timelordthirteen:
Oh thank you, I love this question! And I’m going to disclaim that if you don’t like Lacey or don’t like my theories and opinions on Lacey and Belle, do not comment on this post if that’s your only contribution. I want zero hate for Lacey/Belle on my posts and I will block with prejudice.
First it’s that Lacey is a bit of a blank slate. We don’t see much of her beyond the episode Lacey. We know she’s around, and that she’s with Rumple/Gold, but we only see her with him and in small doses. And then suddenly at the end of the season she’s back to being Belle and that’s that. Like too many things on this show she is never talked about or dealt with again. So she’s a character that has a few basic traits that I can take anywhere.
Second, Lacey is Belle’s cursed persona. I don’t care what any other arguments there are about this. I believe if Regina had let Belle out while the curse was in effect, this is the person we would have seen. Lacey is basically the dark parts of Belle, the bad side of her traits amplified, same as what we see of other characters under the original curse. This gives rise to a ton of possible cursed AU scenarios.
But Lacey’s existence also gives us an interesting look at Belle herself. Lacey is part of Belle. Where Belle is compassionate and helpful, Lacey is selfish and gives no fucks about others. Belle is passionate and brave, Lacey is impulsive and audacious. They are similar traits, but where Belle exemplifies the best side, Lacey can sometimes be… the worst. Lacey is the part of Belle that does love the darkness in Rumple/Gold. She’s the part that is just a little bit pleased that her husband is a powerful, dark sorcerer, the part that wants a rough fuck in the back of the pawn shop and a shot of whiskey afterwards. Those things exist in Belle too, but I think because she wants to be a hero so badly, she pushes them down. We’re seeing it right now, Belle refusing the part of herself that likes the darkness, that has probably done things she regrets, things that are probably less than good.
That doesn’t mean Lacey is bad. David Nolan wasn’t a bad person, he was Charming without the bravery and conviction of being Prince Charming. Lacey is just the less great parts of Belle, and that means that Lacey can also be the good parts too. I’ve seen people say they hate the character because she’s one dimensional and shallow. Well, gee, we got about 30 minutes of her on screen on a show that isn’t necessarily known for it’s consistency of characterization and storytelling. So no wonder. Things are swept under the rug of this show every episode. That doesn’t mean Lacey can’t be a complex character, that she doesn’t remember losing her mother like Belle does, that she doesn’t remember a bad fiance she narrowly escaped marrying, that she hasn’t been abused and mistreated by villainous people.
When I write Lacey I try to write her as vulnerable but faking it. All her bravado, her give no fucks attitude? It’s a sham. Behind it all is a woman who has been hurt and who is trying desperately not to get hurt again. She doesn’t trust easily, so it takes work to get to the real person underneath the hard drinking and partying. There’s a broke girl who hustles pool to make rent. A daughter who doesn’t feel loved by her father anymore because she made choices he didn’t like. A woman who lost her mother when she needed her most. A person wants to be good but finds herself attracted to the bad.
THOSE THINGS ARE ALSO BELLE.
The one thing I’ve always liked about this show is that there isn’t a firm line between heroes and villains. On any given day, a hero can fuck up and a villain can be selfless. Belle can be Lacey as much as Lacey can be Belle. I hope this season we see at least part of that, and see Belle opening up to the parts of herself she doesn’t maybe like so much. I hope we see her accepting the darkness in Rumple and loving him for who he is. I think that more than anything will be the catalyst for Rumple becoming who he needs to be and fulfilling the prophecy Merlin spoke of. I’d kill to see Belle remember being Lacey and possibly the things she did with Rumple during those cursed days. I’d love to see her struggling with the things she did and felt as Lacey, but I know we won’t get that.
Ultimately, I like writing Lacey because she’s closer to the real me than Belle is, even some of the parts we see on screen. I relate to a lot of her traits when I write her, and yeah maybe I project a bit. So when I see people hating Lacey, I feel some personal offense. Because it feels like I’m being hated too. Her existence also make the Belles I write more complex because I can use those “bad” traits of Lacey to flesh out Belle.
*jaw drops* This ^^
I love Lacey, precisely because of all those layers she does have. People knock the show a lot and not fully exploring storylines (like Lacey’s) is kinda irritating, there is so much potential and then it’s forgotten. However, at the same time, it gives us amazing storylines – like Lacey, which writers can take and do something awesome with.
The whole ‘we are both’ thing, I just love it. I agree with all of this post, hence why I’m reblogging it because well this ^^ which remains relevant through to season 6 because people aren’t just one thing, people are complex creatures who are lots of things. We’re also illogical, we sometimes want one thing and do another. “The heart wants what it wants, and does things for reason that reason does not understand.”
Oh and I have to quote you now because this – “On any given day, a hero can fuck up and a villain can be selfless. Belle can be Lacey as much as Lacey can be Belle.” – is just so true and I believe this so much. Nobody is all good or all bad, life isn’t totally black and white – we are both.
