application for d_a

[illuminaria]

Mun
Name: becca
Contact Info: takozu
Other Characters: Eris



Character
Name: Rapunzel
Appearance: See here! Rapunzel is about 5'5" tall, with....70' of hair. No literally, seventy whole feet. Golden as gold can be. It don't get much golder than that. She's rather skinny, holding all her weight in her hips (There isn't much in the first place, she's rather fit). She has a round head with bubbly pink cheeks and grass green eyes. She's dainty in appearance, but that can fool you.
Canon: Tangled (2010)
History: Have at it.
Canon point: Rapunzel is pre-lantern sequence. She's had her heart-to-heart with Eugene after the flood in the canyon, and Gothel has sung "Mother Knows Best - Reprise". More below.
Personality:

Rapunzel is not initially what you'd expect to see in a princess: clumsy, naive, stubborn, codependent and incredibly critical of herself. But some of these traits background other important parts of her personality, and some are even overcome along her journey, bringing out an optimistic, incredibly talented/creative, compassionate and selfless young lady, who ultimately becomes what she truly is; a princess.

Imagine you're stuck in a tower. Your whole life. Social interaction is probably not going to be your strong point! At first, Rapunzel is...well, shy, unsure of herself, and critical of her own actions. A lot of this is shown during her first encounter with Flynn/Eugene, when she stumbles, stutters, and is unsure of her words. Most of these habits/traits are easily blamed on her mother, Gothel, who undermines her accomplishments and thoughts, and even her dreams on a daily basis. Gothel intends to keep Rapunzel nailed down to the tower, and inciting these insecurities did a pretty good job of it. Well, for a while.

She's clumsy, but that's easily blamed on her hair. While she's dextrous when it comes to using her hair to climb walls, hang in mid air, climb and otherwise be active, moving normally with it is a bit of a pain. She's always kicking it around and placing it strategically around her, because when she doesn't, she trips and even gets wrapped up in it. Because of this (and her artistic quality as well!) she has an incredible eye for detail (just look at some of those paintings!).

During her first encounter with Flynn, her stubbornness ('You can tear this tower apart, brick, by brick, but without my help? You will never find your precious satchel.') overcomes her insecurities; she is so darned ready to see those lanterns, she's going to make sure Flynn takes her whether he likes it or not! This involves threatening him with the frying pan, as well as enlisting Pascal's help to convince him to take her. This also comes into play when she has to overcome her fear of 'ruffians and thugs' in order to save Flynn from them. Her stubbornness easily metamorphoses her shyness into bravery in just a few short hours. ('Find your humanity! Haven't you ever had a dream?')

Rapunzel shows her more codependent and critical side on her way to the Ugly Duckling with Flynn, constantly changing her mind about staying with him, going back to the tower, whether or not Gothel will be angry with her, and so on. It consumes most of their journey (and their day!) over there. She can't even take enough time to explore the forest around her without thinking about her mother. Again, this behavior is immediately outgrown, in the very next few hours, she's convinced by Flynn that maybe staying in the tower with her mother isn't all it's cracked up to be. She's so enthralled and inspired by the world around her that she works up the courage to tell her mother 'No!'. Her character development is incredibly rapid, and it's due to the new exposure to the outside world.

A lot of things that exposure brings out is her optimism. Even when confronted with the Snuggly Duckling, she has to add, 'Well...I do like ducklings!' Only when she's put in a life or death situation, does she break down ('Mother was right, I never should have left...I'm so sorry Flynn.') Her optimism continues to shine through, making light of otherwise dismal situations. My mother hasn't let me out of the tower my whole life? Maybe if I show her how strong I am, she'll let me! Or, the first time seeing a person of the male persuasion? Maybe he doesn't have pointy teeth like I've been led to believe! Maybe, he even likes me! She's always seen the good in people rather than the bad, and most, if not everyone (bar thugs especially) take that incredibly well. This is also shown incredibly with Maximus. Maximus came after her and Flynn in the canyon, even going as far as to flood the canyon which nearly drowns them. When they both wake up to a Maximus harassing Flynn the next morning, her positive attitude and way with kindness convinces the horse to just give her 24 more hours with Flynn. ('He's a bad horse!' 'No he isn't! He's just a big sweetheart!')
Her optimism is a huge part of what keeps her going; after all, eighteen years in a tower, you need to give yourself something to look forward to! Painting, creating and learning new things are what keeps her content, with tons of hobbies like knitting, candlemaking, chess, sewing, cooking, baking, and most of all, painting. Rapunzel paints the world she's seen from her tower window, and constantly looks forward to seeing it one day in real life. She takes notes, paints birds and flowers, and overall, creates her own beauty & happiness in the small space that she's given.

Her compassion and her graciousness are her most captivating qualities, spending her whole birthday in the kingdom with not only Flynn, but other people (complete strangers!) as well. Drawing huge chalk murals with children, dancing with a good sized crowd of people/not being afraid to have them join in with her expresses her wonderful ability to captivate others with her kindness. In the end, she makes a deal with Gothel she fully intends on keeping in order to save Flynn; her hair for Flynn's life. She's heartbroken, but knowing that Flynn will be okay is what encourages her to follow through with it. The compassion is shared with all she comes into contact with, whether it's grumpy horses, shady thugs, or girl scouts looking to braid things with her.

Rapunzel is a sunbeam through and through, warm, compassionate and all engulfing. She has an incredible amount of love for everyone and everything, fueled by her intense curiosity and wonder with the outside world.

pros: bubbly, cheerful, optimistic, creative, tenacious/strong willed, inspired, compassionate, insightful, charismatic, bright, strong, selfless
cons: naive, stubborn, young, rash, thoughtless, modest/critical, gullible (initially), codependent (initially)

Powers/Special Abilities: Magic glowing hair. No seriously. With the ancient lullaby and a drop of sunlight, Rapunzel's magic hair glows and turns back the clock of anything it comes into contact with. Old and gray? It'll make you young and spry. Cut up and bruised? It won't even leave a scar.
She also has some killer upper body strength, enough to hold a grown man swinging on the end of her hair without a pully/weight distribution. But that's what happens when you heave your mother up the side of an eighty foot tower for your whole life.

Inventory: Flynn's Satchel; his wanted poster, the Princess of Corona's tiara/crown, and the clothes on her back.

Greatest Fear: Rapunzel has many, many fears, all planted in her mind by Gothel. First and foremostly, of herself getting hurt. The fear that she won't have any family left/her mother will leave is also legitimate. It's a fear she's carried since she was a child; that mother will never come back from one of her trips outside the tower. Which is totally feasible, from all the bad stuff she's led her to believe about the outside world.
Rapunzel is afraid of the dark. Another fear planted in her by Gothel, 'the night is dark and full of terrors.'
As she will grow and make friends, Rapunzel will be afraid of losing them. As she gets to know knew people and builds her social circle, she will appreciate them, and think of them as her family. She will be afraid of going home, being prisoner, being locked away, and being alone.
Her fear of captivity will be explored later on in the game's progression, as certain facts may come to light (i.e. her mother only really wanted her for her hair, nothing is as bad out in the world as it seems.) This takes a lot of CR to develop, something she's good at getting. Rapunzel will learn to be unafraid of other people, and make a lot of friends, and the possibility of not seeing those friends ever again will begin to plant that fear in her. After she finds activities, clubs, and other things she's passionate about, furthers her passion for painting as well as learning, that fear will begin to fester, that she'll have to go back to being locked away in a tower, never to enjoy the simple things like talking with friends or expressing herself. Her emotional independence factors in as well, as her self confidence grows, she will be less inclined to be subdued ever again by Gothel, thus feeding the fear even more. Rapunzel is no doubt a free spirit, and only just discovering it. Once she does though, the idea of being kept away from all that she's found out that she loves will be intimidating, and then it will grow to be an actual terrifying thought.
How is your character appropriate for this game? Rapunzel is positive. Almost undoubtedly so. She is optimistic, sunny, bright, a light in the proverbial dark. She can lend a helping hand both physically and emotionally. It takes a lot to break her once she's sunk her roots into the ground, but it's not impossible. Her canon point offers a lot of potential character growth.
Rooming request section: JOE WEST WITH ALL THOSE OTHER WEIRDOS
Year/Position: College freshman.

AU Specific Section

AU history
Rapunzel has wanted to see the lanterns all her life, and mother won't take her for her birthday. In fact, with the mist looming, she's been more and more overprotective of Rapunzel. Rapunzel has the canon argument with Gothel, hides the unconscious Flynn Rider in her armoire, and convinces him to take her to see the lanterns.
When the duo arrive at the Snuggly Duckling, somewhere between Flynn being harassed by all the thugs and the beginning of 'I've Got A Dream', Rapunzel is approached by the bar-thug, and he asks her if she was expecting an envelope. She isn't, but it clearly has her name on it. She takes it, but saves it for later. After all, she needs to help Flynn out of his predicament.
After the song in the Snuggly Duckling, the flood in the canyon, she dries the letter over the fire with Flynn, and he asks about it. She explains she was going to go there instead of back home after she'd seen the lights. She'd be an adult after all, and she wanted to learn (thus telling him that she knew nothing of the mist, nor of the impending terror that loomed). He agrees, suggesting going there would be better than going back home, that there were dark things coming to haunt the world and the Academy had been touted as a safe haven. He goes to find more firewood, and she folds up the letter again, tucking it into her bodice. Gothel arrives to try and scare Rapunzel away from Flynn, telling her that he was only after the money, and that he would leave her the moment she'd given him the crown. Gothel leaves the crown with Rapunzel, and Rapunzel doesn't sleep that night, Gothel's song telling her about the Mist and the danger that would loom if she didn't come back home.
Rapunzel has to make a decision; go with Flynn and have him leave her after getting the crown? Or go to the Academy, and miss the lanterns? Utterly terrified by the Mist (much less the prospect of Flynn leaving), she realizes she's made a mistake, and leaves the invitation as well as Flynn in the middle of the night. Taking the satchel with her, she wonders if Flynn will come after her for it. After all, Disney Academy is a long ways away. Her logic? She would see the lanterns eventually, but she was going to do anything to stay away from Gothel. She wasn't done seeing the world yet, and if Flynn wanted to join her, then...he would. And she'd be staying.
How has it affected them? Rapunzel is more afraid of her Mother and Flynn leaving her (and the Mist!) than she is in canon. She's still nervous and jumpy, still afraid of any number of things, and regrets her actions of leaving the tower/running away from Gothel & Flynn. She'll grow out of it, sure, but with some solid friends to help her.


Writing
First Person Sample

[ So, her first day had been pretty good so far. Getting all those books (wow, new books!) and all these new friends, a roommate. Everything was coming together---well, sort of. She'd dragged her hair in and out of corridors, hallways, courtyards, libraries and so on and so forth. Pulling it up six flights of stairs was almost exhausting. Tucking some of that hair behind her ear, she's pretty sure she's going to need to take care of this problem rather soon. Nervously, she messes with her communication device.
Thank heavens it was clearly marked---sort of. She still doesn't know how the camera works if that wasn't obvious. ]

Hi! It's...me. Uh, Rapunzel.

I just wanted to say, first, it's been really amazing to meet you all! Well, some of you. The people that I've met so far! I'm sure I haven't met all of you...but that's beside the point. I have a question! If you met me, you probably noticed...I have a ton of hair.

[ And she thinks she's getting the idea of this camera thing, because she points it to the trail of hair leading out her door and into the hallways. ]

A ton of it.

And usually I'm in one spot all the time, so I didn't really have to worry about it before, but with classes starting soon, I'm probably going to be moving between rooms a lot with the rest of you, so...

Can anybody braid? At all? If you can, would you help me out? Maybe?

I'll make it up to you, I promise. I just don't want anyone---tripping in the hallway. Because of my hair.

Just let me know! Maybe you can even teach me too, so I can do it myself in the future. Unless you don't want to, that's---uh, that's fine too! I mean, I know how to braid, just not this much at one time.

Thanks so much!


Third Person Sample

Backing out of the dormitory, Rapunzel finally steps out into the light with all of her hair bundled up. It was absolutely liberating. She could move! Freely! Without having to worry about tripping or tangling or anything! Even going down the Joe West stairs was easier! She twirls and runs to the fountain and back, a smile of complete and utter glee on her face. She could run! She could dance and twirl and just be free. More free than she'd ever been before! Skipping to and from the dormitories on her lunch break is literally, the highlight of her day.

The downfall of her day?

Stubbing her toe while skipping.

That had never happened before either.

Sure it isn't as bad as falling from the rafters in the tower, or landing flat on her face when she tripped over her own hair, but wow it hurt. A short song and a defeated walk back to the dorm has made her feel rather silly for being so excited about her hair. In fact, it made her feel like a little kid again, mother scolding her for not being careful.
Shoes, who needed shoes? Shoes were fine and all, but...why wear them? Why not keep them for special occasions, like dancing or wearing nice dresses? She didn't need shoes every day, right?
Unfortunately, she begins to think that...maybe she would. But where did you find shoes? Could you make them?
She snags a few magazines off of the common room table, and heads back upstairs (super awesome, by the way, not having all your hair still on the bottom floor dragging you down!) to investigate. Maybe someone in these knew about shoes. Fashion? No. Ah, footwear.
Wow, those shoes look painful.
Those ones look rather silly.
These other ones look just right, but they look like they were made out of glass.
The gears began to click as she put the pieces together. Maybe, she could make her own...with beads and charms and gorgeous colors that would compliment her uniform!
Later on she could make another pair with different colors, ones that kept her feet warm! Maybe even make some for her neighbor (who's feet always looked cold). They'd have to be a little less flashy, less girly, sure, but she would still have fun making them, right?

It's safe to say, Rapunzel spends the rest of the evening researching fabulous footwear and where to wear it all.