Personality: First and foremost, there are two sides to this man: his Storybrooke counterpart, Mr. Gold, a quiet yet dangerous and feared man who, during the first season, is commented to 'own the town', and Rumpelstiltskin. As the latter, he instilled much fear in all the people in Fairytale Land thanks to his extremely powerful magic and his twisted deals, with which he somehow always tricked people into giving him what he wanted. When the curse began, he came to live in Storybrooke as Mr. Gold, but made a deal with the Evil Queen/Regina so that he would remember who he was.
In spite of his appearance, Gold is a deceptively strong man, with the advantage of extremely powerful magic on his side. The fact that he's lived most of his extraordinarily long life with this magic has made him quite ruthless. He is, by nature, not a very patient man, and when reaching the limits, he won't hesitate to break out his powers. The same will happen when he is overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, loss or hatred. This makes him a very unpredictable and unstable person, as every little change in his mood can cause him to burst out. Although he became The Dark One so that he could protect his son and oppose bullies, he could be seen as quite a bully himself now, threatening people and scaring and mistreating them into getting what he wants.
Considering how long he's lived, it's a wonder that he still has anything remotely human in him. He is horribly cruel and petty, and he generally won't care for right or wrong, or the pain or joy of others. Almost nothing of what he does comes without second intentions, and it translates to most people mistrusting and disliking him. He is also quite smart with words - he phrases things in a way that lures people into a lie without outright lying to them, therefore always sticking to his word. This shows particularly on the deals he makes, which are riddled with fine print that the other party never reads or even pays attention to, usually resulting in Rumpelstiltskin getting something from them that wasn't agreed on verbally. He is a cunning trickster, and it's only natural that most everyone that knows him is suspicious if he tries any kind of approach.
Inside, he is quite conflicted - on one hand, he wants nothing but power to keep himself above all others, but on the other side, there is still a flicker of hope in him that he'll recover the things he's lost and that those things will drive the darkness away. His true intentions are still very unclear, as many times he seems to be trying to help others but in the end he just uses them for his own personal gain. Case in point, when Emma can't climb up an elevator shaft, he offers to hold onto a precious magical artifact that can break Henry's sleeping curse - a golden egg that contains love potion -, but as soon as he gets his hands on it, he flees and leaves her there.
Rumpelstiltskin was, at first, nothing more but a weak man to whom a lot of bad things happened, and who made a lot of bad choices in a feeble attempt to help and save those he loved. He became The Dark One in a desperate attempt to stop his son from being taken away into the war, but in the end it backfired. Magic slowly consumed him, until there was barely anything left other than a cruel, bitter creature. To him, magic meant a new form of power and status in his life, even though it causes him to lose all the people he loved - his wife Milah to a sea-dwelling man, and his son Baelfire when they are both about to step through a portal to a land without magic, but Rumpelstiltskin, scared of living without his magic, backs out at the last moment.
He is not, however, entirely devoid of love. He has, in fact, helped the Queen create the Dark Curse in hopes that it might have taken him to the same land where his son was. But 28 years in Storybrooke, and he is yet to find his son, although he has revealed that he is still looking for him. He has also met Belle, a beautiful princess that struck a deal with him - she promised him her servitude if, in exchange, he kept her village safe from the Ogre Wars. Over the course of a few months, they get to know each other and end up falling in love. But when Belle attempts to use true love's kiss to break his curse, Rumpelstiltskin is angered, accusing her of trying to destroy him, of attempting to play the hero by defeating the beast all by herself. Deep down, he doesn't believe anybody could love someone like him, and although Belle's feelings are true, he refuses to accept them, in fear of being hurt or of giving up everything only to be tricked in the end.
When later on he is told by the Queen that Belle is dead, he has a fit of rage and smashes practically everything in the living area - with the exception of one chipped cup. In spite of being a ruthless, cold and calculating man, he has moments of anger and frustration, pure sadness and honest happiness that show just how irrevocably human he still is.
[CANON] Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin) || Once Upon a Time || Reserve || 2 of 3
In spite of his appearance, Gold is a deceptively strong man, with the advantage of extremely powerful magic on his side. The fact that he's lived most of his extraordinarily long life with this magic has made him quite ruthless. He is, by nature, not a very patient man, and when reaching the limits, he won't hesitate to break out his powers. The same will happen when he is overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, loss or hatred. This makes him a very unpredictable and unstable person, as every little change in his mood can cause him to burst out. Although he became The Dark One so that he could protect his son and oppose bullies, he could be seen as quite a bully himself now, threatening people and scaring and mistreating them into getting what he wants.
Considering how long he's lived, it's a wonder that he still has anything remotely human in him. He is horribly cruel and petty, and he generally won't care for right or wrong, or the pain or joy of others. Almost nothing of what he does comes without second intentions, and it translates to most people mistrusting and disliking him. He is also quite smart with words - he phrases things in a way that lures people into a lie without outright lying to them, therefore always sticking to his word. This shows particularly on the deals he makes, which are riddled with fine print that the other party never reads or even pays attention to, usually resulting in Rumpelstiltskin getting something from them that wasn't agreed on verbally. He is a cunning trickster, and it's only natural that most everyone that knows him is suspicious if he tries any kind of approach.
Inside, he is quite conflicted - on one hand, he wants nothing but power to keep himself above all others, but on the other side, there is still a flicker of hope in him that he'll recover the things he's lost and that those things will drive the darkness away. His true intentions are still very unclear, as many times he seems to be trying to help others but in the end he just uses them for his own personal gain. Case in point, when Emma can't climb up an elevator shaft, he offers to hold onto a precious magical artifact that can break Henry's sleeping curse - a golden egg that contains love potion -, but as soon as he gets his hands on it, he flees and leaves her there.
Rumpelstiltskin was, at first, nothing more but a weak man to whom a lot of bad things happened, and who made a lot of bad choices in a feeble attempt to help and save those he loved. He became The Dark One in a desperate attempt to stop his son from being taken away into the war, but in the end it backfired. Magic slowly consumed him, until there was barely anything left other than a cruel, bitter creature. To him, magic meant a new form of power and status in his life, even though it causes him to lose all the people he loved - his wife Milah to a sea-dwelling man, and his son Baelfire when they are both about to step through a portal to a land without magic, but Rumpelstiltskin, scared of living without his magic, backs out at the last moment.
He is not, however, entirely devoid of love. He has, in fact, helped the Queen create the Dark Curse in hopes that it might have taken him to the same land where his son was. But 28 years in Storybrooke, and he is yet to find his son, although he has revealed that he is still looking for him. He has also met Belle, a beautiful princess that struck a deal with him - she promised him her servitude if, in exchange, he kept her village safe from the Ogre Wars. Over the course of a few months, they get to know each other and end up falling in love. But when Belle attempts to use true love's kiss to break his curse, Rumpelstiltskin is angered, accusing her of trying to destroy him, of attempting to play the hero by defeating the beast all by herself. Deep down, he doesn't believe anybody could love someone like him, and although Belle's feelings are true, he refuses to accept them, in fear of being hurt or of giving up everything only to be tricked in the end.
When later on he is told by the Queen that Belle is dead, he has a fit of rage and smashes practically everything in the living area - with the exception of one chipped cup. In spite of being a ruthless, cold and calculating man, he has moments of anger and frustration, pure sadness and honest happiness that show just how irrevocably human he still is.