[At Elsa's suggestion, one evening, Cassandra sits down and starts writing letters to those she cares about. Just in case.

These are those letters.]

to be spruced up later

Character Base

• Character Name: Cassandra
• Age: 24 (23 at current canonpoint, 24 by the series end)
• Canon (Date/Year Released)/Canon Point: Tangled: The Series (March 10th, 2017)/A Tale of Two Sisters
• Items Coming Along:
- Owl the owl (Cassandra's small animal companion that she can somehow talk to)
- Black Rock "Shadowblade" sword (A sharp sword made from unbreakable black stone because it's magic)
- Cracked magic mirror (A hand mirror missing a fragment that, when the glass is touched, plays a small recording of a mother gifting her child a music box)
- Fidella the horse (Cassandra's large animal companion who she can somehow talk to)
- Music box mechanism (The insides of a music box)
- Friendship painting (A painting torn straight down the middle, separating two girls)
• Content Warnings for Character: Parental neglect/abuse, trauma, manipulation and gaslighting, attempted murder (quite a lot of it), drugging, kidnapping,

Character Background

• History: One wiki link here
• Core Relationships:

- Rapunzel
Rapunzel is, by far, one of these most - if not the most - important people in Cassandra's life. One way or the other, their lives have been intertwined since Rapunzel's birth. From the moment Mother Gothel, before Cassandra's eyes, whisked Rapunzel away into the night, leaving her actual daughter behind. It would only be eighteen years later that Cassandra, unknowingly, met the princess again as she was assigned to be her lady-in-waiting. A task that, at first, she openly disliked the naïve but friendly princess, but... growing up in a friendless background, with Rapunzel being one of the few that reached out to her, endeared the former brunette to Cassandra enough that she would become Cassandra's first - and closest - friend.

Time and again, Cassandra would set aside her personal goals in favor of sticking with Rapunzel, who always appreciated her for it but would unknowingly toy with Cassandra's belief that her worth was determined by her usefulness to others. So, once Rapunzel begins to grow and assert herself on their adventures, a slow but steady decline in their relationship develops. Starting largely with Rapunzel acting against Cassandra's advice, and ultimately harming her for it on accident.

It's all of these little moments that push the already socially struggling Cass further away from her best friend... leaving her in an open position to be manipulated into believing she must cut all ties with Rapunzel. A misguided belief that pushes her down the road to villainy. And despite all the hardship Cassandra had been put through, and the burnt bridges left in her wake, some small part of her still wishes things could go back to being as they were, with her by Rapunzel's side again. Unfortunately, this feeling of remorse, and the struggles that come with it, makes her stamp down on her feelings even harder, bringing her and Rapunzel to blows several times over - All to prove that she IS better off now than ever before. Rapunzel WILL see that!

- Eugene
Comparatively, Cassandra's relationship with Eugene is relatively simpler; the former thief was a household name, seeing as her dad happens to be Corona's captain of the royal guard. And after he rolled into the castle with the lost princess on his arm, Cassandra's general opinion of Eugene never rose above 'lazy annoyance', much to his - and her own - frustration. Because Eugene wants Cassandra to like him, and overtime grows to like her as a sister, albeit one he will routinely bicker with. Cassandra on the other hand saw him as a no-good, freeloading layabout, content to lounge around the castle while everything just fell into his lap.

Of course, that changes. Because Eugene really is a good man with redeeming qualities beneath the ones that annoy Cass. He's brave, witty, and most importantly, he loves Rapunzel. Once those are set aside, they're capable of working very well together, especially when Rapunzel needs them to. And Cassandra doesn't hate Eugene just for nothing. She WANTS to see him succeed, just like everyone else. It's just that her blunt honesty about him tends to be taken the wrong way. As is her blunt refusal to open up about anything, rendering her "Madame ice demon" in his eyes... Even before she takes the Moonstone.

From there, their lives have changed. A protector, and a thief, now reversed. Eugene wants Cassandra back as much as anyone, but he won't let her bring harm to Corona, or to Rapunzel. And to Cassandra, he's just another obstacle on the path to finding her own destiny.

- Varian
At first, Cassandra only knew Varian through speculation and rumor. He was a wizard of some sort, practicing magic out in the small farming village of Old Corona. When it became clear that Varian was an alchemist - and a young boy on top of that, one with an OBVIOUS crush on her - Cassandra started to treat him with the air of an annoyed big sister. But as time goes on, and she allowed herself to listen to him, it turns out they both had things in common. Like an all-encompassing desire to prove themselves, and make their fathers proud! Ironically, it was Cassandra putting her own desire aside for a friend (again) that cemented Varian as one of her few close friends.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck. Varian was forced to turn on his friends, committing treason and attacking the kingdom - even attempting to murder Cassandra at one point, along with the Queen herself. Luckily, Rapunzel defeated him, and Cassandra survived, but they were forced to leave Varian imprisoned while they went on their way. Traveling far, far outside of Corona to learn the secrets of Rapunzel's destiny.

How unlucky for Varian that turnabout is fair play. Because once Cassandra stole the Moonstone, she learned that to gain its full power, she will have to return to Corona and find the Demanitus Scroll. The same scroll in Varian's possession, that the young Alchemist has been translated. So, it's a simple matter of kidnapping Varian and drugging him with his own truth serum so he'd spill the secret incantation Cassandra needed. Even still, Varian tries to sway Cass back to her senses, but though Cassandra promised he wasn't part of her fight, she pushes him away, figuratively and literally. Because CLEARLY what they did isn't the same.

- Zhan Tiri
To Cassandra, the mysterious little spirit that greeted her in an isolated room of a magical house seemed... odd, at first. But then this little girl showed her the truth she'd suppressed for so long, and emphasized with her. Told her what she needed to hear; that she was always outshined by Rapunzel, and the only way to change that would be to steal the Moonstone, and the destiny that had so long floating out of Cassandra's grasp. From then on, her new friend was always by her side. Cassandra finally had someone she trusted implicitly to help her understand her newfound powers. And help her craft a plan that would cement Cassandra as a powerful force nobody would ever ignore again.

But to Rapunzel, this is all a bald-faced lie. The spirit girl aiding Cassandra is none other than the ancient warlock that cursed Corona and longs for its destruction, Zhan tiri. Under Zhan Tiri's constant manipulation and gaslighting, the vulnerable Cassandra hangs on her every word. At this point, Cassandra's spent months alone with the warlock secretly preying on her every thought. If Cassandra ever steps out of line, Zhan Tiri will guide her right back onto the path she wants her to be on, with Cassandra none the wiser.

- Mother Gothel
The woman behind it all. One woman, so blinded by her own ego, that she coveted a magical flower that granted her eternal youth and beauty. Though the reason why she exists is never given, Cassandra is Gothel's daughter by birth... Although it could be argued whether Gothel treated her as a daughter at all. To her, Cassandra was little more than a servant even at the age of four. Beyond that, Gothel would often distract her daughter with trinkets and slight praise, just enough to get the "lousy little pest" off of her back. And once Gothel had to kidnap the royal baby so she could use her magical hair, it wasn't difficult for Gothel to severe all ties with Cassandra and ride off into the night, never to be seen again.

To Cassandra, Gothel was a dark, repressed memory. But when Zhan Tiri forced her to relive those memories, everything came flooding back. Despite only living with her for four years, Gothel left deep psychological scars on her daughter; imposing on Cassandra the belief that love was earned and not freely given. For two decades, Cassandra struggled the dangerously toxic world view that her self-worth was tied directly to her usefulness as a person. What's worse, learning about who her mother was all over again has left Cassandra with a desperate desire to know that even if Gothel did abandon her, that her hard work wasn't in vain. That Gothel did love her. Even a little, even if she chose Rapunzel over her. Right now, at her current canon point, Cassandra believes she has finally found the proof she wanted, but even then... she has doubts.

Character Personality Through Key Moments

(2+) Positive Experiences:

- Her dad letting her lead the charge on Old Corona
Cassandra never expected that on the princess's birthday, one year exactly from her return, she would be leading an attack on the home of the young alchemist who kidnapped the queen. In fact, just earlier that day, she was preparing to be shipped off to a convent. All because the King discovered that she helped Rapunzel sneak outside of the kingdom for the sake of easing Rapunzel's stress. Her own father was carrying out her punishment, and barely lifting a finger to try and stop it himself.

But everything changed when Varian attacked the kingdom with a monstrous Ruddiger. The perfect distraction while he snuck through and kidnapped Queen Arianna. In the crossfire, her dad is injured, leaving Cassandra to take the reigns of commanding the remaining guards. Together, under her leadership, they are able to corner the beast and trap it with some helpful planning on Rapunzel's part. Though, the matter was far from over, and Varian would have to be stopped now, before things grew even worse.

What matters about this moment was her father handing her the role of leadership. She would be the one to lead the strike on Old Corona and coordinate all the forces. For years, Cassandra has trained to join the royal guard, only to be held back by her father's desire to keep his daughter safe. Her deepest desire was to serve her kingdom right beside him. Only recently did she prove herself to her father by taking down a separatist plot against the kingdom, and saving the royal science exposition from certain destruction. From there, she was granted guard positions, and minor cases to take on herself. Only now did she find that recognition, that validation, putting her to the test with all the skills she's cultivated since she was eight. She assured herself as she lead the charge out of the castle that she would "prove they can trust me".

- Planning the Vardaros Goodwill festival
Traveling out from Corona wasn't necessarily 'fun' for Cassandra. Like most things, it was work. Taking a caravan out of Corona so Rapunzel could follow the black rocks to her destiny was a grand ordeal, with little to no time for breaks... So, naturally, they stop in the city of Vardaros, a formerly happy city now ruled by a corrupt baron who kidnaps Eugene and threatens him into marrying his daughter. Cassandra, despite warning Rapunzel that their adventure wouldn't be all fun and games was nevertheless delighted that she got into a fight at a wedding.

More importantly, once the Baron is run out of town and some semblance of peace returns, Rapunzel puts it upon herself to bring some happiness back to the sullen city in the form of Corona's Goodwill Festival. But when nobody cares for Rapunzel's idea of fun, suddenly, Cassandra takes the spotlight as she plans out her own fun and games, which ends up becoming a smash hit with the locals. Cass has never gotten this kind of recognition from so many people, especially not so many who don't view her as the princess's handmaiden first and everything else second. Despite the burst of competitiveness between her and Rapunzel that comes from it, Cassandra genuinely has fun developing her festival, and never ends up feeling like her ideas were foolish or she shouldn't have tried.

She's still glad to finally leave Vardaros, but the city would hold some of her happier memories of this adventure.

- Stealing the Moonstone
Trapped in a magical house owned by one of Zhan Tiri's disciples, Cassandra is cornered off from the rest of the group and meets a small, blue spirit that claims she wants to be her friend. Then, the spirit shows Cassandra things that she'd long forgotten; painful, traumatic memories that utterly crush her spirit. Only then does the spirit come to her and console her with a plan to get back what she had been so constantly denied.

The end of Rapunzel's journey lies in the Dark Kingdom, an abandoned land housing the Moonstone. It is where she must ultimately go to complete her destiny: to rejoin the Sundrop and Moonstone, ending the damage both have caused. For a good while it's been touch-and-go for the group, but together, they persevere and Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra manage to get into the Moonstone's chamber... And then Cassandra steals it, taking its power for her own, and runs away from all of her friends with the intent of possibly never seeing them again.

This is not... necessarily a positive moment in hindsight. It's the start of what would be an extended emotional breakdown as Cassandra locks herself into a downward spiral. But... she's so happy. Right now, even as she runs from everyone she's ever considered a friend, she is putting her anger and fear out for them to see. No longer content to wait in the wings, she is taking the spotlight now, and never letting go of it, even if she has to burn every bridge behind her. She is, in her mind, crossing the line from the luckless to the blessed. And if her and Rapunzel have to be over for that to happen, then she'll cross that line, too.


(2+) Negative Experiences:

- Burning her hand in the Great Tree
Before their trip to the Dark Kingdom began, Cassandra promised Rapunzel's father that she would keep her safe. And many times across their journey, she does just that. Time and again, they find themselves in dangerous situations, despite Cassandra's warning and calls for concern. Which often go unheeded. Nevertheless, she perseveres and keeps the group on track for the reason they're out here in the first place.

And then Rapunzel tells her one day that she doesn't need someone to keep her safe. A perfectly casual remark, even true. Rapunzel doesn't know the effect it had on Cassandra though. Or how Cassandra, as someone who ties her self-worth to her usefulness, would hang on those words as she started to feel more and more as though the group was beginning to ignore not just her efforts, but her. When the mysterious but helpful Adira turns up to guide the group through The Great Tree, Cassandra feels more and more useless until the stress of the situation becomes too great and she blows up at Rapunzel... And Rapunzel puts her foot down as princess, for the first time since they've known each other, and orders her to stand down.

Cassandra has never felt more alienated. What's worse, the group is attacked next morning by the guardian of the Great Tree, and then by the tree itself. Cassandra's protected everyone as best she can, but she's captured, but not before spotting a way they could defeat the tree. Rapunzel, on the other hand, has another solution: the dangerous decay incantation she just learned, one she can't control. And try as Cassandra might, Rapunzel has no choice but to go through with it. What's worse, she still can't control it. So the ever-devoted Cass rushes to help her... and burns her right hand on Cassandra's shoulder. Magical flames ate through her gloves and scarred her hand gruesomely. She snapped Rapunzel of her trance, but the damage, emotional and physical, was done. Their friendship was damaged, and even as Cassandra swallowed her pain and asserted she was fine, the cracks that formed today would continue to grow until they reached the Dark Kingdom.

- Learning who her mother is
Cassandra didn't want to stay in the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow. She wanted to keep going even through the rain and mud instead of staying in the mysterious house, but nobody listens to her. What's worse, they become trapped, and Rapunzel disappears. Even worse than that, as Cassandra's searching for her, a strange voice draws her through an open door and steps into a forest clearing with a little blue spirit floating up to greet her.

Traveling through the strangely familiar forest, she happened across a small cottage that somehow... she recognized. As she stepped through the front door, all the memories started to come back in a cavalcade of emotion. Cassandra was - is - the daughter of Mother Gothel and the younger her had been waiting in the wings for her mother's love, just as Cass was waiting for some validation in her life now. The nightmare was only yet to come, as that night was the night Gothel snuck into Corona's castle and kidnapped the baby with magical blonde hair. Cassandra was forced to watch - again - as Gothel abandoned her own child and rode off with Rapunzel cradled in her arms. The young Cassandra being carried away as well, sobbing and crying for her mama in the arms of the Captain of the Guard.

Cassandra is devastated. She sinks to her knees and cries - cries openly for the first time in the entire series. Was she not good enough for Gothel? Was this all her life was going to be? Constantly outshined by others despite her best efforts. It's a very, very old wound ripped wide open, and Zhan Tiri is glad to step in and prod at it further. She's always been outshined by Rapunzel, hasn't she? And she will continue to never reach that same spotlight... unless she does something drastic. Unless she does something for herself for a change. If she can steal the Moonstone, then she can change her fate, find her destiny, and be everything that sad little girl wanted to be for her mother. The ramifications of this memory would haunt Cassandra for months to come. Because while she becomes a force to be reckoned with for the whole of Corona, she's just as much that same sad, tormented, little girl who just wants to be loved and doesn't understand why it's not working.

Deer Country Attributes

• Canon Powers: Though Cassandra is technically an average human with no magical ability to speak of, she has taken possession of the Moonstone. The Moonstone is explained as one half of a powerful celestial object, granting Cassandra - on top of changing her eyes and hair to a bright blue color - all of its powers, so long as she unlocked its abilities with the correct incantation. Which, by this canon point, she has. Such powers include;

- Black Rock summoning: The ability to call up from the ground a seemingly endless supply of black rocks in all shapes and sizes. These rocks are highly impervious to damage but aren't completely impossible to break.

- "Mood" rocks: With sufficiently high emotions, Cassandra can manipulate her rocks to change color and express a different ability (i.e. Fear causes the stones to turn bright red and cause whoever touches them to see their worst fear)

- Two Halves: As one half of a a great power from space, the Moonstone is constantly searching for its other half - the Sundrop. This isn't an ability that Cassandra can actually control, but rather the Moonstone's natural desire to find the Sundrop, which will manifest for now as essentially a quiet voice in the back of her head, or a feeling that desires to pull her towards Rapunzel when they're around one another.

- Incantation Reciting: Both the Sundrop and Moonstone have been heavily researched in the past, with several incantations being produced that draw forth both halves' powers in different ways. The Healing Incantation being one such tool to draw forth the Sundrop's healing properties, another being the Decay incantation, which is meant to be used in conjunction with the Moonstone to drain the life force of everything around it. While Cassandra herself never uses these incantations during the series, it stands to reason that she should be capable of commanding the same abilities Rapunzel does.

• Blood Type: Coldblood
• Omen: Hippogriff.
• Blessed Day: October 7th
• Patron Pthumerian: Cloverfield
• Blood Power Manifestation: The manifestation of Cassandra's blood powers will be weakened for Cassandra as to balance out her other abilities. Mainly, she'll be able to channel elemental magic through her Moonstone powers, though just how much will require an equal amount of energy from her. Whether it's lining her Shadowblade's edge with frost, fire, or electricity, and infusing her rocks with the same quality. She will also be rendered less impervious to heat and cold than other Coldbloods, but still more so than other blood types.

Writing Samples

One: April 2021 Test Drive
Two: September 2021 Test Drive

The Player

• Player Name: Drizz
• Player Age: 25
• Player Contact: lightdrizzel, lightdrizzel#8377
• Permissions: Here.

something clever to be added here eventually

CHARACTER UPDATE
Name: Drizz
Contact: lightdrizzel


Character Name: Cassandra
Current canon point: S3 E10
New canon point: Post Season 3

Personality: Claps hands together. So, it's a bit wild how things shift between Cassandra's early season 3 canon point, and the series finale.

The months following Cassandra's accidental burst of power served to slowly increase her drive to claim the Moonstone's power for her own. So hungry for power she seeked, Cassandra would eventually return to Corona and end up lying to her former friends, threaten her kingdom, and eventually kidnapping one of them to get what she wanted. Displaying a level of craftiness and cunning as usual... just twisted.

Through it all, Cass was being played like a fiddle. Her rage at her misfortune in life being manipulated by the spirit known as Zhan Tiri for her own ends. In truth, Cassandra merely wanted to prove that she was better than what everyone thought, both to the people of Corona, and to herself. Thanks to the trauma she experienced as a child, and her upbringing this left her perfectly susceptible. Good intentions warped into a desire to show up everybody, to do terrible things as long as it meant she could strike back against those she thought were against her. Eventually, she is even tricked into controlling an army with the intention of conquering Corona for herself.

And all along the way, the old Cassandra is still within, with that sense of honor. Although going to extremes for what she wanted, and egged on into violence by Zhan Tiri, Cass made it clear that she doesn't intent to hurt anyone that wasn't part of her vendetta. Her ultimate goal was to simply find a destiny for herself, while knowingly disliking the terrible things she does, despite them being a means to an end. She even spends time attempting to find proof that despite how awfully Gothel treated her, she might have still cared for Cass. And connects with Rapunzel along the way... until Zhan Tiri manipulates events to make her believe Raps hid the proof she looked for.

It isn't until semi recently that the veil over her eyes was pulled; Zhan Tiri lied to her and used her, and now she looked like the bad guy. Even so, Cassandra realized she was in the wrong, and made a genuine effort to turn things around. Though she was terrified that Rapunzel wouldn't forgive her, and tried to prove herself through a disguise and hard work. But another trick from Zhan Tiri lead to Cass believing everyone really had given up on her, so she turned on Corona again, prepared to face the fact that she didn't need anyone.

In the end, it was Rapunzel, once again, that brought her back from the brink. With both of them stripped of their power, and Cass given up on everything, up to even bursting into tears because she genuinely couldn't understand why Raps wouldn't give up on her. Cassandra learned that she didn't have to define herself based on what others thought of her, she could be loved unconditionally, because there was more in her than anyone knew.

Which leads us to now. Cassandra is doing a lot better now, mentally and emotionally speaking. She's moving past her trauma, and making amends with those she's hurt. Most importantly, she's doing something for herself, and seeking out her own destiny rather than trying to take one for her own.

Got something to say to your new assistant? Then come on in! The office hours remain the same, open in the daytime and technically closed at night. But if you really want to talk, and pound hard enough on the door, you may get to meet with your new best friend.

And potentially her knife.