#tt boiler

[cult-of-the-gundead]

the boiler from ttr but... anthro? i guess that's the right word to use to describe this

[nocompromise-noregrets]

five good things

Seeing as I've been at this for ten years and I haven't done one for a little while...

I am so enjoying pinging back and forth with the lovely @mihrsuri on in-universe historical nerdery in her Tudors OT3-'verse! This sort of meta self-referentiality brings me so much joy and I'm so enjoying playing! <3333333

I have the week after next off work for my birthday and oh I cannot wait. Work hasn't been nearly as draining since I got myself onto HRT, but I'm still tired and in need of a break.

What else OH YEAH WE HAVE A NEW CAR :D :D :D the little Vauxhall failed his MOT for the first time in 12 years in early January and we'd already had to have quite a bit of work done on him, and then the missus' friend was selling an Audi TT for a very sensible price and I've always fancied a TT, and after a certain amount of identity-crisising because I have always been very economical and couldn't quite get my head round the idea of being allowed to do something frivolous, well...I now own an Audi TT. XD It's the nicest car, although it's five years older than the Vauxhall it's in fantastic condition and so much nicer and omg I love it. And the little fella has gone to my friend who had been without a car for 18 months and borrowing and hiring because second-hand prices in London where she lives had gone through the roof because of the ULEZ scrappage scheme, so...win win win all round. :D

The @bi-widower-dads February fic recs are out (here and here) and some kind soul recommended love remains - thank you SO MUCH! <3333333 I've been feeling a bit discouraged lately but between that and some lovely comments on my fics and a lovely message from @seagull-energy and collaborating with @mihrsuri I am feeling rather better :)

There are hundreds of pink blossoms on one of my peach trees (the other one only has buds on it but this one is in full bloom - bit weird, they usually flower at the same time, but the slow one is more shaded than the other so who knows) and it is absolutely gladdening to see.

I have discovered that John Lewis stocks Lumene so I have been ordering myself some lovely Finnish skincare - Lumene stopped shipping to the UK for a while (thank you so much Brexiters ugh) but they seem to have started up again now; but JL has been having some good offers lately so I've been taking full and shameless advantage. Also now apparently I am middle-aged and middle-class enough to have a John Lewis account XDDDDDD

We are in the throes of having a new boiler fitted (the guys are here right this minute), after ours finally gave up the ghost at the end of January. We've been getting by on the immersion heater for hot water and electric heaters for warmth and mostly the weather has been fairly mild so it hasn't been too bad, but omg I am so looking forward to having a working (and more economical) boiler you guys. Also our plumber is hopefully going to sort the bathrooms out for us later in the year and omg I've wanted that for YEARS (it sounds grander than it is, we have a tiny house, just we have a bathroom, an en-suite with a shower in it, and a downstairs loo), they're such shoddy quality thank you developers who built our house and so hard to clean because they're all hard-to-reach corners and dust-gathering ledges and ridges, definitely designed by someone who'd never done a day's cleaning in his life...so we're going to redesign them and hopefully get a bit more space and stuff that's easy to clean and clean around, I cannot WAIT.

I've been doing 'five good things' for just over ten years, I can't quite believe it. It hasn't caught on yet, but there's still time!

[cupcraft]

I'm catching up on philza streams that I missed and at the end of his latest hardcore stream someone redeemed one of the wilbur boiler tts and someone in chat went "tommyinnit?" And Phil said: "Mmm not quiet. Different brother." xD

DIFFERENT BROTHER crying

[my-travel-videos]

Air duct Cleaning Baltimore Duct cleaning, air duct cleaning near me, Commercial & Residential Air Duct Cleaning, Commercial Kitchen Exhaust System, Commercial Air Handler Unit (AHU),Fire & Boiler Chimney Cleaning, Grease Trap Cleaning Services, Dryer Vent Cleaning. Baltimore MD, Bel Air MD, Washington, DC Air duct and beyond 903 York Rd, Towson, MD 21204 +14439949626

[v3x4t1on]

sigma? oh these questions are really heating the hell up now its like a boiler

Very funny. Sleep with one eye open. - TT

[taliah-tezel]

Character Name: taliah tezel

Character Age: 31

Character Birthday: 17th June 1992

Gender & Pronouns: she/her

Time in Tonopah Valley: 15 years

Occupation: fire chief

Gang Affiliation: sons of silence - old lady

Neighborhood: downtown

Face Claim: melisa asli pamuk

BASICS.

Sexuality: heterosexual/bicurious

Ethnicity: turkish

Hair Color: brunette

Eye Color: brown

Height: 5ft 5"

Hometown: hatay, turkey

Education: various. degree, diploma, and qualifications that were needed to achieve her current station at the firehouse.

Languages: fluent in turkish and english. not terrible at spanish.

Relationship Status: taken. @colemonroe

Children: no biological. recently feels as though she's kind of adopted a new SOS prospect, kip.

STATS.

Personality Type: protagonist ENFJ-A

Moral Alignment: neutral good

Positive Traits: courageous, loyal, intelligent

Negative Traits: impulsive, argumentative, stubborn

Mental Health: PTSD

Fears: losing more people she loves

FAMILY.

Father: kaan tezel

Mother: ayda tezel

Siblings: 0

Uncle: serkan tezel

Cousin: emiri tezel

BACKGROUND.

born and raised in turkey

moved to tonopah aged 16 with her dad, after her mom died in a freak boiler explosion/fire

uncle serkan was a SOS member, she grew up around the son's and loves them all like family

used to want to be a professional dancer but plans changed after her mom died. she trained to be a fire fighter instead

years of hard work & education, she's now tonopah's fire chief

formed a bond with @colemonroe as soon as she moved. he took the time to sit with her and talk to her, not at her. his patience and kindness was one of the first things that stood out to her. she and cole became best friends & still are, even though now they took their previously platonic friendship and are now dating

had a shitty wetwipe of a boyfriend when she was 20 who abused her and one night, probably would have killed her if she hadn't been able to run out the door. she ran straight to cole, the person who made her feel safe

cole found her ex, callum, the next day and almost killed him. he ended up serving 5 years in prison for it, something that taliah still carries some guilt about

HEADCANONS.

was taught english as a teen but sometimes struggles to find the correct english term for things and ends up saying it wrong. ( think ziva from ncis. “do you mind if i grab a bat nap?” )

the scar on her arm that stems from shoulder to elbow is still quite visible and she’s absolutely ok with that. she does have some tattoos but no plans on covering it up with one

do not leave her alone with your candy, she’ll definitely eat it and blame it on your pet

danced professionally as a child and into her early teens. now, she mostly just dances for fun. goes to a dance studio and loves to learn the routines

she loves birds but will panic and probably cry if one flaps near her head. this goes for all things with wings tbh

she can’t whistle, try so she may, it just doesn’t happen. it’s not important but it deeply frustrates her when she can’t achieve something and she’s too embarrassed to ask if she’s simply just doing it wrong

nicknames: tal, tali, TT & T. she’s used to hearing various ones from various people and will respond to any

loves all things strawberry flavored or scented

has a beautiful garden full of flowers and plants, she gets her green finger from her mom

very sentimental. makes scrapbooks, keeps trinkets and random things from memorable events. movie tickets, bottle caps, and keepsakes that remind her of good times

feisty. if you piss her off, you'll know. she's not afraid to throw a punch. thanks to @nathaniel-donovan who taught her how to fight and defend herself

[soreiya]

I’ve thought for a while on how to respond to this post and ended up with another big block of text. haha... So I’ll throw it all under a cut, but first I do have some questions to ask you. Do you think that peace can ever be made between Vat7K fans and the rest of the fandom? Would simply tagging the use of AU names and HC’s be enough, or would the fandom have to begin treating the AU as a non canon story and it’s characters as OC’s before things shift for the better? I’m just curious on if anything can be done since I’m tired of all of the hostility on both sides. 

I had to look up who Isaac Carlson was and now that I have I do remember seeing his video a few years ago. The video in question states that it was a ‘rejected series’ and only much later on points out that it was meant to be a comic. So I have a feeling that this could be where a lot of the fans spreading false information found out about the AU. Since many people still think it was a rejected series. So from this post of yours I can surmise that you don’t like that the main plot revolves around Varian’s mother? Is it just a general lack of interest in her character, or how it was handled in the AU? What would you have done differently? What kind of plot would interest you instead? Did Varian really have a happy ending though? Sure he got to install the boilers in the castle, but I think the series showed him repressing his emotions a lot which is an unhealthy way of coping with stress/trauma. I’d love an original sequel that us fans could have fun theorizing about. Something unexpectedly different and new. The potential is there. Imagine all the world and lore building that we didn’t get during TtS finally becoming a reality. ;__;   I like Cassandra, but I wouldn’t be happy if she got a spinoff and Varian did not. I’d be fine with them sharing one however. Crap… I totally forgot to add Cyrus to my commentary on 7K. Oh well, I was planning to edit and fix it anyway so that helps with motivation. Hugo’s design is a bit modern for a 1700’s setting. Maybe it’s because his character was a recycled OC? I’m really not sure, but that could be part of it. In general it is very strange. I’m not sure why more people have not brought this up.

Nuru has a cute design. Impractical, but it’s still a cute design. Yong kind of reminds me of 2 characters, the kid from Over the Moon, and the cousin in Abominable. Is it just me who sees it? Haha I proposed on the Vat7K AU Discord server for fans to create some new characters, but not many people seemed interested. I still feel pretty bummed about it. It could have helped with world building, and it would make the plot feel less linear. Though I think they are not happy with me for proposing other relationship options for Varian. As things are if you don’t like Varigo then you’re going to feel really out of place in the fandom. It’s kind of alienating. The only time we see Varian with another guy is in evil suitor AU’s where the other dude is just a stepping stone for more Varigo.

But on the topic of Varigo. I’ve actually seen both extremes of the ship, and 8 foot tall alpha Varian might be more toxic than even Hugo. Though he’s also super OoC. Since some of the stuff giant Varian does is really really questionable... x___X Though Hugo is still the character that gives me the most anxiety. Since he’s really predatory. Kind of similar to men in old shows and movies who force themselves on women until they submit? That’s the vibes he gives off to me. Though I guess I’m in the minority on this view. To answer your questions, I may be the most vocal about speaking of the problems with the AU, but I’ve also helped many people with their stories. I think there could be potential for the AU if people acknowledge that it could use a lot of sprucing up. As for the Varigo ship… I don’t like it for various reasons, but I’ve lived peacefully with fans of it thus far. I do hope that the fandom will reconsider the idea of adding more character/ship options though.

•My thoughts on VAT7K•

-So What's VAT7K?

It's basicly just a Concept idea of a graphic novel for Varian from Tangled, it was rejected by disney.(Now i whouldn't even known about it if Isaac Carlson hasn't done a video about so yey ig)

-The new Characters

•Ulla

•Nuru

•Hugo

•Donella

•Yong

•Cyrus

(now i don't like Hugo's hair + he looks very modern but That's just me, but i will say i do like Nuru's design tho, and Yong is forgettable as heck)

-The storyline

So what i got from this is that Donella and Ulla where reserch partners or something then Donella "killed" Ulla by traping her in a library or whatever and Varian some how finds her and She tried to possess his body and at the end dies anyway///and along the way he meets 3 people from other Kingdoms (even tho there are 7kingdoms) Anyway Hugo was supposed to be like Eugene (even tho i don't think so but i'l get to that later) Like first a thief and then Varian's love interest. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

-My opinion on the story

I don't like Varian's mum. Why? Well mainly because i do not care about her, really nothing in the series Made me care about her, just let her stay dead (or just explain what happend) + i do not think that Varian needs a spin off or novel•(ofc if it actualy makes sense then I'm fine with that)• i mean he got his Happily ever after, and i whould like to see a Cassandra spin off.

-Varigo

Personally i do not like Hugo. The ship is based on stereotypes, "UwU smol bean" and "Alpha Bad boy". It's pretty toxic. And in fanfics Varian is usually potrayed as innocent and Hugo aggressivly flirting with him and calling him "Sweetcheeks"...yeah pretty gross if you ask me. He gives some fans predator vibes. And Hugo Also is apparently "smarter" even tho not backing Up that claim.

-Not canon

I think a lot of fans of this novel forget that it is not canon (yes not even the name "Ulla" is Canon.) If you write a fanfiction even using the name "Ulla" please tag it as #VAT7K because it is an Au. Infact if you ship Varigo you are basicly shipping Varian with an OC. It's The same as Varian and Lashanie. And fans Also spread a lot of misinformation.

-Will VAT7K ever be Canon?

No. No it won't. There was too much spoiled for that. (But i mean if you like it there is still fanfiction)

-My finale thoughts.

Lets just say i am more Mad about the 5 missing episodes from Season 3 then this novel getting rejected. It's much better as just an AU in my opinion.

|Btw if you come after me saying "why don't you block the tag if you don't like it" then yes i have the tag blocked. But i Can still see it cuz of improper taging.|

So what do you think about VAT7K? Like it? Hate it?

[newsiegirlscout]

Varian: Whoops!

Eugene: Whoops?

Eugene: This is not a "whoops" situation. We are far past "whoops"

Eugene: "Whoops" is a distant speck in the rear view mirror by now.

Eugene: We are solidly in "Oh, ****" territory and I expect you to act like it.

[endrmn]

next time on dream smp: Someone loses a canon life to a boiler explosion /j

[sesanghe-myah]

Dodo: Hyung, let me love you!

Lulu: Aicham, Dodo, leave me alone! I’m trying to act cute and needy for Butler so she’ll give me treats!

[quirinisproud]

Was there ever a moment that you were ashamed of your son? If so, how ashamed were you? Did you want to dis-own him?

I was pretty ashamed when Varian first built the boilers without my permission and in secret, and he could have hurt somebody (including himself.) I would never disown him, he’s my son and I love him.

[blazevillains]

next wil tts like hi phil my brother moved out and its been really tough on me bc we were supposed to move in to a shared office but he was killed in a boiler explosion

[cupcraft]

#can i write in whatever the hell he was/is on in phil's tts#wilbur soot

@/lmanburg

yeah text 777 on your phones to CUPSMP to vote for tts!wilbur (boiler explosion lore included for only an extra 5c)

Okay it's time. to poll the wilburians.

[miaclemeverett]

Wilbur Soot typing out his next 15-part series of boiler-related TTS messages on a Philza stream

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 12

Chapter 12

@maribatmarch-2k21 Day 6: Miraculous Side Effects

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

So, after explaining the stones once to the Waynes, they both knew it would be hard to keep covered up, and they couldn't tell everyone they were tied to the Miraculous. So, they told everyone outside of their immediate family that it was their soul mark. Yes, it was a lie, but it was close enough to the truth.

---

Mari hated the cold. Oh, kwamii she hated it. Not for the cold temperatures or the snow. No, she loved that aspect at the cold. What she hated was the sluggish sleepy state she would be in if she was cold and not moving. Which is why she would wrap herself constantly in jackets and blankets, but this year a snowstorm unlike any other blew through the North Eastern United States. It got to the point that anytime she could, she would sneak down to her and Damian's secret room while at school. As it was under the boiler room meant it was always warm. That also meant that Damian had to drag her away for class.

And to say the other students didn't notice would be a lie.

"Dames," she whined as she was pulled along the corridor. "It's freezing out here."

"Mars you already stole my coat," he smirked. Once in class and the two were seated at their desk, which was one of the closer benches to the Ac and heater vents.

Come.

He moved towards the edge of the bench so she could scoot into his side, directly under the heater.

"Could you guys at least be sugar sweet in private." Jon walked into the classroom. "Some of us haven't found our soulmates yet."

"Jon/Kent," the two said at the same time.

"Tt. We were in private before you came in."

"Here." Jon placed his coat over Mari and then sat on the bench sandwiching her between them.

"Thanks."

"Anything for my best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend, Kent."

Jon seemed to flounder for a moment. "Yes but... well... um... I mean..."

"Best girl," Marinette pointed at herself, then at Damian. "Best guy friend." she deescalated the conversation.

"Exactly!" Jon exclaimed at the explanation.

"Then I accept that." Why did you save him. I wanted to see him flounder a while longer.

Oh, shush you.

Soon more students made it into the room and first period began. Mari still sandwiched between Damian and Jon as they all took notes.

Halfway through first period Mari's head shot up alerting the two that something was going to happen. Quietly she counted down from three, just loud enough for the two next to her to hear, and in the same moment she finished saying one, the lights went out. Twenty minutes later their teacher spoke up. The principle emailed the teachers that due to sudden and spontaneous winds, which uprooted a young tree which crashed into the school's breakers and electrical systems destroying them. That the school will let out for the winter holiday's early. For students to either make arrangements to get home or to go home if they can. Which is what landed them in this situation.

She, Damian, and Jon decided to walk to the Stone’s suite as it was the closest. But on the way there they were held up by Dick. Who was apparently called and informed of the school closure.

But being busy as head of HR, he answered the school's call but didn't see the message that Mari sent them all. Meaning here Mari was dozing off from the cold standing on the sidewalk pressed into Damian.

"Mari you okay, your quiet?" Dick asked concerned.

"Ya, ya *yawn* I'm good. Cold just makes me sleepy that's all." She yawned again.

"Why don't I drive you three over to your place Mari?" Dick offered.

She blinked sleepily. Okay, thanks Bluebird.

Damian chuckled. "Thank you, Bluebird." Damian repeat as he opened the back door and letting Mari in first.

"Did you just call Dick by a nickname?" Jon asked as he went around and sat on Mari's other side. Damian didn't answer, instead pressed into Mari to warm her, as she was beginning to stir.

"He was just answering as Mari would, but I'll take it." Dick grinned.

"Tt. I suppose you would, Grayson."

The rest of the short ride was spent in silence. Mari was now warm enough and seemed fully awake, by the time Dick left them at Mari's building. Where they were enthusiastically greeted by Fang as they entered the suite.

"Aw did papa leave you at home." Can you check the temperature? Damian walked away. "Good thing we came home early. It's freezing outside, you would have been miserable love." Marinette cooed at the crocodile.

75°F

Flooring?

Off

Set the flooring to 70°F and we'll check it in 30 minutes.

"So, do you guys want cookies and coco?" Mari asked when Fang finally got enough attention.

Jon seemed baffled by Damian in the kitchen. Particularly since Alfred didn't ever let them in the kitchen.

Once the cookies and coco were done, they took a plate and three mugs to the living room. Jan was flipping through movies, Damian was setting a small raw turkey down for Fang, and Mari turned the heat up to 85°F and left the flooring at 70°F.

"Since when do you bake Damian?" Jon asked as both of them sat down.

"Tt. Always have Kent."

"Damian and Jason are the best out of the boys in the kitchen." Marinette began. "Dick also cooks well, it's Tim and B who can't cook to save themselves."

"Drake at least can boil water for coffee and boxed pasta at the maximum."

"Okay, but enough of this, let's watch a movie." Marinette announced.

Halfway through the first movie Damian fell asleep on Mari's shoulder. She knew he had patrol last night, so she didn't move him. But when he began to purr, both she and Jon were compelled to pause the movie and recorded it. Any and every opportunity to gain blackmail is a good one after all.

Later on, Tikki would explain that holders would gain traits of the animal their miraculous represents. That is why Marinette gets sleepy in the cold and a sixth sense for events. Why Damian would purr, and seek out warm and high spots, and how his vision in the dark is essentially perfect. The reason Tikki gave that he demonstrates these traits without Plagg is because he was in the Zone of Miraculous, which is a space in the Other World for true miraculous souls and wielders.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @miraculouspenta @adrestar @vixen-uchiha

Taglist 🐞🦇: @thanks-captain-obvious @mandy989 @our-preciousss @readingismyoxygen @birdy912 @shifty-lesbian-retro-goblin @todaylillypads @laurcad123 @demonangel27 @be-happy-every-day-please @fandom-trapped-03 @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @t1dwarrior-of-earth @saays-bitch @k-poplunardreams @animegirlweeb @weird-pale-blonde-person @myazael @toodaloo-kangaroo @moonlightstar64 @miraculous-simmer7 @wannajointhecrabcult @blackmagicforever @blackroserelina @justcourttee @consumeconstantly @abrx2002 @livelifeauthorstyle @certifiedbidisaster @dreamykitty25 @ironspiderstark @fantasyislive @dast218 @susiej1118 @sassakitty @lilyreadbooks12 @dawnwave16 @mochegato @galla02006 @nathleigh @trippingovermyfeet @promiswords @rosep16 @officiallydarkgeek @inarachi02 @justafanwarrior @emimar7 @vroomtaka @gimpedmercy @alabastas @chaoticstarworld @ichigorose @mica-aa @demonicbusiness @dahjokester @nyx-in-line @alysrose-starchild @kking13 @raeuberprinzessin @k-tea-and-coffee @corporeal-terrestrial @user00000003 @schrodingers25 @mizzy-pop

[bestworstcase]

What are your opinions on the whole Rapunzel-Varian drama in S1 post Queen For A Day, especially with the whole "Rapunzel should've checked on Varian after the snowstorm" or whose fault it was for their conflict?

tbh… if i had to pick one single representative example of the tts fandom’s general inability to handle nuance in fictional conflict, it’d be the QFAD discourse™

because! while this isn’t to rag on anyone, if you pick a random person with an opinion on this question, chances are they will fall into one of two camps. either: 1) corona’s treatment of varian was horrifically unjust and everyone involved except him is a terrible person, or 2) rapunzel did what she had to do and varian’s anger is irrational, unfounded, and fundamentally unfair.

people in camp #1 tend to believe that rapunzel was simply being selfish and acting like a sulky child when she failed to check up on varian after the storm. people in camp #2 tend to point out that rapunzel was traumatized by the events of QFAD too, and believe that this justifies her failure to check up on varian.

but the thing is imo the conflict in QFAD + the rest of s1 is just as complex and messy as the argument cassandra and rapunzel have in RATGT, in that there is no One True Right Answer and no person who is one hundred percent “at fault.” the question of blame is… honestly sort of beside the point if you ask me. to break this down:

#1: rapunzel is a sheltered teenager with minimal social skills dealing with a national emergency halfway through her first unsupervised couple days on the job.

the girl has had like eight months tops of training for the monumental task of ruling a country. she grew up in a situation where the only choice available to her was how she would wile away her free time inside her tower; gothel exerted total control over every other facet of her life. and while she has a little more wiggle room now that she’s out of the tower, she is still basically living her life with all the big, consequential choices made for her.

QFAD was intended to be her first taste of true authority, while still being ultimately inconsequential. if all had gone according to plan, corona would have ticked along more or less on autopilot—just as frederic left it—while rapunzel got in a little practice making judgment calls about minor, unimportant things, like mediating small interpersonal disputes between her subjects.

nobody expected, and rapunzel was absolutely not prepared for, a legitimate national crisis to explode in her face out of nowhere. this was supposed to be pedaling by herself for the first time with training wheels and what she got instead is careening down the freeway on a motorbike at 95mph with zero warning. it is a miracle that she held things together as well as she did.

#2: varian is a child with an emotionally distant, unsupportive father who sets him up for failure.

he’s smart but he’s also fourteen. he has little if any formal training in alchemy, he’s figuring stuff out by trial and error, and he has zero adult supervision. his efforts have caused significant levels of destruction twice in only a few months—the exploding boilers in WTH, and his invention going haywire (with a little help from st. croix) in GE—and it’s implied that this is a fairly regular occurrence with him.

and yet quirin does nothing. he shouts at varian, shuts him down, and at several points orders him point blank to stop messing with alchemy… but he makes no effort to connect with his son or understand where he’s coming from; he doesn’t try to impose reasonable restrictions (like “don’t mess with volatile chemicals unless i’m there to help”) that would allow varian to pursue his passion while minimizing the danger; and he doesn’t create an environment where varian feels able to turn to his father for help. and then with the black rocks, he lets varian come along to see the king, but refuses to explain why he “lied” (/spoke in code) to the king, destroying any credibility he had in varian’s eyes and making varian panicky and desperate because it seemed like no one else cared.

so the end result is that varian feels like he has no choice but to sneak around behind quirin’s back. he can’t rely on his dad for help if anything goes wrong, but the situation is so dire that doing nothing also isn’t an option. he tries his best to be careful (before quirin barges in on him, varian is attempting to put just one drop of the amber serum on the rock) but even if quirin hadn’t startled him, a terrible accident was bound to happen sooner or later, and the responsibility for that lays just as much if not more on quirin’s shoulders—the adult in this situation—as on varian’s. the kid is FOURTEEN.

(i think a neat argument could be made for varian as a deconstruction of the teen/YA fantasy trope of the hyper-competent teenager with absentee parents whose absence allows the teen to get on with the important work of the high-stakes fantasy plot; but that’s a whole different post)

#3: rapunzel did the right thing, but lost control over the situation due to lack of experience.

it would have been wrong to abandon everybody in corona to run off into the blizzard with varian, and frankly it wouldn’t have helped quirin anyway. he was already encased in amber by the time varian got back to old corona, and rapunzel couldn’t have done anything in the moment had she been with varian then. the only benefit to her presence would have been to comfort varian—which is not a small thing, obviously, but it’s not in any way a reasonable exchange for the hundreds or thousands of lives that would have been lost if she left corona completely without a leader in the middle of a crisis. so broadly speaking, staying in corona was the right call.

however.

rapunzel was not in control during that scene in the palace. varian bursts in, panicking, explains his situation and begs for her help—and rapunzel just says, basically, “i can’t help you, there’s an emergency.” then nigel comes in and reinforces that, which makes varian freak out; he grabs rapunzel and shakes her, nigel signals for the guards in response, and varian gets dragged out of the palace while rapunzel pleads with the guards not to hurt him.

(sidebar: the hate nigel gets for describing varian as “attacking” rapunzel is unfounded. varian grabs her and shakes her roughly back and forth and that is, in fact, assault. nigel is not wrong to describe it as such.)

anyway, notice two the things that DON’T happen here:

1) rapunzel doesn’t offer up any alternative solutions. a more experienced or better prepared leader could have responded to varian’s plea with a plan of action, like: i need to stay in corona to oversee the evacuation, so we can’t leave right this minute, but cassandra will take you to ask xavier for advice right now and the minute it’s safe to leave we’ll go together to help your father. or whatever—the point is to engage proactively with varian’s problem, make him feel heard, and give him something productive to do so he isn’t just sitting around fretting in the palace or struggling back home by himself in the middle of a blizzard.

2) raps doesn’t challenge nigel’s decision when he summons the guards to throw varian out of the palace, which is something she absolutely could have done. she could have said no, i can’t go to old corona right this minute to help him, but we are not throwing him out into the storm again, he stays here with me. this is, again, a sign of her inexperience; she’s not used to being an authority, she’s never been in a situation like this before, and she’s under a ton of pressure—so when an older adult whom she sees as an authority (he’s her father’s advisor!) makes a judgment call, it probably doesn’t even occur to her that she can challenge it.

this is why i say that rapunzel lost control over the situation—because even though she made the Right Decision, she got a kind of awful outcome, ie varian being tossed out into the blizzard to struggle home by himself to deal with his problem without any support, and rapunzel inadvertently breaking her promise from earlier.

#4: rapunzel doesn’t immediately go to check on varian after the storm because she’s traumatized, busy, and trusts her father.

painter’s block is all about how the trauma rapunzel feels as a direct result of her decisions during the storm destroys her ability to choose anything. she feels so debilitated by the fear that she will make the wrong choice—because she worries that she chose wrong when she allowed varian to be sent away—that she can’t do anything at all, let alone find the emotional strength to go to old corona and confront her mistakes. and while she tries to process and move past this trauma, mrs sugarby exploits it in an attempt to force her to free zhan tiri.

the next episode, not in the mood, involves rapunzel being put under enormous pressure to entertain an irascible ally of corona’s while he and her father negotiate a trade deal with the threat of a war breaking out if they fail. NITM is a silly episode, but it has the highest non-magical stakes of any episode in the entire series. this isn’t an event rapunzel could have reasonably skipped out on for the sake of one person, no matter how much she cares. she’s slammed. she’s still being forced to prioritize just like she was in QFAD.

and in the third episode after QFAD, rapunzel is tormented by nightmares about varian and what happened to his father, so she presses frederic for information about the rocks and varian’s safety. and frederic assures her that everything is fine. he lies to her face about the rocks having been removed, and rapunzel has no reason to doubt him, so she relaxes… until varian contacts her directly, and she immediately jumps to help him.

#5: at the same time, varian has been forced into hiding because frederic is attempting to cover up the rock problem.

what happens to varian after QFAD is plainly unfair and unjust. his father is trapped in amber, the rocks have completely destroyed old corona, most of the villagers have presumably moved to the new land frederic set aside for them, and frederic’s secret police are crawling all over the village trying to suppress information about the rocks (and fred’s role in creating them). the blame for this lies squarely at frederic’s feet, and varian is right to be angry.

i believe that varian interprets rapunzel’s absence as a sign that she’s complicit in what frederic is doing, making his anger at her justified as well. he doesn’t have access to the information we do about why rapunzel doesn’t seek varian out immediately—he doesn’t see how distraught and shattered she is after the storm, or the high-stakes political nonsense she has to deal with, and he certainly doesn’t see her trying to pursue the matter of the rocks and varian’s safety with her father and being flatly lied to to convince her to stay put in corona. all he knows is that rapunzel kicked him out and now she’s ignoring him and her father’s agents keep chasing him away from his home, and he draws the conclusion that makes the most sense to him, ie rapunzel must be okay with all of this because otherwise she would be here.

and once he has that idea in his head, the fact that rapunzel immediately jumps to help him when he contacts her isn’t enough to dislodge it. he’s a scared, lonely fourteen year old boy looking at this situation through a purely interpersonal lens while rapunzel is an overwhelmed eighteen year old doing the best she can while juggling about a million things at once and putting varian low on her priority list because she’s been told by a trusted source that varian is fine.

they both make mistakes, they’re both missing important contextual information, and neither of them handles this situation in the best possible way. but neither of them is “at fault” in the sense of being purely in the wrong, and—imo—frederic and quirin hold the lion’s share of the blame here, because they had all the information, and they refused and refused and refused to deal with the black rock problem until it overwhelmed them both. varian and rapunzel are both just kids scrambling to deal with something that should not be their problem to solve, and both of them fuck up! (and even then—the best fred and quirin could’ve done was just be honest and upfront about what the problem was. neither of them had the means to fix anything, and neither of them was responsible for the very unfortunate timing of the blizzard. so it’s not as clear cut as everything bad in s1 happens because fred and quirin stuck their heads in the sand. a lot of it honestly was just sheer bad luck.)

a n y w a y, i think by s3 and after a lot of introspection, varian has figured a lot of this out, and that’s why he’s so quick to let go of his lingering grudge against rapunzel. he’s realized that at the end of the day, rapunzel was just as unprepared and lost in that situation as he was, that she’s not responsible for (and wasn’t complicit in) her father’s decisions, etc, etc.