The Thing That Kills Me About Claudia Is Not Only Do WE Know She's Doomed By The Narrative. SHE KNOWS

the thing that kills me about Claudia is not only do WE know she's doomed by the narrative. SHE KNOWS IT TOO! She can feel that she's inessential to those around her as you're watching her it almost feels like she knows she's destined to be killed, which feeds into her desperation and anger in some instances. then to have Madeleine come along and finally make her feel safe and loved, understood, prioritized. the narrative's target on Claudia's back doesn't go away now that Madeleine is holding her. we feel happy for them, we want madeleine to be the thing Claudia needs to survive. But it was never about her. She has to die. even if for a second you hoped that maybe it'll turn out different this time. Orpheus can't save Eurydice, all he can do is follow her to the underworld. That's just how the story goes. But the love was there.

interview fans suck with our ship names what do you actually mean there are 3000 books in this series, a movie (two ig), a show, comics, human serial killer au (Hannibal nbc) (WHICH HAS FANART IN THE WHITE HOUSE), a broadway musical, a concrete blonde song, and is influential enough to have effected fairuse laws and the name of our most plot important ship is just Loustat... LIKE GET IT TOGETHER PEOPLE !!! Devils minion fans you are the ONLY ones putting in the work. Everyone else get to it I wanna see ideas.

(hannigram fans this is for you too bcs it's the same ship.)

today on the most relatable perfect girl ever written:

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

interview is soooooo difficult as somebody recovering from a lifetime of codependent relationship after codependent relationship after codependent relationship. I understand these stupid vampires completely and I feel the damage done onto them because it is my own. but I also feel their love, as that is also my own. One could not exist without the other and I know this from personal experience. By giving your love you're handing them the remote to a shock collar around your heart. I can't in good conscious ship them bcs practically all of them are like this, but also, how can i NOT ship them??? I feel the devotion they have for each other. It's there, tangible, in my hands. but how can I wish for my favorite characters to endure the emotional warfaire I relate to? How can I not wish for it if that's the very reason they're my favorite characters. Many such cases...

Let's compare the S3 opening to the finale closing, shall we?

They're nearly identical with a few very notable differences:

The journal is closed. Her tale is told, this story is done. (It also closes while we watch, driving the point home.)

Her crown is now missing from the pillow*. This is to show how she's now comfortable wearing it all the time, indicating that she's stepped fully into her ruling role in society.

There is more paint spilled on the outside of the tankard that holds her brushes. This is, of course, because she's told a lot more story by the end of the season than the beginning. There's significantly less paint on it in the S1 opening. (And I'm positive the tankard is from the Snuggly Duckling.)

The view is finally pulled back and lit well enough to see what the thing on the far left is: an open birdcage. Rapunzel is finally truly free in the realest sense. She's chosen the life she leads now. None of this is being forced on her before she's ready for it. Interestingly, the birdcage is there in the S1 opening, too, but not only is the shot tighter so most of it is cut off, it's also draped in shadow, making it very unclear what the object is.

But there are some very notable differences between the S1 and S3 opening shots, as well:

The candles in the S1 opening are lit and much higher than the ones in the S3 opening. These are intended to be the same candles, but burned down by S3. This also shows that she's doing her journal entries at the close of the day. But the lighting in the S3 opening implies either dawn or sunset (likely the latter). It's warmer and brighter, more full of possibility and feels less like she's hiding it from the world.

Her paint palette is on the desk instead of her adventure bag which is full of more paint brushes and also coins. She did all of her painting at home, and didn't really have anywhere else to go during S1. She was still doing things the way she'd always been used to doing them.

The wall behind the desk is mostly unpainted in S1 and completely painted in S3. By the end of the series, she'd once again made a home for herself, surrounded by her own art and the stories she had to tell. Similarly, the desk is far less marked up by art supplies in S1 than it is in S3 (just like the brush-holding tankard).

The books are leaning differently, because she took them with her during S2. You can see them in the S2 opening shot on her bed in the caravan.

The little pot in the upper right of the desk has clean, unused paint brushes in it. But in S3, it's full of flowers, instead, because those brushes are all now in use, and stashed in her adventure bag.

There are multiple writing quills on the desk in S1 and none in S3. I feel like this is significant of her always being out and about now. Also, she feel less like she has to "put things in ink," and can instead do her free-flowing lifestyle the way she sees fit.

*Yes, I know that in a previous post I said it was the pillow the wedding rings were carried on, but both of these things can be true at the same time.

I could do Daniel's job if my mental fortitude wasn't that of a wet tissue.