Mythlands: THE HEIST

Character Profiles: The Heist Part One (41-45)

Rose Red - While most people are familiar with Snow White from the classic and most popular version by the Brother's Grimm (Itself cemented into popular culture by the Disney movies and animations based upon Grimm's Fairy Tales), there are in fact older versions and those put in print could well have been based on oral traditions for the tale.

The Brother's Grimm revamped the story of 'Snow-White and Rose-Red,' (which they had collected and published in an previous collection) using this earlier tale for inspiration and cutting out certain characters and plot aspects including Snow White's sister Rose Red. 

Snow-White and Rose-Red itself was pretty much adapted from the earlier short story 'The Ungrateful Dwarf.' by Caroline Stahl published in her collection of German stories in 1818.

So the chain likely goes - Oral traditions from German stories - The Ungrateful Dwarf - Snow-White and Rose Red and then Snow White, in which the heroine doesn't have a sister.

In the Mythlands Snow and Rose are sisters but while her sibling married Prince Charming and her and her husband now rule their combined kingdoms, the independent Rose Red decided she would earn her own way in life. She is presently the chief stewardess aboard one of MCI's corporate jets reserved for the Executive Entertainments CEO who operates out of Myth Vegas. Near the start of The Heist, The Hare took that position and the jet is now jokingly called 'Hare Force One.'

Rose enjoys the glamour of extensive travel around the lands and maintains a primary residence in Myth Vegas with a small apartment in Domain City where she is on a regular basis, and she also has extensive rooms in her sister's castle for when she visits.

Among her closest friends, Rose Red counts Jessica Bunny, Gretel and Miranda, the Little Match Girl - as a job perk she is permitted to invite friends aboard the jet and often gives Miranda a lift to her meetings in DC. During the Heist, Rose facilitated Jessica's getting on board the jet in the guise of a temporary stewardess so Jessica could talk privately with The Hare.

Captain Blue - The nursery rhyme 'Little Boy Blue' originated circa 1744, although it might have existed orally before publication.

Like many child characters without another identity, Little Boy Blue grew to adulthood in the Mythlands and is now known merely as Blue. Since joining MCI as one of it's corporate pilots, mostly flying executives on Hare Force One, the former Boy Blue Is most often referred to as Captain Blue.

The Zodiac - There are many different astrological variations across many cultures - what most have in common is 12 astrological birth signs that indicate and predict personality, behaviour and fortunes. In Western culture these signs are ARIES (the Ram), TAURUS (the Bull), GEMINI (the Twins), CANCER (the Crab), LEO (the Lion), VIRGO (the Virgin), LIBRA (the Balanced Scales), SCORPIO (the Scorpion and sometimes the Eagle and the Pheonix), SAGITTARIUS (the Archer), CAPRICORN (the Sea Goat), AQUARIUS (the Water Bearer) and PISCES (the Fish).

In the Mythlands there may be different variations of the Zodiac in different form across the various realms, but in the West Mythlands, the only version is the self described 'Private Security Contractors.' Each member of the 12 strong group wears a dark suit and shades - some are animal men such as Leo, Taurus, Airies and others - Sagittarius, Aquarius and Virgo look entirely human, while the rest such as Gemini (representing duality) and Libra have strange cosmic aspects - Gemini appears robotic with duo tone coloring.

They occasionally divide into sub groups - Air, Water, Earth and Fire and each possesses abilities that relate to their nature.

The Twelve Signs are The Zodiac Core but they employ many dark suited employees or 'contractors,' Zodiac hires themselves out as private security for wealthy corporations and nations.

In recent years The Tortoise signed a contract with the Zodiac to provide security for MCI and the Domain by 'any and all means.' Unfortunately this backfired on him when Zodiac pursued aggressive interrogation and internal security measures. 

Declaring that their loyalty was to the state and corporate entity and not to it's Chairman and Board, the Zodiac responded to The Tortoise's protests by first of all declaring Emergency Powers and limiting his access for 'his own protection' and to follow 'protocol.' Later they determined possible interference from The Tortoise and other MCI executives was a threat to 'Internal Security.' By this logic they took charge and placed The Tortoise and other board members under unrestricted house arrest.

Zodiac also declared the Hare a terrorist and sentenced him to death in absentia. They continue to tighten their grip on the once peaceful Domain, all in the name of security.

Chee-Chee - Appearing in 'The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts,' (published 1920) by Hugh Lofting, Chee-Chee is a talking monkey, although originally he could only communicate in the language of the Simians.

Pre Mythlands Chee-Chee was originally a wild African monkey who ended up being owned by an organ grinder who sold him on to Doctor Doolittle. His name means 'Ginger,' in the Monkey language, perhaps indicating his fur has an orange sheen to it.

In the Mythlands, the now English speaking Chee-Chee continued to live with Doctor Doolittle and many other animals for decades. Despite his almost god-like awe and devotion to Doolittle, at one point in recent times Chee-Chee decided to explore the Mythlands and seek his fortune in the big City. He set out accompanied by the dog Jip and they settled on Emerald City but due to not being very bright, Chee-Chee hadn't checked when Jip bought the wrong tickets and now they were headed for Domain City.

Despite Chee-Chee's low intelligence and the fact that Jip was even stupider, the pair landed jobs as desk guards at The Castle, the half skyscraper, half castle corporate HQ of MCI.

Approached by the Glass Cat, the pair were given an offer they couldn't refuse and in exchange for a bribe, they switched off all security for a period of seven minutes, allowing the Glass Cat's agents to download vital confidential files.

As a deposit of 25 thousand of the local currency had been placed in Chee-Chee's bank and Jip had been given a tailored suit, they became obvious suspects and were questioned by Head of Security Big Bruin and his partner the fey Ariel.

Jip -  Appearing in 'The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts,' (published 1920) by Hugh Lofting, Jip is A small dog belonging to Doctor Doolittle - he is of subnormal intelligence but he has an excellent sense of smell.

At some point after arriving in the Mythlands Doctor Doolittle attempted to increase his animal's intelligence and cognition, but with limited success. Jip mainly barks and yips but can speak a few words.

Despite still remaining a regular albeit talking dog and not an anthropomorphic upright, Jip had an obsession with wearing human clothes like Chee-Chee and other creatures. While working the desk in MCI HQ he was bribed with a designer fitted suit.

Ending up interrogated after the security breach Jip and Chee-Chee had the misfortune of their case being taken from Big Bruin and Ariel - due to the sensitive nature of the data stolen, the Tortoise took the drastic step of unleashing The Zodiac - this action set off a chain of events that seems to have, at least for now, changed the face of the Domain turning it from a whimsical and pleasant place to live, into a virtual police state.

Jip and Chee-Chee were designated terror suspects and non persons by Zodiac and removed to a black site facility where they were subjected to 'advanced interrogation methods.'

Sadly Jip died as a result and his body was dumped and found by Bruin and Ariel. Chee-Chee's fate has not yet been resolved.