#ProjectOBSIDIAN

[projectobsidian]

To the creators, friends and followers of Project OBSIDIAN

Hello, friends! This is the final update on Project OBSIDIAN which I’ll take the liberty of sharing with you on behalf of its former leaders. As you’ve probably noticed, PO hasn’t been active in a very long time. If there’s anyone still wondering what had happened, I am sorry to say that in 2020 the project was cancelled in its entirety — this is due to management and leadership issues, as well as disagreements that sadly made it impossible for the project to move forward. Therefore, PO will not be producing any more content.

That said, we had created some wonderful things behind the scenes. Project OBSIDIAN’s creative team had poured all their hearts and talent into their work — but most of this huge collaborative effort never saw the light of day. For this reason, over the next few weeks we will be turning this blog into an open repository of art and writing done for Project OBSIDIAN. Be sure to check it out, it’s really some beautiful stuff. (If anyone out there would like their work or username omitted, let us know. We don’t care about our ancient TOA and will remove it no problem.)

This is also a thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you to everyone who cheered us on, liked, shared, participated in our events and hung out with us. PO would never have achieved the scope it had if it weren’t for your support.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who ever devoted their time to the project — our amazing, irreplaceable Artists, Writers and Leaders. You are the ones who did the work — I think I speak for everyone on the former board when I say we are so grateful and so proud of it. No matter what, we see you and appreciate you. On the project’s behalf, I wish you the best of luck with all your present and future endavours. You rock.

It’s been a ride. Thank you, take care and goodbye,

💛 A.

[well-love-has-failed-me]

Variantology day 3 - Childhood

[tales-of-the-alchemist]

          TEASER 2 / 3   —   Memories

SCRIPT: @sanrei​ STORYBOARD: @leto-art​ CLEANUP: @silverhart-makes-art / @mynameisactuallyten​ COLORS: @dj-chan​ BACKGROUNDS: @aj-illustrated​ LETTERING: @camilieroart

[aguriart]

Day 17 of the #ProjectOBSIDIAN #Variantology Prompt!

 Nightmare! YvY

[doodle--den]

Day 4 for Variantology! Lanterns 💛

For @projectobsidian ✨

[disneymiraculousefandomsblog]

Hey look, it’s an actual cutie!😍❤️ just something pics of Varian being cute😍😍

[sbartdump]

"An unsure Varian "

So I returned with this

ProjectOBSIDIAN discord ❤❤

[sabrinabelle1]

Yay it’s done! My second big drawing that I’ve done for the Project Obsidian Day 4! Half tracing half drawing this time. Slowly getting better and building some confidence. Drawing isn’t my medium but I want to draw this cute boi so here I am.

Edit: OMG over 100 notes! This is crazy!!! Thank you to all who liked and shared this. You’ve all inspired me to keep sharing my art. Safe to say there will be more coming. Thank you!!

Comments and feedback always appreciated. (Along with tips to start a line drawing. Seriously, how do you people do that?!)

[whaleiumsharkspeare]

Today’s Variantology theme is Team Awesome, and wouldn’t ya know it, I have another fic for you! Hope you like!

*note: this fic takes place in an AU where Varian didn’t become the bad guy and instead moved into the castle after QfaD until he could figure out a way to save his dad. It takes place between season 1 and season 2* Also I don’t really have a title for it so I’ll just make one up now

A Late Night Chat

Eugene was sleeping soundly in his room in the castle. It had been another long day of helping Rapunzel try to figure out the mystery behind the black rocks, as well as tagging along with her as she did her usual princess duties. Life in the castle with the royal family of Corona was busy, and sometimes it was a little crazy, but he couldn’t ask for a better life than what he had now. He considered himself incredibly luckily to even be in the same kingdom as Rapunzel, let alone to live with her in the castle. It was a charmed life for sure. As Eugene lay on his bed dreaming his cozy dreams, he suddenly felt his slumber be interrupted by a knock at the door. Shaking himself awake, he sat on his bed rubbing his eyes, wondering if he’d even heard the sound right. After a few moments, another knock tapped on the door.

“Who is that trying to wake me up this late?” Eugene muttered to himself as he felt around in the dark for the oil lamp he kept on the bedside table. “I bet it’s Cass,” he grumbled as he finally found it and switched it on. “Doesn’t she know not to interrupt me when I’m trying to get my beauty rest?” Eugene grabbed the lamp and went to the door. Opening it and looking out, he at first saw nothing. Holding the lamp up to Cass’ height and expecting her to be there, he was startled when he heard a voice that most definitely did not belong to her.

“Uh, Eugene?”

“Gah!” Startled, Eugene almost dropped the lamp but he managed to catch it before it could fall to the ground and wake the whole castle with its clatter. He held the lamp out again, this time a little lower, and its light illuminated the young face of Varian standing in front of him. His hair was a bit messier than usual and his soft blue eyes were tired. He was wearing a faded blue shirt, pants that went down to a little bit above his ankles, and white socks with gray patches on the heels. One of them was pulled up a little higher than the other, with the other sock starting to slip down his foot just a bit. When he saw Eugene acting startled, he held his hands up and stepped back a little.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Eugene had grown accustomed to seeing Varian a lot more frequently now that he lived in the castle with them, and more specifically right next door to Eugene, but he still wasn’t expecting to see the young alchemist so late at night. Eugene took long calming breaths after startling himself.

“Oh, Varian, it’s just you.” He held the lamp up and looked him up and down. “I hardly recognized you without your goggles and gloves. Don’t you know what time it is?”

“S-sorry.”

“What are you doing up so late?”

“I, uh, I just-“ Varian shuffled his feet awkwardly and sighed. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh.” With the light of the lamp, Eugene could see that Varian was trying not to meet his eyes and he had a look on his face like there was something bothering him, or at least something on his mind. He looked pretty tired from the late hour, but mostly he just seemed a little unhappy. Understanding, Eugene moved out of the way of the open door. “Oh. Uh, well, do you want to come in then? Maybe talk about it?”

Varian nodded softly, still not meeting his eyes, and entered Eugene’s room. Eugene closed the door behind him and set the oil lamp down on the bedside table and turned it up brighter and lit a few candles to give the room additional light. Varian stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not moving to sit anywhere, rubbing his right arm nervously. Eugene sat on the edge of his bed, watching the boy.

“What’s on your mind, Varian?”

“Well, lots of things,” he replied. He started rambling off, going about a mile a minute. “I’m a scientist so I’ve always got something on my mind. Especially with these rocks. I mean we still don’t know what they are or where they’re coming from and no matter what I try my alchemy just can’t seem to break them. And I’ve been charting their growth and they seem to be spreading at an exponential rate, so that’s a concern of mine. And then there’s Rapunzel with her hair. I don’t know what that’s about or how she’s connected to them but it’s very unusual, and-“

“Varian,” said Eugene calmly, interrupting his rant. He knew exactly what was going on. After all, he’d been a young boy once too. He knew Varian was trying to sidestep over what was actually bothering him. Varian stopped his rambling and made himself look at Eugene, and Eugene looked him in the eyes knowingly. “What’s really bothering you?”

Varian sighed and hung his head low.

“It’s...it’s my dad. I just can’t stop thinking about him.”

Eugene looked at Varian with sympathy as he continued his thought.

“He’s been stuck in that crystal for a while now. I’ve tried lots of things to set him free but nothing seems to be working. And the more I try, the more I’m reminded of what a failure I am, and how reckless and irresponsible I was to disobey him when he told me not to mess with the rocks. I just wanted to...to prove myself to him. That I’m not just a screw up. That I can figure out a way to get rid of the rocks and save my village. I just wanted him to be proud of me for once. But now, all I really want is for him to be back. I just...just miss him.” He wiped a tear from his eye and glanced up just in time to see Eugene looking at him. Feeling embarrassed, his face turned a bright shade of pink and he looked away awkwardly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get all emotional like that. I know I should probably try to be a bit stronger about this.”

“No. No, Varian,” said Eugene, his voice warm and kind. He got off his bed and put his hands on Varian’s shoulders and knelt down onto the floor so that he could match Varian’s height. “Don’t apologize for feeling emotional. That’s totally normal. It’s not healthy to suppress your feelings. You don’t have to put on a brave face and act tough. You’re not very good at acting tough anyway,” he said in an affectionately teasing manner.

“I know,” Varian replied, cracking a slight smile and letting out a little awkward laugh. Eugene continued.

“No, but seriously. What you’re going through, that’s a very difficult thing. I can understand why it would keep you up at night. Nobody should have to deal with what you’re dealing with. And uprooting yourself to come here and stay in the castle, that was probably a very hard decision, and you’re brave for making it. Don’t be embarrassed for feeling sad about what happened. Honestly, I’d be more concerned if you didn’t miss him.”

“It’s just, he’s the only family I have left. My mother passed away when I was very young. I barely remember her anymore. Without him, I’ve got no one. I’m all on my own. And I’m not a little kid, I can handle myself, but-“

“You don’t want to be alone,” Eugene finished. Varian looked up at him. Eugene shook his head in understanding. “I know exactly how you feel.”

“You do?”

“Yes. It’s hard to tell because of my roguish charm and confident personality, but I was a lot like you growing up.”

Varian smirked at him for his comment, but he listened as Eugene finished his story.

“See, you thought me and Flynn Rider from the books were the same person, but that’s just not true. ‘The Tales of Flynnigan Rider’ books were just something that I adored as a kid, and I would read one every night in the orphanage to all the younger kids.”

“The...the orphanage?” Varian asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

“Yes. I’ve only told this story to two other people so you should consider yourself lucky that you’re hearing this. But I grew up in an orphanage. I was put there as a baby. I never knew who my real parents were, or if they were even still around. I always imagined they were these great adventurers, and that one day they’d come back and find me. But they never did, and no one ever wanted to adopt me. It was hard, growing up feeling lonely all the time. Never having answers about my parents and wondering why no one seemed to want me. I felt alone very often. But I loved the Flynn Rider books and the way that he could travel around doing whatever he wanted to do with no worries, just a life of adventure. He wasn’t a thief, but for a kid with nothing, I guess it just seemed like the better option. No one ever seemed to be coming, so my buddy Lance and I struck out on our own when we were about your age. I took the name from the books, and the two of us started our life of crime. Now I’m not telling you this to condone the idea that we were right in our actions. I know that being a thief was wrong. I’m only telling you this so that you can know that someone understands how you feel. Afraid of being alone, always seeking approval from others, I know exactly where you’re coming from.”

“Wow. I had no idea,” Varian said softly. Eugene shrugged.

“I guess we all have some element of our past that we’d rather not discuss. But if we can use it to help others, then it’s worth it. The important thing to remember is that our pasts don’t have to define who we are. Whoever we were in the past, whatever decisions we made, it’s true that they shape us into the people we are, but we don’t have to let it rule our lives. We have the power to change. What happened in the past is over and done, but the future is ours for the taking, and it can be whatever we make it out to be. Maybe I was a lonely thief then, but now I’m an honest citizen surrounded by people that I love. You don’t have to be defined by your past either, Varian. You are not a failure and you are not a screw up. You made a mistake, sure, but what matters is that you’re learning from it and you’re trying to fix it. Varian, you’re a good kid. A smart kid. I know that you’re gonna figure this thing out eventually. And until then, you don’t have to be afraid of being alone. You are surrounded by people who care about you. Rapunzel cares about you, Cassandra doesn’t have a soul but she still cares about you. And I care about you, too. And one thing I learned in the orphanage is that I hate seeing sad kids, so you better smile before you leave or this whole conversation will be pointless.”

“Thanks for talking to me, Eugene. It really did make me feel better.” Varian yawned and stretched his arms. “And you’re right. It is pretty late. I should probably get back to bed.” Varian walked over to the door and stood in the doorway for a moment.

“Goodnight, Eugene.”

“Hey, now, what about our agreement?” said Eugene.

“Oh, right,” Varian replied. He flashed him a quick grin, showing off his two little front buck teeth. Eugene smiled back at him and nodded.

“There we go! That’s better. Goodnight, Varian.”

He made his way out of the doorway and started to close the door behind him.

“And Varian,” Eugene called. Varian held the door open wider to catch what he had to say. “If you ever need to talk again about something that’s bothering you, or if you just want to talk about whatever, you know where to find me. You talk, and I’ll listen.”

Varian smiled and nodded, then closed the door softly behind him. Eugene sighed in relief for having helped the boy out. Then, with a yawn and a stretch, he blew the candles out and switched off the lamp as he gave himself back up to sleep.

And that’s it! Hope you enjoyed!

[lyanthi]

Variantology day 1st

[grilledcheezer]

Variantology Drabbles

.

✧ Excerpt from Chapter III: The Tales of Flynnigan Rider ✧

✧ Prompt: Childhood ✧

.

✧ Full chapter is here! ✧

✧ Full fic is here! ✧

.

“So basically, it was only after the explosion when I realized that, well, those two chemicals just shouldn’t be mixed,” Varian jabbered sheepishly. “It uh, wasn’t my brightest moment of the week.”

Eugene snorted. “You think? Kid, even I know that something marked ‘Warning: Unstable Substance’ shouldn’t be messed with like that.”

“Hey! In my defense, I was tired... so I missed the label completely,” the teen muttered.

Eugene’s brows furrowed, the implication of Varian’s words brushing against a recurring worry he held for the boy. “Look, kid, have you been doing ok? You know...getting enough sleep, eating regularly?”

Varian flinched slightly, his eyes widening in shock at the older man’s inquiry.

Had he really been so obvious that Eugene of all people was noticing his current state? He had to stop being so careless.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine!” Varian stuttered nervously. “Just the usual, ya know? Alchemy stuff, heh..”

Eugene was surprised. He’d never known Varian to be dishonest with him, not since they’d become friends, at least. He glanced at the young alchemist, taking note of the dark circles beneath his dulled eyes as well as the alarming pallor of his skin.

This didn’t seem like nothing.

“You’re lying.”

Varian’s grip on the reins tightened, his hands trembling within the confines of his gloves. He wasn’t the type to open up easily, but in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to pour out his emotions to the concerned friend riding beside him.

But would Eugene really want to hear about his problems? They would sound so trivial, so pathetic compared to whatever he must be dealing with as Captain of the Royal Guards.

So, Varian let that moment of hesitation pass in silence.

“I’m fine, Eugene. Really.”

.

.

Heyooo! So uh, Day 3 of Variantology. Don’t mind me, just writing these 10 days late...

[projectobsidian]

Hello, Tangled the Series Fans!

   We are Project OBSIDIAN, a group fan-project working on expanding Varian's story. We are creating a Varian-centric fan comic to explore questions not addressed in the series, starting with season 1 and running until the end of season 3. Our plan is to take concepts and work with ideas that fit in-canon to explore his character to its fullest degree.      We will be breaking the project into episodes or chapters, each being a maximum of 24 pages in length as well as short 9 panel strips. Our primary mission of this project is to allow Tangled the Series fans to have a voice in this character and to have fun with helping him grow to his fullest potential!       OCs may be included as cameos, and AUs may be explored where applicable, whether that be through dreams, visions, or thoughts. Any ideas brought forth are reviewed by everyone on the project, and all feedback is appreciated!   Thank you for reading this far!  We look forward to working with you all in the future! Onward we ride! 

       Image by @1a-lchemist​ DISCORD LINK: https://discord.gg/JYNndfW DISCLAIMER: This project is born from love of the show and its characters. We are not here to say that we are better than or upset with it. Furthermore, this is a FAN project. As such, it's not done for lucrative reasons. Both the Director Board and the Creative Board are composed of volunteers.     

[well-love-has-failed-me]

Variantology day 2 - Alchemy

[fangirl530]

variantology- day eight: team awesome! I saw this quote by @1that-is-not-correct1 (thank you!) last week, and decided I wanted to draw it. And since today’s prompt is Team Awesome, I’m killing two birds with one stone! Enjoy!

[aro-throughyourchest]

Guilt and Fear

Project Variantology: Day 17, Nightmares

WORD COUNT: 1,020

WARNINGS: ANGST (And stabbing)

Guilt. Anger. Betrayal.

That all was replaced with fear as Varian gazed up at Rapunzel, her eyes filled with gleeful hatred. She held his collar in her fist and smirked, “I’ve taken all you love from you, so I thought, why not more?”

A voice in the back of his head sang a song, different from the Sundrop flower, but similar.

Black rocks sprang up from the ground, and he felt one prick his back.

She let loose a blood-curdling laugh, and Varian’s fear cemented.

“YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!” Rapunzel boomed, “YOU TRIED TO KILL OUR FRIENDS!”

In the blink of an eye, everyone from the automation battle surrounded him, even the ones he didn’t harm. Eugene, Cassandra, the Queen and King, EVERYONE, with scratched-out faces.

Varian wanted to close his eyes, but they felt forced open.

Rapunzel motioned around the field.

“Look at all these tired souls; YOU HURT THEM OUT OF FEAR.”

Smoke billowed around Varian’s feet, and he tried to shake it away desperately.

In the distance, Varian saw his father, calling out. Quirin ran up to him, and without hesitation, Raps snapped her fingers. Amber immediately started to encase Quirin.

“DAD!”

The smoke coiled around his feet. Tears and panic built up in his eyes as he tried to shift the blame.

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!”

Rapunzel let another guttural laugh loose and grabbed Varian’s chin.

“Oh please, we both know I’m not the only one who to blame here. We all know who tried to make the amber, Varian. Who was irresponsible?”

She clicked her tongue as Varian stared at the ground.

“Is it my responsibility to save you from your recklessness?”

She dropped his chin, and her feet lifted off the ground. “Poor baby, lost his father; now he’s got to lose everyone else.”

Rapunzel clenched her fist, and the rock behind Varian pushed harder into him. The pain felt unreal, yet his eyes welled up with more tears.

Raps motioned over ‘Eugene,’ and began to toy with both him and Varian. She held him up by his wrists and treated him like a puppet.

“Varian, kid! You’re the best! You wanna hang out? I would never hurt you. You’d never hurt me.”

Her act fell, and so did Eugene as she dropped him. Varian stared at Rapunzel in horror as she motioned Cassandra’s body over.

“Oh, Varian! Your inventions are the coolest! You didn’t try to crush me; why would you?”

She dropped Cass and stroked the side of Varian’s face; he pulled away.

She giggled maliciously. “You’ve lost the trust of everyone in Corona even mine.”

In the blink of an eye, Quirin appeared in front of him, trapped in the amber. His throat closed up at the sight of his father.

“Oh, wouldn’t your father be proud now?”

Varian fell back, streams of tears on his cheeks, and noticed the black smoke wrapping around his arms. He tried to pull away his arm, terrified and traumatized.

“I’M- I’M DOING THE RIGHT THING!” He shouted, clearly not believing it.

“Joining Andrew? Trying to take over Corona? That doesn’t seem right...”

Rapunzel fake-pouted, sarcasm sewn in her words.

“What do YOU know about right?”

“More than the person in jail does...”

Varian gazed at the ground, the smoke encasing him more.

The princess tapped her chin in thought.

“You know...” Rapunzel sneered, eyes blacked out, “I did promise to save your father...”

The black rock behind Varian retracted.

“Why don’t I save him from his biggest mistake?”

The rock stabbed through Varian’s back.

“AAAAAH!!!”

He woke up with a start. Brushing his hair out of his face, he tried not to sob.

His nightmares had been going on for a week straight with a few stragglers, but this week’s took the cake. What was he doing? He lost everything already. He hugged his arms and let out a weak sob. Nothing was okay; he had been in prison for months now.

‘NOTHING’S GOING TO CHANGE. THIS WON’T MAKE THINGS BETTER,’ his thoughts shouted. 

Getting up to stare in the mirror, he realized how messy he looked. He stared at his hands as if they were covered in blood. They may as well have been. His father’s words echoed in his head.

“VARIAN!!”

He gulped and stared in the mirror, tears welling up in his eyes again. Wiping them away as quick as he could, he tried to calm down.

He glanced at his cellmate Andrew, and his thoughts straightened. (By ‘straightened,’ I mean all rational thought went away.)

They had been planning this rebellion for weeks, no backing down now. At dawn, they would be boarded onto the prison barge, and then they would revolt.

Corona would pay...

Clenching his fist, he punched the glass and the mirror shattered. He chuckled evilly before groaning and starting to pick all the mirror shards out of his glove.

<•>

Hundreds of miles away, Rapunzel woke up at the same time as Varian. She tucked a piece of hair behind her, only to realize it was scattered all over the ground. She balled it up as quickly as she could.

Another dream about Varian; the first time since her birthday.

While her dream was extremely different from Varian’s, they both shared a common theme: Varian was in grief, he blamed Rapunzel, and he had a plan of some sorts. Not that Rapunzel knew they had similar dreams, mind you.

This couldn’t- She tried to self-rationalize.

‘No, no, it couldn’t mean anything. I’ve had a LONG week; not every dream I have MEANS something.

But in the back of her head, she knew, something was coming for Corona...

She laid back down and stared at the sky.

Varian; she left him all alone; he was scared, and she let them throw him into the snow. She let Varian spiral out of control; he shouldn’t have had to go through that...

“I’m so sorry, Varian,” she whispered skyward.

Keeping her eyes on the stars, Rapunzel soon fell back asleep.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Varian stayed awake, staring at the ceiling of a prison.

I want you all to know, if you think this is really over the top, my first draft was way worse. That wouldn’t excuse my fic just letting you all know

[doodle--den]

Day 5 of Variantology: Sundrop! ☀️

Variantology is by @projectobsidian !