Stuff that bothers me when I think about it...

[amanuensis1]

Comments

[iambickilometer.livejournal.com]

Perhaps she's his grandmother.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

But doesn't he call her mama?

[florahart]

It's the only positive representation of nontraditional family (fostering, stepparenting, whatever) in all of Disneydom?

[pauraque]

You stole what I was going to say.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I like that; I'd like to think it was that complex and not just, "Hmm, we made Mrs. Potts too grandmotherly to have a five-year-old son. Ah, fuggit, no one will notice."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

reason #545734867363635657645 why you are so awesome.

[son-of-darkness.livejournal.com]

Maybe she's actually his grandmother, but his real mother died in childbirth, so she took him on as her own and just never told him? He's still young enough not to have questioned it yet.

My second theory: It's a Disney movie. Menopause doesn't exist. I mean... this is a world in which people spend a good portion of their lives existing as anthropomorphic household objects... ;P

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I remember when The Emperor's New Groove came out and it was discussed that this was the first time a pregnant (at least visibly pregnant) woman had been shown in a Disney flick. So your "there is no menopause" explanation could hold true since this is pre-TENG, and not necessarily as progressive. :D

[gnomad.livejournal.com]

She could just be prematurely gray. I mean, she's got very few wrinkles on that face...

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Ah, but she's got that key one under her eye! I'm thinking if Fifi the maid (whatever her name is) is in her late twenties/pushing thirty--because she looks too wordly to be much younger-- Mrs. Potts has got to be doing the fifty-plus thing.

[lotrwariorgodss.livejournal.com]

My mom had me when she was 45, and her hair was greying a few years later! Also the stress of being turned into a teapot might have had an effect on her hair color. =)
(I have always wondered about this though...)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Change-of-life babies! Yup, they happen. :D But it's not just the grey hair, it's the subtle "this is how Disney shows age without making people look decrepit and scary" lines she has. Such as by her eyes.

[glockgal.livejournal.com]

She's one of those rare 'I'm 60 and I got pregnant and had a baby' women. Her story was on CNN last night, you mighta missed it. :/

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

This is what happens when I go to bed early. SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

[atdelphi.livejournal.com]

I'm going to say the feather duster had him out of wedlock and it was all hushed up.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

This post is making the BEST theories. I almost want to write this one now

[gmth.livejournal.com]

Hee, this is a universe where little boys are turned into vicious beasts, the silverware sings, dances, and fights enemies and Robbie Benson is a BAMF, and this is the point on which you have trouble suspending your disbelief?

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

INDEED. We must have PERSPECTIVE.

(Oh, what the hell does that stand for again? Big-Ass Man Fiend?)

[crescent-moony.livejournal.com]

I've always sort of wondered that. Along with: what about all of his siblings? What happened to them? ('Cause I KNOW at one point, she tells him to get in the cupboard with all of his brothers and sisters.)

A Ciel Icon Seems Appropriate For this Conversational Addition...

[crescent-moony.livejournal.com]

I've also always felt sorta bad for Beast, 'cause he was transformed into a monster at, what, age 12? Something really young, anyway, when ALL kids are cankerous little bastards. So that witch was sorta being unfair, if you ask me.

It's still one of my favorite Disney movies, though. <3

[lauriegilbert.livejournal.com]

Have I told you lately that I love you? Because I do, and this post and its comments totally show why!

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I love all the alternate theories everyone comes up with! I HAS A CLEVER FLIST. :D

[persephone-blue.livejournal.com]

White hair not because of age but due to teapot-transformation trauma.

[sinick.livejournal.com]

Your icon WINS THE INTARWEBZ.

*twitches like an Addams Family fan from waaayback.*

[sinick.livejournal.com]

She's his Fagin.

Or possibly his Madam.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Both of these theories move to the top of my list! *wants Fagin!Mrs. Potts*

[alyndra]

I always wondered about the large numbers of generic 'personality-less' household objects. Were they just really boring people we didn't see at the end, or were they inanimate objects that just got swept up into the spell and then went back to sitting around when it ended?

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

And what happens if the castle has no more plates or utensils or cleaning equipment or furniture any longer?

[melannen.livejournal.com]

I think I had kind of worked out this really tragic story where, like, the servants who were children at the time of the transformation didn't get older, because inanimate objects can't *grow*, but inanimate objects do *age*, so the adults kept getting older, while Chip had spent decades trapped as a small, increasingly damaged young boy and his mom grew elderly.

...I think these things through too hard.

(though given the screencap used in that macro, I'm more tempted to say "He's actually a very small, very disturbed 40-year-old." Which isn't entirely different from my original theory...)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I love that you think this hard about things! Because I'm totally this way too.

[elsajeni.livejournal.com]

So, I mentioned this to my husband on irc. Subsequent chatlog:

My favorite theory is "Duh, the feather duster had him out of wedlock and it was hushed up."
Then who is the daddy?
A soldier, passing through.
You sure? You sure it wasn't...THE PRINCE/BEAST?!
OH SHIT
That actually had not occurred to me and it's much sexier.
CHIP IS THE BASTARD HEIR TO THE THRONE
WHAT IF BELLE HAS CHILDREN
MURDER AND INTRIGUE!
(Quick! Go suggest this in the thread and receive praise!)
I'M ABOUT TO!

[elsajeni.livejournal.com]

So, if you put names in angle brackets MYSTERIOUSLY THEY DON'T WORK.

[Elsajeni] My favorite is "Duh, the feather duster had him out of wedlock and it was hushed up."
[Husband] Then who is the daddy?
[Elsajeni] A soldier, passing through.
[Husband] You sure? You sure it wasn't...THE PRINCE/BEAST?!
[Elsajeni] OH SHIT
[Elsajeni] That actually had not occurred to me and it's much sexier.
[Husband] CHIP IS THE BASTARD HEIR TO THE THRONE
[Elsajeni] WHAT IF BELLE HAS CHILDREN
[Husband] MURDER AND INTRIGUE!
[Husband] (Quick! Go suggest this in the thread and receive praise!)
[Elsajeni] I'M ABOUT TO!

[alice_montrose]

I support the theory of her being Chip's grandmother or at the very least his mother's (much) older sister.

(And OMG from this angle she looks like my aunt... well, if my aunt were 20 kilos heavier and at least 20 years older. Which means I'll end up looking like this if I don;t watch my diet again. *a bit freaked*)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Auntie Mama! Or Great-Auntie Mama! Or...something. :D

[lady_songsmith]

Actually, what'll really blow your mind is that as near as I can figure, she had him while she was a teapot. Srsly. He's like, what, 8 maximum? More like 6? And they've been enchanted for HOW long?

[the-gabih.livejournal.com]

The way I see it, the spell froze all their ages- ergo, he would have been 6-8 when it was cast, and would have stayed that way. It's the only way the dog would have survived, realistically. And the Prince kept his looks, so... yeah.

[the-gabih.livejournal.com]

I have actually been wondering about this for ages. Srsly.

Though the grandma theory does hold some water, it must be said...

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

[la-mariane.livejournal.com]

I never wondered about it... maybe because it's Disney.
And I like the theory of Chip being the Beast's illegitimate son with the feather dsuter. But it's also true the dates don"t match : Chip must have been born when they were all still objects. Or maybe they stopped aging while under the curse?

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I always assumed they didn't age while under the curse myself, but she still looks on the end-of-ovulation side of motherhood imho.

Translation request

[lzqsk.livejournal.com]

Hello,

Sorry to bother you!
I want to translate some of your HP fics into Chinese. And I've emailed you just now, here I am just in case :)
Could you please check your mail box if possible?

Thank you for those brilliant work!

Best wishes,
Doris

[baka-oxymoron.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose you mind if I friend you?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall reading an interview with you once in which was mentioned a lovely short story you'd written subverting the classic 'princess in a tower' premise. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of this story, nor can I find the interview. >_<

So I was wondering if you might direct me to a list of the original stories you've written, and where they've been published. I'm sure I wasn't thinking of someone else. *frustrated*

[baka-oxymoron.livejournal.com]

Oh never mind, it was Cassandra Claire after all. *kicks self* >_< I do wish you would write something publishable, though. Some of her fanfiction was lovely, but I have far more faith in your ability.