hands-down the FUNNIEST part to me of the recent situation where a bunch of racist people found an unsubstantiated rumor that avantika was gonna be disney's live-action rapunzel (which disney hasn't even confirmed as existing) and having crying screaming meltdowns because, and i directly quote, "rapunzel is a blonde woman"..... is that they're not even right. disney's rapunzel isn't blonde. they're gonna SHIT when they find out what happens to her hair at the end of the movie
Not but I don’t think I’ll ever be over the way they wrote Mother Gothel’s manipulation . The way it’s woven into everything she does. The way you can tell by watching her with Repunzel that this is years and years and layers and layers of manipulation. This is a whole little world Gothel had built around her and Repunzel with nobody to stop her. The way it’s apparent from the first scene. The way she insults repunzel and puts her down and tries to work on her self esteem but hides its behind “oh I’m just teasing. Don’t be so sensitive.” The way Mother Knows Best is a masterclass in narcissistic manipulation. The way she gaslights Repunzel by calling the floating lights “stars” even though Repunzel is smart enough to figure out that’s not what they are. The way Gothel has to have all the power, even in small ways like her having a door and Repunzel having a curtain. The way even their little game of “I love you” is a narcissistic play for power because Gothel’s line is always “I love you most” because she’s SUCH a good mother, you see. She’s sacrificed SO MUCH. She’s basically a martyr. She takes SUCH good care of Repunzel. Nobody could EVER love as much as her.
The way Gothel and Repunzel have an ‘argument’ which is actually just Repunzel having a reasonable request and Gothel giving a whole big manipulative spiel followed by a harsh rebuff. Then she immediately leaves, which is also another play for power. She controls when she and Repunzel can have a conversation and they’re not having it right now. She comes back a tries to pretend it never happened, except it did and they both know it, so Gothel is like “oh I’m making your favorite soup! Isn’t it wonderful? Doesn’t it make up for the fact I’ve ruined your whole life and I told you you can NEVER EVER have a life outside the toxic bubble I’ve created for us? Why would you ever want to leave??” Which is exactly how abusive relationships work, the way they offer the bare minimum and act like its might as well be a gift from God. And the worst part is, many people who are abused take it and DO feel like it really is a special thing because they’re not used to getting even the bare minimum. Another really good detail too is the after Gothel’s blow up (“now I’M the bad guy. Oh poor me”) Repunzel DOES want to drop the subject so she tells Gothel she just wants paint instead and calls the floating lights “stars,” thus making a subtle concession and making Gothel feel like she’s won, which I’m sure exactly how all their ‘aruguments’ in the past have ended: with Repunzel having yield and Gothel making sure she’s knows she’s the one in control. Overall it’s just so well written and one of the best representations of real manipulations that I’ve seen
Ive redesigned them again😭 i know its not that much difference from my previous redesigns, but i saw a lot of people drawing them and couldnt help myself <3