Name: Rubrum Cucullo
Alias/Nickname: Hoodie, Little Red, or just
“Red” which everyone calls her.
Tale: Little Red Riding Hood
Physical Age: 18
Actual Age: 136
Height/Weight: 4,10
Gender: Female
Physical Appearance and Attire: Red is a petite young girl with short dark black hair with long bangs and striking crimson eyes. They’re natural but she passes them off as contacts to any non-Tales that ask. She has a slim figure with a small waist, an even smaller bust, and a light athletic build fitting of someone who’s physically active quite often. The young girl has very fair, light skin that verges of looking pale at times.
Clothing wise Red is never, ever seen without her titular red hood which she has modified to look more like a modern hoodie. She still wears it over her shoulders though and is usually dressed up in a skirt, with a pair of dark pantyhose stockings, red sneakers, and a t-shirt with some kind of overly perky message on it.
Personality: Red appears to have the trappings of a pure maiden. A cute, seemingly innocent, somewhat naive girl who doesn’t quite act her age. Always smiling and ever cheerful, even when witnessing horrible events and tragedy. What few seem to realize is that more often than not Red is smiling
because she’s getting to see something terrible.
Beneath her innocent, young visage she retained through puberty Red is a cunning manipulator who takes deep, almost erotic pleasure from the pain and misfortune of others. A crushing fear and resentment of being powerless has left with her with a love for control. The girl enjoys nothing more then to have others do as she desires, setting up situations to bring down and ruin those she dislikes or secretly fears.
Fearless as she is merciless, Red is no stranger to physical violence and is more then willing to get her hands dirty if she feels she can get away with it. Yet even while committing heinous acts Red is often unusually polite and optimistic, in her own dark and twisted way, to the point she outright refuses to curse under normal circumstances.
While those who see her true personality might assume her some sociopath or lunatic, Red’s far more of a vulnerable child then she will ever let on...
Background: Little Red Riding Hood was a young girl who for all intents and purposes lived a normal life. She had a mother, a father, and a grandmother who lived out in the middle of the woods for some god forsaken reason. Every once and awhile her parents would insist that Red go visit her grandmother. They’d pack her a basket of goodies and send her off into the dark, foreboding woods.
Were wild beasts roamed. Alone. Repeatedly. Despite Red’s continued hesitation her parents insisted she go and each time Red went she grew to hate the trip a little more. Grew to hate her family a little more. Grew to hate herself a little more. Every step she took into the woods left Red with a growing sense something horrible awaited her. That she was nothing more than someone who existed to be a victim in some hellish incident that would define her life forever.
Then during one particular trip through the woods a wolf stepped out of the shadows into the forest path. With a mouth filled with knives it greeted Red, asking if she had any food in her basket.
In an instant the frustrating, oppressive sense of powerlessness Red had felt reached a peak and something inside her twisted until it
broke. The fear Red had felt towards the wolf seemingly disappeared. She looked upon the beast, seeing it for the half-starved bitch it was opposed to the fearsome monster she’d assumed it had been. It was when she looked into the wolf’s desperate eyes that an idea flashed through her mind.
Little Red Riding Hood smiled a smile that belonged only on the darkest of beasts.
She explained that she had food and would happily feed the wolf if it followed her. As soon as the timid wolf agreed it had already fallen into Red’s trap.
Journeying to her grandmother's house Red found her grandmother sleeping, silently and deeply like she often did. Bursting into quiet, false tears she told the wolf that her grandmother had died. Explaining that her family was poor and that they likely wouldn't be able to give their dearest grandmother a proper burial, Red insisted that the wolf swallow her grandmother whole. At first the wolf hesitated, but it's hunger and Red's tearful insistence soon won out.
Once the wolf has swallowed her grandmother it thanked Red and wondered if there was anything it could do to repay her. Wiping the false tears from her eyes Little Red Riding hood asked the wolf to dress in her grandmother's clothes, saying that it would put her saddened mind at ease. Once the wolf was dressed as her grandmother Red asked it to come closer.
Then Red screamed for help, as loud and as shrill as possible, knowing a certain nosy woodsmen was nearby.
Kicking down the door the Wolf was caught in an incriminating position and set upon by with a razor sharp axe. Red watched with new found glee as the Wolf’s belly was slit open, guts rushing out along with the grandmother who woke up upon hitting the floor. The wolf's guts were shoved back into it's body with handfuls of heavy stones and sewn back up, with the beast thrashing and crying out in glass-shattering agony.
Seeing, hearing, and feeling the Wolf's pain as it was dragged outside the house and thrown into the nearby river where it sank into the dark water brought Red joy beyond anything she'd felt until then. After the Wolf was dealt with she had to explain to the Woodsmen and grandmother what had happened. She quickly engineered the story about how the wolf was a deceitful beast who had sneaked ahead, ate and disguised itself as her grandmother, and would have killed her if not for the Woodsmen’s intervention.
The starving, stupid bitch of a wolf who had followed her became the “Big Bad Wolf” and Red remained the innocent and blameless Little Red Riding hood. Everyone believed her story.
No one suspected a thing. Though the wolf lived, there was no way they could proper dispute the story Red had concocted. Realizing what she had been missing in her life Red proceeded to frame many other beasts and people, doing countless horrible things herself and each time getting away with it thanks to her own scheming and innocent lies.
With the arrival of the Great Exodus she left with the other Tales to the New World, interested at what opportunities awaited. Now Little Red Riding Hood goes by the name of Rubrum Cucullo. Though everyone still simply knows her as “Red”. She runs a small corner store selling baked goods, greeting customers with a smile and providing a delightful little place to eat out.
The store however is just a hobby and to pay the bills Red makes money by quietly blackmailing, extorting, and occasionally committing a quiet act of murder and violence for money. All the while dreaming of having everyone following her lead, ignorant, vulnerable, just like the wolf…
Skills and Abilities: -Thanks to her small size and athletic build, Red is incredible fast on her feet with sharp reflexes and quick fingers. Dodging punches, climbing up the sides of buildings, or simply outrunning nasty folk is something she’s very good at.
-Red’s mindset lends itself very well towards combat. She’s difficult to intimidate and scare, more than capable of stabbing, cutting, shooting, and striking at vulnerable spots. While she doesn’t have any explicit training she has some experience and a willingness that can give her a worrying edge in acts of violence.
-Red’s innocent appearance and good reputation make it very easy for her to incriminate others as only a few individuals know her ‘true self’.
Starting Items/Trinkets: Red Hood: A bright red hood made of a soft water resistant material that’s been resized and modified to look more like a modern day-hoodie. Not featuring long sleeves and pockets, the red hood still has a set of long drawstrings to tie the hood in place around the neck. While not inherently magical the hood does have an unusual durability and resistance that provides some protection against things at least more so than normal clothes.
Wicker Hand Basket: This small, lidded wicker basket is the same one Red carried as a little girl. Made of a hazel-brown, tightly knitted wicker and having a leather strap on its tiny carrying handle it’s more physically resilient than a regular wicker basket. It’s magical in that it can hold a great number of hand-sized items, more so than it ever physically could.
With the basket Red can carry around anything she needs. Snacks, small tools, paperback hooks, razor blades, hard drugs, a handgun. Better yet the basket will not show its contents to anyone Red does not want seeing her things. Looking in the basket an unwanted person would see it as completely empty.
However Red can only ‘hide’ items in the basket if they belong to her. Stolen goods (as in they have a living owner who claims them) cannot be hidden and will appear in the basket normally regardless of Red’s wishes. Lost items or claimed items however are fair game, but the magic of the basket can be subverted by those skilled enough.
Inside the basket Red currently has:
Sawed off Shotgun: A 10 Gauge, double barreled, over under shotgun with a shortened barrel and a cut down pistol grip handle. It’s lightweight, easy to carry, and packs a ferocious punch. Red carries it and a box of 30 shells in her basket, keeping it loaded and ready in case of ‘emergencies’.
Assortment of Blades: Ever since Red was a girl she liked to pick up oddities and put them in her basket. As a young adult she’s become incredible, uncomfortably fond of knives and other sharp objects. She keeps a large collection of assorted bladed in her basket at all times and is always eager to add more.
Straight razors, throwing knives, kitchen knives, small clevers, hunting knives, switchblades, shivs, and the occasional bread knife from a fine dining set.
Braided Blackjack: A small leather bound with a heavy lead ball at the tip. It’s small and doesn’t have much reach, but it strikes surprisingly hard and is ideal for knocking people out from behind.
Garrote Wire: A short length of piano wire long enough to wrap around someone’s neck and pull tight. At the ends of the wire are to stubby wooden handles where Red can grab onto for greater leverage. With enough force the wire can easily cut into skin.
Weaknesses and Flaws: Still Just a Kid: As a Tale, Red is far tougher than a regular human and a bit stronger. However against other Tales, specifically larger and more built ones, Red is at a disadvantage in regards to raw physical strength. If a confrontation boils down to who has the bigger muscles Red will typically lose out.
Safety blanket: Red is incredibly attached to her hood to the point it serves as a sort of psychological anchor for her. If someone were to take it they could potentially use it to threaten or manipulate her into doing what they want. Were the hood lost for good or destroyed it’d have catastrophic effects on Red’s mental health.
Vulnerable Side: Little Red Riding Hood might not be as big and scary on the inside as she might seem. There’s a reason for her thirst for power and desire to see others hurt. A childlike vulnerability that lurks within her. If someone were to realize this, they could use it against her to great effect.
Other: *Red is surprisingly good at making sweets, baked goods, and snacks. However she’s really bad at making dinner-type meals.
*Rad really dislikes canines in general, wolfs, dogs, puppies, they all get under her skin.
*She enjoys very grim literature, gothic clothing, and unnerving things but generally keeps her tastes hidden.
