mother knows best.

take it from your mumsy.

[mothersmaeve]

get to know maeve gothel :

If there was ever a time that Maeve was truly loved or wanted by her parents or family, she certainly doesn’t remember a single day of it. F

once again was too long for tumblr

[punzieeeee]

Rapunzel nodded her head insistently, feeling instantly empowered by the idea. "Yeah, a restraining order, so you can't take me away from my family again." Maybe it was a misstep to let Gothel know her plan, but there wasn't much she could do to stop Rapunzel from it. No matter how well she'd behaved in prison, or whatever she'd done to get out, there was no denying what she'd done to get there in the first place. "You stalked me to find me here," she pointed out, making her gentle move in the game Gothel had trapped her in.

For a fleeting moment, a flash of guilt washed over her: the play to where it hurt, that she might still care after all the years apart tugging on Rapunzel's gentle heart. She had always been keen to see the best in people, even if they hadn't shown her much good in the past. "I'm good," she responded simply, letting Gothel in for a small, pigeonholed peek into her life. "Everything's good, I guess." Not everything--she'd been kidnapped (again) and essentially fed to who she could assume was the most powerful man she'd ever met, but that was hardly something to address with the woman across from her.

[mothersmaeve]

“I’m not going to take you again,” she states with a tint of annoyance in her tone. Of course, there was a part of her that wanted to do exactly that - but there was a bigger picture at play now than back when Rapunzel had first been born, more players in the game than made simply kidnapping the girl again quite a bit harder than the first time. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’m on the straight and narrow now, promise.” It was a lie of course, and they both likely knew it. A light laugh escapes Maeve’s lips at the accusation of having stalked her to get here. It was true that she had indeed been following the blonde for weeks now - but none of that had actually been necessary to know that she hung out at this particular bar. “Oh dear, no. It doesn’t take stalking to know that you love it here. This was the first place you felt any sense of freedom, of course it’s somewhere you frequent often. It was just good luck that you happened to be here tonight.”

Eyebrows rose at the simple answer, the lack of details about her new life wasn’t surprising but it certainly was new. Before whenever she returned to the tower, Rapunzel would have endless stories to tell about her days, even when all she did was the same routine over and over every day. But now - now that she was free and had the huge world in front of her… she suddenly had nothing to say? Oh, Gothel wasn’t buying it. “Good? That’s all?” she questions, shaking her head in obvious disbelief. “And even that hardly felt convincing. Rapunzel, dear, you know you don’t have to lie to me. Tell me - how have you really been? How is that little thief boy of yours?”

[waitingward]

A stranger approaching her didn't often leave her instantly frozen in place, but, for some reason, when Cass' gaze found eyes that looked just like hers, everything had stopped. Thoughts seemed to escape her, as well as any sense of responding but she quickly switched back to normalcy. "Sorry, I-" It was such an absurd feeling she got looking at this stranger, one only coming close to the same feeling she got when she dissected her life from the very beginning. Just as she did when she thought about her life before she met the Wards, she pushed this feeling away. Cass apologized once more, this time more certain and resolute, "Sorry. Yeah, let me help you out." Cassandra moved over to the spare machine next to her, instructing the older woman to get on. Making sure to point out the proper posture one should have, she took in longer looks at the stranger in hoping anything could jog her memory on where she'd seen her before. When nothing came up, she had to force the notion away that they'd met at some point.

She adjusted the weight to the easiest level. "Okay, so you're just gonna let your knees bend and have them close to your chest and then push off from the machine. From the looks of it, the woman picked up on it quickly, "Mhm, just like that." It was a relatively easy machine but done incorrectly could've caused damage to the body so explaining how to properly use it was fine with Cass. "Now just be sure to keep your feet at a shoulder's width apart and you should be good. I'm just gonna add more weight to it if that's alright with you, just so you can gauge how much you can handle." Changing the difficulty to something a bit harder, she couldn't shake her initial sense of deja vu with this lady in particular. It became too much rather that she couldn't just ignore it, "This is a weird question, but have I seen you around? I just get this feeling that we've met before."

[mothersmaeve]

Brushing off the apologies, Maeve took the fact that the younger girl wasn’t immediately attacking her or screaming for the police to be a good sign. Though Cassandra’s hesitation at the start had her worried for a moment, once she moved to explain the machine it became clear she had no idea who Gothel was. Which was a good thing, objectively, but the lack of any recognition in the slightest still struck a nerve and panged at her heart. Here was her daughter, having no clue that her mother was standing right in front of her. Weren’t children supposed to always recognize their parents? The same way a mother was supposed to instinctively just know her baby. Or perhaps all of that was fictional bullshit, sayings simply meant to make blood relations feel more important than they actually are. Following the girl’s instructions, Maeve maneuvered herself on the machine with a faux concentration on each movement. As more weight was added, it genuinely did become a bit of a struggle actually, but nothing she couldn’t handle. “Oh this is perfect,” she gushes with a grin towards the girl. “I can practically feel the calories burning already.”

The grin on her face faltered for just a moment though at the question and ghost of recognition, so fast that she hoped Cassandra wouldn’t notice the fall. “I come to this gym quite a bit,” she lies easily, stopping her motions on the machine and sitting up to better get a look at the girl as she spoke. This was the moment of truth - whether or not she would believe Gothel’s lies. It was also potentially her only chance to do even the slightest amount of digging. “Like I said, I’m usually just over on the treadmill, though. Perhaps you’ve noticed me before. Or - I’m in quite a few women’s groups around town… Maybe I’ve worked with your mother before?” Of course she knew there was no mother in Cassandra’s life - but the mention of a maternal figure was the closest Maeve could get to plant the seed of who she really was without outright saying it.

[punzieeeee]

Had Flynn never burst into her tower, Rapunzel’s life would still be content and quiet, it was true, but she was positive there would still be the itch for more. Even before he’d arrived, the curtain had begun to open, only fully ripped away when he’d come into her life. She would’ve died up there, if Gothel had her way, and she never would’ve known her real parents, or had a single companion her entire life. She tried not to think about what would’ve become of her too often, but with the woman who had trapped her seated across from her, it was nearly impossible. For as much as she liked to think she had a backbone now, there was no arguing: her “mother” would find an argument no matter how far-fetched and wrong she considered it to be.

Come to think of it, she’d never seen Gothel drink alcohol: Rapunzel had been too young to have any herself while sh’ed been in the tower, and she could only assume it had been tucked away, safely out of sight of a teenager who was itching to experience something, anything new. “I don’t want to see you again, after this. And, I don’t care if that’s not what you want, because I can just—I’ll get a restraining order. Yeah, yes. That’s what I’ll do. And, no matter how much you say you miss me, or want to use my hair, you can’t.” She sat with her head held high, as confident as she could appear. “So, whatever you have to say, or want to talk about, now’s your chance.”

[mothersmaeve]

“A restraining order,” she parroted back the threat, tone high pitched and laced with patronizing amusement. It was just like the girl to think a simple piece of paper would be enough to keep her away, as if Maeve had ever had any respect for the law. As if she didn’t break and bend it at every turn whenever it got in the way of something she wanted. And right now, with Rapunzel, that would be no different. She could work her way around a simple restraining order - and she was pretty sure the girl knew that. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not as if I’m going to stalk you, don’t be silly. All I’m asking for is a simple relationship with my daughter. You aren’t really going to just cut me out like I’ve never done anything for you?” It was a guilt trip that used to always work on the blonde, but Gothel feared perhaps this new spine she’d grown and life she’d found would change how easily she could be manipulated. “Can’t I simply catch up with my girl? How have you been? I have years I’ve missed out on - sue me for having a curiosity and interest in my daughter’s life. Not everyone always has some sinister ulterior motive, Rapunzel.” Though she supposed she couldn’t quite blame the girl for thinking that - considering she was here for reasons beyond what she claims.

[punzieeeee]

Everything the blonde said had some sort of counter to it, the way they would argue when she was a child, but fiercer now. Rapunzel would have backed down by now, had she still been living with the woman who had raised her, but she had nothing to lose now: she couldn't put the same lock back on her life that she had before. But, one reminder of the life she had now, and Rapunzel remembered that, actually, she had everything to lose. Gothel could take her now, far away, and life as she knew it could be over. "You didn't--no. Stop," she pleaded, finding the old rhythm they'd been so used to between them. Her hands found her ears, the childish tick she reverted to now that she struggled to find the words of defense. She shook her head, finding her ground once again. "It's because I don't have to live in fear of you anymore. If you want to take credit for that, it's all yours."

Whether she was telling the truth or not, it didn't change the fact that she was here, now, and Rapunzel had no easy route of escape in sight. If she wasn't here for her hair, Gothel had to want something: growing up around the woman, she knew there wasn't anything she would do out of pure selflessness. Everything had something she could stand to gain. Reluctantly, Rapunzel took a slow seat, her limbs shaking even as she found stability in her chair. "What do you want, then?" she questioned cautiously, narrowing her eyes. "What could you possibly want from me if not my hair?"

[mothersmaeve]

A light, smug chuckle escapes her as she watches Rapunzel revert right back to the place of being a child as she throws her hands up to cover her ears. It was a sign that she had won this round of the argument, the younger girl having nothing she could say to actually counter what Maeve had argued. Though it is a bit of a surprise when she drops her arms to her side suddenly and makes one last final claim, not that it phases Gothel at all, but it is yet another piece of the young adult standing in front of her that she’d never seen before. “Oh, my dear, you’ve never had anything to fear from me and you know that. If it weren’t for that little thief bursting into our home, you never would have known any better. You would still be there, perfectly content and living quite the perfect life, honestly,” she points out, another sentiment she believed to be true despite its faults. Sure, the blonde had been a bit stir-crazy at times, but her life was a cushioned and lovely one when you stopped to look at the big picture and moved past the whole never leaving the tower thing.

Taking the seat beside the girl, Gothel released a dramatic sigh as she waved at the bartender and put in an order of a simple gin and tonic before turning back and facing the blonde again. “Must there always be some kind of ulterior motive? Can a woman not simply want to be around her daughter?” she questions, lying through her teeth in saying that was the only reason she had any interest in speaking with Rapunzel. “I missed you, dear, that is all. Nothing more.”

[punzieeeee]

Rapunzel could've seen the counter coming from the moment her disagreement left her lips, knowing exactly how Maeve thought of herself in the context of the blonde's life. While it wasn't her birth mother who'd raised her, Gothel had failed her in a key characteristic of motherhood that her real mother had mastered: keeping Rapunzel's best interests at heart. The woman's selfishness was what had brought her into the blonde's life to begin with, and what had probably brought Gothel into the bar now. "You're wrong. I love the life I have now because it has nothing to do with you," she stated boldly, feeling the kind of strength in defiance that she'd never had the courage to express when she'd lived with Gothel in their tower.

Though she claimed she wasn't here for Rapunzel's hair, the blonde couldn't say she believed it. All she'd wanted out of her since birth was her hair: Gothel's appearance had changed since she'd spent a few years in jail, without the luxury of the sundrop to make her look younger. "You escaped from jail, didn't you? That's ... that has to be a crime," she pointed out confidently, convinced that was how she'd made her way from behind bars and to the bar. There couldn't be any other explanation: Rapunzel would've heard if there was some sort of sentencing change happening. "No, you--I don't believe you. All you ever wanted was ... there's no way you just don't need my hair anymore. And, even if you didn't, I--I don't want to talk to you," Rapunzel asserted, standing firm despite her already shaking limbs threatening to collapse from underneath her.

[mothersmaeve]

The confidence in which Rapunzel claimed that her life had absolutely nothing to do with the woman in front of her was a surprise to Maeve, one that had her lips curling in a smirk as she looked the younger girl up and down for a moment. Things surely had changed over the last few years hadn’t they. Gone was the meak little pathetic people pleasing daughter she had once known and somehow in her place stood a semi-strong young woman. It would have made her proud if not for the fact that she still seemed to have this ridiculous hatred towards her. “Oh, Rapunzel,” she sighs, shaking her head though the all-knowing look on her face never falters. “My dear. Everything you have, everything you are – that was me. I made you. Even this new found backbone you’ve suddenly grown, darling, that was because of me.” It was a bold statement to make, but one that Gothel felt confident was true. Without her, who knows what Rapunzel might have become - but it certainly wouldn’t have been the same version of herself that she seems to love so much.

Accusations were thrown so easily, without any effort to fact check exactly what she was saying, leaving the blonde to sound like a fool in Maeve’s eyes. “Oh no, dear. No escaping necessary. I was let out, all above board and official. You can go check my papers, if you really want to know. My sentence was updated and then since I was on such excellent behavior, it was decided I could go free,” she explains, technically all the truth. That was indeed what the rest of the prison and legal system thought happened, but it left out quite a key player in pulling the strings to get her there. But she wasn’t going to let little Rapunzel know just who she had on her team so easily. That was a card that she would hold close to her chest, just to be safe. Watching as that so-called backbone she had just pointed out in the blonde began to wither and weaken, Gothel’s smirk only grew. “Whether you believe me or not hardly matters. It’s the truth. I’m here for you, not your hair. Now take a seat and let’s stop acting as if I’m going to bite you at any moment. You know that’s not my style.” No, Maeve tried her best to keep her own hands clean, letting others do the dirty work for her - and now was no exception to that rule.

[punzieeeee]

She was just as Rapunzel had remembered her: taunting and cruel, exploiting every weakness she could see before her to make the blonde feel small. It had taken so much time trying to rewrite what she thought had been love since her time out of her tower that Rapunzel nearly found herself falling back into the trap. But, she knew better now: Gothel hadn't returned because she loved her, she came back because she loved her hair. Her mind immediately went to the man who had asked for her name, and the other one who had kidnapped her--this was just the beginning of the night coming back to haunt her, she could bet. But, knowing Gothel, there was no way she would spill who had freed her that quickly. Unfortunately, for Rapunzel, she had forever been one step ahead.

"You are not my mother," she corrected, firm. She already knew the argument that would come back her way: she'd raised her, so, naturally, she was Rapunzel's mother. But, as she'd come to learn, family was neither blood, nor the people who someone chose to surround themselves with: it was a combination of the two. Her real mother had stepped in and shown her what love was in a way Gothel never had, leaving Rapunzel to realize just how much of a childhood had been robbed from her, after all. "I'm not letting you use my hair. I'm not singing the song. And ... you need to leave. I'll scream, and Flynn will hear you, and they'll make you leave," Rapunzel threatened as confidently as she could, though it was likely no match for whatever Gothel would counter her with.

[mothersmaeve]

The correction was expected, of course, but that didn’t make it any less annoying to hear little Rapunzel state it so firmly, with such a backbone that she’d never had before. Rolling her eyes, Maeve shot the blonde an unimpressed look. “Oh, please, Rapunzel,” she began, the same tone she had always used with the younger girl whenever she was less than pleased slipping right back into place. “I raised you. Fed, bathed, and clothed you. You are the person you are today because of me. Everything you love so much about yourself and your little life you have now? I’m the one that grew that within you. That’s what a mother is - what a mother does.” There would be rebuttal to that point, of course, but Gothel stood just as firm that she was right in this argument.

Obviously it was the blonde’s hair, her magic, that interested Maeve the most - but she couldn’t let on to that. There was once a point in time where she could have easily convinced Rapunzel that she was simply just here to see the girl with no ulterior motives, but that time was long gone it seemed. The girl having grown far more confident and understanding of the world she lives in now. Which was going to make things a bit more difficult, even if it at the same time almost gave Gothel a small sense of pride. “Dear, I’m not here for your hair,” she lies easily, shaking her head as if she were speaking to a young child who knew nothing. “I simply wanted to see my daughter, that’s all. I have no need for your magic anymore.” Her smile twisted ever so slightly at the threat to call little Flynn Rider over as if he were some kind of terrifying figure rather than a simple boy. Taking a step backwards ever so slightly, her hairs went into the air in a sign of innocence. “And why should I have to leave exactly, dear? What laws have I broken? I’m a free woman, visiting a bar, and happening to have a conversation with my daughter. No wrong done here.”

[punzieeeee]

If she hadn't spent enough time at the Snuggly Duckling before, Rapunzel was surely becoming their best customer now. Sometimes, she was their only customer, actually, as she had been spending almost all of her time at either one of her roommates' sides since she'd been taken from them. It had been nice, having so much companionship, especially from the people whom she loved the most. It was a typical Friday night, not unlike any other, with Flynn behind the bar and Rapunzel chatting her way around it. It was precisely how she thought the rest of her night might go, too, until there was a set of hands over her eyes, a familiar voice behind her, and a nickname only one other person in the world had called her before.

It was her worst fear, every nightmare she'd ever had for the past two years, come true. Rapunzel had feared this day might come, despite knowing that Gothel was supposed to spend the rest of her life in prison. Somehow, she'd gotten the idea that someday, her former mother figure would break out and find her. Her stomach sank to the pits of her body, and her heart rose into her throat as Rapunzel quickly broke away from the older woman's grasp to turn toward her. It was with horror that her fears were confirmed: she'd escaped.

Rapunzel's head began to shake to each side, the gesture beginning before she could even find the word. "No," she said simply, as though it were just a dream. In her nightmares, though, she had only woken up at the sight of Gothel--she'd never gotten to the crucial point of having to speak. "No, you--you can't be here, you're ... it's impossible," she said slowly, more to herself than to the woman with the wide smile before her. Rapunzel backed into the bar, trapped. If she hadn't been paralyzed in fear, she would've turned to find Flynn, but her eyes could only remain on Gothel, watching her every move carefully. Her eyes welled with hot tears, still in disbelief. "How are you here?"

[mothersmaeve]

Despite the fact that she had expected a reaction very similar to this, Maeve couldn’t help the small spark of annoyance that flared at the blonde’s dramatics. It was understandable on some level, she supposed, especially given the way things had ended between the two… but at the same time, it felt a bit much, really. Rapunzel had lived a perfectly fine life under her care, she’d been fed and loved and well taken care of, what else is there for a child to ask for? Sure, she didn’t have much if any interaction with the rest of the world, but that was such a minor thing, really. Things could have been far, far worse for the girl.

Rolling her eyes, she watched as Rapunzel backed herself into a corner with the bar at her back. Which was perfect, giving less opportunity for her to run away without even listening to a thing Maeve had to say. Rather than intimidating or scaring the girl even more, Gothel stood right where she had been, not coming any closer but not giving any additional distance either. “Oh come now, you should know better than to think of anything as impossible,” she corrected with a light tsking noise, shaking her head as she did so. Perhaps she should try being nicer, to win the girl over, but she couldn’t help herself. It just came so naturally, like the way their old dynamic always used to be. “My dear, did you really think you could get away from me forever? I’m your mother, it’s my job to be there for you. There’s no escaping that.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she’s left plenty of children behind in the past - but Rapunzel was different. There was very little that could hold her back from fighting to keep the girl, and her power, in her life.

[mothersmaeve]

closed starter for @waitingward location: the gym idr its name

The very last person Maeve ever would have expected to find a permanent part of Rapunzel’s never life was her very own daughter. It had been twenty something years since she had chosen the sundrop over her daughter and left without a single word or explanation. Twenty something years since she had watched her little girl call out for her from afar before riding away into the night, never to return. Or well, that’s probably what Cassandra thought had happened at least. Truth be told she had returned, attempting to collect the girl and bring her back to the tower - but it had been too late. She had already been brought into the arms and protection of the very man in charge of attempting to find Gothel and bring the sundrop baby back to her original family. Of course, Maeve could have found a way around it - could have figured out some sort of plan to get Cassandra back without giving her identity away or getting caught - but it was too big of a risk. Even the smallest possibility of being taken in, of losing her connection to the sundrop, was too much to chance. So she did what she’d come quite good at doing over the past two centuries, she let her daughter go. The love and care she felt in her heart for the girl was instead all placed into Rapunzel. Over the years from time to time she still had the odd passing thought of the girl, but nothing stronger than what she had for any of her other children. At this point in time Maeve was a master at loving and letting go, truly able to simply release the pain that had once come with losing so many people she held dear. It helped, of course, that she never had to see any of her children or former partners again after she left them.

Which was why this felt far harder than it should, seeing Cassandra again. She had made her peace with leaving the girl behind and had thought their paths would never cross again, yet here Cassandra was - all buddy buddy with the girl that had replaced her. Making simply ignoring her no longer an option. Maeve needed another way or connection into Rapunzel’s life. The thief she called a boyfriend was hardly going to be the answer, Gothel already well aware that the chances of getting him on her side were slim to none. So the roommate and newfound best friend was the next best move. Only, she had no idea how much Cassandra actually knew. How much had the blonde told her? Would she recognize Maeve right away as the woman who had kidnapped her friend? Would she remember her beyond even the events of the last two years? How much did she retain from the years they had spent together in their little cottage? Had she repressed or ignored it all in favor of her life and father? It was terrifying not having the answers to any of her questions, but Maeve was determined to carry on regardless. Figuring out how much the girl remembered and what she knew would be easy enough. A simple first meeting would tell her everything she needed to know.

The gym was hardly a place Maeve ever bothered with, the magic of the sundrop keeping her in her perfect shape regardless of how much or little she worked out, but after a few days of watching her daughters from afar it appeared to be the best place to approach Cassandra without risk of Rapunzel being around as well. As she made her way slowly over towards the corner of the gym that the younger girl had been working out in, Maeve put on a perfected air of confusion as she looked around, a small frown playing out on her face as if she had no clue what she was doing. “Excuse me?” she asks, turning to finally look Cassandra head on, waiting to see if she had any type of reaction. “I don’t mean to be a bother, but this is all just so confusing. I’m normally just a treadmill kind of gal, but I’ve heard this is what really burns off the fat and thought I should give it a try - but I just have no clue what I’m doing. And you looked like practically a professional doing it a minute ago. Any chance you could spare a moment to give an old lady some pointers?”

[capturingdisney]

[mothersmaeve]

closed starter for @punzieeeee location: snuggly duckling

While the god of the underworld had promised her immortality without needing the power of the sundrop, Maeve wasn’t naive enough to believe there wouldn’t be some kind of strings attached in the end. It was an offer she would absolutely take, no matter the conditions, but it would be foolish to put all of her eggs into just one basket. Finding this moonstone could prove to be impossible and she would need some kind of backup if that were to be the case. Specifically, she would need Rapunzel again. But she wasn’t naive enough to think getting to the girl would be as easy as the last time - a long game would have to be played here. For all taking her against her will would work, having to deal with her attitude and attempts at escaping for the rest of eternity would get old fast. It was best to instead work on earning back the trust, love, and respect she’d once had from the blonde.

Approaching Rapunzel was going to be a difficult task, that much she already knew - their first initial remeeting wasn’t very likely to go over well, but it needed to be done. Like ripping off a bandaid, Maeve needed to just get it over with so that she could start working on winning the girl back in her favor. Ideally it wouldn’t be too hard, given how naive and trusting her daughter had always been, but she needed to be prepared for a bit of a challenge - unsure of just how much the blonde may have grown over the past two years. It was because of that thinking that Gothel knew she needed to make this first meeting somewhere public, to put the girl a bit more at ease that nothing would happen. Which was what brought her back to the Snuggly Duckling once more, a disgusting tavern she normally would never step foot in, but seemingly now Rapunzel’s favorite hangout spot. Sitting off in the corner, nursing a beer simply for the sake of blending in, Maeve waited until finally her daughter was left alone before approaching. It had taken longer than she wanted, given how popular the girl seemed to be, but it would be worth the wait she knew.

As she grew closer, she couldn’t help but bask in the glory of the blonde’s hair. So much power hidden within those locks, going to waste on a young girl who could hardly understand just what she really had at the tip of her fingers. It would always feel wrong to Maeve, no matter how much time passed, that the sundrop was being wasted on someone as foolish as Rapunzel. And perhaps that was partially her fault for the way that she had raised the girl, but she had done what felt necessary at the time and still stands by her decisions. Soon enough, though, the power would be hers again, it was all just a matter of playing her cards right. As soon as she was close enough behind the girl, Gothel’s hands came up around the sides of her head to cover her eyes as she leaned forward to speak ever so softly right into Rapunzel’s ears. “Guess who’s back, my flower?”

[kutekoolkat]

[mothersmaeve]

tag dump.