#I also placed Varians birthday around winter time

[sleepyselkiesims]

Part 68

ACK!! KARIM!!! What happened?!?!?!!?

I am so so sorry, Karim! I didn't know it was supposed to be your birthday! Aaaaa old man back and new fears, how fun.

Ok according to the calendar, it wasn't even his birthday??? But how cute, everyone has the same birthday! Except uhh... Karim doesn't have another birthday.... does this mean for the twins birthday present he's going to die?!?!?

Maybe uuhhh, sleep it off until Rapunzel comes back to make you feel better? And you can retire, as a treat.

KARIM NO!

WHEN WILL YOU LEARN

WHEN WILL YOU LEARN THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCEEEEEEEEEEESSS!!

Well, the consequences were a little less intense, since Rapunzel's death flower finally bloomed in the winter, so there were a few more flowers on hand.

But still! Why does fear of cowplants stop you from interacting with every plant except the cowplant?? You even have the death fear now!!!

I'm locking you in here until Rapunzel's back. Enjoy your birthday dance!!

I have literally every other family member on Varian-feeding duty, and YET.

Ah well, Rapunzel loves him.

And she liked him better alive. Since he couldn't seem to manage that even with the benevolent god's meddling, maybe it was time to move on...

Teo had already talked about getting staying with Auntie Cass for a while to get some more life experiences; her place was also less isolated than the tiny island he'd grown up on.

He'd also get to bring Max, who for some reason no one liked except Teo. Poor Max.

And Tiana... well, she'd been ready to go for a while! And one of her attempts to duel her mama had finally snuck past the benevolent god.

It was a bit of an odd choice for a goodbye moment, but it worked just fine for the two little weirdo princesses.

Of course, Rapunzel just had to squeeze in one final victory.

Tiana may have been baba's girl, but Karim was 100% Rapunzel's cheerleader!

With that, it was time for the twins to say goodbye and leave the nest.

Karim couldn't wait to see where his little girl's dream would go; hopefully he'd stick around long enough to see the end of the ride!

Rapunzel's ride had been a good one, and she could pass the torch to her daughter knowing she'd done everything she'd ever wanted.

With that, it was time for Rapunzel and Karim to enjoy the rest of the Happily Ever After.

The End.

Bonus

I did eventually remember to get Rapunzel to the floating lanterns!

[finnoky]

DKAU - Part 1 (Pre Movie)

These are drabbles and ideas but a vague idea of how the Kingdoms work in this AU (There will be more parts, I just divvied them up for my own sanity)

So… Enjoy

In this Eugene was raised as a prince in the Dark Kingdom, alongside Varian as a little brother figure.

Part 2  | Part 3

The Queen still passed, but Edmund was prevented from evacuating the kingdom by advisers and the fact a lot of people had nowhere else to go. Because of it’s climate the Dark Kingdom relied heavily on trade - They’d forge ironworks in exchange for food and resources! I can see them being a great ally in the past for kingdoms who want warriors. An industrial place where the people aren’t too well off. It’s crumbling but not exactly dead… usually overlooked thanks to it’s small population and hostile environment. It’s also steeped in tradition and somewhat respected for its dedication, though a little left behind thanks to it. The DK in general is secretive and a bit mysterious.

When Rapunzel is born, Quirin is sent as a convoy to Corona in securing a future arranged marriage between the prince and princess. This would secure the DK a powerful alliance and reinstate their kingdom amongst the 7, Corona would get a kingdom they could more or less rule over in addition to extra land and resources of their own. Their deal was agreed, Quirin sent back to the DK with papers for Edmund to sign.

The night Quirin leaves Corona, Rapunzel is taken. Theories speculate the DK took out the princess and said rumour quickly spreads. Made worse by Quirin defending himself and running from the royal guard. The Kingdom is ostracised and blamed for the Princesses disappearance, though no evidence links them to it and they continuously prove they were not involved. Rumours spread like wild fire (people always speculated the DK was sketchy and into dark magic anyway, so the bad rumours stick) leading to many trade routes getting ambushed and shut off.

Edmund allows those who want to leave to go - Leaving just himself, The Brotherhood, Eugene and a handful of loyal DK residents. Edmund, in fear of him or his son getting attacked, holes himself and Eugene up in the castle and forbids him from leaving the palace walls. Ever. This is also in an effort to ensure the kingdom doesn’t fall and Eugene learns how to be a king, as well as recieve training from the Brotherhood to become a capable warrior.

Quirin, Adira and Hector all take on roles outside their usual duties and frequently escort traders down routes. Eventually Quirin finds an injured woman from Corona and brings her back to DK. They fall in love, Varian comes along, etc. Eugene is initially jealous but then the two end up growing a very close brotherly bond, even to the point where Eugene selects Varian as his personal guard when the two are older. Following the death of Varians mum, Quirin is more apprehensive to allow Varian outside the palace meaning he subject to similar isolation as Eugene (though they find it better together)

Eugene gets very bored of black rocks and wants to see nature. All sneak out attempts fail. He’s very lonely since the few children who remain aren’t allowed to talk to him. He and Varian start plotting to escape their castle eventually for a joyride around the countries before Eugene’s Coronation. To ensure he can leave when the time comes Varian commits to a future position in the brotherhood.

They leave the kingdom because the rocks are just… SO bad. Their whole home is decimated, the moonstone overtaking their lives. Adira leaves the DK following nasty arguments regarding the potential finding of the Sundrop and banishing the rocks, though her message gives the future King an idea to do the same and indulge in some rebellion when the time comes. The time ends up being shortly after Varians 13th birthday as he needs to be sworn into the Brotherhood to allow them the chance to leave the walls.

Just days after Varians birthday - The kids steal a cart and supplies and hit the road. Hector is pissed off, Edmund is sure Adira poisoned their minds, Quirin is more… understanding. he knows the Kingdom is a bad environment and pretty close to falling. He and Hector set out to find the Prince and Varian. Quirin tells Hector he should stay around about the Great Tree as ‘Eventually the prince will return and it’s the best strategic place to stay’ which Hector agrees to. Quirin keeps heading to Corona.

They (Eugene and Varian) try to find the sundrop to reunite the stones and fix everything. It takes them a long time because there’s just so much to see and do! Hell, it’s so green and lovely out here. They run into Adira who points them in the direction of Corona and promises to offset any guards who come after them, though Eugene is still sceptical of her and feels she knows more than she’s letting on, while Varian seems to trust her judgement and insists they keep going.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Lost and Found

Another plot episode and another mountain of missed opportunities, failed set ups, and foreshadowing that goes nowhere. But outside of that it’s pretty entertaining. Are we seeing a pattern yet? 

Summary: Rapunzel and Eugene go on a journey to retrieve the fourth and final piece of the scroll that will lead them to the Dark Kingdom. They receive help from Vigor the Visionary, who reveals himself to be Lord Demanitus himself, the author of the scroll depicting the purpose of the Sundrop and Moonstone. He leads them to the maze that he hid the last piece of the scroll in. Guiding them through the maze, they obtain the last piece, which united the four into one singular map. As they are about to leave, they are attacked by a stone monster.

Maybe That’s Why You Should Have Brought the Only Person Who Can Read It Along?!

Once again, having the characters acknowledge their stupidity in meta dialogue doesn’t alleviate the fact that the audience is going to think them stupid.

Regardless of your personal feelings towards Varian or what he has done in the past that does not change the fact that he is literally the only character in the show thus far who can translate the scroll. The mains knew that before leaving and they knew from the get go that they were going to need the scroll piece which is why they took it from him.  

Not bringing him along, not getting a translation key from him before leaving, nor even showing us a scene of Raps trying to ask him to translate the scroll for them before leaving and then having him refuse to do so, is a plot hole. 

Timeline Hint...Sort Of...

Rapunzel said last episode that it had been almost year since they left Corona, and it’s now close enough to her birthday again that Eugene could be tricked by it but not enough to actually be her birthday. 

So...when are we again? 

I’m going to guess 10 months after Secret of the Sun Drop? Maybe... It could also be 9 or 11 who knows... but I am still seeing fall like trees which is our only indication of a changing season in this show because the creators don’t understand climate apparently.  

Maybe cause we’re now further north of Corona we see fall/winter leaves even into early spring? 

Where Was This Rapunzel In Season 3? 

Rapunzel actually giving a crap about what Eugene wants is as rare as seeing a fawn in the woods. It happens, but most of the time you forget it's even there. 

While come season three, Rapunzel will just shoot the poor deer dead. 

Madame Canardist is a Wasted Character

I’ve already discussed at length the biggest problems with Madame Carnardist in my Vigor the Visionary and Curses reviews. So I won’t rehash those talking points here again. However what I spoke about were larger problems with the media industry and bigotry as a whole and not the specific impact the character has on the story. Which is next to none. 

The crew went through all of this trouble to make a deleted character from the film relevant to the series’s plot, and even there they failed. Madame Canardist is nothing more than a translator for Vigor when Demantius isn’t around. The story doesn’t utilize her properly despite her connections to one of the more plot important characters. 

What is her relationship to Demantius and Zhan Tiri? How did Vigor come into her care? Why is she the only person who understands him when Demantius isn’t in control? If Vigor is centuries old by this point than how old is she? What is her stake in all this and why does she bother with Rapunzel at all if she has nothing to gain from it? Why doesn’t she go along on this important quest through the maze seeing as how she is Vigor’s caretaker? 

She’s not completely useless, but like with Lady Caine, Xavier, and Hector before her, she has far more potential than the series is willing to explore with her.  

So Much For Caring About What Eugene Wants 

Welp that lasted all of five seconds. 

Man, Rapunzel is a shit girlfriend.  

The Pay Off Works, But It Then Serves No Purpose Afterwards 

I don’t mind the idea of Demantius being the monkey. I mean it is one of the very few plot points in the show with proper foreshadowing and follow through. And yes, Demantius does accomplish one thing here, by helping Raps obtain the last scroll piece. 

The problem is, nothing changes with this revelation. 

No one’s perceptions or interactions with Demantius/Vigor are altered after this reveal. No one changes their plans, goals, or motivations afterwards. Things carry on more or less afterwards the same as if they had never met. The only thing of importance here is the scroll pecice and that’s only relevant in Cassandra's Revenge and is then forgotten about completely for the rest of the series. 

What’s the point of having a plot twist if the status quo still remains?    

If the information being revealed doesn’t alter the story then why keep it secret to begin with? 

How Could You Research Them If You Never Found Them?

So did Demantius write the incantations or not? 

He is the one who put them on the scroll, so it’s natural to conclude that he did create them, but he couldn’t have done that unless he had studied both the moonstone and sundrop to see the effects the two macguffins had to the spells. 

Now according to this exposition dump, the sundrop and moonstone had been around for ages before Demantius and had become legends by his time. It is possible that someone else studied the two macguffins before him and came up with those incantations, but who? 

The ancient people of the Dark Kingdom might have studied the moonstone since they were tasked with guarding it, but no one knew where the sundrop was until Gothel found it. 

The audience needs to know this sort of information in order to understand the motivations driving the conflicts of the characters. 

Imagine a Lord of the Rings trilogy that never bothered to say where the one ring of power came from or how it came into Gollum’s possession. You’d be left wondering why everyone was fighting over what amounts to an invisibility spell that once belonged to a small deformed hobbit who used to catch fish.   

This Explanation Goes Nowhere 

Why did the disciples betray Demantius? What did they gain from siding with Zhan Tiri? Why was Gothel with them? Did she betray everyone once she found the sundrop? What was Demantius and Zhan Tiri fighting over to begin with? 

Don’t expect any of those questions to be answered. The series inexplicably makes a big deal over Gothel being connected to Zhan Tiri, but then never actually explains what that connection is, what they’re relationship dynamic was, nor how it connects back to Rapunzel’s and Cassandra’s current conflict. 

That’s the real failing of the show’s lore and backstories. They don’t connect back to the current conflict. It’s just there. 

In a well constructed show, Demantius would have been a parallel to Rapunzel who was also ‘betrayed’ by people she trusted. It would have been revealed that it was Demantius’ own actions that drove away his followers and caused them to side with Zhan Tiri. Thereby serving as a warning to Rapunzel herself and forcing her to realize in the end that in order to save everyone she’s have to apologize to those she hurt. We also would have gotten three betrayals instead of two since that’s more thematically impactful. 

But this isn’t a well constructed show and the characters in it don’t ever evolve.   

This Contradicts What We Find Out In Season 3

We find out in the last season that Zhan Tiri was originally from this world and that the only reason she was ‘bent on destruction’ was because of Demantius ticked her off somehow.  She also had no magical powers of her own until after Demantius had banished her to that other realm where she was imprisoned. 

Also Demantius didn’t use any powers. He just chucked her into a portal he had built without any warning or trail, with zero idea if it would kill her or not, all because she just stood there yelling at him. Like there wasn’t even any physical fighting, so it wasn’t a case of in defense either. 

Demantius should have been revealed to be the real antagonist all along but that would require the showrunners to be actually clever for once and not misogynistic towards their female characters. 

This Makes Zero Sense

First off, when was Zhan Tiri ever looking for Demantius? She’s been too busy trying to escape from her prison and it’s been centuries. She has no reason to suspect that he’s still alive nor does she care. Zhan Tiri’s plans are not dependant upon whether or not Demantius still exists. 

Secondly, how is the host body still alive after centuries? Why go with monkey when I’m sure there are actual human beings out there who would agree to living forever. Does the transfer actually destroy the mind? Cause if not you could have had an actual coherent host that could have helped out when Demantius was dormant.   

And don't give me any guff about ‘ethics’ because this is the man who played judge, jury, and executioner to his supposed friend/possible lover and probably killed one of his disciples as Sugarbee’s spirit was trapped in his device.  

Not the Best of Plans My Dude

So Demantius is basically committing suicide here for no real reason. 

Unless he was just already dying anyways when he made the transfer, then Demantius is drastically shortening his conscious life span. The monkey will live on, but he won’t. 

So why? He had no way of knowing that the sundrop would become a person in the future, it’s completely coincidental that he met Rapunzel just at the right place and time to help her, and as stated above, Zhan Tiri was no longer a threat to him or the world since he imprisoned her and defeated his disciples. 

Like what was his thought process here? “I just really, really want to be a monkey?” 

Eugene Isn't Wrong 

Look, I am a deeply religious person and I have faith in many things, but even I know that critical thought is necessary for basic survival and that scepticism is just plain common sense. Believing in something doesn’t mean shutting your brain off and never thinking for yourself. 

Demantius has yet to give any reason for why Eugene and Rapunzel should trust him. Him saying ‘have faith’ repeatedly does nothing to instill confidence and in fact does the opposite. If you want to people to believe in you, especially in a dangerous situation that you dragged them into, then you need to earn that trust. 

There’s a world of difference in assuming the best in people and being a fool, and Rapunzel is not the better person just because she blindly goes along with anything because she stubbornly wants to do whatever she wants and assumes she’s always right. 

Eugene is Still Right

Is ‘Faith’ the new ‘Destiny’ now? Are we just assigning different meanings to random words in order to push the story’s narrative along? 

This entire maze only involves solving puzzles, answering riddles, and a bit of running and climbing here and there. ‘Faith’ has absolutely nothing to do with it. 

This theme doesn’t even work when you take into account the reveal that it’s Eugene who needs to have faith in Rapunzel. Because Rapunzel isn’t the only one doing these things and getting them through here. 

In fact Demantius being here, and being the one who built the maze in the first place, kind of negates Rapunzel’s importance in this area. Secondly, Eugene is doing half the work anyways so it should be a message about having faith in each other. But they already have that so...yeah what’s the point of Demantius constantly bringing it up? 

Why Are You Caring About Money While Stuck In a Death Trap?

You’re rich now, Eugene. You’re the future prince consort and live in a palace. As soon as you get back to Corona or a place that recognizes Corona as a kingdom you’ll have plenty of money to spare. But you can’t do that if you’re dead inside a maze. 

Moreover, Rapunzel still has money on her. She just threw two coins in to the well; one for her and one for Demantius. You two live together! You’ve been traveling inside a caravan together for over a year now and neither of you work. Ergo, you should logically be sharing your finances at this point in time. Especially since that is what you’ll be doing anyways once you’re married for real, as you’ll both be heads of state.   

That’s Now How Faith Works

Faith is evidence for things unseen, or to put it more accurately the evidence for things that are unprovable. God, death, the future, creation, souls, the meaning of life, ect, are all concepts that can’t be proven nor disproven. No one upon this earth will ever know for certain what happens after death, how the universe was made, or if there is any intelligent life out there beyond ourselves.

People don’t like the unknowable.

Believe systems of all kinds, whether they be religious or not, exist to bring us comfort when face with the dread of such existential questions. Even if that belief system is agnosticism itself.

Gravity, weight, and basic physics however are all provable concepts that have been around since Ancient Greece, if not longer. Man has always known that if you drop something it falls, even if they didn’t have the math to back it. It’s just a fact of life.

‘Faith’ isn’t going to stop Eugene from falling. It’s not going to make the bridge more sturdy. It’s not going to magically make him as light as a feather. It won’t turn the acid below him into water. “Faith’ can’t literally give you wings and make you fly; that’s just a metaphor.

What Demantius is promoting here isn’t faith. What he’s asking Eugene to do is to blindly follow his orders without question.

This is especially jarring when you consider that Demantius is supposed to be a famous scientist. He should know very well the importance of critical thought and that having faith doesn’t mean shutting your brain off.

The Scroll is Such a Let Down

We’ve spent a season and a half finding the pieces for this thing and it won't actually be relevant until the halfway through season three. Mostly because the one person who can translate it isn’t here.

On top of that, it’s no longer important outside of  one episode. It’s an example of  the payoff not living up to its hype.

So This Is a Lie

The scroll only contains four incantations on it, and one is on the back in invisible ink and not the fourth pecice itself. None of those incantations involve combining the moontsone and sundrop together. In fact, after using two of those incantations only once they’re never seen being used again for the rest of the series. Furthermore, once the moonstone and sundrop are combined they only allow the user to perform the healing and hurt incantations, which Rapunzel can do anyways without the moonstone. 

Demantius wrote the dang scroll himself! He should very much know what is on it and what it does. This is yet another case of the writers not planning things ahead. 

Being Good at Riddles Doesn’t Make You ‘Pure of Heart’ 

Being ‘pure of heart’ means that you are kind. One does not need ‘faith’ to be kind. Being kind is doing the right thing and helping others even if it doesn’t benefit you at all.

Not only does running through a maze not have anything to do with faith, it also has nothing to do with kindness.

The only thing it proves is that Rapunzel enjoys running through a maze, and will do so in addition to dragging others along with her regardless if those people want to do it or not.

That’s not being kind.

If anything Rapunzel has only proven thus far in the series that she is a very selfish person who shouldn’t be trusted with such grave responsibility.

But as already pointed out, Demantius doesn’t care about actual faith, kindness, or purity. He just wants blind obedience. He’s mistaken Rapunzel’s exuberant and stubborn nature for nativity; not realizing that her complancany is only because they both desire the same goal.

Had he asked Rapunzel to do something that she didn’t already want to do, she wouldn’t have been so ‘pure’ to his mind.

That Is a Very Valid Question 

Eugene has a point. There’s no reason to go on this quest. In fact knowing about season three in hindsight, turning around now and not going to the Dark Kingdom would be the better option for everyone.

Cass couldn’t steal the moonstone. Zhan Tiri would never be freed. Corona will never be destroyed and the brotherhood never mind trapped. As for the black rocks they will just sit there impotently not doing anything.

Even freeing Quirin, not that Rapunzel cares, only requires the hurt incantation, which she already has.

The only problem is that Cassandra has ZT trapped in her mind but without the moonstone that has no consequences outside of Cass hearing a annoying voice in her head that she is perfectly capable of ignoring. And even that wouldn’t have happen if they had turned around after the Great Tree.

SHOW DON'T TELL

Nothing in the show back up what Demantius is saying here. We haven’t seen the rocks being active since season one. Even when Rapunzel was lollygagging around or going off the path. 

When they do become active again in the next episode it’s to help her, and after that in season three it’s all Cassandra’s doing. 

Also in season three Rapunzel is able to rebuild Old Corona around the rocks with little problem even though she didn’t reunite with the moonstone. 

In a Competent Show This Would Be Foreshadowing. This Is Not a Competent Show. 

I genuinely thought this was hinting at Moon Eugene, when I first saw this. Now couple that with the talk of ‘three betrayals’ earlier and I thought Eugene would be the final ‘betrayal’ and that a true love's kiss, after Rapunzel had apologized to him, is what would reunite the two powers and save the day.

I’m not going to fault the show for not living up to my expectations and predictions, but I will fault the series for failing to utilize Eugene properly and not working him into the main conflict. He’s the duel protagonist of the franchise. He should have just as much weight in the narrative the same as Rapunzel has.  

Oh How I Hate Where This Arc Goes

What the show does wind up doing to Eugene however, is incredibly stupid and frustrating. 

Remember how I said that ‘faith’ in this show is just blind obedience? 

Yeaaaahhh.... 

That’s what Eugene takes from all of this. Not that he should support and believe in his partner, something that he already was doing by the way, but that he needs to be a doormat to her and her whims. 

Like with Rapunzel yelling at Hook Hand in Brother’s Hook, this is the point where Eugene’s character starts to break. You just wouldn’t know it until after watching season three. 

This Is Such a Lazy Cop-Out

Like the audience has these questions too. Neither us nor Rapunzel will ever have these questions answered. You just backed out of committing to any real answers because you didn’t have your story planned out like you should have.

Why Does Everyone Act Like There’s a Prophecy When There Isn’t Any Actual Prophecy? 

Once again, Demantius had no way of knowing that the sundrop would become a person. No one did. There’s no prophecy and there’s zero explanation for his psychic abilities, which are inconsistent at best.  In fact I don't think he does have such powers, otherwise he’d be more helpful inside the maze. I think those are reserved for Vigor only and we don’t know where he got them or if he even is a ‘real’ psychic. 

Tangled the Series wants to act like it’s running on a predestination plot. That events must occur and will occur regardless of what actions you take to prevent it. Now ignoring how that causes problems with the characters’ agency for a moment; you can not have any predestination if there’s no actual destiny. 

Chosen one plots often have prophecies for a reason. Predestination is there to evoke either tragedy that can’t be prevented or present consequences for  if/when the main hero doesn’t follow along. Either way it’s there to establish conflict. 

Everyone in TTS acts like there is a conflict when said conflict hasn’t actually been established! 

This is writing 101. You need conflict. You need to establish shit. You can’t just pretend that a conflict exists where it doesn’t. ‘Fake till you make it’ doesn’t work in long term storytelling and television animation. It has to be pre-planned.  

Also The Timeline Doesn’t Match

Demantius said that it was a millenia when the sundrop and moonstone fell.He also just said he’s been waiting for a millenia to ‘meet the sundrop’. Yet Demantius acted like the sundrop and the moonstone were already legends by the time he started to search for them. That means they had to be around longer than he has. It also brings us back to the first question of who wrote the incantations if he and Zhan Tiri never found them? 

Believing In Someone Does Not Mean Shoving All the Work Onto Their Shoulders

You’re supposed to be in this together. Couples should work as a team. Both of your lives depend upon getting out of here so you should both be coming up with ideas and working together.

Not only does this miss the entire point of what ‘believing in your spouse’ actually means, it’s also incredibly unfair to both of these characters. It’s unfair to Rapunzel for put so much pressure and unrealistic expectations onto her and to have her be the person to carry both of them through when Eugene is perfectly capable of physically doing things. It’s also unfair to shove Eugene to the side and make him a useless character all of a sudden.

Rapunzel Does Nothing To Earn Such Blind Devotion 

Rapunzel’s magical hair has nothing to do with Rapunzel as a person. It’s an entity separate from her being. Literally. The hair can move of its own accord as shown here and it’s possible to physically separate Rapunzel from her powers as seen in the finale.  

Believing in Rapunzel should be about believing in who she is as a human being, about her individual character. It should not be because she has magic glowing hair.  

Not only is this a betrayal of Rapunzel and Eugene’s relationship and why they came to love one another in the first place, but it’s also a betrayal of Rapunzel’s growth as a character. It’s not only Eugene who blindly kisses her ass after this point, it’s everyone, even though she gives them little reason too. 

This the Last We’ll See of Vigor and Madame Canardist

Three episodes spent establishing these characters and now they’re just gone for no reason. They’re never seen of nor mentioned again beyond a single meta joke. Despite the main conflict revolving around Demantius and them both having the closest connection to that character.  

This Is Bad Foreshadowing, But At Least It’s Actual Foreshadowing  

Up till now any ‘foreshadowing’ we got for Cass’s villain arc has been confined to poorly thought out background images; the painting of the moon, the broken mirror in Gothel’s tower, and I won’t even dignify Chris’s bullshit about her handmaiden dress being blue. 

Not to mention all of that was only in season one. Outside of her conversation with Eugene about their parents, way back in Cassandra vs. Eugene, we haven’t had any real foreshadowing until we hit the Great Tree. 

Since the Great Tree we’ve only had a couple of bitch fights with Raps, which I personally don't consider real foreshadowing since no ill will was attached to those, and her glaring angrily at Rapunzel after escaping the shell house. 

In light of that, this scene is at least genuine foreshadowing, it’s just poorly done foreshadowing. 

While the other attempts at foreshadowing were too subtle, this one is too obvious. It gives the game away too early because there’s no other viable options within Rapunzel’s group. Adira comes closest and she’s not actually here and not really considered a friend by Rapunzel herself.  

So what winds up happening is that Cass’s arc feels rushed despite being planned since the beginning.  

Conclusion 

I spent three days fighting tumblr to get this review posted! Appreciate it! 

As for the episode itself, it’s fun to watch in isolation, but it’s such a let down knowing what’s to come from it all. 

[fletchphoenix]

The Calm After The Storm

Hey! so this is for Varigo Week 2020! Wooo! Day 1 - Cozy / Soft

I thought ‘why not start it where it all began for me?’ so boom! A small snippet of life for the boys after the coffee shop au! Hope you all enjoy!

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  Mornings like these made it difficult for Varian to want to get out of bed and leave his boyfriend for his classes. It honestly wasn’t fair how Hugo’s arms wrapped around his waist and held him in a cozy embrace as the seconds kept on ticking by the longer he waited, his breath ghosting against the back of Varian’s neck in his deep sleep. It seemed like years since they’d met in that coffee shop in the winter, christmas relentlessly edging closer each day, but he’d met Hugo and they’d spent it together in perfect bliss.

  Memories of dates and almost kisses flooded his thoughts as he shuffled further back into the warmth of his boyfriend to combat the coldness of the room. They really had been through a lot, huh? His favourite date by far was the ice skating - even though it had been a horrible night, for that one moment where it was just them, it was perfect. They twirled and danced over the rink without a care in the world as Hugo guided them in their own secret routine that outsiders didn’t notice - hands holding hands and fingers intertwined. 

  Also when they snuck out, streetlights and christmas decorations being their only company as they laughed and joked on the way to the park where Hugo presented him with his gift - the glowing necklace. Varian’s hand slid from its place on top of Hugo’s to play with the small vial still around his neck, it illuminating with a small shake. It really was beautiful. And when they got their tattoos, his eyes travelled now from the vial to the beaker on his right wrist that Irene had done for them oh so kindly as a gift for his twentieth birthday and Hugo’s small test tube on his left wrist peeked out slightly from under the covers. Wow. 

  Hugo had always been there to soothe him from his nightmares too, playing with his hair and placing gentle kisses to his forehead as he attempted to calm down. Like the night before trouble came, and they’d cuddled up with hot cocoa and snacks on a makeshift bed on the sofa to watch one of his dramatic teen movies to calm down. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms that night, his head on Hugo’s chest and legs tangled in their slightly awkward position, but neither cared. It was them and they were happy. 

  And then there was his mother returning. Of course she hadn’t stayed long, but in the short time she was here, all hell broke loose between them all. Hell, he’d even broken up with Hugo! What was he even thinking? Even he himself wasn’t sure - he was just so angry and confused and betrayed, because his Hugo wouldn’t do that and he just let himself believe Ulla. He remembered the heartache on Hugo’s face as he’d screamed at him - the way he was clearly trying not to cry as he ran out of the apartment. Varian had wanted to go after him and pull him into an embrace, to kiss and wipe each one of those heart wrenching tears away, but he just couldn’t. Not with Ulla there.

 But that was behind them now. All that mattered was them cuddling under the bedsheets in their room - even though Varian knew he’d have to get up soon anyway. 

  Varian wanted to shuffle out of Hugo’s grasp. To head out of bed while the other man was still soundly asleep and get changed and ready for college before Hugo tried to convince him to stay for the day and just call in sick, however something stopped him. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to leave today. He wanted Hugo to keep him in bed all day where they could cuddle with the bitter winds outside that seeped through due to the apartment’s shitty insulation and even worse heating units - it hardly even worked most of the time.

  A groan left Varian’s lips as he turned to face his still-sleeping boyfriend, his blonde fringe barely covering the scar running through his right eyebrow and the slight tilt of his lip making it look like he was smiling in his sleep. He reached out - slowly, carefully - to push the fringe aside and tuck in behind the other’s ear. He always looked so at peace sleeping. It was adorable. He’d missed this during their break. Sighing, he pushed himself into sitting up, a slight smile creeping onto his face as his legs swung over the edge of the bed to rest on the blue carpet of his floor, a familiar heat moving behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist again.

  “Yknow you could always just stay at home.” Hugo’s husky voice sounded absolutely heavenly at the moment - that alone making him want to sink back into the covers and fall into a sleep again. But no, he couldn’t just give up that easily. Not when it’s Hugo.

  “Mmm...I could, couldn’t I.” he muttered, leaning back into his boyfriend who placed a kiss to his shoulder that made his stomach melt and heart soar. God, he loved Hugo so much when he was being soft and affectionate. Ruddiger bounded into his lap and curled up, purring and promptly falling asleep. Ah. 

  “Well, the fat bastard has decided you’re staying. So, will you relent to the Lord and Saviour Ruddiger Ruddiger’s laws or will you suffer a whole day of your son ignoring you?” Hugo questioned, and Varian could hear the smirk on his face. Sure, Nuru would probably scold him for not showing up, as would Isla and Eugene, but...with Ruddiger making his rules and Hugo being such a tempting person, how could he leave his two favourite fellas at home? That would be unjust torture!

  “Alright, almighty cat lord. You’ve convinced me.” Varian relented with a grin as he flopped back into bed, Hugo moving to lay down as well and pull his boyfriend into another tight embrace as they did so. “But we’re gonna have to think of another illness to let me off. So what will it be? The flu?”

  “I’m thinking something more along the lines of...I don’t want to leave my extremely attractive and loving boyfriend syndrome. Absolutely killer disease. Took the life of my friend Zander. Very tragic.” Hugo commented sleepily, his lips ghosting on the back of Varian’s neck, sending little tingles down his spine and making him shiver all over. 

  “Sounds like the perfect excuse.” He murmured back. “Hey Hugh..I love you.” Varian whispered as he slowly shut his eyes, Hugo merely making a small groan of agreement to Varian’s confession as they both drifted to sleep once again, deciding to neglect all their responsibility for the day and just...live in the moment.

  Thank god for that coffee shop.