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gavillain · 3 years

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Top ten princesses!

*rubs hands together* Alright, let’s rank us some Disney princesses. Technically there’s only four others who aren’t gonna make the cut buuuut they’re the four I don’t really like XD

10: Pocahontas (Pocahontas)

With Pocahontas, you can very clearly see the behind the scenes "self-consciousness" of the filmmakers baked into her character writing. Pocahontas was Disney's big attempt at Oscar gold, trying to tell a Big Important portentous story while also grappling with trying to make Pocahontas as inoffensive as possible. The result is a character who is kind and likable enough, but also kind of wooden. The historical accuracy value is practically nil, and Pocahontas as a character and a movie comes off worse and worse with the passage of time. All that being said, I think Disney did the very best job they could with Pocahontas given the situation she emerged in. They created a character who is likable, free-spirited, a strong believer in justice and unity, and a character who leads with empathy and courage at the forefront. If nothing else, Pocahontas is a strong role model for little girls to look up to, and her love story with John Smith is one of Disney's most mature love stories as well, so there's plenty for older fans to enjoy as well.

9: Mulan (Mulan)

Mulan is counted as a Disney princess because they don't have any other Asian princesses and they wanted a more diverse lineup. That's the reason. Y'all can stop pretending not to know now. But with that strange categorizing, Mulan is weird fixture of the princess lineup any way you look at her. Mulan, for me, both as a princess and a movie, has always been just kind of there. A lot of people passionately love it, and I get that completely. A lot of people tear it apart, and I get that too. Mulan is a great girl power character, and her resourcefulness and cleverness being her defining trait is excellent. Her internal turmoil over her identity is perhaps more poignant here than with any other princess, and Reflection still stands as one of the greatest Disney songs ever written. That said, Mulan's defining character flaw being clumsiness and awkwardness and this being why she has such internal turmoil about fitting in just makes her come off as a bit hollow to me, and I feel like there was a better route to take her. After how surprisingly good an LGBT take on her worked over in Once Upon a Time and how much better that informed her feeling like an outsider, it just made the animated version come off as weaker on the internal side to me. Good character overall, though, and I do really like Mulan.

8: Moana (Moana)

Moana has a similar situation to Mulan where she's not really a princess but she gets shoehorned into the princess mold because they have nowhere else to put her. She and Mulan are Disney heroes, and they have different expectations for that reason. All that being said, Moana is easily the best of the Revival era CGI princesses. For one thing, while she has a bit of the Revival trend of modernizing the princesses too much, they don't make her overly adorkable to make her relatable (... “overly” being the key word; she’s not exempt). On the contrary, Moana is written very much like a person. We see Moana grapple with the weight of duty both to her people and to the world as a whole. Her story is one of trying figure out whether it is better to chase the unknown or to follow the tried and true. And I like that. I also really appreciate how Moana wins the final battle with empathy for the monster, and that's what makes her unique. The whole "Know Who You Are" musical number is legitimately one of the most powerful moments ever put into a Disney film too. My biggest issue with her actually comes from Maui whose constant meta quips and spotlight stealing tends to undermine Moana's character a lot and takes away from some of her moments that I wish hit harder than they do.

7: Jasmine (Aladdin)

Jasmine is the only princess in the lineup who is not the main character of her movie. On the contrary, she's the love interest of the main character and more of a supporting player in her film. She doesn't even get a solo, something every other princess, save Merida who isn't in a musical, gets. As a result of this, Jasmine isn't really as strong in her own right as several of the other princesses. But she's still awesome. She has a strong internal life and vibrancy, and the way her character revolves around a longing for freedom and the way that compares to Aladdin and the Genie makes her really come alive and work well within the context of the film. She's also clever, resourceful, a self proclaimed fast-learner, and someone who never allows her voice to be silenced. Yet even with all her strength, she's allowed tender moments of kindness and gentleness to show that there's another side to her. Also the TV series and sequels expanded on her character in a wonderful way.

6: Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)

Okay, yes, Disney's first black princess being a frog for more than half the movie was a bad creative decision on their part that wasn't a good look. But for Disney's first black princess, considering the company's history with race issues in particular and how self-conscious a lot of their princesses of color have come off, I think a lot of people underestimate just how good Tiana is. Tiana is vibrant and full of personality without every coming off as a stereotype or as anything less than dignified and admirable. She's hard worker, but she never comes off to me as trying to be "look how much better I am than the other princesses." She lets her actions and her character speak for themselves. I like that her arc is actually about finding a healthy balance between storybook love and wishing and hard work and determination. She's a woman with ambition, but she also learns to make time for a bit of fairytale fantasy and the things that really count like love and friendship. Also, just major props to Anika Noni Rose for making Tiana so damn likable and fun to follow.

5: Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

And now that we're in the top five, we start getting into the classics. Aurora gets an unfair reputation as a basic boring princess who needs a man to save her and has no value of her own. But with Sleeping Beauty being an adaptation of ballet in particular, that's really missing the forest for the trees. Sleeping Beauty was envisioned by Walt as the pinnacle of animation, an animated film that would stand tall in an art gallery, and you can see that very much at play in Aurora. From Marc Davis's absolutely stunning animation on her to Mary Costa's beautiful vocal work in blending with the musical stylings of Tchaikovsky, Aurora is, more than any other princess in the Disney lineup, a piece of high art. She's written deceptively simply to allow for the animation and the music to convey the brunt of her character. And, when you get right down to it, Aurora is, like art, designed around the emotions of the piece more than specific character quirks. Yet the essence of her kindness, of her grace, and of her sly looks and shrewd coyness is all right there in the character. She also pretty perfectly encapsulates the emotions and feelings of young love, and I think there's a lot of value in that portrayal as well.

4: Ariel (The Little Mermaid)

I used to give Ariel a hard time in the recent past, and I fully regret allowing certain sects of discourse to color my view of her. Ariel is an amazing character, and an excellent princess. One of the things that has struck me, revisiting the movie as a gay adult, is just how queer of a story Ariel's is. Hans Christian Anderson wrote the original in response to male lover of his, openly gay Howard Ashman was a major creative driving force behind the story, and openly gay animator Andreas Deja brought to life the visceral Grotto scene based on his falling out with his own father. There's queerness baked into the fabric of this film, and it shows itself clearly with the narrative of a princess who is unhappy with her home life and has a forbidden love that she must hide away from her own family and then must undergo the process of evolving into the version of herself that she wants to be in order to satisfy the love within herself. She gets dismissed as being just a rebellious teenager, but there's so much more to her than that and she hits home to so many people for that reason. Also, Jodi Benson's incredible voice work and the writing for her makes Ariel constantly a vibrant and interesting character who I feel like we get to know better and more intimately than almost any other princess.

3: Cinderella (Cinderella)

Though, much like Aurora and Ariel, Cinderella gets an unfair reputation as weak and needing a man, that couldn't be further from the truth. Cinderella is an abuse survivor who keeps her dreams, optimism, and kindness alive even in the face of crippling despair and misery. She's a woman who fought a daily battle just for the right to keep existing, and while the Fairy Godmother gave her magical assistance, Cinderella earned her happy ending herself. I just have to admire how she embodies patience and kindness while also still being strong in her own way. She's not a masculine warrior action figure; she's very feminine. Yet she finds strength in her femininity without relying on sex, and I just think that's wonderful. I also really love how much personality and humanity they filled Cinderella with without going overboard or making her into a parody of herself. Cinderella maintains the grace, poise, and beauty of a princess all while having so many little quirks and traits that make her feel like a real woman. Also, it must be said, Cinderella III is still the best Disney sequel, and I love how it expands upon her and gives her new opportunities to prove herself all while maintaining the core kindness and strength of her character.

2: Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)

The one that started it all and still a radiant joy of beauty and kindness, Snow White is everything a princess should be. Like Cinderella, Snow White shows that you can survive abusive situations with your positivity in tact. In fact, Snow White goes one step further. She shows that "there's no use in grumbling when raindrops come tumbling; remember you're the one who can fill the world with sunshine." She's a beacon of hope and positivity who shows that compassion and kindness are the true virtues that deserve to be held as the most precious. She also shows the importance of found family and finding a loving support system that is right for you even if that's not your actual family members. In addition to all that, Snow White is great for being full of personality and having a vibrancy to her. She meets the dwarfs and immediately begins to take charge and to hold them to the standards she expects. She's never afraid to make her voice or opinion heard, and she's also got a playful teasing side to her that shines through. While her film is a heightened reality, she still has a core realness to her that makes her plight and her adventure feel all the more immersive for a viewer.

1: Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

But my favorite princess is always plain to see. While I love many of the other princesses, none quite hit that same sweet spot for me that Belle does. Belle is an outcast. She's a well read and intelligent woman more concerned with books and ideas of adventure than she is with the types of things she's expected to be concerned with by her small town. According to the townsfolk, she should be only concerned with getting married to a handsome man and being his doting little wife. However, Belle has absolutely no interest in taking part in any of that nonsense, and because of that, the people of her hometown write her off as odd or crazy. Many of us have been in a similar situation and felt excluded from society because we were somehow "not normal." Whether it was for our sexualities, our weight, our skin color, our religious beliefs, our over abundant love of comic books, or what have you, many people out there feel alone and ostracized. Yet Belle is that shining beacon of someone who lives her authentic life no matter what the world around her thinks, and that can give courage to others who relate to those feelings. Belle inspires the Beast to change to be better for her, not because she can break a spell, but because she sees the true beauty inside of him that no one else ever had. Some of my favorite types of heroes are those individuals who see the good inside of everyone. Those who give everyone a fair chance, especially to those who were never given a chance by anyone before, are the type of heroes we need more of in real life. No she can't fight off villains or complete daring feats of physical prowess, but she doesn't have to do those things to make a difference. She can save an entire castle by goodness and compassion alone. Paige O'Hara really does a fantastic job filling Belle with personality as well. I love that her voice work conveys confidence and strength, but also has moments of gentleness and vulnerability. She's allowed to have a range of emotions and certain spunk that is nothing short of endearing. Special mention must go to how excited and energized O'Hara plays Belle as getting when she talks about her books and stories. You really get the sense that reading is Belle's passion, not just something she enjoys. There's a real sense that Belle experiences the world around her fully and vigorously, and that adds to the charm of her character that makes her, for me, the most likable and best of the Disney princesses.

#disney princesses #Belle #Snow White #Cinderella #Ariel #Aurora #Princess Tiana #Jasmine #Moana #Mulan #Pocahontas #marciabrady #I also just did the lineup princesses otherwise Eilonwy and Meg and Esmeralda would have ranked

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tempest-loupnoir · 7 years

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Really long character survey

Tagged by @sirgyrodegearloose I don't know 10 roleplayers to tag, and this is so long I'm not ask anyone to put in the time, hehe. BASICS. FULL NAME : Alexandra Dragora Calandrina NICKNAME : Lexi AGE : 20 BIRTHDAY : ETHNIC GROUP : Pekin duck NATIONALITY : Romanian LANGUAGE / S : English (that’s woefully all the mun is fluent in), French, Romanian SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Demi straight ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Demi RELATIONSHIP STATUS : dating CLASS : witch. Upper middle in Transylvania but in Calisota, she does not have much, so she lives with her aunt. HOME TOWN / AREA : Marmatia (made up town), Transylvania CURRENT HOME : living with her aunt, Letitia Weyard PROFESSION : Student/witch PHYSICAL. HAIR : black, falls to the middle of her shoulder blades EYES : Blue sclera like any Pekin duck. Violet irises NOSE : Orange beak. It's slightly shorter than Donald Duck's FACE : Uh… round? Covered in feathers? LIPS : See nose COMPLEXION : Pristine white feathers. BLEMISHES : mole on her back that stays hidden under her clothes. SCARS : she has played with fire, fenced with a sword, shot arrows, rode horse back, climbed trees, played with baby dragons and a shape shifting wolf and numerous other creatures as a kid, so she has some faint shiny scars under her feathers. TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : hm. Scrooge is three feet, so that makes Fenton Crackshell close to four feet? I think of Lexi as being about Fenton/Drake Mallard's height, so she is tall for a female duck but still tiny compared to most other inhabitants in the duckverse. WEIGHT : Scrooge is twenty pounds. Lexi is taller but not as muscular as he is so I guess she would be about twenty pounds too. BUILD : trim FEATURES : Big blue sclera, shiny long hair that usually has a small braid holding it away from her face (thank you, Goku-San for the idea), usualky smiling. ALLERGIES : some mushrooms and flowers like lilies make her sneeze. Some animal saliva makes her break out but she knows how to treat her reactions. USUAL HAIR STYLE : small braid holding hair away from her eyes. Usually down and loose but may be tied back in a pony tail or loose bun. She experiments with different hair styles USUAL FACE LOOK : Curious USUAL CLOTHING : at home, she usually wears like dark gothic dresses or warm sweaters and jeans. In Calisota, she's been wearing sundresses, t-shirts and jeans, and whatever else is available to her from throft shops or hand-me-downs from her aunt. PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Failure, loss, ridicule ASPIRATION / S: make her parents proud, be someone's hero, find someone who can be her own hero and emotional support, become respected in the wizarding community, create a new signature spell nobody else knows, POSITIVE TRAITS : Generally cheerful and bubbly, inquisitive, independent thinker, kind, creative, motherly NEGATIVE TRAITS : Easily intimidated, can become stubborn and irrational when protecting someone, shuts down mentally or faints when overly stressed, sometimes uses too much energy, makes rash decisions to protect friends MBTI : ISFP Introvert(6%) Sensing(3%) Feeling(59%) Perceiving(22%) (x) ZODIAC : Virgo TEMPERAMENT : Sanguine? Doesn't really describe her well (x) SOUL TYPE / S : Helper, Creator, Spiritualist (x) ANIMALS : penguin? (x) VICE HABIT / S : major sweet tooth, picks at her fingernails when she is nervous, may go without eating if she is too stressed FAITH : Christian GHOSTS ? : Has seen some AFTERLIFE ? : yes REINCARNATION ? : Not without magic ALIENS ? : Yes? POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : totally confused by them. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : Everyone deserves to be treated with basic decency. Beyond that, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ EDUCATION LEVEL : finished high school. Still in wizarding college FAMILY. FATHER : Azkadell Calandrina MOTHER : Evilene Weyard SIBLINGS : a twin brother in the Negaverse. None in the Darkwing universe EXTENDED FAMILY : too many to list. Magica and Poe De Spell are cousins. Letitia Weyard, Sergei Calandrina, more to be added once they are named. NAME MEANING / S : "defender, protector" HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : her great great grandmother was one of the weird sisters King MacBeth took advice from FAVOURITES. BOOK : The Shadow Within (Light of Eidon series) MOVIE: Beauty and the Beast 5 SONGS : "End Of The Line" "When You Believe" "Carol of the Bells/Bells of Notre Dame" "Go The Distance" "I Want To Know What Love Is" DEITY : Jehovah HOLIDAY : It was Easter but I think Halloween will become her favorite once she understands it. MONTH : June SEASON : Spring PLACE : Wherever her best friends are WEATHER : partly cloudy and breezy. She loves sunshine but she's sensitive to light and heat. She loves feeling the wind in her feathers. For her, 62 degrees F would probably feel warm. She is learning to appreciate 80 degrees and sunshine. SOUND : epic music, birds in the trees, laughter SCENT / S : Freshly cut grass, conifers, baked goods, the sweet scent of her wolf's fur TASTE / S : Fresh fruit, anything sweet or salty and savory FEEL / S : (I'm not sure I understand this one). Um...the silky texture of her hair as she plays with it ANIMAL / S : canines, gryphons, otters, NUMBER : 7 COLOUR : purple EXTRA. TALENTS : She's an empath. She physically feels the emotional and even physical pain of others, to the point that she can become incapacitated by the stress. She also can get glimpses of a person's personality by touching them and connecting with them telepathically. Rarely she will get a brief, blurry glimpse of the future, but she never knows the time frame for that occurrence. She can turn any object to flowers, or set it on fire. She can teleport objects and ride a broom (badly as she does not have a good sense of balance). She's studied hard to learn how to heal wounds and illnesses. BAD AT : Dancing, gullible, naïve, easily distracted, ignoring her empathy to focus on solving problems, time management, hiding her emotions, lying, TURN ONS : Not getting into that here. TURN OFFS : Not getting into this either. HOBBIES : equestrian, archery, playing with animals, flying around on her broom, dabbling in arts and crafts. TROPES : Morality Pet, Action Girlfriend/borderline Protective Girlfriend, borderline She Loves You and Everyone (she has limits. Some villains are unlovable, as she found out the hard way), Magical Girl AESTHETIC TAGS : purple, blue, wolves, starry nights, frozen north, California dreaming, goth, witch, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Magica DeSpell, Morgana Macawber, empath, GPOY QUOTES : what is GPOY? FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : I don't know what any of this means? ALT FC / S : ? OLDER FC / S : ? YOUNGER FC / S : ? VOICE CLAIM / S : Liz Callaway perhaps? GENDERBENT FC / S : Don’t have one MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : As much as I'd love to toss her into the DuckTales universe, I think most of the main cast would be wary of her. She does look a little like their adversary Magica De Spell, and magic can cause even more problems than it solves. She would be fun to pit against Gizmoduck, as she'd spend most of her time trying to fix his blunders and protect him from real threats while he is giving his speeches about justice. I think her current storyline (young woman leaves oppressive home environment in pursuit of self discovery and happiness and makes friends and enemies in her new foreign environment) is pretty much the type of movie I would put her in. A cross between the aesthetics and look of Tangled, with the adventures from Aladdin the series would be ideal for Lexi. Q2 : What would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : Lots of moody piano and strings, with deep drumming. Sort of like the Legend of Zelda or Eragon soundtrack, but with some light hearted, playful riffs like Tuomas Holopanien included in "Duel & Cloudscapes" in the album "Music Inspired by The Life and Times of Scrooge" Q3 : Why did you start writing this character ? A3 : I created her with the help of a friend on Skype back in 2013. Originally she was going to be an immediate relative of Magica DeSpell, but once I found out Magica has nieces and cousins like Minima and Matilda, I revamped Lexi. My friend Sasha came up with the nickname "Lexi" since it sounds playful and can be a pun on Hex. Q4 : What first attracted you to this character ? A4 : I love her personality. She's bubbly, optimist, and genuinely caring about both people and animals, and that is someone I would love to be friends with in real life. She's confident and motivated enough to teleport to her friends' side and fight their battles with them, but humble enough that she would never dream of seeking glory and fame. Q5 : Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : She cares too much and has too little self confidence. She lets her parents' opinions of her and other people weigh her down, and make her feel weak and useless. Good grief! Q6 : What do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : Empathy and low self esteem. She is basically a super powered, much more motivated and outgoing, smarter, more optimistic version of me. Her roller coaster emotions come from me and so do many of her personal interests. Like I said before, I'd love to be best friends with her in real life, but I think my habits, silence, and negative feelings would adversely affect her and she would have a hard time being around me. Q7 : How does your muse feel about you ? A7 : She would probably be torn between wanting to kick my keister and hug and comfort me most of the time. Q8 : What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : Offline, Lexi has become friends with Darkwing Duck, Launchpad McQuack, Bushroot, @freddiebuckster 's character Harmonizer, my OC Agent Carol Torres, another friend's SHUSH Agent and pilot OC plus that pilot's Negaverse version, Negaduck, Magica and Poe De Spell, etc. I think one of my favorite odd interactions was with an older, frail Negaduck who no longer felt the need to murder or steal. He was just a cranky, achey old duck who had never known friendship or kindness. Lexi was very motherly with him, tending to his injuries, and providing him with clothes and food before taking him back to her friends. She has a similar motherly relationship with Bushroot, providing him with an enchanted charm that gives him back his original human appearance for a few hours at a time. Online, she is still developing her friendships and relationships. She has a very sweet relationship with her boyfriend, and his friends. She tries to prevent him from making mistakes and she tries to fix things when he does mess up, but she finds his cheerfulness and reckless bravery so endearing that she can't help wanting to be around him. He helps her recharge and relax when she's overwhelmed by stress from school studies or from empathizing too long. They care about and rejuvenate each other. Q9 : What gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : Listening to movie and game soundtracks, and reading over past roleplays. I also have a list of roleplay ideas I'd like to do with her. She's one of my main muses so it is usually pretty easy to step into her character. Q10 : How long did this take you to complete ? A10 : About four hours (spread out over two days.)

#lupineleigh's oc #Lexi Calandrina #character profile #character survey

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