high in her tower

[bemoans]

 Is this truly wise, madam?

The storylines hardly match up and - and - and surely we know what really happens to me in the source you're choosing to cross over.

[ sniffle ]

I don't like this one bit. Not one bit.

Comments

you get whoever i'm logged in as. oh god.

[empirics]

That doesn't sound too unfamiliar.

yes yes good. (???)

[bemoans]

You're familiar? How could you possibly know?

yyyyy.

[empirics]

All I'm saying is that I sympathize. People wanna say my story doesn't fit in, either.

But hey, you're with good company.

[bemoans]

Truly? I don't know who you are.

But -- sorry. I don't know anyone, actually.

[empirics]

And I don't know who you are! See, something in common.

Just call me Doctor Whale. Everyone else does.

[bemoans]

O-oh. I suppose so.

My name is Rapunzel. I would say Whale is a curious name but I was named for a plant. Apparently that is not normal.

[empirics]

Last name, actually. That makes it less strange.

I - can't say I've ever heard of the plant that's your namesake. Congratulations, you've stumped me.

[bemoans]

Rampion. It was Mother's favorite.

Ah - [ she shakes her head quickly. ] My real mother. Actually, the mother who stole me also loved rampion.

[empirics]

Stole you.

[he nods and just - stares. kind of a shocker, but then, once it settles, he realizes it's not too terribly out of sorts for their world.]

That's it? No deals made? No magic? Just - stealing.

[bemoans]

[ another hasty shake of her head, scrunching her face. ] N-no.

Well, my brother has told me that our parents had made a deal after stealing from a witch's garden - a-and broke it. Deals and magic. [ she wrinkles her nose. ] So, so messy.

[empirics]

Quite.

[he mumbles that almost under his breath, and with a sigh. even if he hasn't broken anything, he certainly knows the stories. who doesn't?]

That clearly wasn't their brightest moment.

[bemoans]

They were hungry. I can understand because my actual mother was hungry and pregnant.

But I know that breaking deals with those who perform magic ... no. That's not good. And I know that upsetting Mother is one of the worst things you can possibly do.

[empirics]

There wasn't - a market, or something? Somewhere they could buy it instead of stealing? [displayed: genre savviness.]

As for your mother - not to intrude, but she's not a queen of any sort, is she?

[bemoans]

They lived on farm lands. Mother was - is? - an expert gardener.

And, no, she was not of royal blood. But she is - was? - a witch. A very powerful witch, but not always with ill intentions.

[empirics]

So knock on the door and ask nicely. Or take a carriage or something into town.

And frankly, in my experience - limited as it may be - intentions don't really matter with magic. Something's gonna get broken in the crossfire.

[bemoans]

It's no use to give me advice for my dead parents!

But - anyway. Anyway. There's always a price. I don't like it. Even if I could wish for everything in the world, it wouldn't make a-any amends.

[empirics]

Right. Just creates a whole slew of other problems. Very smart.

[bemoans]

Yes! I can be smart at times.

[empirics]

Hey now, I don't think anyone said otherwise.

[bemoans]

No, no people have said otherwise.

I still know very little about everything, but I'm learning.

[empirics]

Frankly, learning is all you can do, at first. Saving yourself from ignorance. [and find your way into the ~dark side of things, i mean what.]

[bemoans]

That - would be a terrible fate, yes?

[empirics]

Worse ones out there, probably, but it's not one I'd prefer.

[bemoans]

Yes, you could be crushed by a giant.

[ which was a fate she just barely avoided. ]

[empirics]

[well. interesting choice.]

Not what I would have guessed, but yeah, I guess death could be worse than stupidity.

[bemoans]

[ if your major life experiences outside of a tower consist of having babies and avoiding death - you'd jump to certain conclusions. ]

Yes. [ she purses her lips. ] What's your story?

[empirics]

The main points: I'm a doctor. Always have been. I lost my brother.

[...yep, that about sums it up, right?]

[bemoans]

O-oh. I'm sorry about your brother. I have one too, I just discovered. He's a baker.

[empirics]

Oh, your mother didn't steal him away, too?

[bemoans]

No, no, no, he was born first. He was spared, thankfully.

He was under another curse, though, that he could never continue the family line.

[empirics]

[okay wow.]

If I may be frank, Rapunzel, maybe it's best for everyone that you all didn't grow together. Everyone's situations combined is almost begging for dysfunction.

[bemoans]

Why would you be frank?

- Oh.

[ shrug, pout, sniffle, in that order. ] But it'd still be family.

[empirics]

[it's not something that he can really argue with; too close to home and all of that.]

But you have them now. Well, your brother, at least.