#mr. potts

[stuckasmain]

… Mr. Jean Potts being a potter is great actually. Thinking about him…

Dunno what the clowns are about though… little scary, but maybe a hint at the fact he’s a father but doesn’t remember.

[anxiously-going]

Day 1: Wolf - Found Family, Cold

In the aftermath if his mother's death, fifteen year old Lumière is left to fend for himself against his father's drunken grief. Despite his best efforts, the neglect and abuse are noticed by the others in the Castle and Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth do their best to intervene, at least as much as Lumière will allow.

Pre-Canon(2017), child abuse/neglect, Canon capatible. @beauty-beast-week

"Mrs. Potts!" Plumette shouted as she pounded on the door to her family quarters. "Mrs. Potts, quickly, please!" she pounded again, shouting as she did so.

"What?" Mrs. Potts demanded, still trying to get her dressing gown fully on. "What? What is it, poppet?"

"Lumière needs help!" she said and snatched Mrs. Potts by the hand, tugging on her to follow. "Quickly!"

"Go get Cogsworth!" she shouted over her shoulder to her husband. "Where is he? Show me."

"The stables," she answered and took off, dragging Mrs. Potts behind her.

—

Lumière was shivering, curled into a ball, on a thin layer of hay, seemingly asleep with an unhealthy cast to his pale face.

"I shouted at him, but he did not wake up," Plumette explained, a fearful tremble to her young voice. "I was afraid to hurt him if I tried shaking him."

"It's alright, dear. Fetch me one of the horses' blankets," she ordered and knelt by Lumière's side. She was almost grateful for the violent shivers that wracked his body. It meant he was alive. His skin was cold as she cupped her hand under his head and gently lifted him into being propped up against her chest, trying to afford him some warmth.

"Here!" Plumette rushed over with the blanket.

He made a faint noise, stirring briefly awake, as his skin pricked against something warm.

"Non, non, reste éveillé, mon ami!" Plumette urged, quickly tucking the blanket around him. "Réveillez-vous!" she cried and stroked his head. "S'il te plaît, réveillez-vous."

"He'll be alright, poppet," Mrs. Potts tried to assure, reaching out to squeeze Plumette's arm. "We'll get him inside and warmed up just as soon as we can and he'll be right as rain, you'll see."

She nodded, but continued fretfully stroking his hair.

Both jolted when the stable door suddenly burst in, Cogsworth was on the ground beside them in nearly the same instant.

"Oh dear child," he murmured. "Here, give him to me. I'll carry him inside." He gently scooped Lumière from Mrs. Potts arms, once more being reminded of just how young he was in all of this, and carefully came to his feet. "Let's get him to a fire."

—

Lumière groaned as he stirred awake. Everything ached miserably. He tried to sit up, but everything felt heavy.

His eyes snapped open when someone shouted off to his side, but what exactly was said was lost on him as sleep tugged again on the edges of his mind. It didn't seem like such a bad idea. He didn't hurt so much when he was asleep, he thought as his eyes began fluttering closed again.

"Non, cher, non!" Plumette was suddenly there stroking his face. "Tu dois rester éveillé maintenant! Reste éveillé, mon cher, reste éveillé."

He nodded sluggishly, eyes falling closed again. "Reste… évei…"

"Lumiere!"

He snapped awake again at Cogsworth's relieved voice.

"Sit up for me, child," he ordered and scooped him into a sitting position Lumière sagged back against the pillows Plumette had adjusted for him.

"Merci," he mumbled, struggling to stay awake. He groaned a little, trying to shift more comfortably. "Ce qui-" he shook his head. "What happened?"

"Plumette here found you asleep in the stables this morning," he explained. "Gave her quite the scare when you didn't wake up. She ran for Mrs. Potts who sent her husband for me and now here you are. Safe and warm inside the castle."

"Je suis- Sorry. For the trouble."

"Never mind that, my boy." He sighed and glanced up to Plumette. "Will you fetch Mrs. Potts? Let her know he's awake?"

"We all know why he was out there," she answered pointedly. "You do not have to send me away to ask him. We all know it was his father. He has been cruel these last months-"

"I know," Cogsworth soothed, holding out a placating hand. "I know. And I know you're worried about him, but the fact remains that he still needs to eat. Now, please go let Mrs. Potts know he's awake. You may sit with him again after that."

Plumette nodded dully. "Oiu, monsieur." She ran her hand over his hair one last time before disappearing.

"Is she right?" Cogsworth asked gently when Lumière would not look at him.

"Do not punish him," Lumière pleaded softly, looking up him fully now.

Cogsworth gaped. "Don't- My dear child, you could have died had Plumette not found you this morning!"

"He was just drunk. He is grieving. He meant no harm."

Cogsworth shook his head. "Whether or not he meant it, he did cause you harm and he has been for some time. Grief is no excuse for what he's doing to you."

Lumière shook his head, panic suddenly coming into his voice. "He cannot be dismissed. I have no home but this. If he is dismissed-"

"He's not being dismissed," Cogsworth assured. "But he did endanger your life. That is not something I can simply let go!"

"Please, you must. He will scold me for a coward if he thinks I told on him!"

"Alright," Cogsworth relented, if only to calm him. "Alright. Settle down now." He thumbed Lumière's brow. "Settle down. I love you dearly, child. As if you were my very own. I only want to see to it that you are safe."

"Then you must not speak to him of this," he answered, his voice laced sternness and fear in equal measure.

Cogsworth nodded in resignation, as dread swirled in his chest, never having known Lumière to be the type to argue back. "Alright-"

"Promise me."

He sighed. "I promise. And I will speak to the others as well. Does that satisfy you?"

Lumière nodded, relief plan on his young face. "Thank you."

—

"You what?" Mrs. Potts demanded.

"I promised I would not speak to his father about him being found in the stables this morning," he said again.

"Why?" she demanded. "Because he asked you not to?"

"Because he was very clearly afraid of what would happen to him if I did. He argued with me, Beatrice. And I know, I know he can be stubborn, but this was different. He's never challenged my authority before. Quite frankly, it made me concerned for how his father might react. The last thing I want to do is endanger more him while trying to help him."

"If he's not safe with him-"

"I know, I know. But I am afraid there is only so much we can do, especially if he's worried of the consequences. Perhaps you might be able to convince him to at least seek you out if his father ever does this again. I would, but…Clothilde isn't fond of him. I don't want to put him at risk in a different way."

Mrs. Potts scoffed. "I don't understand how anyone could dislike that boy."

"She doesn't like that I've taken him in when we have no children of our own. It is something of a betrayal to her, I think. She'd be mean to him just to spite me and I don't want that for him either."

"I'll talk to him," she agreed, though clearly unhappy about the situation.

"Thank you."

—

Mrs. Potts knocked lightly before stepping into the room with a little tray. "How ya feelin', love?" she asked with a soft smile.

"I am fine," Lumière answered, a hint of weariness in his voice betraying him. "I do not see why I still have to be in bed."

She snickered and handed him a bowl of soup. "You gave us quite the scare this morning, dear, we just want to make sure you're fully recovered before we send you off again. Eat up now, love."

They sat together talking about nothing particular while Lumière ate, both knowing she only stayed to make sure he actually ate and neither saying anything about it. Mrs. Potts took back the bowl once he was finished and set it on the tray again before letting out a little sigh. She'd been dreading this part.

She moved to sit on the edge of the bed to better face Lumière. "Cogsworth told me about what he promised you-"

Lumière went pale. "Please, do not confront him. I do not want him to think I complained or I am ungrateful. He will-"

"Easy now," she admonished, patting his hand. "I won't-"

"Promise me!" he cut in, almost urgently.

She sighed, heart aching at that same wide eyed fear, same demanding tone Cogsworth had warned her of, and found herself nodding. "I promise."

The relief was immediate. "Thank you," he breathed.

"Poppet-"

"It is for the best," he insisted.

"I know, love, but…I want you to at least consider," she said gently, not wanting to distress him further. "At least consider the next time he tosses you out like that you'll come find me."

"But if he comes to find me and I am not there-"

"Then I'll tell him I made you come inside," she assured. "I'll tell him I dragged you inside by your ear if I must. I don't have any problem lying to him on your behalf. I understand you're afraid of him, but I'm far more afraid for you. I'm not gonna make you promise you will, but promise you'll at least consider it. At least know you can."

Lumière nodded. "I will think about it."

She kissed his cheek. "That's all I ask."

—

Mr. Potts opened the door at the faint sound of tapping, almost more to see if he'd actually heard anything at all than to answer any knocking, so light was the noise.

Lumière stood on the threshold, soaked through and shivering, a look of almost shame on his face. "I'm sorry-"

"Never mind that, lad," Mr. Potts cut him off and reached out to pull him inside. "Let's get you dried off. Beatrice, my love, best fetch a towel or two," he called. "Here, give me that coat. Not gonna do you any good now, is it?" he chuckled and pulled the coat from the young man's shoulders and hung it off a peg by the door. "There we are."

Mrs. Potts paused when she saw Lumière standing there by the door, her heart sinking. "He didn't throw you out in the storm, did he?" she demanded, more out of disgust than actual disbelief, and wrapped a towel over his shoulders.

Lumière shook his head. "I was outside already, but I thought you might be upset at me if you found out I was in the rain all night."

Her heart ached at that. She'd never meant to worry him in such a way. "I wouldn't be angry at you, poppet," she assured gently. "I'd likely be upset, you're right, but not at you. This isn't your fault, love. Go with Mr. Potts now, dear, let him find you something dry to wear."

—

"Bit better?" Mrs. Potts asked with a warm smile when Lumière returned wearing Mr. Potts night shirt.

He nodded, tugging anxiously at the sleeves. "Thank you."

She patted his arm. "I've got the second bed all set up for you, love. You can stay here for the night." For a moment she thought Lumière might argue, but he just nodded, seeming to give up on the idea.

"Thank you," he said again.

Mrs. Potts kissed his forehead. "Go get some rest poppet. I'll wake you in the morning."

[dragoneyes613]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

The last moments of Alaric Potts.

[pratchettpatricianpages]

“Life has certainly been more reliable under Vetinari,” said Mr. Potts of the Bakers’ Guild.

“He does have all street-theater players and mime artists thrown into the scorpion pit,” said Mr. Boggis of the Thieves’ Guild.

“True. But let’s not forget that he has his bad points too. The man is capricious.”

“You think so? Compared to the ones we had before he’s as reliable as a rock.”

-Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

[batbobsession]

Imagine BatB 2017, but as the third movie of a four-part movie series.

This has been a dream of mine for a while, and I want to share it all with you.  Imagine Beauty and the Beast, with all of the casting intact, but with one, eensy teensy little change: It’s all centered around the castle residents.

Movie 1: This movie starts off with Adam being born, the big event that started everything.  Fast forward to maybe ten or so years later, to where Adam’s running through the halls, his mother’s alive, and the king is still ruling over the land.  Due to the king firing a lot of the servants because they’re not as good as he hoped they would be, Cogsworth—who is younger, but still the majordomo of the castle—hires on new servants, the main three being Lumiere, Chapeau, and Plumette.  Mrs. Potts already works at the castle, but she’s promoted to head housekeeper because Cogsworth can trust her.  This movie focuses on life inside the castle after that.  It’s mainly centered around caring for Adam, but there are other things we get to see, like Lumiere and Plumette’s budding romance (oh who am I kidding, we’ll see all of Lumiere and Plumette’s budding romance), how Adam interacts with all of the staff, and Villeneuve through the eyes of Mrs. Potts, before Belle arrives.  Gaston’s rescue of the village could happen here, as well as an Agathe cameo.  Speaking of which, Mrs. Potts and the queen are great friends.  And we’ll also find out why Cogsworth and Clothilde aren’t on good terms.

Then the queen falls ill and things take a turn as the king starts paying attention to his son.  He does just what the movie says and begins to twist Adam’s kind nature around.  He orders the servants not to interfere, but there is a moment of happiness when Chip is born.  The servants think that it might be nice for Adam to be like an older-brother figure to Chip, but Adam is already taking up some of the characteristics of his father.  So it’s not meant to be.

The queen dies.  The king takes on tutoring and ordering Adam around himself, and there are times when some of the servants see the king strike him, but they turn a blind eye.  Slowly, the rift between Adam and the staff widens.  The movie ends with the king’s death, maybe a shot of Adam, now around the age he’ll be when Agathe visits, sitting on the king’s throne with the same expression his father had.

Movie 2: More like a Movie 1.5 or a spinoff, since it doesn’t even take place in the castle, but in Italy.  You probably know where I’m going with this; this entire film covers Madame de Garderobe and Cadenza. It’ll show us their individual backstories, like how Cadenza was a child prodigy when it came to music, and Garderobe rose to become known across the country as an opera star.  How they met, how they fell in love—because you know Cadenza’s going to fall first, the hopeless romantic that he is—and how their relationship develops.  People notice that they both sound better when they perform together, and they become a duo.  Cadenza finally works up the nerve to propose after a year or so, and Garderobe says yes before he even finishes speaking, the wedding is glorious, everything is perfect.

The first performance they have after their marriage is at a castle in France, for a queen’s birthday.  Garderobe recalls the staff being ever so accommodating, though they both remember the majordomo being a tad stuffy, and the queen’s young son was so well-behaved and complimentary after their performance.

They think about having kids after that, but decide against it, because their jobs are so demanding and full of travel.  Instead they get Froufrou, who is travel-sized and the smallest, cutest thing that either of them had ever laid eyes on.

Then, years later, they’re invited back to the castle to perform for a ball the prince, now grown up, is throwing for himself.  At first, they decide not to go because of another offer they were given, but they remember the queen’s kindness and decide that it might be fun as a visit, too.

Movie 3: Beauty and the Beast.

Movie 4: Life after the curse is lifted.  Adam and Belle are already married, Maurice has become a well-known artist (and lives in the castle), and Cadenza and Garderobe are swamped with gigs because they had disappeared off the face of the earth for 5+ years and no one knows why.

Lumiere and Plumette get married.  That happens incredibly early in the movie, and when they invite the musicians over to perform, they agree without a second thought because they’re technically a second family now.  This leads to them buying a second house in France relatively close to the castle.  They occasionally travel back and forth between France and Italy, wherever the music takes them.

Mrs. Potts and Chip reunite with Jean, Chapeau starts performing around Villeneuve, and Belle and Adam welcome the villagers into the castle any time they’d like.  Through Maurice, Belle, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Chapeau, we see how positively Villeneuve has changed after the curse.  We’ll see LeFou and Stanley’s relationship develop here, too.

Belle and Plumette have children, and soon Chip feels like a big brother, and even volunteers to watch after them while their parents are off doing stuff.

Agathe frequents the castle, each time completely unrecognizable, just to see if her work really has paid off.  

Maybe the conflict is just Adam trying to get back into the swing of royalty and having a hard time with it...I dunno, but eventually they all live happily ever after.

[peanutnutters]

My BANB mind was blown when I realized....

Now I realized that in the opening of “Belle” everyone is very close to a Harry Potter reference.

“I seemed to have lost something…but the problem is I can’t seem to remember….”

BUT…

SPOILERS!

The person who says this…

IS MR. POTTS! 

He’s constantly forgetting that his family is somewhere (Aka the castle) or that he even has one. Because the enchantress had made everyone forget that the Beast and everyone who worked there exists. The only time be begins to remember is when he walks into the castle he even begins to remember being there before. 

And that is when Ms.Potts freaks out…as she should, and everyone in the movie theater freaks out as well, because she realizes her husband is there and everyone dies of happiness. 

So though it might have been a nice little quote for the HP community, it goes way beyond that. I think….that doesn’t mean I’m right. 

[spaghetti-dad187]

When you realize what he lost was his family and he can't remember them

[batbobsession]

Remember that man that couldn’t remember what he’d forgotten?

His name is listed as Jean the Potter.

He was a potter.

MY POOR LITTLE HEART CAN’T TAKE IT