Story Cubes Prompts: Once Upon a Time

This week Story Cubes prompts have magic within again. We’re talking about Once Upon a Time, or at least; this is what I see from the cubes I got this week. This time, I used the enchanted cubes (these are the pink ones) that have some cool pictures on it. Some of the pictures are challenging, but all are very useful. The enchanted collection only has three cubes, so I decided to mixed them all and see what happens. So, what did we get this week?

We got a well, a frog and a forest. And that for me reads like OUAT!

Okay, Rumpelstilskin isn’t exactly a frog, but Hook calls him “bloody cocodrile.” So, I will take that frog as a sign for Rumple, since the other pictures have a well and a forest. If you’re a Oncer, you know that Rumple and Belle promised their love in front of a well, and they both come from the Enchanted Forest. So, this combination triggers into my mind a fictional character: Mr. Gold, aka Rumpelstilskin.

Rumpel is one of my favorite OUAT characters. Though he is the enemy of Hook, he is the trickster figure in Storybrooke. Not only that, he is highly intelligent, and only his fear of losing power might be taken as his real weakness. He is a well of surprises and the one who pulls all the strings behind the scenes all over the Enchanted Forest. But, what does Rumple have that makes him so alluring?

He is a multilayered villain: he is weak and strong, intelligent and impetuous, vengeful and forgiving. He is a trickster that will seize the opportunity to get what he wants. He’ll help you, but he’ll trick you. His fears are his weaknesses, and his strengths are what make of him a nurturing character at times. In short, he is a great mirror in which many can see them reflected. Rumple is someone who believes he is coward and who acts as the most powerful being in the world when he believes has all the power from the Dark Ones.

In essence, Rumple is telling us that how we feel inside is how we’ll project ourselves to others. If we believe to be cowards, we’ll be weak and at the mercy of other people. If we think to be powerful, we’ll be strong and the ones controlling much of our fates. In the world of OUAT, there is magic, but we’ve already seen Rumple acting as a hero without any of it. It was a question of heart, a set of mind. And yes, even when we’ve overcome our fears we can fall again into the same trap!

Very much like the alcoholic might fall into drinking again when taking just one sip of alcohol, or maybe just taking a look at a full bottle of yummy Rum, Rumple falls into wanting power again. He is addicted to power. Addictions are hard to overcome, and the person who struggles to be better might fall again and again. That’s what we see with Rumple. He tries to be better for Belle, but he falls again into the addiction trap. Just because he still doubts himself. He still doubts he can make it without magic.

Rumbelle is just a wonderful example of what addictions can do to love. One partner will be there till there is no more strength left. And yet hope, makes you return again to helping the one you love. That’s the strength of Belle: forever having hope for Rumple. Of course, if Rumple falls again into the trap of magic addiction, he has to lie to his love. And so, all the right things that he did are but memmories. But can he redeem himself? I believe he can.

Rumple is a multilayered trickster who wants love as much as power. He is addicted to the feeling of having all the power of all the Dark Ones in himself, and yet he yearns to be a better self, a hero! His complexity, his addiction and his trickery is what makes Rumple so alluring for so many people. He makes errors, he tries to mend them, and he might even fail. He might be a hero, he might be a villain, and he might be a coward. But he is forever an intelligent man who doubts himself.

What can you see in the story cubes of this week? Let me know in comments!

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Liked the Story Cubes? Want to use them at home? Find them here:

• Rory’s Story Cubes, the Original ones
• Rory’s Story Cubes (Voyages) [The cubes I used this time are from this set.]
• Rory’s Story Cubes (Clues)
• Rory’s Story Cubes (Enchanted)
• Rory’s Story Cubes (Prehistory)
• Rory’s Story Cubes (Actions)

NOTE: this post contains affiliated links. I only promote things that I like.