenigata is willing to call a truce and take up his honorary role as fifth Lupin Gang member once again.

  A Classic Lupin Gang Heist

    When it comes to Lupin the 3rd, rocking the boat has risks and rewards. Series like Lupin the 3rd Part 5 and The Woman Called Fujiko Mine tested the decades-long franchise's tropes, and did so in a way that was both successful and fan-pleasing. Other films and specials haven't hit the mark quite as well. The safest course of action is to toe the line, and that's what THE FIRST does. If you're expecting director Takashi Yamazaki to reinvent the wheel with the screen time he's given, you'll be disappointed. But that's largely because that was never the aim.

  More than anything, this film strives to be as classic Lupin as possible. Every music cue short of "Fire Treasure" (which post-dates the setting, anyway) is present somewhere, courtesy of series mainstays Yuji Ohno and You & Explosion Band. We get a car chase with the reliable little Fiat 500. We get Lupin ziplining down a laser corridor while his theme music plays. Goemon slices no fewer than two very large passenger-carrying vehicles, Jigen is at his sharp-shootiest, and Fujiko breaks hearts and necks in quick succession. It may not be game-changing, but it's so right — possibly the rightest the series has been in a while — that trying to get fancy would feel wrong.

  Of special note are each character's nuanced expression and movement. We've watched the core five for decades, albeit in 2D animation, and by now we know them like old friends. As we've seen in Stand by Me Doraemon, Yamazaki goes for broke making his CG stars as emotive as possible. These depictions hit the nail on the head in terms of body language, to the point that a keen eye might even catch when a background character is actually Lupin in disguise.

  Coming to America

    In recent years, the Lupin the 3rd TV series and films have been getting increasingly better treatment in North America. This is in large part due to the dream team of Tony Oliver (Lupin) and Richard Epcar (Jigen) — industry voice acting veterans — leading a stellar ensemble cast. Lex Lang (Goemon), Michelle Ruff (Fujiko), and Doug Erholtz (Zenigata) are all as on point as ever, and that's no surprise.

  The dub's guest cast is equally strong. Laurie Hymes shines as Laetitia, with excellent villainy from J. David Brimmer as the megalomaniacal Lambert and Paul Guyet as Third Reich straggler Gerard.

  THE FIRST presents an uncommon challenge in the Lupin the 3rd series: rather than the typical anime lip flap, the writers and voice actors have to match (or at least approximate) much more specific enunciation. Well ... it's less that they have to and more that they went for it. It was a good call, and the localization is all the better and flows all the more naturally for it.

  The Score

    Since its premiere, Lupin the 3rd: THE FIRST has been for American fans much like the Bresson Diary was for Lupin himself: shiny, enticing, and always just out of reach. Having it in hand, it lives up to expectations. And if this all sounds like a love letter to the movie, that's not inappropriate — since the movie is a love letter to Lupin.

  THE FIRST is a deliberate throwback in every sense. Rooted firmly in both its own history and that of the books that inspired it, it's a reminder of where this long-lived anime classic began. It's a standard story, exactly the sort we've come to expect, but that doesn't stop it from being a fantastic experience.

  Get Lupin the 3rd: THE FIRST on digital, Blu-ray, and steelbook

  By: Kara Dennison

[moretreasurewithinarchive]

Meta: Belle’s relationships with her siblings

send me a topic to write a meta about my muse on

@heartlosttravelers @familyxdutyxhonor

Meta; Belle

Ok so...

Gonna go on record first to say that Belle loves all of her brothers and sisters. There’s times they fight, sure. But that’s all families. But her relationship with each of them is different. 

Sophie, as the oldest, is the surrogate mother to all of them. But to Belle especially. Whenever Belle comes across a situation that she specifically would go to their mother for, she goes to Sophie. Whether it’s advice, comfort, company, to rant, or if she feels off, her sister is always there. And, because Sophie is the only one who really remembers Maman, in Belle’s mind, there’s a big connection between the two. She idolizes Sophie and wants to be like her on her sister’s own merits, but also because a part of her can’t look at Sophie and not see or feel ‘mother’. 

Brigette is probably the one Belle has the most strained relationship with. But not because they don’t care for each other, or try to see things from the other’s perspective. It’s likely because they’re very similar, but don’t understand each other. They don’t really see how much they have in common as they get older, and definitely got along better when they were little and didn’t feel like they had boxes they needed to fit into. And Belle can’t help but feel that Brigette is against her, like everyone else in the village. There also is her reaction to Brigette leaving. She felt like her sister abandoned the family, and her. And it took her a long time to come to terms with and get over the anger that she felt; and the jealousy she harbored that Brigette was out- in her mind- living the life Belle wanted and doing the things she wanted to do. But, as she does with Henri, Belle is the first to jump to defend her. And when she finds out the truth of what happened when she left, Belle is the one to want to demand justice for her sister. They get along better after this, and tend to try harder to see what the other feels. 

Tristan is by and large Belle’s favorite sibling. He’s the one she’s closest to. She spends the most time with him, having been trailing him like a shadow since she could walk. Their interests, values, and beliefs are likely mirrors of each other. And he is pretty much a second father to her; just as Sophie is the stand in for their mother, Tristan becomes that when Maurice isn’t around. Belle looks at her brother and sees everything she wishes she could be. Though all of her family members have influenced her and made her into the woman she is today, Tristan had the most influence. From him, she draws courage, a sense of conviction, a strong sense of right and wrong, and a deep insatiable desire for knowledge, love, and peace.

Henri, of course, is Belle’s twin. He is very much part of her soul. He’s always on her mind, and though she’d say that the idea of twin’s connection that most people imagine isn’t accurate, she for sure knows when something is wrong with Henri. They’re very close, and always seek out each other in times of extreme emotion; be it joy, anger, or grief. And, though he is actually the older one, Belle behaves like she is. She’s fiercely protective of him and Brigette; which she likely gets from Tristan. She can’t imagine her life without him. 

So, all in all, Belle is probably closest to Sophie and Tristan. They’re really the only ones that she’ll let ‘baby’ or ‘coddle’ her. But on the other hand, she feels compelled to be the protector of Brigette and Henri, along with their father. Of course, Maurice has seen Belle ‘weak’, but she feels like when it comes to Papa, Brigette, and Henri, Belle believes she needs to be strong and unbreakable. 

[notaspywrites]

Don’t Tell Me - part two

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse...

With Vicky still in the hospital, a traitor in their midst, and a possible terrorist attack to stop, the team has to fight to hold themselves together while still being able to save the day (as well as find the person behind it all). 

Warnings:  mentions of terrorism, depictions of violence, mentions of bombs, explosions, guns, smoking, swearing and descriptions of panic and anxiety attacks.

Word count for part two: 7,451

Author’s note: Welcome back! Here, as promised, is part two of Don’t Tell Me. A bit of a shorter update this week but the third part will be coming the same time next week, so stay tuned! As ever, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! - not-a-spy

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“Good morning Nils.” A young woman with short blond hair greeted him as he walked through the front door of the BND, holding a very large iced coffee. “How can we help you this morning?”

“Morning Katja. I have a meeting with Gatsby and Harmon, they should be expecting me.”

The receptionist frowned at him. “Do you have an official appointment?”

“I have a meeting,” he insisted. 

“Unless you have an official appointment I can’t let you through.”

“Let him through, Katja.” Harmon Boltz smiled at Nils from the other side of the security desk. “He’s got a meeting with me.”

Katja sighed and took Nils’ ID, frowning at it. “You’ll have to sign in.”

“No problem.” Nils said, quickly signing his name in the guest book. “I have two more agents coming to the meeting, if you could let them through, that would be great.”

Katja glared at him as he walked through security. 

“Morning Nils!” Harmon greeted him as they shook hands. “How’ve you been?”

Nils sighed. “Fine. Busy. I’ve got two new agents on my team and I swear to god, those two are going to kill me one day.”

“Why?” Harmon asked as they walked down a narrow corridor towards an even narrower staircase.

Nils shook his head. “They’re just, god, well, I can’t really say anything but they’ve come from MI-6 and they’ve got some issues.”

“‘Putting the team in danger’ issues or something else?”

“No, putting themselves in danger, more like. But that’s not the point. We’ve got a possible terrorist inside the police force and it’s someone you guys knew about.”

Harmon frowned, pushing open the door into a dimly lit basement. “Have you been in our files again?”

Nils smirked. “Not my fault that you guys have shitty security.”

Harmon sighed. “I feel like we’ve repaid you enough with the numerous times you’ve accessed our files.”

“I don’t think that that’s ‘repaying’ considering I did all the work myself.” Nils paused. “But seriously, thanks for this Harmon, I really appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Harmon smiled. “When are your other agents getting here?”

“Uh…” Nils checked his watch. “They should be here any minute now, provided Katja lets them in!”

Harmon laughed. “Well, I’ll leave you here and I’ll go get them.”

Nils looked around the dark basement. “We’re meeting down here?” 

Harmon pointed at a door behind Nils labeled ‘Conference room.’ “Well, yeah. We’re meeting in there.”

“Should I ask why you have a conference room in the basement?”

Harmon grinned at him. “Probably not.” 

“Okay. I’ll wait for you guys in there.”

“Gatsby should be in there already, he can keep you company while I go collect your friends. Have I met them before?”

“I think you’ve met Maurice, right? French boy with curly hair?”

“Oh, yeah. He was here with you last year, right? When you were here on the bank robberies case.”

“That’s him. I don’t think you know the other one, he’s an MI-6 transfer. Joined Interpol two months ago.” Nils said.

“Huh. Well, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Harmon turned and walked back down the dark corridor towards the stairs. Nils opened the door to the conference room and stepped inside. The room was dark and dingy, the only light source a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into the X-files!” Nils laughed, stepping forward to shake Gatsby’s hand. “Why have you guys been banished to the basement?”

Gatsby smiled. “Because we aren’t supposed to be helping you with this. How have you been?” he asked quietly, turning away to pin some pictures onto a glass board. 

“Busy. My boss is currently in hospital so I’m in charge.”

“Your team was involved in that explosion yesterday, right? I heard you had two injured agents.” Gatsby turned to face him. “There were rumours that you lost someone.”

“That’s not true, thank god. Two agents did end up in hospital, but Maurice was discharged, so he’ll be helping me out here.”

“He’s the one who was here with you last time, correct?”

“Uh huh.” Nils said, setting his iced coffee down on the table and wandering over to the board. “Is this everything you guys have? I thought I sent you all my files.”

“You did.” Gatsby pointed at a board on the other side of the room. It was covered with pictures and notes on the shootings. “This is the information I found in our archives.”

“That’s not a lot.”

“No. But because Seidel is the son of the Chief Constable there isn’t a lot in his files. What there is is very difficult to get at. I would need permission from my boss, which I do not have.”

“Are the files online?” Nils asked, sitting down at the table and pulling out his laptop.

“Some. Most of the ones about his crimes are still on paper.”

Nils sighed. “Why are you guys still in the dark ages? I can’t help you if you insist on keeping hardcopies of everything. What would you do if there was a fire?”

“The files are in the basement here, in a special room. They would be safe.”

“So you have a specially constructed room for your files but you haven’t put them into the computer system yet? How does that make sense?”

Gatsby smiled. “I have nothing to do with those decisions.”

“I should talk to your superiors about this.”

“What would you say?” Gatsby asked, an incredulous smile on his face. “‘Could you please put your files into your computer system so I can hack them easily?’ I do not think that would go down well.”

Nils laughed. “Well, we need those files somehow. The ones about what he did, I mean, I have the ones on him already. There isn’t much there.”

“How do you plan on getting them?”

“Are your files guarded?” 

Gatsby frowned. “Yes.”

“Do you have to sign the files out?”

“Well, you have to tell them what you want.”

“And do they check that you’re only taking what you said you needed? Or do they grab the files for you.”

“I do not like what you’re suggesting.”

Nils grinned. “I’m not suggesting anything, I’m just curious about your file system.”

Gatsby sighed. “No. They do not check. You have to go in and grab the files yourself. If you take the files out, you sign a book and sign it again when you bring them back. You do not have to sign which specific files you are taking.”

“Excellent! Are there any other files we need?”

“You could check the files on a shooting incident we had here 3 months ago.” Gatsby said reluctantly. “We did not think it was related, but it might be good to check.”

“Great! I’ll go grab that for you.”

Gatsby shook his head in frustration. “Do not bring me into this.”

“Into what?” Nils asked innocently. “I’m just going to get a file you wanted. Anything else that might find its way here is my fault.”

Nils grinned at him and slid out of the door. He followed the hallway down past the staircase and eventually found a door labeled ‘archives.’ He knocked, and opened the door before anyone could answer. 

A woman with long black hair glanced up from her desk.

“Hi!” Nils said cheerfully. “I’m from Interpol, I’m just here to grab a file on the shooting incident last year?”

She nodded. “Go ahead. Do you know where it is?”

Nils smiled. “I’m sure I can find it, thank you!”

She turned back to her files. Nils slipped down an aisle. The organisation system was odd, not at all what he was used to and it took him longer than he wanted to find the file he was supposed to be looking for. It was a small file, and he left it on top of its box while he grabbed the others. 

Seidel’s file was easier to find, but it took up almost an entire box. Nils swore under his breath. There was no way he could get this entire thing out of here without anyone noticing and asking difficult questions. Quickly flipping through the files, Nils grabbed as many as he could hold, shoving a bunch into his bag. Putting the nearly empty box onto the shelf, Nils went back to fetch the file he was supposed to be getting and hid the other files inside of it. With the file under his arm, he went back to the front desk.

“I found it! Can I sign this out?”

“Of course.” She handed him a book. “Just put your name and the time.”

“Thanks!” Nils smiled, quickly signing his name. 

“No problem.” She said, taking the book back and barely glancing at his signature. “Have a good day.”

Nils waved at her and practically ran out of the archives back towards the conference room. Despite the fact that he was a trained agent, this wasn’t normally part of his job and he wasn’t fully comfortable with what was basically theft.

“I got ‘em!” Nils said, slamming into the conference room and letting the door swing to behind him.

Gatsby looked distinctly disappointed. Harmon just grinned. 

“Have you already gotten up to nefarious business in the,” Harmon paused to check his watch, “five minutes that I’ve been gone? That’s impressive, even for you.”

“I aim to please.” Nils said, dumping the files out onto the table. He glanced around the room as he did so. Maurice was standing by one of the glass boards, and Owens sat in a chair. He looked pale, but better than he had the day before. 

Harmon frowned at the files before Nils had a chance to speak to his team. “Are those Seidel’s files?”

“No?” 

“Nils, if we get caught…”

“If I get caught, you mean. None of this was your fault. I did all of this of my own volition. Actually, Gatsby here tried to stop me.”

Maurice tried to hide a fit of laughter behind his hands, failing miserably.

Harmon sighed. “You’re terrible.”

Nils glanced around in confusion. “How? I thought I was very good at my job. I am supposed to be getting information, aren’t I?”

“Okay, okay.” Maurice cut in, a hint of laughter lingering on the edge of his voice. “Can we move on from ethics and get to business.”

“Fine.” Harmon said. “So, you guys think he’s going to hit the ball this Saturday?”

“Yes.” Nils said. “Almost certainly, it’s a big hit and there are a lot of prominent political figures who are going to be there. In their eyes, it’s an ideal target.”

“Right. But, how sure are you? We don’t want to do all this and then have nothing happen.” 

“I looked up Seidel’s internet history early this morning before running over here. He’s looked up the event multiple times, the map of the area around it and a guest list. It’s not much but I’m pretty confident.”

“Okay.” Harmon said. “I’ll take that.”

“What was your plan for dealing with the police?” Gatsby asked. “You know that Seidel is one of the people behind this, what are you going to do to avoid him guessing your plans.”

“The rest of our team is back at police headquarters preparing them for an attack on the mall tomorrow.” Nils said.

“What makes you think he’ll buy that?”

“One of our agents has made an attempt to befriend him, I suppose? Anyways, it seems to be working so far, so if we can get Seidel to trust him, it’ll be easier to give him the fake story about the mall, since he’s already heard it from someone.”

Gatsby frowned. “Depends how good your agent is.”

Nils sighed and shook his head. “Must you always be so sceptical? I have a good team and they know what they’re doing. We can handle Seidel. Now, can we please get to business?”

*****

As Nils and Gatsby started talking shop, Harmon glanced around at the other two agents. Maurice had joined the conversation, leaning over the table. He was objecting to the idea of having too many agents in the ball, saying they’d stand out in these political circles where everyone knew each other. The other agent, presumably the MI-6 transfer that Nils had told him about, was still silent. Harmon eyed him suspiciously. He looked familiar, like he’d seen his face on a bulletin or something and hadn’t remembered to forget it yet. But that wasn’t possible. Bulletins like that were reserved for traitors, dangerous criminals, people to be looked out for. Not only would Nils never allow someone like that onto his team, but the agent sitting in front of him didn’t look capable of the mental strength that kind of thing took.  

But that was the exact kind of thing that made good agents. Harmon frowned, pretending to shuffle some files. Not that the agent had noticed him staring. His eyes, partially hidden behind his auburn hair, seemed to be focused on something that only he could see. Harmon wondered what he was thinking. Was he listening to their plans, gathering information to give to his superiors later? More importantly, who were his superiors? Was he working with Seidel or was something bigger at work here? 

“Harmon?” 

Nils’ voice cut into his suspicions and, for the moment, Harmon pushed them aside, resolving to talk to Nils in private when he had a chance. 

“Huh? Sorry, I zoned out for a minute there!”

Nils eyed him suspiciously. “Like I was saying, you’re going to be actually inside the ball with Maurice and Cipriana. You got a nice suit?”

Harmon laughed. “Sure I do. So I’ve been relegated to collecting info, huh?”

“Yes you have. You’ll blend in better at the ball than Gatsby here.” Nils smirked at him and Harmon laughed. He was right.

“So where will I be?” Gatsby asked.

“Trailing Seidel. Someone needs to keep an eye on him and he’ll recognize any of my guys.”

Gatsby nodded. “Of course. If you don’t mind, I’ll bring one of the trainees with me. I’ll need some help.”

“For sure.” Nils nodded. 

“What about myself and Adalie?” The agent spoke for the first time. His voice was weak, but Harmon immediately snapped to attention. He wasn’t British. He had a British accent, sure, but it sounded like his own, unnatural and well-practiced. 

“You’ll also be there, but you and Adalie are going in as staff.”

“So no suit?” The agent smiled hopefully.

Nils laughed. “Sorry, Owens, you’re gonna have to wear a suit. You’re going in as wait staff. If it makes you feel better, Adalie is going to have to wear a skirt.”

Owens laughed. “That’s not going to go down well.”

“Nope. None of this cover is going to go down well.”

Harmon watched them, frowning. Had Nils been tricked into believing this agent’s cover? They certainly seemed to be good friends, but he couldn’t tell if that friendship was real on both sides. He couldn’t believe that Nils would be tricked so easily. He quite liked Nils and he trusted him, but there was something distinctly off about Owens. He just didn’t know what. If he could remember where he had seen him before, that would help. 

Harmon watched him intently for a second, studying the face he was sure he had seen before. Then it hit him. 

Sometime in early 2015, MI-6 had been involved in an incredibly audacious attempt to shut down one of the most notorious crime rings of all time. MI-6 referred to it as WBFC. The exact details of the mission had never been released, but two agents had died and another had disappeared. He was suspected of being the mole responsible for multiple deaths and, as MI-6 had claimed, the possible collapse of the entire agency. They had issued a special bulletin in order to locate him. That’s where he had seen Owens. He was the agent.

Harmon froze. How could Nils not know who Owens was? If he could recognize him from a bulletin issued many years ago then Nils with all of his computers must have dug up something. He frowned. There had been a whisper about the mole being cleared, someone else had been discovered. Someone had said that Owens had been framed and that was entirely possible but something about him just didn’t sit right with Harmon. He was closed off, and whatever emotions he seemed to be showing were obviously falsified. 

“So!” Harmon startled as Nils clapped his hands together. “I think that’s pretty clear.”

The others nodded. Nils looked at him pointedly and nodded towards the door.

“Can we talk?” Nils asked, already standing and moving towards the door. Harmon nodded and got out of his chair. Owens started questioningly at them as they left. Nils shut the door behind them.

“You know about Owens’ past?” Harmon asked quietly. “I’m just worried about the integrity of your team.”

Nils’ face was hard and unfriendly, his back pressed against the door to the conference room. “Of course I do. It’s none of your business.”

“It is, if he’s putting this mission in jeopardy! I’m sorry, Nils, I don't even know the kid, but you have to admit that he’s acting shifty! And he’s got a history of this shit!” Harmon fought to keep his voice below a shout, flinging his arms wide to compensate for the lack of volume.

“No. You do not get to talk about a member of my team like that.” Nils’ voice was quiet and tense, just above a growl. “He does not have a history, he was framed. And he’s not ‘acting shifty’ as you like to say.”

“Really? What do you call that then?” Harmon waved violently, smacking his hand against the wall.

“I can’t…” Nils paused, shaking his head as if in pain, “I can’t disclose agents personal issues. But the kid’s going through a tough time right now and he’s just trying to work through some stuff. Unfortunately, that means shutting himself off from the world and putting up more walls. That’s why he’s acting weird.”

Nils stopped, running his hands through his hair. He didn’t look at Harmon and he suddenly felt very guilty for doubting him. 

“I’m sorry Nils, I didn’t realize.”

“No. And it’s not me you should be apologizing to.” Nils turned and walked back into the conference room, not looking at Harmon as he purposefully closed the door behind him. 

He stood in the corridor, leaning his head back against the wall. Nils was probably right, he knew his team better than anyone else, hell, he probably knew them better than they did themselves. Harmon took a deep breath before walking back into the room.

*****

“Where is your ‘technical analyst?’” Seidel asked, stopping next to where Chalice was leaning against the wall. “The tall Swede with the blond hair.”

Chalice shrugged and rolled his eyes. “God knows where he is. He’ll probably show up soon.”

Seidel checked his watch. “You are supposed to be presenting at 9am, correct?”

“Yeah. But we can handle it without him if he decides not to show up.” Chalice said nonchalantly, looking at Seidel out of the corner of his eye. Seidel seemed pleasantly surprised.

“Even down three agents?” Seidel asked.

“I mean, it makes it harder, but we can do it.” Chalice said confidently. 

The confidence was completely fake, if Nils didn’t show up, he wasn’t sure that the three of them could pull this off by themselves. He took another long drag from his cigarette, already feeling guilty. He had promised Owens he would quit and here they were, both lying to each other. Somehow, that didn’t make it any better. 

“You are a very competent team.” Seidel said. “I am sure that, with you, this operation tomorrow cannot go wrong.”

Chalice smiled, trying to appear cheerful. They had almost no hope of a successful operation on Saturday, what with Vicky out and Owens in no condition to be in the field. He wouldn’t exactly be helping matters either. He wasn’t trained and they all knew that. Putting him out in the field could be dangerous. But he was determined to do his best. He wasn’t going to let Nils and the rest of the team down. He couldn’t.

“Hey!” 

Chalice quickly stubbed out his cigarette on the wall behind him, Seidel suppressing a smile as Chalice’s eyes widened in panic.

“Chalice, please tell me you aren’t smoking again.” Nils sighed in disappointment as he approached where the pair were leaning against the wall of the building. He had another full iced coffee in his hand. 

“I’m not smoking.” Chalice said guiltily, holding the cigarette behind his back. 

Nils and Seidel exchanged a glance, Nils shaking his head. Seidel smiled, stamping out his own cigarette. 

“Fine, whatever you say.” Nils said, taking a sip of his iced coffee. “We should get going, we need to prep before we debrief the police. We’ll see you later, Seidel.”

Seidel nodded as Nils and Chalice walked towards the building, Chalice quickly dropping his cigarette into a garbage bin as they passed. Nils frowned. 

“You’ll have to quit if you really want to become an agent.” He said, holding open the front door. 

“We both know that isn’t likely.” Chalice sighed. “I’m not cut out for that and you know it.”

“But you’re still going to try for it, aren’t you?” Nils stopped in surprise. “I thought you really wanted to be an agent.”

“I do. But I’m not an agent. I mean,” Chalice threw his arms wide, “look at me. I don’t look like an agent, do I?”

Nils smirked. “I mean, what does an agent look like? If we’re going by James Bond standards, none of us really look like agents. Except maybe Owens. Speaking of looking like an agent, Chalice,” Nils paused, “you aren’t gonna like this part.”

“What part?” Chalice asked suspiciously.

“You’ll be going into this ball undercover.”

“So I’m going to have to learn how to wear my clothes properly?”

Nils laughed. “Among other things.”

“Other things?” 

Nils sighed. “”You’re going to have to dye your hair.”

“I’m what?” Chalice demanded, stopping just outside the door to the team’s conference room.

“You’re going to have to dye your hair brown. Trust me, Chaice, I wouldn’t ask you unless…”

“No.” Chalice interrupted him. “No deal. The hair stays.”  

“It can’t. Chalice I’m sorry, but you can change it back once we’re done.”

“Nope. The grey stays.”

“If you really want to be out there, the hair has to go.” Nils gave him a hard look. “You’ll stand out like a sore thumb if you go in there like that.”

“The piercings I’ll take out but the hair stays grey.” Chalice brushed his fingers through it, toying unhappily with the ends. 

“I can’t let you go with the hair. You can keep the undercut but it has to be neutral. Brown, blond, even black, but it has to be neutral.” Nils took another sip of his iced coffee. 

“Fine.” Chalice sighed, heavily. “But I won’t be happy about it.”

“Of course you won’t be. No one is.” Nils smiled. “Adalie is going to have to wear a skirt.”

Chalice winced in sympathy. “Ouch. I wouldn’t want to be in your situation. She’ll rip your face off.”

“Yeah. And I thought you were difficult. Actually, I was expecting more of a fuss from Owens but I don’t think he’s in much of a state to put up a fight right now.”

Chalice laughed. It wasn’t forced this time. “Are you making him wear a suit?”

“Of course.” Nils smiled as he pushed open the door to the conference room. “Look, Chalice, I promise it’ll be worth it. You’ll get a taste of life in the field and get to be a hero in the process. All you have to do is dye your hair.”

Chalice pulled a face, stepping into the room after him. “If you say so.”

“Nice to see you’ve decided to show up.” Adalie said, looking pointedly at her watch. “Are we supposed to work by your time or did you expect us to go on without you?”

Nils took a sip of his iced coffee before putting it on the table and taking off his scarf. “I’m sorry Adalie, the meeting with the BND went late because they were intent of accusing one of us of being the mole and I had to step in to defend his reputation.”

Adalie and Cipriana shared a look. Nils froze, glaring at them.

“Don’t tell me I have to go off on you too. Cause that means someone’s going to have to buy me another coffee and no one wants that.” 

Cipriana laughed. “Don’t worry, we all know it’s Seidel. No one is going to accuse any of our team of being a traitor.”

Cipriana shot Adalie a pointed glance and she nodded. Chalice, sitting at the table next to Cipriana, hung his head and stared at the table. 

“Good. We can’t be having any of that.” Nils took another sip of his iced coffee and sat down. “So, do we kind of know what we’re doing at least?”

“Yes.” Adalie said confidently.

“I think so!” Cipriana smiled.

“We’re just hanging around at the mall, waiting for people to blow us up, correct?” Chalice asked, a trace of a smirk on his lips.

Cipriana and Nils laughed.

“That’s the basic gist of it, yes.” Nils said. “All of us will be stationed around the inside of the mall, looking for suspicious activity. There will be a handful of undercover police inside as well, but for the most part, they will be waiting outside in case of an attack.”

Everyone nodded. 

“What if they do end up attacking the mall?” Cipriana asked.

“Why would they do that?” Adalie snapped. “They think that we don’t know their plans, so they think they’ve gotten away with it. Why change last minute and blow up a half empty mall and risk getting caught in the process?”

“Yeah, but it’ll only be the four of us and we can’t cover everywhere. If Seidel slips in earlier, he could blow the building up with us inside and get rid of four more agents pretty easily.” Chalice interjected before Cipriana could reply.

Nils nodded contemplatively. “Yeah, you’re right but I don’t think he’d risk it. Not with a much more prestigious event coming up Saturday and us sniffing around right under their noses. Plus,I agree with Adalie, I think we can assume that they wouldn’t change their plans in the hope of killing a few agents, it would make too much of a stink.”

“Okay.” Cipriana said.

“Right!” Nils stood up and took another sip of his iced coffee. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Seidel nodded at them as they filed out of the conference room into the main area of the station. The entire police force was waiting for them, sitting on chairs and miscellaneous pieces of furniture where there were no more chairs available. 

Nils introduced himself and the team, speaking in rapid German that Cipriana and Chalice couldn’t understand. The two of them stood there awkwardly, occasionally exchanging confused glances. Nils continued talking, gesturing to emphasize his point. 

Adalie cut in, obviously elaborating on something Nils had just said.

“Thank you.” Seidel said in English after several more minutes of talking. “I did have one question.”

“Go ahead!” Nils smiled, taking another sip from his iced coffee.

“Are we planning on evacuating the mall? I mean, there will be lots of people there and we want to make sure there are as few casualties as possible, no?” Seidel asked, his face a mask of fake concern.

Nils frowned and shook his head, looking over at Chalice.  

“No, we aren’t.” Chalice said. “ I know, we are putting a lot of innocent people at risk and it’s not the way that I’d like it to be, but if we evacuate the mall we risk alerting them to our plans and they may not go ahead at all, which puts us at a loss as to where they might strike next. Unfortunately, this is the only way we can catch them.”

Seidel frowned. “I’m not pleased with that idea.”

Chalice sighed heavily. “Frankly, neither am I, however that’s how it goes in this job unfortunately.”

Nils stepped in. “Myself and my three agents will be there, as well as your team, so I can assure you we will do our absolute best to get these guys and ensure that nobody gets hurt. All of us are well-trained in this sort of thing, if they’re there, we’ll catch them.” 

Nils spoke with a confidence that Chalice admired. Even though all of this was just made up for the sole benefit of Seidel, Nils spoke as if he was sure this was going to go down in the exact way he said it would. That was a gift not many people had. Nils was excellent at making people feel comfortable, getting them to trust him even if he was just spewing bullshit like he was right now. Even Seidel nodded reluctantly.

“Okay. But why do you say ‘if?’ Do you not expect them to be there?”

“It’s possible that they’ll plant the bomb and leave, but not likely. We’ve seen that they like to be at the scene of the crime when the bombs go off. If they don’t hang around, we’ve got a bomb squad on call with dogs to find the devices as quickly as possible. Don’t worry. We have all our bases covered.”

Seidel nodded and gestured for the rest of the officers to go. They started filing out, chattering amongst themselves.

“Thank you very much. We appreciate it.”

Nils smiled. Chalice wasn’t entirely sure how he could at this point, he himself was tired and stressed, worried about Owens and about how the attack was going to play out. 

“No problem. We’ll see you tomorrow. Let’s hope everything goes well.” Nils said, taking another sip of his iced coffee. 

Seidel gave him a tight-lipped smile and strode out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Nils sighed and chugged the rest of his iced coffee. 

“Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a boring day.”

*****

Chalice sighed heavily, glancing around the mall once again. For a Thursday afternoon, it was relatively quiet and Chalice could see everyone in the food court. No one stood out or even looked remotely suspicious. If only Owens was here. He had always been so much better at picking out suspicious people, though Chalice had always joked that that was because Owens didn’t trust anyone. Now, that seemed a little too pertinent. Chalice shook his head sadly. 

“Anything?” Nils asked, his voice loud in Chalice’s earpiece, almost making him jump out of his skin. 

“Absolutely nothing. Nils, we’ve been here for 6 hours, can we please call it a day at this point?” Chalice asked. They had been hanging around since the mall opened at 9 am and had been set to stay until it closed at 9 pm. It was only 3. 

Nils laughed. “Unfortunately, we have to stay. I know it’s a very long time to sit around doing nothing but it’s all part of the job.”

“I hate surveillance on a good day. This shit isn’t even surveillance, it’s just pretend surveillance.”

“I know. But we’ll make up for it when we catch the bastards, don’t you worry about it.”

“Sure. Nils, you saw Owens yesterday. How’s he doing?”

Nils didn’t respond for a moment. “Have you not spoken to him?”

“No, I haven’t seen him at all. I did knock on his door before I left this morning but I didn’t get anything in response.”

Nils sighed. “That’s not good. I don’t think he’s doing too good honestly, I mean, he seemed fine when I saw him yesterday morning but he’s definitely not 100% at the moment.”

“Right. I’ll see if I can talk to him tonight.” Chalice nodded automatically, absently chewing on his lower lip. “That stuff you said yesterday, about the BND suspecting the mole was one of our agents, that was Owens, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Nils replied. “It’s just not fair, is it? He’s already under so much stress, he really doesn’t need this suspicion hanging over his head again.”

“You’re right.”

“Yeah, well, I gotta check in on the rest of the team. Good luck on your surveillance, Chalice, I’ll talk to you again later.” Nils said. The line went dead. 

Chalice stood up from his bench and glanced around the foodcourt again before casually wandering off towards the main area of the mall. 

There weren’t as many people hanging around in this portion of the building and Chalice quickly assessed all of them. No one suspicious. Not that he thought there would be. Seidel and whoever he was working with were much too smart to attempt anything under the noses of four Interpol agents. This was all just an incredibly elaborate and boring show put on for his benefit. Hopefully, Seidel didn’t know that. 

“Hey!” 

Chalice jumped as Seidel came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Sorry!” Seidel laughed. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s alright.” Chalice smiled. “I think we’re all a little on edge today.”

“Mm. It is worse since nothing seems to be happening.”

“Yeah.” Chalice glanced around. “I wonder what they’re playing at.”

“I do not know. But if I were them I would not be planning to attack a mall on a Thursday when it is so quiet.” Seidel spoke with a hint of a smirk on his face and Chalice looked at him sharply. 

Was it possible that Seidel knew about their ruse? He didn’t think so, they had been incredibly careful to keep everything under wraps but there was always the possibility that the conference room had been bugged.

“Maybe they expected it to be busier.” Chalice said. “It does seem a little odd, but we have good information that they are going to attack today. It’s likely that they aren’t German, then they wouldn’t really know how things work around here.”

“Ah, that is true.” Seidel said. “What will you do if they do not attack today?”

Seidel was letting his guard down. Even if he wasn’t a trained agent, Chalice could still tell when someone was probing him for information and that was definitely what Seidel was doing now. Since he thought they were friends, he had stopped trying to be subtle about it. Chalice was mildly insulted, did Seidel really think that he was that stupid? But he was only mildly insulted. After all, he was only a liaison. 

“We’ll probably have to go back to London. Things are pretty busy over there. If nothing happens I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to fly back tomorrow.”

“Really? That seems very fast.” Seidel almost seemed to relax at that piece of information.

“Yeah, well Interpol suffers from a lack of agents so they’ll need us back there as soon as possible. If there is something today though we’ll probably have to stick around for a bit.”

“Makes sense. But isn’t your unit chief still in hospital?”

“Yeah. I suppose someone will have to stay behind to look after her until she can fly again. Honestly, it will either end up being myself or Nils, since we’re the only ones who can be left behind.”

Seidel laughed incredulously. “Surely that is not true!”

“I’m not even a trained agent so I’m basically useless in their eyes.” Chalice laughed. “And Nils is only a tech analyst.”

Chalice could practically taste the blasphemy as he spoke and made up his mind to buy Nils a coffee later by way of an apology.

“Do you not need your tech analyst?” Seidel asked.

“Nah.” Chalice mentally added a slice of lemon loaf to Nils’ Starbucks order. “There are other ones in our office.”

“I see.” Seidel said and checked his watch. “I suppose that we should get back to our surveillance. I will talk to you later.”

Chalice nodded and watched for a few seconds as Seidel walked away in the opposite direction. He wasn’t fully convinced that Seidel didn’t know that this whole exercise was just a decoy but if he believed that they would go home on Saturday then that was probably good enough. 

He sighed and looked around the mall again. It was going to be a long three hours.

*****

“That was a useless exercise.” Adalie complained. 

The team and Seidel were back at police headquarters, sitting in the conference room. It was nearly 11pm and the rest of the building was silent. Everyone else had gone home for the night. 

“We should have known they wouldn’t hit on a Thursday,” she continued, leaning back in her chair and passing a hand over her face.

Cipriana yawned. “Yeah, those messages must have been a decoy.”

Seidel shook his head in disbelief. “Chalice told me you would be going home if this fell through.”

Nils, who had just walked back into the room, cell phone still in hand, nodded. “Unfortunately that’s the plan. We need to be back. Lack of agents.”

Nils stifled a yawn and brushed his fingers through his hair.

“Not me though. I will be staying here to keep an eye on Vicky.” He glanced around, hiding another yawn behind his hand. “Where’s Chalice?”

“I’m right here!” Chalice said, opening the door with his back. In his hands he had two starbucks drinks and a small bag. 

Nils looked at him suspiciously. “Coffee? Why?”

“Mine is not coffee. Not at 11pm. But yours is.” Chalice said, holding him a very large iced coffee and the small bag. 

“What’s all this in aid of?”

Chalice glanced over at Seidel. “I’ll explain later.”

“Right.”

As Nils spoke, Seidel got up. “I am disappointed. Without you here, more innocent people will die.”

“We have to go home, it isn’t our choice.” Chalice said gently. 

“I understand. But I do not like it. Goodbye.” Seidel said, leaving the room and letting the door slam to behind him. 

Nils raised his eyebrows and Chalice giggled. Cipriana was less subtle, bursting into fits of laughter. 

“I do not like it.” Adalie mimicked him, barely finishing her sentence before dissolving into laughter. 

“Okay.” Nils said, struggling to control his laughter. “Okay, get back to the hotel you guys. I’ll see you tomorrow at 7am at the BND.”

“You’re headed back there now aren’t you?” Chalice asked. 

“Yeah.” Nils sighed. “Yes I am. Thanks for the coffee, Chalice, but why?”

Chalice laughed. “I’m so sorry but I had to shit talk you to Seidel earlier to maintain our cover of why you’re staying here.”

“And that warranted buying me coffee and a lemon loaf?” Nils laughed. “I mean, I’m not complaining but that’s a little extreme.”

“Nah, not at all.”

Cipriana giggled. “Okay boys. We are headed back to the hotel and we’ll see you tomorrow bright and early. Night!”

“Night!” Chalice said. 

Nils just nodded. “Aren’t you headed back too?”

“Nope, I’m coming with you to the BND. I lied.” Chalice said, raising his coffee cup. “It is coffee.”

“You don’t have to do this, y’know. You should go back to the hotel and sleep, get some rest.” 

“No.” Chalice said, his voice firm. “I’m coming with you. Owens will still be there, won’t he?”

Nils sighed. “Of course he will. That boy works too hard, Chalice, I have to convince him to leave the office some nights.”

“You’re one to talk.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m worried about him.”

“You aren’t the only one. That’s why I’m coming with you, to check on him. Make sure he’s okay.” Chalice sighed. “He’s not been himself lately. I should have known the attacks had gotten worse.”

“You couldn’t have seen it.” Nils said, picking up his coffee and walking out of the office, Chalice close behind him.

“Yes, I could. I’ve known him for ages, I should have seen that something was wrong.”

“No.” Nils stopped, turning to face him. “Chalice, do not blame yourself for this. I know how you feel about him but the only thing you can do now is be there and try to look after him.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.” Chalice gave him a wry smile as they walked out of the police headquarters. 

*****

“Morning!”

Vicky looked up at Nils’ horribly cheerful voice. It was 11 am but she was utterly exhausted. The pain had kept her awake all night and she just wanted to sleep.

“Hi Nils.” She said.

“Hey! How are you feeling boss?” 

She smiled weakly. “Not wonderful, but I’m still alive. How’s the team doing? Are you guys all ready for the raid tomorrow?”

“Well, we’re glad that you’re alive, that’s for sure! I don’t know how we’d survive with you. The team…” Nils sighed, “well, they’re doing okay.”

Vicky’s brow creased. “What’s going on?”

“Has Owens told you about his attacks?”

“Yes, he did. But he told me that he had gotten better and he was fit to work.” Vicky frowned at him. “You have to tell me if something is wrong and you know it.”

“The attacks have come back. I think they’re worse now, Vicky, and I’m worried that he’s going to put himself in danger. He told me he’s seeing a psychologist.”

“Is he on meds?”

“No. Cause that means that he wouldn’t be able to work. Vicky, this job is his life, the poor boy doesn’t have anything outside of it and frankly, I’m worried that he’d get worse without it.”

“Nils,” Vicky sighed, “I’m going to have to report this to the board and he’ll have to be assessed.”

Nils’ eyes went wide with panic. “No, Vicky, you can’t, please.”

“Nils, I know you want to protect this team, but you have to look after yourself too.Owens isn’t your responsibility.”

“He needs my help. They all do.”

“You can’t keep doing this!” Vicky said, struggling to sit up. “Honestly, Nils, you’re the one I’m worried about. Owens has only been here two months, he’s only on probation, but I can’t lose you.”

“What part of ‘this job is all he has’ don’t you understand? Vicky, him not being here would be worse than him being here.”

“Not if it puts the team in danger. I know that you want to protect him, but you have to consider the risks! If he gets an attack while on a mission, everyone would be screwed. People could die, Nils!”

Nils hung his head.

“Tell me you aren’t taking him with you tomorrow.”

“I have to. Even with the boys from the BND I don’t have enough agents.”

“Fuckin,” Vicky mumbled, shaking her head, “Nils, that’s not a good idea. You’re going to have to make do with the five of you and the BND boys.”

“I’ll have to be in the truck. And I have Gatsby on Seidel, I need Owens in the field.” Nils said, and Vicky could hear that he was struggling to keep his voice from breaking.

“You cannot put him in that situation! For his own sake, as well as everyone else's!” 

“Vicky, I have no other option. Besides, he would never let me take him off the mission without a fight. I have been preparing the team for this all week, I can’t change the plan on them now.” Nils looked as if he was about to break down and Vicky felt incredibly sorry for him. There was nothing she could have done about it but it felt very unfair to leave him in charge of the team. 

“Okay. Alright Nils, do what you have to do. But I am going to have to report him to the board, you know that.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I do know that and I wish you didn’t but we gotta do the bureaucracy, right?” He gave her a weak smile and she made a mental note to put him down for extra days off once she was back in London.

“Yup. Thanks for dropping in, Nils, and good luck tomorrow.”

He nodded and left the room wordlessly. He looked terrible, definitely not fit to be leading the team in an important mission like this one. From here, though, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She’d have to talk to Maurice and get him to keep an eye on Nils while she was in the hospital.

[dolls-self-ships]

🎫 here’s a gush pass ^^ feel free to gush about whichever f/o you want, however much you want, then send this ask to 3 other selfshippers

this has been in my ask box forever bc I’ve been saving it for when I have a LOT to say so I would like to talk about himb!!

this angel himbo babey, who I never in a million years thought I’d have any sort of emotional connection too until I watched All Hail King Julien.

So, I never really minded Julien’s character. He was funny and entertaining in the Madagascar movies, and yeah, more of an asshole in the POM series but still had his... I guess “likeable” moments (?) there too. I was always usually pretty indifferent to/tolerated him, until I finally decided to sit down and watch his show, which dropped in 2014 and ended in 2017 (so I’m a little late to the party but sjskslsnsslskssk anyways).

And I had a blast watching it!! Every episode from beginning to end was an absolute treat (aside from some questionable moments and one episode that was defineatly a product of one or two of the writers... “interests”). They made Julien so incredibly likeable, dare I say even loveable, while still being himself! I cannot express how well they did his character in this just MMM *chef kiss*. And they gave him more characters who were equally as interesting and enjoyable to interact with and bounce off of and honestly it all just really worked!! I loved Maurice, Clover is a well-written “strong” female character, Mort was... a choice, Masacaura was hilarious, Uncle King Julien was a sleaze ball but like.. a well written and entertaining one, and EVERY Lemur Kingdom civilian is so delightfully charming!

But I’m not here to talk about the show, this is about the Prince of Partying himself, so here’s what I like about him specifically!!

Honestly I have no fucking clue. Julien isn’t my type at all, at least not on the surface. Bc yeah, there’s characters that I f/o like Beetlejuice and Spinel that I guess would fit into the same category as Julien of “chaotic, but well-intentioned himbo that’s a bit egotistical and trying their best”. And yeah they gave him more sympathy, responsibility, and depth in the show, but his overall personality is still very much the “way in over his head and super confident in both himself and his stupidity party guy” that he maintains in both the MCU (Madagascar cinematic univese) and the POM tv series. But I think what really makes me like King Julien in this is that he has more... kindness. At least more moments of it. Also genuine relationships with the characters around him that give Julien more sides to him which makes a more compelling f/o for me. I also think it’s that, despite the fact that he’s a bit air-headed, he always means well, even though sometimes he can be selfish or impulsive, he always makes up for his mistakes in the end and learns from it. With the other two previous Julien’s, that was never a thing he did, so it kind of took away from the initial charm of him being a goofy and more or less egotistical king (at least for me).

THIS Julien however, has almost every aspect of himself from previous media’s, but added parts that improve him and even excuse some not-so-great parts of him. And I absolutely love it!! I’m still in a spot where I’m not 100% on f/oing him romantically but.. you know what, he’s cute, he has those moments that make me clutch my heart, he’s a bit of a flirt, and I find him charming and likeable, so I’ll excuse a little mutual (or one-sided) crushing. You feel?

Honestly, I have to partially blame my sister for this since she suggested that upon meeting me, Julien would try and put the moves on me like the absolute playboy that he is sksksjsjskssjsk. Picturing how he would do it just made me laugh (because let’s be real, he would be a total goof about it with no self-awareness or shame whatsoever), and from then on I was just interested in what our dynamic would be like.

I am also!!! Not very smart!! So I think we would make a decent himbo/bimbo power duo. He has a LOT more energy than I do, but I think if I tried I could keep up with him. I’m not shy, but there’s still lots of things that I feel awkward/self-conscious doing (ironically, dancing is a big one) and therefore just refuse to attempt, so I think Julien would definitely help me loosen up and not be afraid to embarrass myself. As long as I’m having fun, then who cares? He embarrasses himself all the time and does not give a fuck, probably because he’s oblivious to it, but still!!

Overall, I just have a lot of soft and mushy feelings for this lemur. They’re ambiguous and unidentifiable so far but they exist and I’m loving every minute of it!! Julien, in my opinion, is a pretty great king ❤️

[lumiereandcogsworth]

UNO REVERSE. GO OFF, GIRL: deep ask time: tell me about your love for beauty and the beast. when did you get into it. what were your first impressions. when did you Know it was a big fave for you. how many times have you seen it. what’s your favorite thing about it!!! why the heck do you love it!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH OKAY🥺 this is gonna be long i’m just already warning you. I gotta do the under the cut thing cuz really I just can’t unwillingly subject people to such an essay. It’s good but like. anyway, here ya go:

when did you get into it? well [the stage goes dark, a spotlight centers on me, fog forms around my ankles] it all started on a calm spring evening, april 12th, 2017.... okay lmao i’m not gonna do that the whole time. but yeah so i loved the 1991 cartoon version a lot! it had always been one of my fave disney films as a kid, it was one of ones we had on vhs so it was a frequent flyer in on the big boxy dinosaur tv! but then, when me and my parents were touring my future university (i was a junior in high school at the time) we decided to catch a movie! i couldn’t tell you what else was playing that night, but live action batb was the only one that jumped out at me. it’s funny cuz it had been out for nearly a month, i really didn’t make any effort to go see it. i was like “ah, disney makes live actions all the time. who cares.” LITTLE DID I KNOW. but anyway, we went to see it and.... gosh i was enchanted. even that first night, it was like a switch turned on in me that i didn’t even know existed!

what were your first impressions? goodnesssss. it’s interesting because i hadn’t seen batb 1991 in YEARS, but as i watched the live action it was all coming back, i was comparing everything. which is funny too because, the comparison is what turned a lot of people AWAY from batb 2017. now, i could make a whole powerpoint comparing them, but i have no shade!!! if you like 1991 better, go off!!!! just don’t hate on one or the other :/ hate is lame! there’s a lot of love in the world and there’s, my goodness, CERTAINLY enough love for two film versions of a disney princess movie. goodness gracious. anyway, let me hop off my soap box!!!!!

i remember thinking it was DOPE that they made belle the inventor, and that they made maurice an artist. i remember loving the new songs, eSPECIALLY evermore. like wow. i was so happy they gave beast his own song. i remember being so entirely delighted by how extravagant be our guest gets. like lumiere!! you dramatic boy!!!!! it just kept going i was so dazzled and amazed and happy. i can remember how big the smile on my face was during that whole number. i remember how INCREDIBLY swept away i was when there was the whole “what do you say we run away?” scene and the enchanted book and going to paris!!!!!!! still to this day, every time i see the scene where it goes from belle’s hand on the book pages and pans up to the starry sky, i feel that joyful peter pan magic. and that’s what i thought the first time too. i LOVED all the added backstory for belle and beast. absolutely stunning. even at the beginning! they open it right away, really take you to the scene of the crime, in a sense. you see young, spoiled prince adam. his nasty, pompous behavior and all. it made him so much more real. i remember just overall being so thrilled with how much longer it was. it gave belle and beast so much more time to fall in love, it made the culminating end way more genuine. and of course i loved all the little jokes and their quirky little personalities shining through. and i also remember being so punched in the gut by the last petal falling and actually seeing everyone turn into inanimate objects. i was like *sobbing* HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. but, even today, it makes the turn around of the curse lifting way more relieving and joy-filling. and don’t even get me started on The Kiss. the silent amazement between them. i can’t. surely, you get the point. i was in the car ride back to the hotel just utterly astounded, i couldn’t stop thinking about it. i’d never seen such beauty.

when did you Know it was a big fave for you? pretty soon!! i saw it a second time in theaters and i regret to this day not going a third time. but that’s life. i couldn’t pin point when it became my number one, but i’m sure it was that summer when it went on netflix and i had unlimited access and was deadass watching it most every night. that’s an exaggeration but is it though? anyway yeah it was love at first sight so it didn’t take long to reach my favorite movie spot at all.

how many times have you seen it? UHHHHHH okay so, that was something of an exaggeration, to a degree. i was counting how many times i was watching it but i stopped at ten. i honestly wish i had continued counting. do you know how cool it would be to do my 100th watch?? i’d have a whole party. my dad and i tried to do the vague guesstimate math once, and we figured something around 60 times. i don’t know how accurate that is but it sure feels like i’ve seen it 6,000 times. at this point i watch it every few months but... summer of 2017..... yikes lmao.

what’s your favorite thing about it!!! the film itself? is that an option? the entire. gosh dang,,, thing? lol but idk i think what i love most is adam’s growth, probably. i mean. it is. you can’t write an 18k pre-canon fic highlighting adam’s troubled past and then go on to write who knows how many thousand words of fic of post-canon adam just being so gosh dang happy and happier than he’s ever been without his growth and arc being your favorite part. so :”) yeah. adam deserves the whole entire world and he’s got such a big heart, he just never knew how to use it, never thought he had it in there. he’s been kicked around and torn apart and Literally Turned Into A Monster, but he still grows and learns to love and learns that maybe life can be okay for him. but also i love belle so much too. her courage, her adventurous spirit, her no-thoughts-head-empty griffindor attitude about everything. like who just sees a giant castle and is like “cool, allow me.” it’s in the genes, cuz maurice does it too shdkdksk. anyway i just love belle so much, she’s so smart and clever and sweet and KIND and she has so much compassion in her heart. so much love when she’s literally been seen as a social outcast like probably her whole life. and yet? the kindest. but also so funny and sarcastic and GAH!!! i love my girl!!!!!! and the uniting of my two favorite characters in the whole world.... it just floors me every single time.

why the heck do you love it!!!!! oh my gosh literally how to answer this. i think at this point in the essay it’s pretty clear all my passionate opinions about it LMAO. the way i usually explain it to like, my dad, for example (i’ve brought him up twice now, he’s just always been a good ear for my fangirl interests. let’s me go off about anything haha.) anyway, the way i explain it is that it just checks off all the boxes. and i don’t even know what all the boxes are, but it’s everything. i think i’ve always loved beauty and the beast (even as a kid) because it flips the damsel in distress narrative. SHE has to save HIM. and of course, that’s been done countless times. but idk, for a disney princess, for my little kid mind, belle was special and this story was different. but more specifically to batb 2017, the aesthetic just slays me. the wardrobe is exquisite. the characters are so lovely and funny and wonderful. the songs, the NEW songs!!! the DANCE!!! THE CASTING. i love the cast so much. there’s so much gosh dang heat about emma watson as belle especially and it’s like i will fight all of you in the streets come to my house my address is— okay anyway. i think the casting was absolutely 15/10 phenomenal everyone from josh gad and luke evans to audra mcdonald and stanley tucci and literally everyone in between. DAN STEVENS HAD TO DO EVERYTHING TWICE. ONCE IN THE SUIT THE BIG CGI SUIT AND ONCE MORE WITH HIS FACE TO GET BEAST’S EXPRESSIONS JUST RIGHT. the dedication. i’ll fight everyone. he did a ballroom dance in a big suit on stilts. i just. okay so yeah i love the cast and i love THE LOVE STORY OBVIOUSLY. I REFRAINED TALKING ABOUT ADELLE UP UNTIL NOW BUT HELLO?????????? i guess that’s not true i talked about them a little bit. but obviously their love story drives it and boy do i love taking that drive every single time. it’s about the enemies to friends to lovers my guy. it’s about the saving each other. it’s about the seeing each other. i’m gonna lose my mind. i need to finish this oh my gosh i don’t know how to shut up about this film.

[eirian-houpe]

Witness Protection

Notes: Merry Rumbellemas, @killingkueen​. Here, at long last is the story I have written for you. It turned out that it developed a life of its own, so when I posted it to AO3, I split it into chapters.

There’s a great deal of backstory that, while referenced, didn’t actually make it into the story, so please feel free to send asks either to me, or of the characters, and we’ll answer as best we can :)

Rating: Explicit

Category F/M

Fandom: Once Upon A Time (TV)

Relationships: Belle/Gold

Characters: Belle French, Rumple Gold, Maurice|Moe French, Mad Hatter|Jefferson, Red Riding Hood|Ruby, Mother Superior|Blue, Fairy Fiona|Black Fairy, Emma Swan, Prince Charming|David Nolan, Killian Jones|Hook, Gaston, Sheriff of Nottingham, Grumpy|Leroy, Sleepy|Walter, Doctor Whale, Wicked Witch of the West|Zelena Mister Smee,

Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, AU, UST, Corruption, Bad parent, Kidnap, implied and almost non-con, Injury, Character death, Eventual Smut, violence, Non-cursed Storybrooke, First Time.

Language: English

The Wife and Daughter of Massachusetts’ Governor, Maurice French, have been kidnapped. As the authorities raid the compound where they’re being held, his daughter, Belle, makes her own bid for freedom, but is injured in the attempt before being taken into protective custody by Agent Milnor. Fearing for her life, Milnor calls upon an old friend to protect her; to keep her safe. A task that becomes imperative, as well as personal. Professional lines blur and the threat draws closer. 

Milnor risked a glance behind him at the figure in the back of the car.  She was still trembling visibly, even though he’d covered her with his jacket. It was the best he’d had available as he’d manhandled her into the vehicle at the last rest area where he’d stopped to try and take some kind of care of her hands and arms, and to the deeper slice across the front of her shoulder. It disappeared beneath her blouse, and he didn’t really want to know how far down it went.

A car horn just behind his left shoulder warned him he was drifting in his lane, so he dragged his eyes back to the road ahead, snatching at the wheel to right his position. A glance in the rearview mirror told him she hadn’t even reacted to the sound or sudden movement. She was in shock.  He was sure of it.

“Ah, shit!” The words rumbled out of him.  They couldn’t afford another delay. Not so soon or still so close to Boston.  If he were going to get her to safety… “Shit!” he growled again, and slapped his hands against the steering wheel before gunning it onto the next exit ramp, and following the signs to find the nearest McDonalds.

-------------------------------------------

Gold had lost track of time. It was something he did often, in part because it meant very little to him. Not any more. He had no one to answer to, nowhere to be at any specific hour of an evening, and certainly no one to hurry home to, so what did it matter if he was burning the midnight oil?

His slender, perfectly groomed fingers moved carefully, sensually over the polished surface of the writing box he was restoring, delicately easing the gold leaf into place within the barely-there indentations at the corners of the cherry-wood lid; his movements precise, practiced, controlled.

The citizens of Storybrooke may not appreciate his presence, may even dislike him, resent him… who was he kidding? Most hated him and who could blame them after all, since he probably owned a little piece of each and every one of them? However, the townsfolk also knew a good craftsman when they saw one, and as such trusted him with some of their most precious and delicate things.

Oh, how little they truly know.

He’d been in Storybrooke for almost twelve years, but, by tacit, mutual agreement between the town and Gold himself, it might have been a lifetime, longer. At least, longer than he could, or wanted to, remember. He lived comfortably in a large Victorian-style house, far enough toward the edge of town to remain private and to keep the riff-raff away, but close enough that he could easily keep a proprietary eye on his investment, and that - in addition to his place of business - meant most of the town itself.

He paused in what he was doing, tilting his head, and it took him a long moment to catch the sound that had disturbed his concentration. A frown darkened his face as he identified the sound that he had not heard in many long years, and he set down the tools with which he was working, wrapped the writing box in the soft, lint-free cloth to preserve its luster, and set it back on the shelf before clearing the tools from the top of the workbench. Only then did he leave the back room of the pawn shop. As he passed it, he picked up his cane and his gait became the smooth determined stride of purpose; no longer the sibilant shuffle of a man whose outer shell reflected the sins of his past.

He paused only to retrieve something from the cabinet behind the counter, before making his way to the door and extinguishing the lights. Then, he stepped out into the cold air of near midnight and locked the door behind him.

Please head on over to AO3 to read the full story.  Here are some friendly links:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

[areaxcn-blog]

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Deemed to be one of the world’s most valuable luxury brands, Hermes has proven to transcend the luxury brand industry, while setting new trends and immortalizing their iconic products.  It has continued to emphasize the value of hand craftsmanship and has continued to pay tribute to its own history. More than the design, the innovation, and the creative minds behind Hermes, the brand has withstood the challenges of modern markets, the demands of the industry, and the tightening competition all because of its history that surpasses any other brand in the luxury market.

HERMES HISTORY

The Hermes Fashion House was established in Paris as a harness making shop in 1837 by Thierry Hermes (1801-1878). Hermès first established the family business as a harness shop in the Grands Boulevards quarter of Paris. The shop served European noblemen, creating wrought bridles and harnesses for carriages. His clients were the stylish Parisian “beau monde” and European royalty including Napoléon III and his empress, Eugénie. It was in late 1879 when the line was expanded by Charles-Emile Hermes, Thierry’s son and successor. The expansion included the manufacturing of saddles and they opened a new location near the Palais de l’Elysee.

It was in 1922 when the company introduced its first handbags. In 1937, Hermes opened its scarf (or carre) factory in Lyon. Robert Dumas-Hermes succeeded the leadership of Hermes in the 1950s and was iconic for introducing Hermes ties— still the most desirable ties in the world. Additionally, the duc-carriage-with-horse logo,  bolduc (the famous ribbon!) and signature orange boxes were introduced in 1961. The Hermes horse-and-carriage logo was inspired by the art of Alfred de Dreux.

Jean-Louis Dumas, the son of Robert Dumas-Hermès, became chairman in 1978 and lead Hermes until 2006. During Jean-Louis’ reign, he expanded the fashion house into the home wares, further expanded the efforts in silks, leather goods, and perfumes. Dumas helped change the image of Hermes to accommodate a younger, more modern consumer and increased the growth of Hermes. Despite a brief (failed) attempt at public ownership in the 1990s, the Hermes family is still a majority shareholder in the company.  

The Hermes’ family and company rejects mass production, assembly lines, and mechanization. The vast majority of Hermes products are manufactured at production sites in France. Bags, luggage and small leather goods are produced by professional artisans at approximately 12 French middle-sized leather goods manufacturing facilities (“Ateliers Hermes”), with a strong emphasis on quality manufacturing. Hermes has claimed that most items are created from start to finish by one craftsman, which is supposed to be a guarantee of the quality and uniqueness of Hermes products.

As of 2008, Hermes has 14 product divisions encompassing leather, scarves, ties, men’s wear, women’s fashion, perfume, watches, stationery, footwear, gloves, enamel, decorative arts, tableware, and jewelry. Today, Jean-Louis’s son Pierre-Alexis Dumas is the artistic director of Hermes. Under his direction, the brand has seen its biggest growth in decades.

THE ULTIMATE DREAM BAG: HERMES BIRKIN HISTORY

The Birkin stands alone as the most sought after, impossible to find, and collectible bag ever made. This exquisite bag is typically only seen on the arms of the fortunate few. Even celebrities find themselves on the infamous Hermes Birkin wait lists with the hope of one day owning this ultra-exclusive bag. The Hermes Birkin was created jointly between Hermes CEO Jean-Louis Dumas and the actress Jane Birkin for whom the bag is named after, who complained that her Kelly bag was not very practical. Jane Birkin was gifted the first Birkin bag in 1984, and the rest is history.

Unlike other handbags, a single highly skilled craftsman works on one Birkin at a time with the construction of each Birkin bag consuming a whopping 18 hours. The bags are handmade in France by expert artisans using the company’s signature saddle stitching, developed in the 1800s.  Birkin bags are investment quality luxury items meaning that they either hold or increase their value of time. The Birkin is a true timeless masterpiece that will become the crown jewel of your bag collection!

Birkin prices range from $10,500 to $150,000. Due to the fact that each bag is handmade, prices vary according to the type of leather and hardware. The bags are distributed to Hermes boutiques in limited very quantities, creating scarcity and exclusivity. To purchase a Birkin through an Hermes boutique, Hermes customers join a waitlist for a custom Birkin after establishing a rapport and sales history with a Sales Associate. This waitlist can often mean customers wait for years to get the bag in the specific color and leather that they want. Unless you’re at the the famed Rue St. Honore Hermes boutique in France, which occasionally has seasonal Birkin bags in stock.  This reason is part of many reasons why many people chose to purchase pre-loved authentic Hermes Birkin’s from Yoogi’s Closet.

Birkins come in sizes 25cm, 30cm, 35cm, 40cm and 45cm.

Birkin Bag Size Reference:

25cm:  10″ L x 5″ W x 8″H

30cm: 12″ L x 6.25″ W x 9″ H

35cm: 14″ L x 7.5″ W x 10.75″ H

40cm: 16″ L x 8″ W x 11.25″ H

The Birkin has a very distinct design, two rolled leather handles, a flap closure with two belted straps and a center turnlock and that holds a padlock. The bag is locked by closing the top flaps over buckle loops, wrapping the buckle draw-straps, then closing the lock on the front hardware. Many Birkin carriers also tuck the flap inside of the bag and continue to buckle the draw-straps with the lock in front, to show off the prized “Hermes Made in France” stamping. The keys are enclosed in a leather key holder known as a clochette.

The 45 is a travel Birkin with slightly longer straps. There is also a similar bag called a Haut au Courries (abbreviated as HAC – which means High Belts in French) that is slightly taller with shorter straps. These come in sizes 27, 32 and, 37. Additionally, there is a JPG version designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, which is considered the “shoulder Birkin.”

HERMES KELLY HISTORY

The Kelly is a coveted and scarce bag. Like its muse, Grace Kelly, this bag is the definition of timeless elegance. The original prototype for this bag dates back to 1892 when Hermes developed a large bag to hold a saddle; the prototype was modified over the decades but the Kelly sold by Hermes today is similar to the Sac a Depeches introduced in the 1930s. In 1954, Grace Kelly was given the bag to use in the Hitchcock movie “To Catch A Thief”. She wore it regularly after her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco – it was dubbed the Kelly bag. It was officially called the Kelly in 1977.

Unlike other handbags, a single craftsman works on one bag at a time with the construction of each Kelly bag consuming a whopping 18 hours. Kelly bags have the same draw-strap and lock mechanism as a Birkin bag, but have a single leather top handle. Hermes introduced shoulder straps as standard equipment in the 1980’s. Prior to that, Hermes would special order a strap.  In 2000, the double loop metal strap holder was added.  Kelly bags are investment, quality luxury items meaning that they either hold or increase their value of time.

Kelly bags come in sizes 20cm, 25cm, 28cm, 32cm, and 35cm.

Kelly Bag Size Reference:

20cm: 8″ L x 3.5″ W x 6″H

25cm: 10”L x 3.5”W x 7.5” H

28cm: 11″ L x 4.5″ W x 8″ H

32cm: 12.5″ L x 5″ W x 9.5″ H

35cm: 13.75″ L x 5″ W x 10.25″ H

KELLY SELLIER VS. RETOURNE

There are two styles of the Kelly bag.

SELLIER

Has a more structured shape with rigid corners and exterior stitching with no visible piping. The result is a stiffer, sharp edge shape. Occasionally referred to as “Rigide”.

RETOURNE

Has a more relaxed shape. During the manufacturing process the bag is turned inside out. The result is a softer look with rounded edges and visible piping. The stitching on a Retourne is on the inside. This means that Retourne styles have a tendency to sloud. Occasionally referred to a “Souple”.

OTHER POPULAR HERMES BAGS

HERMES BOLIDE

The Bolide bag dates back in 1923 when Emile-Maurice Hermes created this handbag for his wife, which was the first ever handbag to use a zipper.  There are two versions of the Bolide bag – the Web Bolide and the Bolide. The Web Bolide has an external pocket, no oval patch, and a two-way zip closure. The Bolide has a single zip closure, an oval patch, and a long strap.  Both bags have a domed zip around closure and dual tubular top handles.  It comes in four sizes, 27cm, 31cm, 35cm and 45cm.

HERMES EVELYNE

The Evelyne bag features a rounded rectangular shape with the iconic perforated H with a circle on the front. The Evelyne bag came in four sizes – TPM, PM, GM and TGM.

There are 3 generations of the Evelyne:

Evelyne I (1st gen) has no external pocket and a non-adjustable strap

Evelyne II (2nd Gen) has an external pocket and a non-adjustable strap

Evelyne III (3rd gen) has an external pocket and an adjustable canvas strap

HERMES GARDEN PARTY

The Garden Party is a classic tote with tubular handles, a flat base, and expandable snap sides. They are typically made out of all leather (Negonda or Buffalo), or a mixture of canvas and leather. The interior is typically lined with linen and has a sturdy leather base to maintain structure. The Garden Party comes in three sizes – TPM, MM, GM.

HERMES CONSTANCE

The Constance bag was created way back in 1959. The Constance bag was designed by Catherine Chaillet, and named it after her fifth child.  The first Constance left the Hermes shop the exact same day she delivered the baby, so the story goes.  The elegant shoulder bag has a long strap that can be doubled for a shorter length and a signature “H” clasp.

HERMES PICOTIN

This bucket style bag has a natural raw hide interior lining and a silver palladium clochette adorned on the front of the bag. It has a roomy interior which is perfect for everyday use. The bag has a leather tab closure. The Hermes Picotin Lock Bag is available in four sizes, PM, MM, GM and TGM.

HERMES JYPSIERE

Designed by artistic director Jean-Paul Gaultier, the Jypsiere borrows the body, swivel clasps, brackets and side straps of the iconic Birkin bag. This messenger style bag was part of the Autumn 2008 Collection. The Jypsiere is available in four sizes: 28cm, 31cm, 34cm and 37cm.

HERMES LINDY

The Lindy first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2007 Runway Collection. The Linday can be carried by hand with its two tubular top handles or over the shoulder with its attached shoulder strap. It features two separate sides, each having its own zipper pulls which can be locked in the center with a classic Hermes twisting  lock. The Lindy is available in four sizes: 26cm, 30cm, 34cm and 45cm.

HERMES COLLIER DE CHIEN

The Collier de Chien motif is one of the most iconic accessories by Hermes. In French, the Collier de Chien actually means “dog collar”. This Hermes design was specifically made for a client’s bulldog.  It is believed that the Collier de chien belt was first introduced in 1927 and the bracelet follow with an introduction into retail in the 1940s.  The design is distinct – it has eight rounded spikes and a single ring. Bracelets and belts are designed in a variety of hardware types, colors and leathers.

HARDWARE

Hermes uses a variety of high quality metals, but most items are typically crafted of brass. Hermes item most commonly use 18k gold plated or palladium plated brass. Permabrass, ruthenium, guilloche (diamond cut pattern palladium), rose gold, or diamond crusted hardware are occasionally used.

REFERENCE GUIDE: HERMES LEATHER

What truly defines Hermes is the craftsmanship, detailing, and leather. Unlike any other brand, Hermes uses varying types of leathers and colors for each bag, which often means that your Hermes Birkin or Kelly is one of a kind. Whether you’re deciding what type of leather your dream handbag is going to be, or you’re looking to identify what kind of leather your Hermes item is, this Herme’s Leather Reference Library has you covered.

HERMES TOGO

Released in 1997. Togo leather is grained, textured and anti-scratch calf leather. Togo is lightweight, yet holds it’s shape. Togo has a defined soft pebbled finish that appears raised and feels smooth but grainy. At a far away distance, Togo appears to have vertical veins and reflects light. This is the most popular leather for Hermès Birkin Bags.

HERMES CLEMENCE

Released in the mid-1980s. Clemence is a natural grained and anti-scratch leather that is made from a baby bull calf, and is officially named Veau Taurillon Clemence. The grains are larger than in Togo. The grain is less deep than Togo, causing a more “matte” effect.

Notice Togo has a slight reflection and smaller cells, while Clemence appears “matte” and has larger cells.

HERMES FJORD

Fjord is textured, matte, anti-scratch and is made from an adult bull. It is more durable than Togo or Clemence, even waterproof! Fjord has a slight velvety touch and matte texture. Fjord has a very visible grain. It has a wider, flatter grain than Togo or Clemence.  One of the most common characteristics of Fjord is that it has vertical veins when viewed at a distance  (sometimes vertically throughout the whole bag). The amount of veining can vary based on the skin. It’s possible to have a Fjord bag with no veining at all. It is also one of the heavier leathers.

HERMES EVERGRAIN

Evergrain is a stiff leather with a grain. Evergrain is actually the embossed version of the smooth “Evercalf.” It has a very soft touch and scratches will buff out very easily. The color version of Evergrain is called “Evercolor”.

HERMES EPSOM

Released in 2003. Embossed leather. Epsom replaced Courchevel in 2003. Unlike other leather, the pattern is pressed into the leather, giving the bag a laminated appearance that is rigid and structured. Epsom won’t scratch easily and is also very easy to clean. Epsom is still being used by Hermes today.

HERMES VEAU GRAIN LISSE

Discontinued in 2003. Embossed leather. Veau Grain Lisse is a glass processed press leather that is known for being slightly thin with a luster. It is scratch resistant, slightly shiny, and lightweight. Sometimes referred to by Hermes collectors as “VGL,” Veau Grain Lisse has less angular, rounded grains. This leather is rigid and holds its shape fairly well.

HERMES COURCHEVEL

Discontinued in handbags in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Used in Accessories until 2003. Embossed leather. Courchevel was the predecessor to Epsom, and it is now completely retired. Courchevel is a stamped leather with very even grain throughout. Courchevel is slightly shiny and is darker at the top part of the grain. It is lightweight, scratch resistant and easy to clean.

HERMES GRAIN D’H

Released in 2012. Veau Grain d’H is stamped, processed calf leather which has a finely structured pressed appearance and a sheen. Veau Grain d’H is a shiny leather with a cross-hatch embossing.

HERMES SWIFT

Released in 2006 (Previously named Gulliver which was discontinued in 1999). Swift leather is semi smooth, soft, semi matte. Swift is a soft leather with a fine grain. One of its best qualities is that it is great at absorbing the dyes and the brighter colors come to life in this leather. The fine grain seems to reflect light in such a way that the colors are almost iridescent.

HERMES BOX CALF

Classic smooth calf leather. Box is stiff, smooth and very shiny. This leather has a visible fine grain. A more rigid structure than the grainy leathers. Box will show scratches more than the textured leathers, but over time it will develop a beautiful glossy mirror-like “patina”. Under the right care, Box calf leather can last for generations. Hermes fans love Box leather because it can be restored by Hermes, no matter the condition, in the “Hermes Spa.” This is the oldest type of Hermes leather and frequently appears in Vintage Kellys or belts. The name originates from an English shoe craftsman in the 1890s, Joseph Box.

HERMES CHAMONIX

Chamonix is a variation of smooth calf leather that has very similar properties to “Box Calf,” leather but is matte instead of shiny. Frequently combined with white top stitch. Distinguished by natural “Hermès Made In France” blind stamps instead of the usual printed technique. Chamonix is frequently used on the underside of leather belts and leather jewelry.

HERMES BARENIA

Barenia is buttery smooth, and has a matte finish. Like “Chamonix”, it’s frequently combined with white top stitch and commonly is distinguished by natural “Hermès Made In France” blind stamps. Barenia is commonly used in saddles, small leather goods, and occasionally bags. Barenia is very delicate and prone to scratches. Barenia is also a softer leather and bags will lose their shape after a while. This leather is double tanned in chrome and vegetable dyes and then soaked in a mix of nine different oils over a 5 to 6 week process. Barenia will develop a patina over time because it has no aniline finish and can absorb oil. Barenia can come in colors other than Natural (also called Fauve) – such as Black, Vert Olive, Indigo.

HERMES VACHE

This is another of Hermes’s classic leathers, showing up in vintage pieces over 50 years old. A cowhide that is smooth, untreated and very delicate. It develops into patina over time and the material will darken. Vache Natural, when new, will appear to be very light. It is much like Louis Vuitton’s cowhide Vachetta leather. Only released in Natural and Black.

HERMES TADELAKT

Tadelakt calfskin leather is smooth and semi shiny and is almost just like Box leather. Most commonly used in leather jewelry and small leather goods. Tadelakt leather is prone to scratches, which is a characteristic in the leather because the dye is transparent. Tadelakt appears like a cross between Box Calf and Swift, and feels softer than Box but is shinier than Swift. It also has no visible grains on the outside, which gives it its utterly smooth and sensational appearance.

HERMES VACHE HUNTER

Natural Vache Hunter leather is a cowhide leather that is primarily used as a trim in Hermes bags such as the Etriviere and Herbag. Vache Hunter is very stiff and prone to scratches. It commonly has a rough, unfinished underside.

HERMES EVERCALF

The soft, smooth matte version of Box calf. It has a smooth and velvety finish with no visible grain. Evercalf has a slight sheen and a softer texture than Box. Evercalf is VERY soft to the touch.

HERMES CHEVRE LEATHER

Made from goatskin. This leather is textured thus anti-scratch, but is also shiny and rigid. Ultra lightweight. A very interesting skin – more expensive than calf leathers. Bags made entirely of Chevre are very rare. The lining of Hermes bags is typically made of Marocain Chevre (Morrocan Chevre).  There are two different varieties of Chevre – Chevre Mysore and Chevre de Coromandel.

HERMES CHEVRE MYSORE

Released in 2002. A goathide leather with a grain that is more defined than its cousin, Chevre de Coromandel. It is lightweight and scratch resistant. There is a pronounced “sheen” to Chevre and reflects light very well. Chevre Mysore typically doesn’t have a visible spine.

HERMES CHEVRE DE COROMANDEL

A goathide leather which is soft, lightweight and scratch resistant. Chevre de Coromandel has a visible spine down the center, a slightly iridescent sheen, and a visible graining. As of Spring 2008, Chevre de Coromandel is now released in “Souple,” which has less of a visible spine, less shine, and is much more pliable.

HERMES VACHE LIEGEE

Released in 2004. Vache Liegee is a natural grained leather. Supposedly, the leather is stretched in 8 different directions and has a two-tone effect in the grain. It also has a slight sheen and luster. Vache Liegee leather is noted for being the thickest and most durable of the Hermes leathers.

HERMES ARDENNES

Vachette Grainee des Ardennes is a processed pressed leather crafted from a malf calf raised in the Adrenne region (Northern France to Southern Belgium). Ardennes leather is very sturdy and holds its shape surprisingly well, complete with thick pressed grains and a slight sheen. Vache Ardennes is quite thick and structured (it does not slouch or flop) and is water and scratch resistant. It does not have a “soft” feeling like Clemence and the grains are slightly raised. Many Hermes collectors consider this leather to be a “work horse” and can stand the test of time, but the dye is prone to fading over time. This leather is very hard to find and is no longer in production. Vache Liegee replaced Ardennes leather.

HERMES NEGONDA

Released in 2007. Crafted out of adult bull calf with a large grain. This matte type of leather is completely resistant to water. It has a matte, dry feeling to the touch. Negonda is mainly used in Garden Party bags.

HERMES BUFFALO

Water buffalo hide. This leather has the interesting characteristic of absorbing the dye darkest in the center of the grain. Buffalo is known for its softness and rough grain size. Currently Buffalo is being used as trim in some bags that are crafted mostly of fabrics. Due to its water resistance, is commonly used in bags such as the Garden Party line.

HERMES GRIZZLY

Grizzly leather is rawhide calf leather which is also known as suede outside of the Hermes leather world. This sueded leather has a velvet finish.

HERMES VEAU SIKKIM

Veau Sikkim leather is buttery and soft. It has little to no grain, thus giving it its ultra soft feel. Sikkim leather tends to not hold shape and therefore gets slouchy very easily. Sikkim is used in the “Relax” version of the Bolide and Kelly, as well as the Double Sens tote.

HERMES VACHE TREKKING

Released in 2012. Vache Trekking is a processed calf leather that is noted for its firmness. Mainly used in Garden Party bags.

HERMES VIBRATO

Often people confuse Vibrato for fabric but in fact, it is stacked leather.  Vibrato leather is created by applying pressure to strips of leather and sueded leather. The stacked leather creates a textile that looks like cross-sections of stacked leather.  Vibrato is difficult to maintain but is durable and scratch resistant.  It is a very rare leather and is considered to be more expensive than other leathers. Vibrato often comes with an “eraser” to refurbish the leather. Vibrato handbags are very hard to find and showcase the capabilities of highly trained Hermes craftsmanship.

HERMES EXOTICS

CROCODILE NILOTICUS MATTE AND SHINY (LISSE)

Crocodile leather from Africa’s Nile River region in Zimbabwe.  It has a larger scale pattern compared to the Porosus.  Crocodile skins have small “pores”, which look like small dimples in each scale cell.  The dimples are sensory pores that assist crocodiles to detect change in water pressure, and locate their prey. Crocodiles have these dots throughout their bodies. The shiny (lisse) version comes from continuous buffing until it shows a gloss.  The Hermes symbol on the bag will include two apostrophes (‘’) to identify it as “Niloticus”.

CROCODILE POROSUS MATTE AND SHINY (LISSE)

This Crocodile is farmed in Australia and Southeast Asian countries like Singapore. Considered by many to be the premier Hermes leather and noted for its fine, symmetrical scale pattern. The shine comes from constant buffing of the skin with stone until it shines.  The Hermes logo will include the symbol ^ to identify it as “Porosus”.

HERMES ALLIGATOR MATTE AND SHINY (LISSE)

The Alligator that Hermes uses is “Alligator Mississippiensis” and is farmed in Florida. Alligator leather has an umbilical scar, which is an elongated irregular shape with a webbing pattern in it, which is often placed prominently on products to show the authenticity of the leather. This means that the patterning of the alligator scales is not as uniform. Alligator has small rectangular scales in the middle and smaller, oval-shaped scales down the sides (shown here). Alligator is commonly dyed in a variety of colors. The Hermes logo will include a square symbol to identify it as “Alligator”.

VARANUS SALVATOR WATER MONITOR LIZARD

This stunning exotic is crafted from the hide of a water monitor. Owing to the size of the hide, it is mostly used in 25cm Birkin’s, smaller bags and small leather goods. The smaller scales give this leather a shine or iridescence. The Hermes logo will include an equal sign (=) to identify it was Salvator Lizard.

VARANUS NILOTICUS WATER MONITOR LIZARD

The small scales of this leather made from Monitor Lizard from Africa’s Nile River. provides a shiny look. The Hermes logo will include an dash sign (-) to identify it was Niloticus Lizard.

HERMES OSTRICH

Ostrich leather comes from Struthio Camellus, farmed in South Africa. This is a dynamic leather that will darken from contact with your hands and also lighten with exposure to light. Ostrich leather is known for its distinctive “polka dotted” look, which is caused by the plucking of quills. Ostrich is very delicate and rare.

HERMES PEAU PORC

Made of pigskin and very lightweight. The pores are small dots and this skin is commonly a caramel color that develops a patina over time. This is one of Hermes’ classic leathers but is no longer produced due to the controversy of using pigskin.

OTHER HERMES MATERIALS

HERMES LINEN

Woven linen in herringbone or chevron pattern. Used in dustbags and linings of certain bags.

HERMES TOILE

Linen, usually used in conjunction with a leather on the bags. Weave is similar in strength and appearance to fire hose material. Commonly used in Garden Party bags.

HERMES CANVAS

Canvas is a heavy weight cloth that is treated and is usually combined with other leathers. Commonly used in the Herbag.

[fibula-rasa]

Quick Thoughts on The Tunnel (1935)

27 October 1935 | 94min. | B&W

Director: Maurice Elvey

Writer: Curt Siodmak (screenplay) and Bernhard Kellerman (novel)

Note before I begin: I wrote the first draft of this a day after watching The Tunnel for the first time months ago. Only getting about to editing it now!

I can say with some certainty that I’ve never seen a movie quite like this one. The Tunnel follows the progress of one man’s mission to build another Chunnel, but this time between the US and the UK. (In The Tunnel’s narrative, the Channel Tunnel is already complete.) The film starts with Richard McAllan (Richard Dix) pitching his idea for a tunnel to investors and ends with the opening of the tunnel. The film spans years and covers the trials of building the tunnel. There’s funding issues, crooked investment schemes, workers falling ill, and volcanic activity at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Meanwhile, the tunnel is estranging McAllan from his beloved wife.

The Tunnel doesn’t quite balance the technical and melodramatic, but I appreciate the effort. Maybe because the melodrama is so stiff-upper-lip British. It’s a little dry but it’s a fascinating document of an inter-war view of the future. There’s plenty of gorgeous art deco and futurist design to drink in. The effects range from cool to goofy-but-fun. For example: the video phones feature Richard Dix sitting in a box and using a simple lighting trick to start and end the call. Classic.

It’s touching to see the future that was envisioned before the horrors of the second World War and think about what could have been. In many ways the film reads like a bio-pic of McAllan, as if this is a fictionalized retelling of actual events. The Tunnel has the weight of films inspired by actual events–when the filmmakers feel obligated to cover everything.

The tech in the film is imaginative and, oddly enough, are things that many people use daily in 2018. Video phones, while not handheld, are available everywhere–on planes, tunnels, etc. Mr. Lloyd (C. Aubrey Smith), the primary investor, uses a motorized wheelchair (the suggestion being that he was injured in WWI, I believe?) that looks startlingly like a jazzy. News reporting is primarily done on television. (Remember again that this is 1935!) The one thing we don’t have, unfortunately, is no cars in city spaces. In the film, there are small-occupancy tram cars that look straight out of an Italian futurist painting. I guess gyrocopters aren’t much of a thing today either.

One of the weirdest bits of foresight is the volcanic activity midway through the Atlantic. In 1934/5, as far as I know, we didn’t know about magma pockets at the continental shelf, but that is practically what they are describing. I’d love to dig a little deeper and find out how that idea was born.

Maybe I should point out that the Chunnel hadn’t even begun construction when they made this film (it started in 1940). And, as you may know, the Chunnel wasn’t finished until 1994. So, they were very optimistic.

As someone who has taken in a lot of 5-minutes-into-the-future storytelling in past few years, (Hi, Black Mirror) it’s almost startling to encounter such ambition. The film isn’t set in a specific year, but it can be surmised that it’s the 1940s. So, the filmmakers were envisioning all this progress in under 15 years. That’s astounding. I hate being a grump about tech, but I do wish we were a little more adventurous than making our magic pocket computers different sizes and making transparent computer monitors… Both in our fiction and in real life. What I mean to say is that it feels like we’re in a bit of a self-imposed (read late-Capitalist) slump of technological imagination and I hope we can break through it soon.

Other notes:

The special effects were done by prominent miniaturist Filippo Guidobaldi and camera-trick experimenter first class, Jack Whitehead, who did work on the dazzling A Matter of Life and Death (1946).

The TatraWorld blog has collected interesting ancillary materials to the film.

[thenightling]

Why Peter Vincent is the most underrated modern vampire hunter

Notice and disclaimer:  Though I like David Tennant as an actor I feel his version of Peter Vincent is sorely lacking.  This is not the fault of the actor but rather the decisions made by the director and writer of the Fright Night remake.  This post is mostly in regard to Roddy McDowall’s version of the character from the original Fright Night, Fright Night: Part 2, and the Fright Night comic books.

11.   He is honest.

Despite being a former actor, Peter Vincent is very, very honest.  He no longer seems to care what people think of him.  He went from has-been horror movie star with a public access TV show to reinventing himself as a real monster hunter.  Once he learned that monsters (particularly vampires) were real he chose to become the man he had always pretended to be in the movies.  Unlike others who took up such a mantle though, Peter Vincent never lied to protect his own image.  He openly admitted monsters are real and what needed to be done, not caring that this might make him look mentally ill.    

This has lead to some wincable moments where it might have been in his own self-interest if Peter Vincent had simply lied to protect himself and how others saw him but he won’t do that.  If he feels there is a terrible, other-worldly threat he will not beat around to bush.  At one point in Fright Night: Part 2 this lead to him being committed to a psychiatric hospital.  Fortunately, with the help of some friends, he escaped.   

Peter Vincent also loves to wear his old costumes from the movies that he used to star in, which were usually set in the nineteenth century.  He has no real fear or concern of how others see him now that he has shed his status as fading celebrity and embraced his role as eccentric protector of the innocent. 

10.   He’s surprisingly down-to-Earth.

At first Peter Vincent comes off as this aloof poseur, a pretentious has-been.  He’s a has-been horror movie actor with a public access TV show.   He seems quick to assume (or hope) people might want his autograph but the reality is he is struggling to make ends meet.  His show is in the verge of cancelation and his rent on his apartment is overdue.  All he really has are relics from his old movie career.    When Peter Vincent learns monsters are real he sheds all trappings of his old, fading, career and all the apparent pretentiousness.  You realize that for all his melodramatic swaggering he’s really very afraid but he still stands against the forces of darkness because he knows he’s needed.  

He’s not superpowered.  He’s not attractive.   He’s not combat-trained.   He’s just someone that used to star in old monster movies and now that he knows monsters are real and preying on the innocent he has become someone who cares...

9.   He learns not to judge people.

Through the course of the original Fright Night movies Peter Vincent undergoes amazing character growth (More on that later).  In the first Fright Night movie Peter Vincent is quick to dismiss Charley as “mad” but by the time you get to Fright Night Part 2 and Peter Vincent has come to terms with learning that the supernatural is real, his outlook has entirely changed.   He has changed so much that all bias he had in dismissing other humans or judging them as all but evaporated.  

There is a scene in Fright Night: Part 2 where Peter Vincent is forced to escape a psychiatric hospital. He was put there after he was caught trying to stake a vampire on live TV.   Here he is nearly thwarted in his escape until an inmate who believes his wild stories helps him to get away.   Peter Vincent is so moved by this gesture that the next scene of him he smiles and comments on how he has friends in the most unlikely of places.   The man is adorable. 

8.  He faces very powerful old-school vampires.

Many modern vampires are super strong and super fast and that’s about it.  They have been stripped of some of their more eerie attributes like being able to summon storms, turn into a wolf, or bat- like Count Dracula in the original Dracula novel.  But Peter Vincent doesn’t face off against the low-budget, modern vampires, that can barely do anything.   No, when he faces Evil Ed, Ed turns into a full sized wolf when he attacks him.  Peter Vincent is not super-strong, nor does he have any combat skill.  He is forced to use his horror-movie knowledge (as he was a B horror movie actor) and his own wits, and makeshift weapons to defeat him.

Honestly, I think this makes him more “badass” than many modern vampire hunters in pop culture.  He’s a frail old man taking on vampires with the full array of classic powers.  They can shapeshift.  They can hypnotize.  They are incredibly strong.  They can conjure fog and lightning.  They can become wolves or bats.  They are a Hell of a lot more intimidating than most TV or movie vampires today who have been stripped of a lot of these powers.

And he manages to face these monsters despite being very, very afraid.   

7.    He’s delightfully hammy.

Because Peter Vincent went from being a has-been actor to real monster hunter there are certain aspects of his old-self that he can’t quite shead.  He’s still very melodramatic and theatrical in nature.  This makes him a bit campy and for better or worse this carries over when he has worked up the courage to stand against various threats.   It adds much needed levity to the gravity of the situation when you remember this man was an old cheesy actor and he delivers a movie-style line to remind you of this.  He wasn’t actually born into monster hunting, it was thrust upon him later and life and he took to it like a duck to water, when he finally accepted it, but in doing so he couldn’t leave behind aspects of his old hammy self.

 6.   He is still influencing pop culture over thirty years later.

Remember the character of Vincent Van Ghoul in The Thirteen Ghosts of Scooby Doo cartoon of the 1980s?  Vincent Van Ghoul was originally voiced by Vincent Price and meant to be similar to Doctor Strange from Marvel comics (who likely had been inspired by Vincent Price’s Doctor Craven form the 1963 film The Raven.)  Vincent Van Ghoul was a powerful sorcerer who aided Scooby and Shaggy in the capture of thirteen ghosts that had escaped from a sort of Pandora’s Box.

In 2010 the character of Vincent Van Ghoul was dusted off and reinvented with Maurice LaMarche providing the Vincent Price inspired voice.  The new version, though, is not a sorcerer.  Instead he is a has-been B horror movie actor who dresses flamboyantly in his old movie costumes.  He’s also a little bit of a coward and is melodramatic.  Sound familiar?  

The newer version of Vincent Van Ghoul is based on Peter Vincent (who was partly inspired by Vincent Price the way Doctor Strange was).   This version of Vincent Van Ghoul is still occasionally being used in recent Scooby Doo cartoons.  

There is also the character  Abraham Van Rental in the recent stop motion animated film, Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires, whose outfit, personality, and behavior are modeled after Peter Vincent, particularly in Fright Night: Part 2.

And in the Castlevania video game franchise there is an NPC inspired by Peter Vincent.  An incompetent vampire hunter named Charlie Vincent.  And if he gets turned into a vampire (like the originally planned ending of the first Fright Night) he becomes a threat. 

5.  He is an unlikely hero.

Peter Vincent is no Blade in a leather jacket.  He is not Hugh Jackman with his rapid-fire crossbow.  He’s not Buffy or Vanessa Helsing in tight leather pants.  He has no muscles.  He’s not young and sexy.  He does not have super strength.  He’s very much an unlikely hero.  He’s a washed up old horror movie actor, struggling to make ends meet, and who learns monsters are real.  

His weapons consist of old monster movie props, as well as his knowledge of the occult and supernatural gleaned from decades of starring in cheesy horror movies.  If there is any character he might be compared with it’s Professor Abraham Van Helsing, himself, from Dracula, or perhaps Giles from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  

Peter Vincent not conventionally attractive.  He doesn’t fit a popular demographic.  It would be wrong to try to make him appealing to a specific and young demographic because that is not the character.  He’s actually kind of dorky though he feigns confidence on his TV show and when he is trying to be heroic but that just makes him all the more likable.  

He’s afraid but he does what is right anyway.  He knows the odds are against him.  He cannot physically best the monsters he stands against.  He has to rely on his wits and the fact that he’s easily underestimated for his usual meekness. 

He’s so different from the current trend of muscular, attractive, and physically combative monster hunters that he’s actually a breath of fresh air, for being the odd man out, the meek and frightened old actor who gains courage when he realizes he might not be the ideal hero but he’s all they’ve got and they need him. And that makes him so damn amazing.    

4.   He teaches us that it’s never too late to change who and what you are.

Peter Vincent undergoes an incredible character arc, soul search, and self-reinvention though the course of the original Fright Night movies. 

Peter Vincent is an old, has-been horror movie actor who ended up hosting a public access TV show where he would intro his own old movies and provide commentary about them at commercial breaks.  He thought his career and life was nearing its close but then he was made to realize monsters are real and the world needed the sort of hero he always pretended to be.  Despite his age, despite his fear, despite his physical frailty (he is no muscle bound hero) Peter rose to the occasion and reinvented himself as a protector of the innocent.

He found a faith he didn’t previously have, he gave up a fading celebrity status and abandoned all concerns for how people thought of him just because he felt it was the right thing to do, because he knew he was needed.

He shed his old persona of has-been and skeptic and became the hero and believer he had always pretended to be.  He had become the unlikely hero and it was the role he was born for.  

3.  He was a proud neo-Victorian Goth before the term even existed.   

Peter Vincent was a has-been horror actor who eventually learns that monsters are real and when he takes up the mantle of real monster hunter he puts on his old costume.  The character he played was an 1890s Doctor Abraham Van Helsing style protagonist, similar to the characters Peter Cushing always used to play in the Hammer Horror Dracula movies of the 1950s into the 1970s.  Peter Vincent calls this his “uniform” and makes it a point to wear it when he knows he’s about to face real monsters even if he knows it’s incredibly out of place. 

He had lace cuffs, old Sherlock-style duster jacket with mantle, waistcoat, and cravat.  And he was not ashamed.

We’re talking about a man walking around like it’s London 1891 but in 1985 American suburbia and he was completely unashamed.   You go, you brave, yet strangely meek extrovert!

2.   He is very likely an LGBT hero.

   Though Peter Vincent’s sexuality is never explored in the movies, the character was inspired by Peter Cushing and Vincent Price.  Vincent Price’s daughter confirmed after his death that he was bisexual.   Peter Cushing was likely straight but Vincent Price was most assuredly bisexual.

The actor who played Peter Vincent was the great Roddy McDowall.   Roddy spent his life in the closet but after his death stories emerged from his friends that confirmed he had been bisexual.

(Roddy McDowall with Vincent Price.)

It was Roddy McDowall who told Vincent Price’s daughter “You know, we didn't have any idea what bisexuality meant in that sense, and if we didn't know, then how can we know the answer to that question."

Roddy was very likely bisexual and it’s been confirmed that Vincent Price (whom he was friends with) was bisexual.  This is particularly coincidental since Roddy’s Peter Vincent character hs half-based on Vincent Price (the other half being Peter Cushing, who played Doctor Van Helsing in several Hammer Horror Dracula movies.) 

There is a very high chance that thanks to the character sources, Peter Vincent was bisexual.       

1.  He is kind.  

  Today it’s too easy to be cynical and to deconstruct heroes into cold and cynical avatars for the jaded writers behind them.  The characters either don’t really care about the individuals that are in danger or someone behind the scenes just loves watching their hero pose stoically in a long leather jacket, without showing any emotion.

Peter Vincent, on the other hand, is warm, compassionate, and sympathetic.  He’s kind.  He genuinely cares about people despite once imagining himself a great and aloof actor.  

Ultimately it’s the realization that innocent lives are in danger and witnessing the painful death of the newborn vampire, Evil Ed, that finally pushes Peter Vincent to stand against Jerry Dandridge, despite his own fear.  

 Peter Vincent is terrified.  He’s just has-been horror actor with a public access horror themed TV series. Peter is given the opportunity - the destiny to be the hero he always secretly longed to be, the protector he may have secretly always dreamed of being.  

Peter rises above himself and it’s not for glory.  It’s not for fame.  He does it because he feels it’s the right thing to do and people need him.  And he truly cares about them. 

He forsakes his old fading celebrity status to be an anonymous hero that others think is nothing more than an old, washed up actor, who has finally lost his mind.  In Fright Night Part 2 Peter stops caring about his fading movie and TV career and realizes that’s not what he’s meant to be.  He IS Peter Vincent, the Great Vampire Killer!   And he sheds his old identity and even public reputation because he knows... he knows this is what others need him to be.  This is the hero he has to be for the sake of others.

it’s for these reasons and more that Peter Vincent is one of the greatest vampire hunters in contemporary pop culture (within the last forty years).