PLAYER INFO. ✖ Handle: Dolly ✖ Contact:pterodotyl, or email. ✖ Are You Over 16: Y ✖ Other Characters Played in Consignment: n/a ✖ ID: M01C12-734
CHARACTER INFO. ✖ Character Name: Rapunzel ✖ Genre: Real-life fairy tales!
✖ Character Appearance:Right here! PB is Kain from Pixiv Messiah. 170cm | 5'6" ✖ Character Age: 202.
✖ World Setting:
Rapunzel comes from a world that is more or less 100% identical to modern-day Earth save for one slight detail: Fairy Tales and magic are real.
What is a Fairy Tale?:
Typically it's considered a kind of folklore tale with a moral or maxim at it's core and for the most part that's correct! But there's a difference between a fairy tale and a Fairy Tale: fairy tales are the stories we all were familiar with as children. A Fairy Tale is the physical embodiment of that tale brought to life by the belief people have and hold in it. Beowulf, Goldilocks, Rumpelstiltskin? All real! But not entirely recognizable if looked at through the tales offered in books because in this version of Earth all Tales were based off of a real person and the events in their life.
In order for a Fairy Tale to be born their story must be created, told, and passed along until it's spread far and wide enough that it's believed in. Once this happens the Fairy Tale is born in a form which best represents who they were before they were a Fairy Tale, i.e. the person their story is about. Puss in Boots may or may not still be a cat, The Fish Footman from Alice may or may not be a giant talking fish in Victorian clothing! It varies from Tale to Tale.
Not just any story can become a Fairy Tale though. For example Gods, Goddesses, and divine beings will never become Tales because anything ethereal can't be made into a physical form. Thor, Zeus, God, etc are no-goes. In general fact cannot become fiction--historical figures cannot become a Fairy Tale unless their story is rewritten into fiction like Shakespeare's King Henry IV Part I; although Hal is based off of the real Henry IV details of his story have been changed so that it is no longer entirely a historical account. What changes a person's story from a story to a Fairy Tale is the misconstrued facts and the presence of the impossible. Usually magic.
Magic & Modern Fairy Tales:
Magic also exists on that note! While it was once strong and prevalent all over the world in the more archaic understanding, as civilization has progressed and technology and critical thinking become a large part of society magic's presence and potency had greatly decreased. Magic is powered by the belief that it's real and can affect things, and with modernity shining a more skeptical light down upon its existence it's become weak to the point where most Witches (what few still exist) are significantly less powerful than they once were.
With this increased skepticism and the change of literary genres from fables and maxims to pure fiction, the appearance of Fairy Tales has become almost non-existent. The youngest Tales are about 103 years old. No new ones have been created since (since Fairy Tales do not sexually reproduce).
Oral Tales & Stories:
All Fairy Tales, from the moment they're created, have conditional immortality. When they're first brought to life it is generally the result of a story told orally for years on end. At this time the Tale is completely immortal: they cannot be killed through any means and can survive indefinitely. Sounds pretty sweet right? Unfortunately because they're told through oral tradition these Tales can also be Forgotten, which erases their existence entirely. So they exist with the constant knowledge that they can disappear at any time.
When a Fairy Tale's adventure is written out it creates a Story. A Story is a pure-white book with the Tale's name written at at top, and contained within it is everything that makes them up. Thoughts, feelings, memories, you name it. Having a Story means that a Tale can never be Forgotten and thus can live forever...but there is a trade off. Having a Story guarantees that they can never cease to exist, but it takes away their inability to be killed. If their Story is destroyed the Fairy Tale will die (but not be Forgotten. i.e. if Alice from Wonderland had her Story destroyed she would die, but the various books published of her would still remain and ordinary humans would still know the story).
Stories can also be tampered with. If a Story is opened and new information put in it overwrites what was kept in there previously and "rewrites" who the Tale is. If someone wrote "Beast no longer has a temper" in his Story then his personality would change to fit the new description in his book.
It is considered taboo to write in a Tales' book and completely out of the ordinary for a Tale to change anything in their own. This is because changing anything in a book changes who the Tale is fundamentally; it is very rare and very, very strange for a Tale to make any sort of changes.
Fairy Tale Society:
Because they can't forget one another and are all generally immortal, most Fairy Tales form tight-knit communities within the cities they live in. They do this both for safety and for comfort's sake, since who better to be friends with than someone who's going to live as long as you are?? Plus since most Tales are well over two hundred years old most of their differences have been settled so there's little conflict among them. Some people still rub shoulders and it's not completely picturesque, but that's why most Fairy Tale communities have a council to watch over things called a "Chessboard."
Each member of the Chessboard has a designated position, and each position has a duty or area of expertise. And the ranks of the Chessboard are named after, you guessed it! Chess pieces. King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Pawn. The King and Queen deal with the administrative aspect, the Bishop with PR and human-Tale relations, Knights are basically like the Fairy Tale police (but not really), Rooks do all the bookkeeping, and Pawns are the go-betweens for Fairy Tales and business with the Chessboard.
The largest Fairy Tale community, Match District, is located in England and is looked after by the King, Alice of Wonderland. This is where Rapunzel lives. It is also the location of Scheherazade and Aesop's library, the one place on earth were the Story of a Fairy Tale can supposedly be made safe and secure. Basically no one gets past them. Ever. Except once possibly. It's under investigation.
Other residents of Match District include Jack (Jack and the Beanstalk), Gilgamesh and Enkidu (the Epic of Gilgamesh), Grimhilde (Snow White), "Toad" (The Frog Prince), Wendy & Peter (Peter and Wendy), The Sea-Witch (The Little Mermaid), Chauntecleer (Canterbury Tales), Grendel (Beowulf), and Buttercup (Buttercup). Obviously there are a lot more but this is just to paint a general picture.
All Tales have more or less adapted to the modern age and live in Human society like normal even if they tend to keep to themselves. All Fairy Tales live under a universal set of rules:
Three Golden Rules: 1) Humans are not to know about the existence of Fairy Tales 2) One Fairy Tale is never to write in another's Story 3) Fairy Tales must not interfere with the human world at large Gilgamesh 8|
Fairy Tales and Whatever the heck they are:
Gender, age, species, ALL OF THAT means zip zero and nada to all Fairy Tales, because half of them aren't "normal" by human standards to begin with. Puss in Boots, Chauntecleer & Pertelote, The Doorknob, March Hare, etc etc. Beast from Beauty and the Beast! Anyone and everyone can be matched up or appear however they wish in Fairy Tale society and a couple like Snow White and Gingerbread Man wouldn't be seen as odd at all.
For Tales it's not about what they look or appear to be, and entirely about Who They Are as a person. One's True Love could be a talking piece of silverware and no one would bat an eye. A Prince could be female and a Princess could be male and it'd be normal. Everyone is just as abstract as everyone else so why sweat the details that everyday humans do?? Nonsense.
Jack (Bean stalk): annoying biffle Bardoc (Bremen Town Musicians): sleeps in the front window of the shop. tired kitty. Beowulf (Beowulf): got Hrunting from him Gothel (Rapunzel): WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE Gilgamesh (The Epic of): most senpai of sword-teachers Enkidu (The Epic of): makes him the prettiest princess. also the most senpai.
✖ Character History:
Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who had long wished for a child but had never received one. Finally, however, the woman came to be with child. Through the small rear window of these people's house they could see into a fairy's garden that was filled with flowers and herbs of all kinds. No one dared enter this garden.
One day the woman was standing at this window, and she saw the most beautiful rapunzel in a bed. She longed for some, but not knowing how to get any, she became miserably ill. Her husband was frightened, and asked her why she was doing so poorly.
"Oh, if I do not get some rapunzel from the garden behind our house, I shall surely die," she said.
The man, who loved her dearly, decided to get her some, whatever the cost. One evening he climbed over the high wall, hastily dug up a handful of rapunzel, and took it to his wife. She immediately made a salad from it, which she devoured greedily. It tasted so very good to her that by the next day her desire for more had grown threefold.
The man saw that there would be no peace, so once again he climbed into the garden. To his horror, the fairy was standing there. She scolded him fiercely for daring to enter and steal from her garden. He excused himself as best he could with his wife's pregnancy, and how it would be dangerous to deny her anything.
Finally the fairy spoke, "I will accept your excuse and even allow you to take as much rapunzel as you want, if you will give me the child that your wife is now carrying." In his fear the man agreed to everything.
When the woman gave birth, the fairy appeared, named the little girl Rapunzel, and took her away. This Rapunzel became the most beautiful child under the sun, but when she was twelve years old, the fairy locked her in a high tower that had neither a door nor a stairway, but only a tiny little window at the very top. When the fairy wanted to enter, she stood below and called out:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair to me.
Rapunzel had splendid hair, as fine as spun gold. When the fairy called out, she untied it, wound it around a window hook, let it fall twenty yards to the ground, and the fairy climbed up it.
One day a young prince came through the forest where the tower stood. He saw the beautiful Rapunzel standing at her window, heard her sing with her sweet voice, and fell in love with her. Because there was no door in the tower and no ladder was tall enough to reach her, he fell into despair.
He came to the forest every day, until once he saw the fairy, who said:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair.
Then he knew which ladder would get him into the tower. He remembered the words that he would have to speak, and the next day, as soon as it was dark, he went to the tower and called upward:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!
She let her hair fall. He tied himself to it and was pulled up. At first Rapunzel was frightened, but soon she came to like the young king so well that she arranged for him to come every day and be pulled up. Thus they lived in joy and pleasure for a long time.
The fairy did not discover what was happening until one day Rapunzel said to her, "Frau Gothel, tell me why it is that my clothes are all too tight. They no longer fit me."
"You godless child," said the fairy. "What am I hearing from you?" She immediately saw how she had been deceived and was terribly angry. She took Rapunzel's beautiful hair, wrapped it a few times around her left hand, grasped a pair of scissors with her right hand, and snip snip, cut it off. Then she sent Rapunzel into a wilderness where she suffered greatly and where, after a time, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. On the evening of the same day that she sent Rapunzel away, the fairy tied the cut-off hair to the hook at the top of the tower, and when the prince called out:
Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!
She let down the hair.
The prince was startled to find the fairy instead of his beloved Rapunzel.
"Do you know what, evil one?" cried the angry fairy. "You have lost Rapunzel forever."
The prince, in his despair, threw himself from the tower. He escaped with his life, but he lost his eyesight in the fall. Sorrowfully he wandered about in the forest weeping and, eating nothing but grass and roots. Some years later he happened into the wilderness where Rapunzel lived miserably with her children. He thought that her voice was familiar. She recognized him instantly as well and threw her arms around his neck. Two of her tears fell into his eyes, and they became clear once again, and he could see as well as before.
This is not exactly how Rapunzel's story went.
Long ago there was once a greedy Queen in Germany who held an iron-like rule over her subjects. She took freely from them and taxed them as she pleased. The people suffered greatly, for many could not afford to meet her outlandish demands. One day a poor farmer was brought before the Queen and told if he could not pay what he owed, the Queen would take his land. The farmer told the Queen he had no worldly possessions to offer because they had already been taken. However the farmer had been blessed with a beautiful daughter and the greedy Queen knew this; so she said she would forgive the farmer's debt in exchange for the girl, as she herself could not bear a child.
The next day the young maiden was brought before the Queen. Captivated by her beauty she became obsessed with keeping her all to herself: no one but her would be allowed to look upon the maiden, and thus the young girl was locked away in a tower. The Queen then sealed the door at the foot of the tower so that no one would be able to reach her.
The girl lived there for many years in solitude. Food and drink was brought to her every day by a pulley with rope. Over time the girl became so lonely that she thought she would like to escape, but the rope was always out of her reach and there was nothing to be used as a ladder inside her tower. Because she loved to sew she decided that instead she would weave her own rope from the fibres of her long hair. Day after day she worked so that her fingers were sore, until finally she had managed to create a rope with which to escape.
She waited until the dark of night and strung it through the hook which brought her food every day. But as she began to lower herself down from her tower however the beam holding her hook snapped, and she fell to the ground below.
The Queen's men found her the next morning and, fearing her anger, hid her body at the foot of the tower. Day after day they continued to bring food and drink to the empty tower until eventually the Queen decided that she wished to look upon her beautiful daughter and demanded that the girl be brought down from the tower. When they arrived however the girl could not answer the Queen's calls; no matter how she bellowed there was no reply. Furious, the Queen demanded to be raised to the tower's window.
When she reached the top and saw her prison empty the Queen was so stricken with fury that she began trying to tear apart the building brick by brick. The Queen was so focused in her fury that she did not notice the roof beginning to sink. A rafter broke loose and fell upon the greedy Queen, breaking her back and leaving her to die. When the knights below heard the commotion and realized what had happened they were shocked and relieved: no longer would they have to live under her wicked rule.
But because they felt sorry for the young maid whom they had buried at the tower's base, they planted thick bunches of rapunzel in remembrance of her. Over time the empty tower came to be known as Rapunzel Tower, after the herb that grew around it in abundance.
The story of the greedy Queen and the maiden of Rapunzel Tower trickled it's way down through history, changing and morphing as it was told until one day enough people believed in it's existence that the long-dead maiden became the Fairy Tale known as Rapunzel.
He awoke in the very tower the girl had tried to escape from with a vague understanding that he was not like the people he could see from his tower window. His memories of his human life remained intact (so he knew that he'd been a girl) but some of the details remained a little hazy. He remembered being desperately lonely, so Rapunzel went to his tower's window in order to lower himself down...only to find out he couldn't. He found himself sick to the stomach when he looked down, and realized he was scared. For many years Rapunzel stayed up in the tower unable to do more than watch the world from his window because of his crippling fear of heights. No matter how much he longed to venture beyond his prison Rapunzel couldn't work up the nerve to climb down. The only company he had was the Fairy Tale Gothel, who visited him from time to time to brush and collect spools of his incredibly strong hair. Harder than steel, it could only be cut with scissors.
Gothel had been born from the greedy Queen, and because of this she knew much more about the world and of Fairy Tales. Unlike Rapunzel she could also venture to and from the tower as she pleased and often did so. To keep Rapunzel complacent Gothel told him that he needn't worry about being unable to escape on his own. One day a hero of some sort or another would come to his aid. When Rapunzel asked why Gothel wouldn't help the former Queen replied that she couldn't rescue Rapunzel; only heroes rescued princesses (or the idea of a princess), and she was no hero. But since Gothel also wasn't a "princess" she could do whatever she wished and wasn't trapped like Rapunzel. Rapunzel had to stay there because that was how his story went.
Envious of Gothel's freedom, Rapunzel spent a lot of his time gazing out over the thick forest that had grown around his tower. He was constantly bored and often times had nothing to do but brush his incredibly long hair. Decades passed like this until one fateful day Rapunzel's tale was written down by the Brothers Grimm and his Story appeared in front of him as a shining white book, his name etched on the front in silver. Inside was everything that made up Rapunzel and realizing how important it was, he quickly hid it from Gothel. Whenever she was gone he would take it out and spend hours pouring over it.
This changed one day though when Rapunzel heard the sound of metal striking stone. Confused and alarmed he looked over the edge of his windowsill and saw, to his disbelief, a man with a strange sword trying to climb his way up. The first thing his mind jumped to was the fables he'd been told over and over before bed as a little girl, of damsels princesses being saved by a heroic knights and princes. Overjoyed at the thought that someone had come to rescue him Rapunzel decided that this man had to be his one True Love and that he was about to have his Happily Ever After. They'd get married and run off into a sunset and--
Whump. The sound of something heavy hitting the ground below shook Rapunzel from his tentative fantasy and when he ran back to his windowsill he discovered the man had apparently slipped up his footing and fallen to the ground below, his sword embedded in the stone only a foot from the window. Thinking him him dead Rapunzel turned away from the sorry sight. ...Which was good for the supposed knight, because he wasn't really one at all. The man who'd fallen wasn't dead either. He was another Fairy Tale by the name of Beowulf who, upon hearing of the poor poor Fairy Tale stuck in their tower awaiting rescue, decided he was going to be a big cool awesome hero and climb up to rescue them with the help of his sword, Hrunting. Unfortunately he got cocky, messed up his footing, and fell to the ground below. In embarrassment and shame he promptly played dead to avoid being recognized by anyone and then booked it out of there as fast as he could, never to speak of it again.
Eventually Rapunzel retrieved Hrunting from the wall of his tower and hid it beneath the floorboards. Gothel continued to come and go as she pleased and Rapunzel continued to feel lonelier and lonelier until one day he asked Gothel when he'd find his True Love and live "happily ever after" like all the princesses in Gothel's stories. Gothel laughed at him and said there was no hope of that: Rapunzel wasn't a princess so no one was going to give him a happy ending.
Angry and hurt that he'd been intentionally misled and imprisoned, Rapunzel turned to his Story the moment Gothel was gone and decided that he no longer wanted to wait around to be found. If no one was going to come then he'd be his own rescuer, and nothing Gothel said was going to keep him locked up ever again. And of course the best way to accomplish that as far as he could figure was:
"Rapunzel becomes the Hero."
Rapunzel changed his Story and rewrote himself. He went from a hapless damsel in distress to someone immensely more tomboyish, to the point where almost every feminine point and trait he had was replaced with a more masculine set, the sort he'd imagined previously about heroes in general. Instead of handling himself as delicate or waif-like Rapunzel took charge and retrieved Hrunting from it's place below the floorboards and with a cry of it's name, smashed clear through the tower imprisoning him until it was nothing but rubble. Rapunzel was finally free. Sort of. When Gothel saw how he'd escaped she became furious and tried to capture him again. This time Rapunzel stood up for himself and fought back, catching Gothel by surprise; she was not prepared for how strong Rapunzel had made become, but took her scissors and cut his hair in an act of retribution. Hundreds and hundreds of yards fell to the ground.
Of course at the same time Rapunzel also cut her head off so that point was kind of moot. It wouldn't kill Gothel but it definitely helped in the whole "getting away" thing. Rapunzel took Hrunting and his Story and decided that he was going to do heroic things and find his True Love now that he'd managed to rescue himself. He began to wander the world from which he'd been kept more or less his whole life. Kind of a culture shock but it helped that people tended to forget him whenever he left their company. It was sort of lonely, but at least he was around other people again. Even if those people weren't like him. It didn't last too long in the grand scheme of things: soon enough Rapunzel happened upon two other Fairy Tales, and they were a heck of a lot nicer than Gothel.
Their names were Hal and Harry. From them Rapunzel learned all about Fairy Tales and how they differed from the people they'd once been. Hal had once been a king and Harry, an innkeeper on pilgrimage. Both became immortalized as Stories and expressed surprise that Rapunzel had actually chosen to alter his; to do so was incredibly uncommon. They still got on well enough and Hal was kind enough to teach Rapunzel some basic skills in reading and writing so that he could enjoy other fables and learn of his fellow Fairy Tales. Eventually they parted ways and for the next century or so Rapunzel was largely on his own. As the world changed and modernized Fairy Tales began to settle into specific areas with one another. Rapunzel found himself in England by the time modern-day time rolled around, and that's where he met Jack. The very same Fairy Tale who'd once climbed a beanstalk into the clouds and killed the giant living there.
Rapunzel couldn't stand him. Jack was overly-friendly, asked too many questions, talked too much and was all-around obnoxious. Half the time Rapunzel would just walk off while he was talking and ignore him as often as he could. But Jack persisted and gradually Rapunzel got used to having him around and actually came to enjoy his company. Slowly he opened up to the ever-persistent Jack and eventually the duo opened up the "Jack of All Trades", which was exactly what it sounded like. Most jobs consisted of Fairy Tale-related business and between the two of them they ran errands, searched for missing items, rescued a princess or two, and even met up with the legendary Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
Who Rapunzel promptly admired and sought to have as his instructor in the way of general badassery. Most times it ended with Rapunzel as a mess face-down on the street, but he persisted until Enkidu convinced Gilgamesh to train him. Which really wasn't much different from what happened before (there was a lot of "YEAH TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE" and getting hit in the face with a sword) but Rapunzel was happy. For him it meant he was still on track to becoming a better hero, and therefor that much closer to finding his True Love. Whatever it might be. Prince, Princess, talking doorknob JACK JACK JACK. Who knows.
Most recently Jack and Rapunzel were called upon to look into a possible robbery at Scheherazade and Aesop's library--which was unheard of and very very Not Good. Their library served as the vault and protection for each Fairy Tale's Story, protecting them from harm and misuse at the hands of humans or other more malicious Tales.
✖ Character Personality:
Rapunzel is a person of simplicity. For all of his human life he was subservient and ignorant of the world at large. When he was told to do something he did it, because that's the way things were. He accepted the greedy Queen's words as truth and never thought to question her. Even when he became a Fairy Tale Rapunzel allowed Gothel to manipulate him into waiting in the tower. This is largely because Rapunzel had almost no exposure to anyone else and had nothing to compare the Queen and Gothel's words against. He didn't know any better, so he let others take care of all that for him. Additional pressures were the expectations imposed on young girls of the time where one simply did as their elders commanded.
Even though he was generally complacent in nature Rapunzel still liked to daydream and fantasize about the way his life could be if only he escaped. As the maiden he dreamed of meeting all sorts of people and making friends, maybe even one day getting married. When Gothel began to tell him stories to keep him content in the tower as a Fairy Tale, this desire became one to be rescued and find his True Love. Because Rapunzel is also a romantic! He loves stories which end happily and where princes and princesses find their happily ever afters and tears up easily over stories he finds especially touching.
Rapunzel's blind trust and dependence on Gothel disappeared the moment he realized he'd been tricked, and that no one was coming to help him because he didn't qualify as a "princess." The young girl he'd been made from had never been of real royal blood and he wasn't especially maidenly either. He didn't fit the "criteria" outline in Gothel's stories and Rapunzel decided that if he couldn't be rescued, he'd become the rescuer and save himself. The intense desire he had to be free was what prompted him to rewrite himself using his Story which again, is a Big Deal among Fairy Tales. He changed himself from someone he saw as incapable of doing anything on their own to what he pictured a hero would be: someone strong, brave, and who was able to do whatever it took to overcome the obstacles they faced.
This change instilled Rapunzel with a drive and independence he'd never had before. He felt motivated and most of all determined, so that he decided if he couldn't go down to the ground below he'd just bring the ground to him! By smashing his tower. Because again, Rapunzel is simple. He's not dumb or unintelligent but he's very blunt in his ideas and mannerisms--because again, a hero to him was someone who could "speak their mind no matter what." He realized it was less scary to break the whole darn thing down to the ground than make his way down on foot so the plan to him? Made perfect sense.
Changing who he was gave Rapunzel the strength of resolve and character he needed to stand up to Gothel ("a hero is someone who stands up for good"), but the experience left him with issues of trust. Although he decided not to rest until he found his True Love (he'd scour the globe if he had to), Rapunzel found it easier to stick to himself for several reasons. If he didn't let anyone in they couldn't trick or betray him, people tended to forget him anyway...and Rapunzel wasn't good at dealing with people. As much as he'd hoped to make friends and see the world and all that Rapunzel has poor social skills and generally won't approach people to make friends (Hal and Harry approached him when they met). He wants friends yes, but Rapunzel doesn't have the tact needed to really be charismatic or social.
He's also a little bit shy. Rapunzel never had anya lot of experience with people before he escaped and he didn't know a lot about the world either. This reflected in his behaviour which was at times awkward and made him stand out--which he didn't like. He wanted to be noticed yes, but not for being weird. So Rapunzel bottled up a lot and internalized most of his thoughts and feelings. It takes a lot to get him out of his shell and Hal really only won a special place in Rapunzel's heart because he taught him how to read and write. Poorly mind you but Rapunzel was always incredibly grateful for it.
As hesitant and reserved as he can be it's less because Rapunzel has great composure and more because he basically didn't know anything and doing nothing was better than doing something strange and being ridiculed for it. If he's caught off-guard or surprised by something Rapunzel's incredibly expressive (especially when it comes to his fear of heights). His generally quiet nature also doesn't reflect a more refined attitude or understanding of things. Rapunzel can be blunt about a lot of things and pulls no punches when he tells someone something even if it's bad news or socially not the best thing to do. When they initially met Jack asked Rapunzel why he didn't like him, and Rapunzel replied it was because Jack "looked like a shady guy" and that he talked "way too much." "I don't like listening to the sound of your voice," was also spoken more than a few times.
Rapunzel is the sort of person who would stick up for himself as well as anyone in need. He believes in happy endings and doing the right thing, even if it isn't always easy to figure out what that is. Even if he puts off an antisocial air and does like to keep to himself, deep down Rapunzel is grateful for people like Jack who worm their way into his heart one way or another because without them, he'd be all alone. Even if Jack grates on his nerves and teases him endlessly (most of the Match District does actually), Rapunzel is very fond of the people and Tales he's come to live among. Because he's always had so few people he gets along with and can rely on (even if he doesn't want to) Rapunzel is incredibly loyal.
He's also a bit of a tryhard. When Rapunzel sets out to do something he is going to darn well get it done and typically approaches everything head-on even if it's not the best way to get 'er done. Rapunzel's not great at coming up with complicated plans of attack or dealing with Fairy Tale politics because to him, it's easiest to just say what's on your mind and resolve the issue rather than sugar-coating it with frivolous words or excuses. Rapunzel believes in action over long-winded diplomacy and is very upfront in his beliefs and opinions even if he doesn't go out of his way to offer them.
On the note of simplicity Rapunzel is also kind of out-to-lunch at times and can be quite gullible. Not in the trusting people sense mind you (Gothel made him reluctant to trust people right off the bat), but in his general understanding of the world. Because he's still learning a lot about things there are times when Rapunzel just totally misses the point of something, or worries over the sort of details other people wouldn't even bother with. This usually puts him on an entirely different wavelength compared to most people because he gives off an air of being generally aloof and calm. In reality he's just quiet because of his aforementioned poor social skills and the fact that he doesn't like to be seen as weird or strange. Which unfortunately happens with EVERY FAIRY TALE HE MEETS because he's one of the very few Tales who, over the span of thousands of years, actually deliberately changed his Story.
Deep down Rapunzel still has a childish heart you know, the sort who'd cry during disney movies. He earnestly wants to fall in love and live out a happy ending, but he also wants to do almost everything on his own because he hates to rely on people. "A hero shouldn't have to rely on others to accomplish their goals" is his general mindset, but he's started to become better about it thanks to Jack and Enkidu. Rapunzel's easily motivated and rarely gives up once he's set out to do something. A HERO NEVER QUITS etc etc. He is incredibly idealistic in his beliefs and never breaks a promise; keeping one's word and telling the truth are incredibly important to him after being fooled by Gothel.
To most of Match District Rapunzel is considered sort of the "baby bird" of the community. As a Tale he's very young and has a long way to go in really stepping into his shoes as a written Tale. He looks up to people like Gilgamesh who're incredibly headstrong and brave, and admires people like Enkidu who seem to just know everything. Rapunzel rarely gets jealous or angry, but he does envy Fairy Tales like Sleeping Beauty who not only found her True Love, but was rescued by him. Rapunzel wants to rescue his...but if he wound up being rescued by them he wouldn't complain either.
UNFORTUNATELY FOR RAPUNZEL he doesn't really understand what it means to be in love and chases his ideal of True Love rather than trying to work it out and understand it. He figures he'll "just know when it happens." Brilliant plan.
If you asked Rapunzel what he was, his answer would be "a hero." He wouldn't give a gender because to him that stuff's all really irrelevant to Who You Are. Much like most Fairy Tales, Rapunzel's identity is informed by his actions and what makes him up. Thanks to his tampering with his Story Rapunzel has come to embody what he pictured an ideal Hero to be (however flawed that is). Being a "hero" to him doesn't mean being a guy or having huge muscles, a THIRST FOR BATTLE!! or being masculine. Rapunzel enjoys sewing, brushing his hair and taking care of it, doesn't mind being thought of as "pretty" (since although never a Princess he still liked to imagine himself under the label of Damsel In Distress before he changed his Story), and prizes "girlish" notions like True Love's First Kiss and chivalry. He would find it just as normal to wear a dress as a pair of trousers.
Finally, Rapunzel harbours an immense dislike of scissors because of the incident where Gothel lopped off all of his hair. Seriously, don't ever suggest giving him a haircut. He was super-proud of all that hair before it came off.
✖ Character Powers: Rapunzel-Specific: Rapunzel's hair is impervious to any form of damage and can't be cut, burnt, or torn...except when it comes to scissors. They're the only things that can cut it, regardless of what kind. Safety scissors could snip right through it but a flamethrower or long sword would do nothing. IT'S FAIRY TALE LOGIC. Rapunzel's hair retains it's durability after it is cut.
Rapunzel also has increased speed, strength, durability and stamina! He's isn't immune to harm and he's not like LIFTING TANKS, but he's definitely stronger than the average bear 6u9 His body resists most blunt-force trauma.
Fairy Tale: Kind of like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan and The Guardians in ROTG, if people express the opinion that they're not real it makes them weak. Professing disbelief drains their power and energy away.
Fairy Tales are generally ageless and exist with a sort of conditional immortality: Those who are remembered solely by oral tradition can never be killed, but can be forgotten and cease to exist. Those who are remembered in books will never be forgotten, but they can be killed if their Story is destroyed.
A Fairy Tales' Story is born from the original manuscript their tale is written in. The moment their story is written down a glowing white book bearing the title of their fairy tale is created. This book is essentially "who they are." It's a complete understanding of everything that makes them up, from thoughts to feelings, to memories, etc. Tampering with a Fairy Tale's Story by writing in it can in effect "rewrite" who they are, and destroying a Tale's Story will kill them permanently.
Being forgotten is different than being killed. If a Fairy Tale is forgotten there is no trace of it left any place in the world and it ceases to exist in any form. If a Fairy Tale is killed the stories and novels containing their tale remain, but the Fairy Tale as a being is forever gone.
Being forgotten was a real danger for Fairy Tales passed along through oral traditions because when one becomes a Fairy Tale they begin to fade easily from peoples' minds and memories. People can see and interact with them but they're forgettable kind of like the MIB. If they're talking and visiting with normal people they're perceived like anyone else, but the moment they leave, any distinct features of qualities they have fade from those peoples' memories: humans will recognize them if they speak daily, but they won't really know anything about them; details are fuzzy at best. If there's no consistent contact after a few months a human will forget their voice and their face until they just can't really recall them anymore.
It was another regular day at Jack of All Trades...or at regular as it got in the Match District anyway. Jack had gone out first thing to deal with some errands. "Pawn Business with Pea again," he'd claimed. Which meant Rapunzel was left to mind the shop alone for the most part. Bardoc didn't really count as help. From what Rapunzel had heard the old cat had been getting on in years since before he'd even been born. Her fur was matted and rumpled in places and one ear had a good nick taken out of it. Even her whiskers sat crooked and crimped as she lay near the storefront window, curled up on an old newspaper to bask in the sun. Rapunzel had rarely seen Bardoc do anything else since starting.
At least it was quiet. The phone hadn't rung all day and the only real sound in the shop was the steady tick-tock of the old grandfather clock in the corner of the shop. It read six-thirty on the dot, and had always done so. Odd thing was though that sometimes he could swear the time jumped--
Jingle.
Rapunzel's gaze turned from the clock and quickly settled on the door as the small bell at let out a small ring. There was a man standing there, well-dressed and with a black fedora. He looked fairly clean-shaven as well, but Rapunzel didn't recognize him. He rarely recognized any of Jack's customers, but there was something about the way the rounded man carried himself, a sort of bounce in his step as he moved into the shop and let the door close behind him. He didn't approach the front desk though and simply offered a polite tip of his hat before tucking his arms behind his back and turning to the scant number of wares the store actually possessed. Mostly antiques.
'A Human...?' he wondered, slowly closing the copy of Are They The One? 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Soul Mate on his lap. This would have been the point where Jack'd step in and ask if he could offer the man any help. He should probably--
"Is it working?"
The sound of the man's voice cut off Rapunzel's train of thought before it could complete itself and left him blinking, slowly. "...Huh?"
"The book." The plump man smiled. "In your lap."
"..." Rapunzel slowly lifted the book and set it on the counter as his brows knit together in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "How'd you--"
"You were holding it up as you read before I stepped in," the man offered with a knowing smile, just a hint of amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Forgive me if it is out of line, but it seemed as though you were reading it rather intently. Have someone's heart on the brain?"
"Me? No, I....uh." Rapunzel quickly pulled his hands off the magazine and let them hang at his sides, not sure what else to do with them really. It felt somewhat akin to being caught while up to no good, even if really it wasn't any of the man's business. But it didn't seem like it had been made with any ill intent, so after a moment of unsure silence he replies. "I just like to read that stuff...sometimes. That's all."
The man chuckled. "Love on the brain eh? No shame in that at all. After all we crave it at some point in our lives! It's a journey worth undertaking, wouldn't you say?" Turning, he finally approached the front desk with a sharp upward curve to his lips that really, wasn't anything but friendly. It was terribly inviting really. Made him sort of...charming. "Ever fancy going on an adventure yourself?"
"Adventure?" Rapunzel blinked, feeling his hands slowly clutch into fists as anticipation prickled at the back of his neck. "Like in love?"
His eyes twinkled. "Sure! Why not? Love is one of the greatest adventures of all time; and who doesn't love a little bit of that, hmm? What do you say? Given the choice you'd go on that journey yourself yes? No matter how far it took you?"
"I...yeah." The Fairy Tale swallowed a little, and nodded again. "Yeah." There, less awkward. "I guess if it's for love..."
"Now, what would you do if I told you that there's someone out there for you, undoubtedly. Someone just right for you! Would you be willing to go the distance, overcome every obstacle the find them my lad?" He leaned forward on the front counter and without even thinking about it Rapunzel craned in as well with a keen glint in the corner of his eye.
"Of course. You only find your True Love at the end of a long journey fraught with peril and adventure." Before he even realized it eagerness had seeped into his normally reserved and factual tone. The man with the fedora wiggled a finger at him in excitement.
"Exactly! True Love--now that's the thing to seek! Would you be willing to go that distance, fight no matter what it took to get there??"
"Of course!" Both hands gripped the edge of the front table as Rapunzel leaned in again, eyes brighter. "If it's for True Love then anything's worth it!"
Abruptly, and without warning the man suddenly drew back with the brightest of expressions. His cheek bones lifted high with the grin on his face, and he clapped both hands together. "Now that's the spirit! You'll work out quite nicely, I think."
CHARACTER ITEMS. ✖ Pick a Team: Blue Team
✖ Mission Freebie: TRUE LOVE. ✖ Personal Item or Weapon:
Hrunting: The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns had been tempered in blood. It had never failed the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle, anyone who had fought and faced the worst in the gap of danger.
This sword's only power is that is can never be broken, so long as it's name is spoken before battle. Since it's made of iron it's also useful against fae-creatures but other than that it's just a regular weapon.
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