#varain the alchemist

[ashdoesfandomarchieved]

tagging all my varigo fics as "canon compliant" in the tangled the series ao3 tag is something that can be so personal (petty)

[cookiehusky799]

 Drabble focus on Varian and Catalina. Hope you enjoy!

                          A Walk in the Woods (Reupload)

                  Varian was taking a stroll down the path past the Snuggly Duckling. He just visited Rapunzel and Eugene. It was a nice time, even though all they did was complete duties in Corona. Not that the alchemist was complaining, he wanted to make up for his bad deeds.

“And yet, there’s still more to do to make everyone forgive me.” Varian said to himself. Rapunzel had assured him everyone will forgive him eventually.But…for how long? Until he reaches adulthood?

Varain groaned as he shake his head to clear his thoughts. Come on, Varian. Your overthinking again. 

The alchemist decided to scan all the trees and plants he sees. Varian admired at every single plant as he made his way through the forest. 

That got his mind off….things.

Varian started to whistle as another way to lighten the mood. Let’s face it the alchemist has a lot of ways to cope with his problems besides alchemy.

The alchemist was so wrapped up into admiring the greenery of the woods that he didn’t hear nor see a red headed girl coming at him.

“Gotcha!”

The girl tackled a very startled Varian, who screamed as he hit the ground. He opened his eyes to see Catalina staring at him with her green eyes.

“C-Catalina?”

The red head girl giggled. “Hi, Varian! Did I scare you?”

“Scared me? More like almost giving me a heart attack!” Catalina got off the alchemist. “What’cha up to?” she asked Varian as he stand back up.

Brushing the dirt off his clothes he said, “I’m actually on my way home. I uh, was visiting Rapunzel and Eugene.” Catalina raised her eyebrow. “What about Lance?”

Varian rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I haven’t gotten to know him yet. But I’m- I’m sure he’s a great guy, heh.” He put his arm down, tilting his head to one side curiously at Catalina.

“Why? Do you know him?”

The red head girl crossed her arms, a sly smile crept up to her lips.”Oh, yeah. Me and Angry know him. We met when him and Eugene caught us stealing.”

Varian felt himself tense up at the word stealing, recalling the time he stole the Sundrop flower. “What a way to meet someone.” he said sarcastically. 

Catalina laughed. “Yeah. But we got along.”

Varian couldn’t help but wonder where Angry is. It seems like Catalina can read his mind. “If your wondering where Angry is, she’s back at our treehouse.”

Varian blinked before catching himself. “Oh! Yeah, I-I noticed she is not with you. Well, I better get going.”

He started walking, Catalina trailed behind him. “Can I come?” she asked him. Varian glanced down at her, puzzled. “Ummm, sure.”

It’s not that the alchemist doesn’t want her around, it’s the fact that Varian didn’t have a lot of friends in Old Corona. He spends time in his lab. The alchemist doesn’t share the other kids interests, let alone how to make friends. Varian got along with Angry, despite her…..angry demeanor. She reminds him of Cass. He knew Catalina was trying to be friendly to him, he appreciated that….but Varian did not like her using that skull parrot she found in the shell necklace where him, the girls and Rapunzel got trapped in. Varian is not fond of scary stuff.

Catalina gave him a concern look. “You might need someone to guide you back home.”

“Why? I get home just fine.”

“I know, but-”

“What?”

“We’re coming up on Dead Man’s Curve.”

The alchemist stopped in his tracks. He saw the sign and sure enough, it says Dead Man’s Curve:The biggest chance of getting robbed.

 Varian had his backpack with him. He can’t afford to have his belongings taken away. He worked hard to collect samples for his experiments.

“Is…Is there like a shortcut we could take?”Varian asked nervously.

Catalina shake her head. “Nope. The only way out is through here.” She noticed the alchemist gripping his backpack tightly. He looked really worried.

“Are you scared again?”

“Uhhhhh.” Varian’s eyes darted back and forth trying to find an excuse.

“No. I’m just um, making sure my backpack is on. Heh,heh!” That was a stupid excuse, Varian. he thought to himself. 

Catalina rolled her eyes. “Relax, Varian. There’s nothing scary about this place.” Varian looked at the sign. “Uh, yeah there is, Catalina. The place is called, Dead Man’s Curve.”

He frowned, folding his arms. “Sounds like danger to me.”

Catalina pulled the nervous alchemist forward. “Come on.”

The two walked through Dead Man’s Curve. Varian followed close behind the red head girl, clutching on his backpack. He kept jumping everytime he heard something. Oh, how he wished Rapunzel was here.

“Alchemists are brave, alchemists are brave.” Varian muttered as he pulled down his goggles over his eyes.

Catalina looked back at him. “Varian, are you ok?”

“I-I don’t like this, Catalina.”

Catalina smiled assuredly. “Do you want to hold hands? It helps when I’m scared.” She hold out her hand out to him. Varian nodded and took her hand. As they walked, the alchemist was still feeling uneasy about the place. He kept his ears perked for any noises.

Varian stopped, hearing a branch snap. He let go of Catalina’s hand.

Uh-oh.

“Catalina, I hear someone coming.” he whispered urgently.

Catalina heard the sound as well. “We got to hide.” she said, looking for somewhere to hide. The alchemist pointed to some bushes by a tree. “Let’s go over there.” They rushed quickly to the bushes and hid behind them.

Setting down on the ground, Varian let out a whimper as he hugged his knees. Catalina placed her hand on his shoulder for comfort. The two heard footsteps coming closer to where they hid but luckily, the ruffian didn’t find them.

Varian and Catalina waited for him to pass. “Is- Is he gone?” The alchemist whispered to Catalina.

Catalina peek out the bushes, scanning the area carefully. There was no sign of him. She turned to Varian.” The coast is clear.”

Varian let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s get out of here before more show up.”

The two eventually made it out Dead Man’s Curve. Catalina giggled at the alchemist who still had his goggles on. “You can push your goggles on your head now, Varian. We’re out.”

Varian forgot about them on. With a nervous chuckle, he put his goggles back on his head. “Sorry.”

Catalina gave a warm smile.” I thought you were brave back there.”

“No I wasn’t, Catalina. I think I did bad than last time.”

“But you found a hiding spot for us.” The red head girl pointed out.

Varian had to admit she was right.”I’m sorry. It’s just…well, I’m not into anything scary.”

“It’s ok, Varian. Not everyone likes scary things. And sorry about freaking you out with that skull parrot by the way.”Catalina told him.

Varian laughed, putting his hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright. Hey, wanna come over my house for dinner?”

“Sure.”

The two continued their way to Old Corona, talking and laughing at each other’s jokes.

[universeoffantasy2023]

There's Keraeth Moonwalker, a great alchemist of the Cosmo.

Trivia: This main character is different of Varain, (Tangled: The Series) Based, Ability and Personality Mune, (Mune: Guardian of the Moon) Based, Ability and Personality Leo, (Pandora Hearts) Ability and Personality Matsuri Hinat and (Puella Magi Suzune Magica) Based, Ability and Personality Wanderer (Genshin Impact) Based, Ability and Personality

[val-off]

Varian is exhausted by his new condition...  His new room-mate are energic and talkative.  Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

[ghostimez]

Have an edit of a precious smol bean 💕

I hope this smol boy can make your day✨

[trashghetti-v]

Yes I agree I couldn’t get over Glowstick as soon as Hugo said it 😂

Summary: In which Quirin, in a last ditch attempt to save his newborn son, stole the Moonstone and used its power for his own gain. Little Varian, now the host to the Moonstone, was hidden away from the world with his father, auntie, and uncle. Now freshly eighteen, Varian begins to feel the call of the outside world, beckoning him out of the safety of home and into the great unknown.

Now if only his newfound travel companion, an infuriatingly street smart blond named Hugo, would just quit sassing him for twenty seconds, we’d be golden.

Varigo stans come get y'all juice!!

Notes: The boys have a good day. And then a bad one. It’s Monday fellas! This chapter is dedicated to HoneyxMonkey, for her birthday!! Hope it’s a good one babes, you’re such a sweetheart I love you!

[clutterincorrectquotes]

Bubble: Lav is encased in amber

Varian: Sometimes that's just how it goes

Bubble: Atlas's gonna find out any minute

Atlas: *distant screams from background*

Atlas: *sounds of various things breaking*

Atlas: *more screaming and a sound of an axe unsheathing*

Varain: ...I'm sure he already knows

@moth-steven @varian-the-unstable-alchemist @bubble-steven

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - The Alchemist Returns

Strap in folks, cause this is going to be a long one. In truth, there are very few flaws in this episode, but in order to explain them I have to really get into some character analysis first. 

Summary:  Varian comes to Rapunzel for help in finding the remnants of the mystical golden flower, which may hold the key to stopping the Black Rocks. Working together, they venture through the old tunnels beneath Corona. Meanwhile Cass and Eugene work together to figure out who drugged the castle’s populace with a truth serum. 

Behold! The One and Only Time Frederic is Called Out on His BS; and Nothing Comes of It. 

Rapunzel finally, finally stands up to her dad and points out both his abusiveness and his poor leadership. It doesn’t affect the narrative in anyway. Neither character learns anything from this nor changes their points of view. This conversation might as well not have happened given how the characters behave in later episodes/seasons. 

The only reason this scene exists is to give Rapunzel motivation for stealing the flower within the episode. A goal that she changes her mind about towards the end. Thereby walking back on such motivation and putting us back at square one with her development. 

Rapunzel Isn’t Being Truthful With Herself Nor the Audience 

So people aren't always one hundred percent truthful about what they want and their goals. Especially if it involves admitting something about yourself or a loved one that you don’t want to acknowledge. Fictional characters are meant to give the illusion of being real so they can sometimes mimic this behavior.  

Throughout the episode Rapunzel keeps on assisting that she’s doing this ‘for Corona’, but we’re given context clues along side that to tell us that her real reasons are about her relationship with her father. 

Unfortunately, the show has a bad habit of not communicating information clearly and also has a history of expecting the audience to take what the characters say at face value. Ergo, it’s easy to miss Rapunzel’s true motivations and thereby fail to fully understand her actions and decisions throughout. 

Once Again, These Prophetic Dreams Go Nowhere 

Dream Varian mentions Rapunzel has a ‘destiny’ but the show never spells out what that destiny actually is nor why she needs to fulfill it. Sure there’s a big quest for the moonstone in season two, but the rocks stop being a threat by then so really, she doesn’t actually need to go on that quest. In fact, she would save a lot of people at lot of trouble if she did nothing at all. That’s poor storytelling. You need something driving the action; a reason to motivate the hero.  

Secondly, we never get an explanation for why she randomly has these dreams in the first season but for none of the others. Nor why Varian is at the center of the them when it’s other villains she needs to actually be warned about, like say Zhan Tiri. 

No, the real reason why this dream sequence exists is just to reiterate Rapunzel’s internal conflict. She wants a relationship with her Dad, but he’s a male Gothel, and she’s now caught in the middle of his and Varian’s conflict because she failed to take responsibility when she needed to. And is still failing because she doesn’t want to shatter her illusions about Frederic. 

Shoving the main protagonist’s driving conflit into a subtextual dream sequence is lazy. Especially since we get no official resolution to said conflict. Rapunzel never acknowledges the problem here, never follows up on any type of action, and she never faces any true consequences for ignoring the issue. 

She carries on believing in her fantasy version of Frederic, even as he continues to do harmful things, and the narrative just rewards both her and him for it. 

There Should Have Been an Episode Showing the Audience Varian’s Side of the Story 

What happened to Varian in between Queen for a Day and this episode is told only through context clues. Nothing is stated outright, meaning the audience has to rely too heavily on inference and are left to piece together what happened on their own like a puzzle. That’s poor writing. 

Even something as simple as ‘how much time has past’ (its three months btw, S1 is six months long and QfaD is the meant to be the midpoint) is left up to the viewer to keep up with rather then being clearly stated. This is made even harder to do by the marketing team showing most of the episodes out of order. 

You need to clearly relay information to your audience. That means repeating said information in a variety of ways over the course of the story. Have those context clues, but also have more overt hints, and direct reveals interspersed along with that. Especially when dealing with the motivations and goals of the character driving the main plot. 

Even if you attribute the lack of a Varain episode to the ‘twist’ in this one, (a twist that was revealed in QfaD anyways) there’s still no excuse for why we didn’t get a flashback episode afterwards to fill this hole in narrative out.  

Don’t Pretend Ignorance Rapunzel 

Nigel literally repeated the rumor to her face last episode. She knows her father is lying about the rocks and attacked her for the scroll. She knows from the letter that those same guards were chasing down Varian for said scroll. She knows about Corona’s laws and what would happen to Varian if the guards caught him. 

There is zero reason for her to be acting like this is new information. Let alone have any right to feign concern after three months of ignoring his plea for help.

That’s what I mean about the series not communicating clearly and wanting the audience to take things at face value. The show deliberately has the characters say things that contradict established events to try and get the audience on their side. 

The episode is trying to telling us, ‘See! Rapunzel is innocent in all this cause she didn’t know, but she’s trying to make up for it now’. Yet, if you’ve been watching and paying attention to the details, you know that’s not the truth here. 

Good writing is about communicating ideas to your audience. But this show can’t decide on which idea to communicate. Is Rapunzel at fault or no? You can’t have it both ways. Either she screwed up and thereby caused the conflict in question now or she didn’t. If she didn’t, then events shouldn’t progress like they do. If she did, then it needs to be acknowledged and she needs to held accountable by the narrative.  

More Hints into Rapunzel's True Motivation 

I can’t stress this enough. Rapunzel’s reasons for stealing the flower has nothing to do with Corona. That is an excuse. It’s about trying to find out what her Dad is hiding from her and why he’s lying to her. This comment right here is what compels Raps to go along with his plan.  

Also...

Varian Isn’t Lying Here

I also want to make it perfectly clear that Varian is being upfront with Raps. He tells her his plan is to steal the flower and why. She’s the one that makes the assumption that this entails them only taking one petal and the assumption that ‘all our problems’ only means saving Corona. Even though saving Corona and saving Quirin are the same problem. (more on this later) 

It’s important to understand Rapunzel’s thought process and her true motivations in order to make sense of her actions later in the story. 

Rapunzel’s internal conflict is her need for autonomy versus her fear of rejection. The ‘for Corona’ and ‘one petal’ excuses are used because she thinks they’ll play well with her Dad. In order words, they’re reassurances to her that should she get caught and have to face her father’s disapproval then she could counteract his arguments with his own belief system about ‘putting the kingdom’s needs first’ and ‘following your own inner voice.’ 

And yes, both Rapunzel and Frederic are big fat hypocrites for this, but Rapunzel hasn’t acknowledged that fact to herself and is trying to convince herself throughout the episode to believe in her own excuses. 

Why Do You Care About Treason Rapunzel? 

For context, treason is the highest crime in any country. It’s punishable by death, even in the real world. Now each country has its own legal definition of what constitutes as treason. Here in a America, in Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, treason is specifically limited to levying war against the US, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. And only during a time of war. Legally, a time of war has to be approved by the US congress. Technically, congress hasn’t declared war since World War II. This is why certain people haven’t been convicted of treason like acts both in, and out of, later US conflicts because the definition is arguably too narrow and specific. But it’s intentionally that way to help prevent false accusations and to keep people in power from murdering their political opposition. 

Before the US, treason just meant opposing the ruler of the land in any way. The founding fathers committed treason just by signing the Declaration of Independence. They all would have been executed had the US lost the revolution. Here in Corona, that old definition still stands. Simple theft of royal property, a non violent act, is considered treason and we already know it’s punishment. Eugene stole royal property and was almost hanged for it in the movie. 

Now Rapunzel though, she is royalty. This stuff she’s stealing is technically her own property. She’ll inherit all of these things once Queen. Moreover, we all know that Frederic wouldn’t harm Rapunzel let alone kill her. She’s not in any real danger here. So why does she care? 

Remember that Rapunzel’s internal conflict is personal autonomy versus her fear of rejection. She only hesitates in her pursuit of answers when reminded of Frederic’s possible disapproval. That’s why she stops under his frowning picture to say this. “Treason” only means possible rejection or disapproval from her father. The worst thing she faces is another argument with him.   

Meanwhile, Varian’s life is very much at stake here. He is risking everything, quite literally, to save his father. But his life was arguably forfeit as soon as Frederic decided he wanted the scroll. What’s to prevent the king from claiming that as his own property even when it’s really not? If he’s already sent guards after Varian and the scroll then that’s precisely what he’s already done. 

The series is acting like Rapunzel is the reasonable one here because she questions stealing, but the reality is she’s being selfish and willfully obtuse. Multiple lives are at stake here, including the one of the person she is talking to right now. Breaking the law, defying her father, in order to save those lives shouldn’t even be in question at all. 

Corona and Quirin Aren’t Conflicting Interests. 

Quirin and Corona are both facing the same problem. Solving one will inevitably mean solving the other. Any distinction between the two is solely created within Rapunzel’s own mind. 

She does this to to hide her true motivations and conflict from herself. The show does this to try and villainize Varian over Frederic. 

There’s a clear bias in who the series wants you to root for and so it skews the perception of what’s actually at stake by creating a non-existent competition between Quirin’s life and the country’s safety. Even though Quirin, Varian, and Old Corona are all apart of the kingdom. They’re all Rapunzel’s and Federic’s responsibly too. Saving Quirin’s life should be more than reason enough to steal the flower on it’s own. 

But this is ‘Rapunzel’s show’ and according to the creators, that means that her personal feelings are more important than actual human lives. Not really, but that’s their mindset and approach to conflicts in the show.

Rapunzel’s True Motivation is Revealed

So we’ve followed the hints, but here it is stated outright. This was never about Corona, the rocks,Varian’s safety, nor Quirin’s life. This is about her need for autonomy. Her own personal quest for assertiveness. She’s been bullied and abused by two steprate parental figures now and she’s growing tired of it. Which is understandable and valid, but it shouldn’t be made more important than everyone else’s problems. Everytime Rapunzel says ‘for Corona’, she really means ‘for herself.’ 

Rapunzel Shouldn’t be the Only Person Solving the Obstacles Here

Varian is just as smart as Rapunzel, if not smarter. This has been established throughout the show both before and after this episode. Meanwhile, Rapunzel is more physically adept than Varian. This whole sequence in the tunnels should have been both Rapunzel and Varian teaming up and complementing the other’s skill sets. They need to be on equal footing in order to sell their conflict later on. But the show deliberately down plays Varian’s competence in this episode in an effort to make Rapunzel look good.  

‘Girl power’ shouldn’t mean making the character perfect. It especially shouldn’t mean making other characters weaker in comparison. Women want equality. That means we want to see female characters treated as people. That means we want female characters to be flawed while still contributing to the plot same as the male characters. That doesn’t mean we want to be paraded around as the only competent person in the room. We want to be on the same level as the boys not above them.    

Over idealization and glorification of ‘strong’ female characters is just as problematic as damsels in distresses.

Writers like Chris Sonnenburg grew up during the heyday of Third-wave Feminism. Right on the cusp between second-wave and third-wave points of view as women really started to challenge Hollywood’s portrayal of themselves as homemakers and love interests. They wanted to be the heroes for once. Starting in the 60s and reaching pick popularity in the 70s and early 80s, film makers responded by making female characters who could physically fight but either failed to give them any sort of depth and/or made them the only archetype available.   

Chris, and several other male writers who lived during this era, have internalized this approach by default without actually examining how it came into existence nor why women would no longer be satisfied by this portrayal of them, if they ever were. All we’ve done is trade one stereotype for another, as male creators fetishize what was once meant to be an attempt to empower ourselves.       

Had Chis actually brought more female writers onto the show and listened to the criticisms from his female crew, he could have better avoided problems like the one above. But instead he dug in his heels and insisted that he already knew what we wanted. He doesn’t. 

Why Would You Assume This Eugene?

Varian hasn’t actually done anything wrong yet. His worst crimes are drugging people with a magic potion, which is what Xavier did without consequence only two episodes ago, and attempting to steal a magical healing flower that the king has been hoarding from his subjects anyways. A king who has been persecuting Varian unfairly and they know this because of Quest for Varian. 

Eugene of all people should be sympathetic towards Varian’s plight. He’s been there himself. He should also know that the rumors about Varian attacking Rapunzel are untrue because Raps told him about the events of Queen for a Day herself. 

Meanwhile Cassandra was actually there. She knows Varian’s problems and is supposedly his ‘friend.’ She has even less reason to be hostile towards him. 

But once again, the series has the characters respond to things that contradict established events in order to create a bias in the audience. “See, Eugene and Cass doesn’t trust Varian and neither should Rapunzel. See, how evil he really is?” It tries to tell us. In order to convince us to excuse Frederic’s behavior so that when the series does just that through Rapunzel choosing his side we’ll be on board with it. You know, unless you have been paying attention, already have a developed moral code, and the reasoning facilities of an adult. 

Rapunzel Lacks Empathy     

Keep in mind, ‘for Corona’ really means ‘for herself’. The only competition between Quirin and the kingdom is one that she’s fabricated in her own mind. Varian not caring about the island punctures holes into her excuses. Even though Varian is a fourteen/fifteen year old who holds no responsibility for the safety of a whole country. Especially one that’s mistreated him. Of course his father’s life is going to be more important to him. 

What Rapunzel is really asking here is, “Why don't you care about what I care about?” “Why aren’t you concerned about my feelings over your own?” 

Which makes sense for her character. She’s a woman who has been trapped in a tower her whole life. She lacks the experience needed to be an empathetic person. She’s never had to grieve before. The only permanent death she’s known is that of her abuser. Her trauma over nearly losing Eugene and Pascal was the fear of loss, not the actual process of living without someone. Rapunzel has no framework of reference in order to truly understand what Varian is going through. 

Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone. Empathy is understanding how a person feels. Rapunzel may be a sympathetic person but she’s not an empathetic one and there’s a difference between being ‘nice’ and being kind. The show presents to us a woman who needs to learn that difference. The problem is that she never does. 

This is actually a brilliant conflict and point of characterization. It’s taking what we already know about a character and expanding upon it to give us believable flaws that impact the story. I actually like this conflict. I like this portrayal. I initially preferred the series over the movie because of this. 

I want Rapunzel to be flawed. I want her flaws to to inform the plot. I want to like her as a character. But I can’t. Because the show never acknowledges these flaws, never has her grow as a person. She remains unempathetic and selfish till the end even as she gains more experience, and the show acts like she is justified in hurting others.  

This exchange is the quillivant of  a rich person who donates money to environmentalist causes trying to shame a poor child for daring to ‘waste water’ in order to take a bath, even while ignoring their own factories spewing pollutants into the local river. The show tries to claim that classism is okay so long as it’s perpetuated by the creator’s favs. 

Varian is in the Right   

First off he never claimed that he was only going to take one petal. Rapunzel just assumed that. Also, he’s right there is no difference. Once again Rapunzel has fabricated a distinction in her mind in order to have an excuse to sell her  dad. She only hesitates now because taking the whole thing means there’s more risk of getting caught and less possibility of weaseling out of punishment through deniability. 

Never mind that Frederic doesn’t own the flower anyways. He stole it from Gothel first, outside of his land’s borders. Never mind that him taking the flower actually causes harm to others while stealing it back does not. Never mind that breaking a law to save a human life is not only justifiable but preferable. Never mind that the king is essentially hoarding medicine from the populace, thereby breaking the social contract of a leader towards his people and becoming a despot instead.       

No, Varian hurt Rapunzel’s feelings so he’s evil don’t you see? He placed his needs above the main character’s wants and desires, ergo the series treats him as a villain. 

Look, I’m not saying that Varian is without fault nor that everything he does is justifiable. But the show (and certain fans) goes out of its way to demonize the character even when he’s doing what’s actually morally right. This isn’t the point when Varian falls to the darkside, that’s yet to come, but it is the point where the series starts to play favorites with its characters at the expense of teaching coherent lessons. 

Inconsistent Messages 

Yes, how dare he do the exact same thing as Pascal and Max did two episodes later. Don’t you know, he’s the villain; even though he actually has more reason to use the truth serum than they did the mood potion. 

The problem of centering so much of the conflict on Rapunzel’s personal feelings means that Rapunzel and the show has double standards for how characters are treated. Friends of Rapunzel gets free passes. Lack of friendship means you’re now the enemy and can’t be excused. Even though in real life that is what we call nepotism and an abuse of power.   

Authoritarianism Vs Consequentialism   

When you mention the word authoritarianism to someone they automatically picture in their head armed men in uniforms marching in the streets attacking innocent people on behalf of a dictator’s orders. Yet, that’s not what authoritarianism is. That’s fascism, which can spring forth from authoritarians gaining political power but it’s not the only manifestation of this philosophy.  

Authoritarianism is the belief system that the ‘authority’ is always right, even when wrong. An authoritarian will find any excuse to follow and believe in their chosen authority even when that authority has failed them or others.

The opposing philosophy here is consequentialism. That’s the belief that right and wrong are directly linked to consequence. To their minds something is morally wrong if the action has a bad outcome for others. 

To illustrate the difference let's look at a near universal rule. 

“Murder is wrong.” 

Now both the authoritarian and the consequentialist will normally agree with this. But the ‘why’ to them couldn’t be any more different. 

To an authoritarian ‘murder is wrong’ because the authority has deemed it so. That authority can be anything that the anthoritian has personally chosen; God, the government, their parents ect. It’s completely arbitrary and subject to change on a whim. The authoritarian lacks consistency and conviction and will often have multiple chosen authorities that will contradict one another. If one of those authorities came out in favor of murder then there’s a strong chance that the authoritarian will change their position or belief as oppose to denouncing their chosen leader.     

Meanwhile, ‘murder is wrong’ to the consequentialist because there are clear irreversibly bad consequences for doing it. It removes a life from the world. All possibilities for that person are now forever snuffed out. It hurts those left behind. ect. The consequentialist is consistent in their beliefs so long as the consequence remains the same. They can’t be swayed by mere orders. That’s not to say that consequentialism is incorruptible. A consequentialist can easily become a knight templar if they are forced to weigh consequences against each other. Then it becomes ‘murder is still wrong unless it achieves this arbitrary goal’.  

In truth, morality is a sliding scale for most people and you normally hold more than one ethical belief system. However history has proven that authoritarianism is the more often dangerous and corruptible philosophy as it relies heavily on peer pressure, groupthink, and yes, abuse. Most authortians don't come from healthy loving homes. Either they were abused or are abusers themselves. When conducting studies on authoritarianism psychologists and sociologists use questions about parenting in order to pinpoint who is and isn’t an authoritarian as most people aren’t going to just come right out and claim we should go back to feudalism and the divine right of kings. 

An out of control authoritarian is a bully with power. An out of control consequentialist is just a vigilante. 

Frederic and Varian are the representatives of the two sides of these opposing belief systems and the representatives of what happens when people with those belief systems become corrupt. By having the main character choose between the two of them and siding with the her father, the authoritarian, the show is now validating this philosophy. 

Breaking an unjust law shouldn’t be presented as a bad thing here. Blindly accepting Frederic’s rule shouldn’t be the end result of all this. Excusing his abusive behavior shouldn’t be the finale outcome of the story. There’s not a single thing that Frederic, and by extension Rapunzel, does that hasn’t been done by corrupt governments in the real world. Their reasons for doing so be damned. 

Given the current political landscape and the increasing push to give real life anthortirans more power, this was absolutely the wrong message to put into a children’s show. It’s not that children will grow up to become authoritarians themselves by just watching the show, but it can condition them to go along with authoritarian abuse if they are now familiar the excuses abusers use to validate their actions. Especially, if they are already trapped in an abusive environment and are being fed these excuses by their current abusers. 

I've already seen this toxic thought process played out by younger members of the fandom who are only just now forming their moral codes. “Accept what’ve you’ve been given.” “It’s okay, your parent (the authority) loves you and knows what’s best” “Hurting people is alright because they’ve been hurt you need to ofter up understanding” 

NO!

Theses aren’t good lessons. These are the lies fed to you by abusive people. And the show repeatedly validates, justifies, and excuses both abuse and political corruption. Whether the creators believe this philosophy or not, they just  approved of it anyways through their own incompetence.  

Varian has Every Reason to Not Trust Rapunzel

This the third time in three months that Rapunzel has backed out of helping him. All for increasingly flimsy reasons. She’s making a lot of promises here but not offering up any concrete solutions. Remember she’s not ready to confront her father yet, and neither of them know that she’s the sundrop herself. So what is her plan here? How is she suppose to recuse Quirin and prevent Varian from being unjustly punished if she can’t stand up to the one person who is responsible for causing these problems in the first place. 

Can you really blame Varian for going through with what he does here given how she has treated him thus far and would most likely continue to treat him? Yet that’s precisely what the show wants you to do because ‘stealing is wrong’ even though in this case it actually isn’t. 

This is Out of Character

Once again, both Cass and Eugene have no reason within the current narrative to be so hostile towards Varian, yet. They’re only doing so now to create bias in the viewer. For Eugene this is especially out of character. I mean we’ve already seen Cass place her ambitions of above others people’s needs both before and after this, but Eugene is constantly written as the heart of the show. He’s suppose to be the most empathetic and caring person in the group, and yet here he is trying to arrest an orphan who’s only stealing to survive. Sound familiar? He of all people should be the first to defend Varian not attack him.

Excuse You, Raps!

You know very well what he is. He’s a child. A lost, lonely, grieving, and desperate child who’s been let down by everyone who is responsible for him including yourself. But far be it for the show to actually point this out by stating it plainly and show you for the self centered ass you really are. 

Scenes Like This are Why Varian Should Have Been the Deuteragonist

His story maybe connected to Rapunzel’s but it doesn’t revolve around her. He has his own stakes and conflicts that happen to intersect or oppose with Raps given whatever point in the narrative we’re at. As such we gets scenes like this one in his lab where he is the sole focus and is pushing the story forward. No other character actually gets this. 

Eugene’s arc has little to no bearing on the overall plot and Cassandra’s solo scenes in season three do nothing to further push the story nor give new insights into her character, as her given goal and motivation is too dependent upon Rapunzel herself to be shown separately.  

Out of all the main characters, Varian’s conflict is the only one that holds enough tension to maintain a separate story line. He needs this focus in order to make sense of what's going on with the larger picture and to resolve his conflict in a satisfying manner. Had the the creators been smart enough to follow through with Varian’s story till the end instead of dumping it at the last minute in season two and hastily rewriting a half-arsed resolution it in season three, then we’ve could have gotten the Disney equivalent of a Zuko vs. Aang, Loki vs Thor, or even Duck vs Rue/Fakir arc. As is, we’re only left with the table scraps of several loosely connected stories none of which are very satisfying to watch. 

Conclusion

I still like this episode and Varian’s arc overall but I can't in good conscience call it well written knowing now where it all leads to. Nor can I in could good conscience recommend the show knowing the awful morals it touts. And that makes me angry. Angry that I was fooled into thinking that this show had depth and maturity. Angry that I ever once held this show up as being good. Angry that I invested myself into believing that this show would finally give me a decent Disney anti-villain that I could like. Angry that trusted the creators not to be raging arseholes who made poor creative decisions based off of ego and questionable ethics...

I started this marathon so that I could vent my feelings and gain some closure, while also opening up a frank discussion about how bad creative decisions can lead to bad lessons in children's media. This show has many of the same problems as a lot of current tv series do but all condensed down into one place and there are things to be learn from that.However after this series of reviews are over I doubt I’ll ever watch the show again. It’s honestly not worth the time. 

[varibean]

Try Turning It Off And On Again

This was my piece for the tangled dreams zine that can be found here! I wanted to try writing a bit of Team Awesome/Dadgene so I hope y’all enjoy and lmk what you think! 

Read On AO3

It was no small exaggeration to say that, on paper, Varian was living a near perfect life. It was hard to imagine the boy-or as his father so often called him, ‘young man’-wanting for anything and for the most part he didn’t. After the battle with Zhan Tiri and the terrifying day of the eclipse, all of his dreams had been practically handed to him on a silver platter. Royal Engineer, renowned alchemist, best friend to several important people; with all that under his belt it was hard to imagine him not being in a constant state of euphoria over how well his life was playing out. Especially after his rocky start.

However if someone was to catch him in the early hours of the morning, they would be led to think that nothing had ever gone right in the history of his entire life.

It wasn’t a fact of Varian not being a morning person that was the issue but rather the sheer number of things he had to do once he got up. Early on in his career as royal engineer, Rapunzel thought it to be a great idea that he live in the palace with them. He’d been excited about the prospect at first; getting to live close with his greatest friends? Spending his days working on machines? Winding down at night in the grand ballroom for dinner? Absolutely perfect.

What he hadn’t considered was the fact that, by living in the palace, he was essentially on the clock twenty-four seven. Every morning when he woke up he skipped his usual routine of combing his hair or brushing his teeth in favor of opening up his bedroom door. That action was always greeted with a pile of neatly placed but still numerous scrolls, all left behind by the morning castle page. Each one was either a task, request, or order form filed by any and all who needed his service. It was only after he picked them all up and read through them that he continued his other morning tasks.

Life at the castle was more boring than he’d ever considered life in a castle could be. The whole place worked like clockwork and not the fun kind. The only thing that broke up the monotony of the place was Rapunzel, with her always chipper nature, and Eugene, who often tagged along with her despite his own duties as Captain of the Guard. But even that small burst of excitement was becoming less and less as time went on. Less Rapunzel, less Eugene, more work.

When Varian first arrived, everything had been wonderful and new. The scrolls at his doorstep were exciting projects, not boring chores. He had time for his own inventions and endeavors no matter how small they were, and most importantly, he got to spend time with his friends. All of those things were slowly fading, dwindling in time and importance as his daily tasks grew and grew. When writing his father about it, the older man simply replied that it was all part of growing up. Varian hated that. Still, the days dragged on, the ever steady pace of the castle completely uncaring to his internal plight of drudgery.

____

It was on a day of heavy rain and wind when Varian got the notice that something was wrong with the boilers. Nothing major enough to cause an entire village to explode, he’d been sure to put that safety precaution in place, but enough to warrant a knock on his door as he was preparing for lunch. No ham sandwich break for him today.

Apparently some rainwater had managed to seep through the shallow earth and gotten into the underground reservoir used to fill the tankers, in turn causing them to overflow. It wasn’t the overflow that was causing any structural issues, the machines wouldn’t rust overnight after all, but it was causing an imbalance in the chemical reaction. Too much water meant there was more liquid than the chemicals could properly heat, leaving everyone with lukewarm water. Tragic.

Duty called though and lunch would have to wait.

“Lukewarm water. Oh”, Varian said sarcastically to Ruddiger as he prepared to go down and find the leaky bit of earth that was causing the problem, “The horror of it all.”

The people of Corona could survive a day or two without hot water, but why should they when they had a Royal Engineer at their disposal? Nevermind the fact that he was a person too, who was currently missing out on his meal so that everyone else could wash their hands in comfort.

He bit back the desire to spout out another sarcastic comment to his furry companion, knowing that he was just being unreasonably bitter because he was hungry. Food would still be there when he got done; the longer he ignored the problem the worse it would get. In all fairness, it took priority. Besides, something like sealing up a bit of loose earth and diverting the dripping water from the tankers would be an easy fix. He could do it in his sleep.

____

Varian had been correct in assuming that the boiler problem would be an easy fix, maybe slightly tedious at best. What he hadn’t accounted for was how difficult it would be to simply get down to the reservoirs in the first place.

The problems started the second he stepped out of his room and into the main hallways of the castle. Ruddiger trotted beside him happily, the fat animal knowing that his only job was companionship and nothing more. Given the time of day and the raininess outside the place was busier than it normally was. Gardeners muttered over their tools, maids rushed to clean up dirt and grime that had been tracked in, and all the other servants began to hustle and bustle around in order to make sure that everyone was safe and well attended to.

It shouldn’t have been a long trek, just a few turns before getting to the downstairs, but the trip was elongated by everyone constantly bumping into him and pushing him aside.

Despite being a respected member of the staff, he was still just a boy in many of their eyes. He glared at the people who brushed past him, knowing that he’d helped each one of them with at least half a dozen things at some point or another. They’d been perfectly kind to him then but now he was nothing more than another body blocking their way. It was easy to be nice to someone while they were doing something for you and even easier to ignore them when the time was over.

Half way through the crowd to his destination he felt a hand grip at his arm and turning around he was met with the stern face of a maid, face flushed with frustration.

“Excuse me young man, you’re the Royal Engineer correct?”

Her voice was twice as haughty as she looked, speaking as if she couldn’t believe that she had to stoop to the level of talking to him in the first place.

“Varian. Just Varian.” He didn’t have time to deal with whatever nonsense the woman needed him for even though he had a sneaking suspicion that he was about to be given no choice.

He was quickly proven right as the woman gave a soft huff and pulled him alongside her to whatever issue she needed fixed. For a moment he considered squirming out of her grasp or maybe telling her that he was busy but as nice as those both seemed he knew that it would only come back to bite him in one form or another. If he didn’t fix whatever problem she had now then he would have to do it later. He was already missing lunch, might as well make the most of things.

She all but shoved him into one of main rooms, where he was met with several maids and servants covered in dust and circled around one of his many machines.

Ah , he thought, That explains a lot.

“Your blasted machine blew up. How are we supposed to clean up dust when the device that you made to help does nothing but blow it back in our faces?” The woman huffed as she crossed her arms.

Varian would have rather been scolded by old lady Crowley than whoever this woman was. At least Crowley didn’t balk like a fish when she was angry.

“Have you tried turning it on and off again?” Varian tried to joke to lighten the mood, but was met with only a cold shoulder and a stifled chitter from Ruddiger.

Eugene or Rapunzel would’ve found it funny.

He signed while leaning down to the device and fixing it up with one very simple step: Flipping the switch from ‘blow’ to ‘suck’.

“Let me know if you have any actual problems with it ma’am. Sadly, even I can’t fix operator errors.”

He skittered out of the room before anyone could berate him for his mouth. He smirked to himself, thinking how funny one of his friends would find that line. That was only the beginning of his troubles though.

It seemed that every step he took towards the boilers, someone needed his assistance.

Nigel’s mechanical pen needed the ink chamber fixed, Hope needed the automatic laundry cart’s wheel to be tightened, one of the chefs needed more preservation chemicals to keep the food fresh until next week.

By the time he actually got to the door to the boiler room it was well past his lunch break, time slowly and steadily creeping towards dinner. Hours of helping crowds of people with their problems and all that just so he could get to the actual problem of the day.

But yet again, right when he was about to turn the knob on the door and enter the stairwell for the boilers at long last, another hand grasped at his arm.

“Hey there buddy-”

“For the sun’s sake I just need to fix one stupid problem!” Varian shouted, turning around to face the stranger who’d grabbed him only to find that it wasn’t a stranger at all.

Instead he was met with Eugene’s surprised and amused face looking down at him, red uniform dampened slightly from the outside rain and hair slicked back in an admittedly stylish fashion.

“Well hello to you too short stack.” Eugene’s response was met with a groan as Varain pushed in the door and began to descend into the underground area. “Rough day?”

“Not more than any other day here.”

“So I’ll take that as a yes. What’re you doing going to the boilers so late, it’s almost chow time kiddo. You know how your dad will chew us out if we don’t get you your three squares a day.”

Even with Eugene’s joking nature Varian could hear a bit of sincerity in his words. He couldn’t bear the thought of confessing that he hadn’t gotten a chance to eat lunch. Instead he just kept walking downwards, the other man following close behind with Ruddiger.

“The rain cracked through one of the underground tunnel walls, which has been causing the small reservoir down there to flow faster. It’s overfilling the machines which means the formula for heating them isn’t working and that means a bunch of people upset at me until I can fix it.”

“Well of course, can’t imagine what a tragedy it must be to go a full day with only lukewarm water.” Eugene’s tone was sarcastic, mimicking Varian’s earlier sentiments on the matter.

Despite the day he had, the alchemist laughed. Of course Eugene of all people would share his same sense of humor at the situation.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if people would just let me get down here in the first place.”

“Nah, they can’t make it too easy on you kiddo, that’ll just make you go soft.”

Another chuckle rang out against the walls. It was more than Varian had laughed in probably an entire week. Suddenly the task of fixing a leak didn’t seem so bad; having company helped and though he loved Ruddiger to pieces, there was only so much conversation that a single raccoon could have.

“So what do we have to do to fix it?” Eugene asked after the laughter had settled and the two made it to the bottom of the steps, leading to the underground tunnels.

“I’m just going to put some of my newest solution on the crack and up the Flynnolium for a few hours. That’ll give everything time to reset by morning and then I’ll adjust the Flynnolium solution release back down to four percent per tanker. And it’ll also give everyone else ample time to find something new to yell at me about.”

Though he spoke with a joking tone he could see the flash of concern that drifted over Eugene’s face, making him instantly regret saying anything at all. He didn’t want to appear ungrateful to the older man; he really did love his job even with the few pitfalls that came with it. His snark was nothing more than the result of a little stress. That’s what he told himself at least.

The rest of the walk was short and comfortably chatty, Eugene going on about his latest guard duties while Varian laughed and ribbed him on his work ethic. It was nice to finally get some time to talk to his friend again, Team Awesome. He almost didn’t want his work day to be finished but the fixes he needed to implement were easy; it had just taken him forever to get down to do them. Just as soon as the two (plus Ruddgier) had made it to the caves, they were back to the top of the staircase.

“Well kid,” Eugene started, “now that we’ve got that all done let’s go get some grub. Don’t want to keep everyone else waiting.”

Eugene began to walk in the direction of the dining hall but Varian stayed put. He was hungry, that much was for sure, but he’d spent all day around people. Being around them, fixing their problems, having them bump into him and squawk at him. It was nice to spend some time with just Eugene but an entire room full of more people...now that was something different entirely.

“Actually I still have some leftovers from lunch in my room.” By which, of course, he meant his entire lunch. “I’m not that hungry anyways so I think I’m going to pass tonight, tell everyone I said hi.”

“Are you sure? Heard there was going to be cookies tonight-”

“Yeah, don’t-don’t worry about me it’s just been...been a really long day.”

Varian mustered up his best smile and gave a thumbs up as he walked away before Eugene could say anything else.

It had been a nice reprieve from his regular day to day drudgery, but it was time to go to bed and start the whole process over again tomorrow.

____

When Varian woke up the next morning he wasn’t tired which was his first clue that something was wrong. He stretched and yawned, squinting as the sun shone brightly through his window which was the second clue.

The third, and by far the most obvious clue, came when he cleared his nose and sniffed a few times and was met with the scent of fresh ham and eggs. Turning to his night stand he saw a brilliantly decorated tray of toast, butter, and scrambled eggs with ham and tomato slices mixed in.

“What in the-oh shit!” Next to the delicious smelling breakfast was his alarm clock which had apparently not gone off despite having wound it up the night before, seeing how the time displayed on it read 11:12. He was late, beyond late. It was nearly noon, he would never hear the end of it. Not only that, but there was a bigger issue at hand.

“The Flynnolium!” He darted up out of bed, not even bothering to put on his work clothes or brush his hair.

He nearly tripped over his own feet trying to reach the door. When he opened it, however, he ran face first into a solid body, sending him reeling back from the impact.

“Well good morning there sleepy head. Man, you really must’ve been worn out to sleep that long huh? Any sweet dreams?” The voice was calm and teasing with just a hint of sincerity playing against the tone of a smile.

“Eugene!” Varian steadied himself and once again tried to get by him. “I can’t talk right now, I have to go. I overslept somehow and-and the Flynnolium has been set on high for too long, I need to get down there and-”

“Set it back to four percent per tanker? Already taken care of buddy. Now come on, I worked all morning on that breakfast and you haven’t even touched it. Well, the royal chef worked all morning on it but I was in the room so i’m pretty sure that counts for something. Supervising, you know, is a very important part of the process.”

“Wha…”

Varian couldn’t even finish his sentence as Eugene guided him back to his bed and sat him down, moving the breakfast tray onto his lap.

“Well don’t sit there wasting all that hard work, dig in.”

“But I don’t...I don’t understand how-what the hell is going on?”

“Language.” Eugene chidded jokingly before sitting down beside the other, “I noticed you seemed a little stressed yesterday. So, I took it upon myself to give you the day off. Woke up this morning and turned the Flynnolium down. Bribed Ruddiger with a few apples to get him to turn your clock off and let you sleep in.”

Varian looked down at the food in his lap, speechless. He hadn’t been that tired, had he?

“Why though?” He asked, quizzically picking up a slice of toast and slowly biting it.

“I just told you, you’re stressed. We’re Team Awesome and Team Awesome looks out for each other.”

Varian continued to crunch slowly and Eugene let out a soft sigh before putting his hand on the other’s back.

“I know the people here demand a lot from you. It would be a big adjustment for anyone just to exist around this place, let alone be the Royal Engineer. Doing projects every day, people only giving you the time of day when they need you, running around like Pascal chasing after a fly. And I know I...probably haven’t helped much in that regard either. You’re the Royal Engineer because Rapunzel and I know you can handle it. But just because you can handle it on your own doesn’t mean you should have to.”

The more Eugene spoke the more Varian relaxed, shoveling more food into his mouth as he got more comfortable.

“Fankfs.” He said, his cheeks full like chipmunks, causing Eugene to laugh.

“No problem buddy. Anyways, like I was saying, I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much-”

“That’s not your fault.”

“No, but it is my fault for not trying harder. And for not realizing how tough things have been on you. So, here’s the plan, once a week from now on you’re getting a full twenty-four hours of off time. Maybe after a few of those and we’ll finally have you back on a decent sleeping schedule. Anyone who interrupts it gets thrown in the dungeon, my royal decree as Captain.”

“I don’t think Captains can make royal decrees.” Varian stated flatly, suppressing a smirk.

“Ok smart mouth, well they can now. You have the rest of the day off.”

There was a comfortable silence for a moment as Varian finished eating, setting aside the tray and closing his eyes. He leaned against Eugene’s shoulder, content and full and happy.

“Thanks Eugene.”

“Anytime kiddo. Team Awesome?”

Eugene extended his fist and Varian happily, if not a bit tiredly, pounded it with his own.

“Team Awesome. Now, since I have the rest of the day off…” In a split second Varian was falling back against his bed, rolling himself up in the blankets pillows, “I’m going back to sleep.”

Eugene laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder.

“Lazy bones. Well, have sweet dreams. Sugar plum fairies and all that.”

“Nah, I’m going to be dreaming of cute blonds who look like Flynn Rider and take me on daring adventures.”

That caused Eugene to laugh even louder.

“Wow, you really are such a teenager aren’t you? Well tell dream hotshot that if he wants your fantasy hand in marriage he’s going to have to get through me first.”

“And my dad.” Varian joked bluntly.

“Personally I think I’m the more important one to impress but, yeah, that guy too-” Suddenly a pillow hit Eugene’s face, muffling his chuckles, “Ok ok I get the message, I’m leaving, I’m leaving.”

“Eugene?”

“Yes sleeping beauty?”

“Thanks, I needed this.”

“Any time kiddo. Love ya.”

As Eugene closed the door, Varian closed his eyes, sinking down into his mattress and into a day of blissful sleep.

“Love you too.”

By the time Varian got the drowsy words out, Eugene was already gone, but it didn’t matter. He already knew.

[midnights-calm]

Suffering Snowfall

Ao3 link

So... I went completely off prompt. Like almost immediately. But I’m still really proud of this and I hope you enjoy!

Again, this was (sorta) inspired by a prompt from the lovely @dangara2610

--------------------------- Even though he had only been here for a few short months, Hugo could confidently say that Corona was the sunniest kingdom ever to exist. Sure there was the occasional rainstorm, but those were rare enough that his opinion on the warm weather held true. Until today that is. At the moment, dark clouds covered every inch of the normal blue sky and the temperature  matched that of an Arendllen winter.

 Hugo readjusted his scarf and hurried his way to the castle. Varain had run out of powdered calcium, and being the loving boyfriend that he is, the blond had offered to go get some more. A decision he quickly regretted when he felt his fingers freezing through his gloves. 

Seeing the gates ahead of him, Hugo quickened his already speedy steps. He gave a quick nod to the guards and rushed into the warm embrace of the castle. He really hoped that this weather would pass soon.

*****

“It’s snowing.” Varian flinched in Hugo’s embrace, causing the blond to raise an eyebrow. Both males looked out the window to indeed see soft white flakes floating down to meet the ground. Rapunzel sighed as she and Eugene observed the snowfall. “Hopefully it doesn’t get as bad as last time.” 

Varian tensed for a few moments before burying himself deeper into Hugo’s side. This prompted the blond to lightly squeeze the smaller male. He really hoped that this would pass soon.

****

It was well into the evening and most had retired to their rooms for the night, leaving only Hugo awake as he lay trapped underneath an unconscious Varian.

 The weather outside had gotten progressively worse, and Varian had practically become stone with how tense he became, only slightly relaxing as he dozed. The younger alchemist’s behavior really had Hugo concerned, especially after Eugene and the princess both gave each other concerned looks before asking if Hugo was okay with staying with him. 

The wind howled, blowing the snow in every which way as Hugo tried to pinpoint the cause. Everyone had been acting normally prior to the snow’s descent. This truly concerned the blond, seeing as he was used to people being excited about the appearance of the crystalline flakes. Even he could admit a small fondness for the weather despite the hindrances and chill it brings. But the way his boyfriend and friends had been acting… What was it about the snow that caused such caution?

Hugo was brought out of his thoughts by a whimper. He looked down to see Varian tightly clutching a fistful of the blond’s shirt. Another whimper escaped the ravenette as he shifted in his sleep. 

A nightmare Hugo thought, gently moving himself to better hold the younger alchemist. This wasn’t the first time the two had dealt with nightmares. Throughout their journey, Hugo would wake up only to find Varian sitting next to the fire, looking dead tired, but afraid to fall asleep. On those nights, the blond would forgo going back to sleep and sit with the raven haired boy. Some nights he’d strike up a conversation to draw Varian’s mind off the terror of the dream, others they’d just sit offering nothing but a shoulder to lean on as a silent comfort. When Hugo began to realize his feelings for the younger, nights like this happened more frequently. The only difference on these nights would be who would be the one comforting the other. 

Hugo carefully began to run a hand through Varian’s dark locks, hoping to at least soothe the nightmare a little. He knew of Varian’s past, and many of the traumatic experiences that followed. It was honestly a wonder that the boy got any sleep. (And Hugo may have become a bit more mindful of the younger’s placement near long drops after a particularly bad night.)

Another whimper escaped Varian’s lips, this one louder and sounding a bit closer to words. Hugo stopped, straining to hear what his boyfriend was saying. He was able to catch a few ‘help’s and a ‘promised’ here and there. But what really broke the blond’s heart was the sound of his own name and repeated ‘no’s, as if he’d just… found his father….

He needed to wake Varian up right now.

“Var.” Hugo tried, gently shaking the other’s shoulder. “Varian, please. You need to wake up.”

No change. He shook a bit harder. “Please, Var it’s just a nightmare! Please wake up!”

Varian’s ‘no’s became faster, like he was begging for it to end. 

“Varian! Wake Up!” Hugo pleaded. 

“No! Hugo!” Varian cried, jolting awake. He panickedly looked around, before making eye contact with the concerned blond. 

“H-Hugo?” The younger asked, dazed. Hugo sighed, letting his shoulders drop.

“Hey Goggles.”

Varian barely let him finish his sentence before he shot up and wrapped the blond in a bone crushing hug. Hugo let him, repeating the action and lowering his head to rest on the smaller male’s.

“Y-you were- and I-I, the s-snowstorm-, a-and Rapunzel couldn’t, th-then the others wouldn’t- then I- Oh gods H-hugo, y-you w-were-”

“Shhhh. It’s okay, Var.” Hugo shushed him. “It wasn’t real. I’m right here. It’ll be okay.”

They stayed like that, holding each other close as Hugo whispers comforting words and sweet nothings. Once he had calmed down, Varian began to tiredly slump against the blond. Hugo placed a kiss into his hair and leaned back, humming a lullaby in hopes of helping ease the younger back to sleep. It soon proved successful as the ravenette’s breathing evened out.

Hugo began to feel his own eyes droop as he continued to hum. He knew that they’d have to talk about the nightmare and how the snowstorm brought back those horrible memories, but for now the two boys were content being in each other's embrace.

[owltrainer-destinyseeker]

Alchemy what? The only alchemist I know is Varian. There are more? Yeesh. How do kingdoms stay standing if there are more squirts going around blowing stuff up?

"Murder is a line that doesn’t get crossed. Not without a very harsh punishment. You can’t be sissy with those people." Uh, sorry Cass, but if Zhan Tiri didn't stop you, you would've killed all of Corona. A bit hypocritical. I know you're trying to change, but you showed zero to no hesitation with attempted murder with numerous people. In fact, you should probably thank ZT for that.

*sigh*

That was not my best time.... and yes. I guess I did. My temper is one thing I wish I could get rid of.

I was being blinded, and felt cornered. If you corner an animal, you will get hurt. If you scare people enough? You will get the same reaction. I thought my mother had been taken from me at first. And excuse me if I try to get back at them. Wouldn’t you if your mother was taken from you?

But once I tried to make amends, what do I find but a big weapon made just foe me. That seems like the quickest way to corner someone.

I wouldn’t do it now.... not without being provoked. At least I hope not.

A temper is hard to reign in.... everyone falls.

[cookiehusky799]

                                  The Aftermath

Takes place in Cassandra’s Revenge, when the gang got back to the castle with Varian. Hope you enjoy!

         The princess watched as Lance set Varian down on the bed. The group were in a guest room. The alchemist had passed out when Rapunzel and Eugene met up with Lance, the girls, and Maximus.

“Is he going to be ok?” asked Catalina in a trembling voice.

Lance smiled at her. “I’m sure he’s going to be right as rain tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

Eugene cleared his throat. “Hey, Lance? Would you mind if...” he trailed off still a bit shaken up about what happened with Cassandra.

Thankfully, Lance got the hint and quietly lead the girls plus Max out the room. Rapunzel went over to the bed. She gently shook him awake. “Varian? Varian, wake up.”

Nothing.

Pascal got off her shoulder, walking to where Varian’s ear is and stuck his tongue in it.

That woke him up.

“Ack! Ahh! Don’t eat me!”

Rapunzel shushed him. “Calm down, Varian. It’s just us.”

Varian stared blankly at the couple, waiting for his eyes to adjust. When he saw it was them, he relaxed. 

He chuckled nervously. “ Oh. Hey. I-I must of went to sleep there. Sorry about that.”

Eugene sat down at the foot of the bed beside Varian. “Are you ok, kid?”

“I’m..ngh.. really shaken up from what happened in the tower.”

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow, puzzled. His answer came out rather quickly. 

“What’s going on?” she asked him. 

Before the alchemist could respond, Eugene piped up. He covered Varian’s mouth as he replied, “Cass-an-dra had drugged him with his own truth serum in order to tell her the third incantation. Also, he’s compel to answer any questions you ask him.”

Rapunzel was horrified. She can’t believe Cass drugged Varain and then put him in a cage. “No...Is...Is that true?” She looked into the terrified blue eyes of the alchemist. Eugene removed his hand so he can answer. Varian winced in pain of the serum. “Agh! Y-Yes.”

He slumped forword causing Eugene to grabbed him before he fell off the bed. While Eugene explained to the princess, Varian answered automatically which exhausted him. Rapunzel took her place on the other side of Varian on the bed. She placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Varian.”

Varian sighed. “It’s okay, Rapunzel. You didn’t know Cass kidnapped me.There was a lot going on back at the Demantius Chamber.”

“He has a point, Blondie.” said Eugene.

Rapunzel grabbed Varian’s backpack, wanting to cure the alchemist. She opened it and started rummaging through it finding an antidote. Rapunzel pulled out small bottle that is labeled “truth serum antidote.”

“Here’s the cure, Varian.” She opened the bottle, held it out in Varian’s direction.

“Say Ahh.”

“Ahh.” The alchemist open his mouth so Rapunzel could pour the antidote in.

Varian swallowed the stuff, feeling better already. He was glad he made a cure for the truth serum. The princess put the backpack aside. “Ok..” she began, testing to see if it worked. “How are you feeling?” Eugene and Pascal nervously waited for Varian to respond. The alchemist’s face did not show any signs of pain whenever he felt the truth serum kicked in.

Varian sighed in relief. He was cured.

“Well, I’m fine now. Thank you, Rapunzel!” he hugged her, letting out a joyful laugh.

Rapunzel laughed along with him, returning the hug.

“Soooo what happened after that tower...uh, got build?” Eugene asked.

Rapunzel pulled away from the alchemist. She wanted to know too, but judging how Varian bit his lip nervously it was probably not the time. “Eugene, Varian has been through a lot today. Maybe we should let him rest first.” she suggested.

Varian suddenly grabbed Rapunzel by the shoulders, startling her in the process. “No! I...have to tell you now.” he said, replaying the whole ordeal in his head. Rapunzel didn’t say anything. She motioned him to go on with her hand.

Varian breathed in sharply before taking his hands off the princess and got his backpack. Brows furrowed, he held it tightly against his chest.

Eugene started to comfort Varian by rubbing his back in repeated soothing circles. “It’s okay, Varian. Take your time.” The man told him.

Varian looked between Eugene and Rapunzel, mouth visible by the backpack. The princess gave him a warm smile as Pascal climbed back on her shoulder. 

Varian finally calmed down and began to tell what happened.

“Cass put hand cuffs on me with her powers, then she took me in the tower. As we were going up the stairs, she....started talking to herself...but it wasn’t herself.”

Rapunzel narrowed her eyes. “She did that back at the Demanitus Chamber.” The princess pointed out.

Eugene groaned. “Oh, great. She’s gone completely insane. Well, not as insane as before, but this is a whole different level!”

Varian went on. “It was really weird. It’s like she’s having a conversation with someone she can see. When we got to the um, top, Cass said that I wasn’t part of this, she didn’t want to hurt me. Cass took the hand cuff off me.”

The alchemist was looking at Rapunzel, his expression sorrowful. “I tried to talk her out of what she’s doing, Rapunzel. She is on the same path I’ve been! I-I really didn’t want to see her go through that route. But...it wasn’t enough. And that’s when she put me in that cage.”

Varian hung his head. “I failed getting through her.”

Rapunzel exchanged a concerned look with Eugene before placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Varian, I appreciate you trying to convince Cass. It shows how far you come. You know how it feels to be on the dark path that you want her to not go the same way.”

Varian lifted his head back up, his gaze downcast. “It’s a horrible way to handle anger. It twists your mind until you can’t think straight.”

He shivered. “One of my biggest regrets of my life.”

Eugene gave him a gentle nudge. “We’re proud of you for trying though.” he said grinning.

Varian stared at him in surprise. “R-Really?”

Eugene nodded.

Varian rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Gosh. I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, you could say thank you.”

“Um...thank you, Eugene. heh.”

They both shared a laugh.

Varian started to remember how threatening Cass was when she pulled him and Eugene back in the tower. She never looked more like a villain than the alchemist has ever seen. “Varian? What’s wrong?” Rapunzel asked, noticing him tense up again.

Eugen felt the alchemist trembling slightly. “She scared you, huh?” he said in a gentle voice. The man wasn’t teasing him, Eugene was worried about Varian.

“Yeah.” The alchemist admitted, bringing the backpack closer to his body.

Varian sniffled, a tear rolled down his cheek. “Cassandra...”

Rapunzel offered him a hug which he took, sobbing uncontrollably. Eugene held his backpack for him. The princess comfort him like a sister to her little brother. She was glad Varian is safe now. Rapunzel considers making him stay for the night so he can recover.

“Don’t worry, Varian. We’re not going to give up on her.”

[whitecatindisguise]

The Sundrop Alchemist (4)

Posting a little bit earlier today, bc thought we all need some fluff and happy times after the RP thread.

Anyway, onwards.

Summary: Varian decides to go see the birthday lights with the help of rather unwilling intruder. But what can he do to convince him...?

AO3 link is here

------

Chapter 4: The Unwilling Helper

With a little help from Ruddiger, Varian managed to move the intruder from the closet, onto the chair. The two then tied the boy’s hair around the body like a rope. Ruddiger made sure the hold was secure. Neither knew if the intruder was dangerous but they weren’t going to take any chances. 

When the raccoon finally deemed the knot safe, Varian pulled the chair a little bit closer to the light, himself hiding in the shadows. He nodded at his friend and prepared for the intruder to wake up. 

Ruddiger climbed the teen’s frame. He sat at his shoulder and smacked his cheek with a paw. Varian held his breath. The intruder didn’t even react. Ruddiger shot him a puzzled look and smacked him again and again, with no result, apart from the cheeks reddening. The raccoon huffed in annoyance and scurried down. 

Varian’s eyes followed the animal as it went to the kitchen, grabbed one of the glasses and filled it with water. The raccoon climbed the unconscious teen once again and dumped the whole glass at his head with the biggest I’m-so-done face Varian has ever seen. 

The teen shot up almost instantly, Ruddiger falling off in the process.

“Wha-?” The green eyes widened in shock. “What’s going on? Why am I wet?” His gaze fell on his bindings and he looked truly puzzled. “Is that… hair?”

Varian suck in a breath, clenching the frying pan harder. This was it. 

“S-struggling is pointless.” He creaked out, voice shaking. He gulped and tried to calm himself. The intruder was tied up. It was Varian, who had the upper hand here.

“What?” The intruder turned towards the voice, eyes squinting in an attempt to see through the darkness. 

“You won’t escape, until you answer my questions.” Varian took a steadying breath and stepped into the light, frying pan pointing at the tied teen. “Who are you, and how did you find me?”

The teen blinked in confusion. 

“Woah, you’re a boy?” He asked. Varian’s cheeks reddened with anger and he let the frying pan fall.

The boy stared at the unconscious teen in puzzlement. Ruddiger chittered angrily.

“S-sorry bud. I might have overreacted.” He chuckled nervously. The raccoon continued to chitter as it went back to the kitchen to refill the glass. 

~~~~

“Let’s try again.” Varian said with furrowed brows, when the teen woke up again. “Who are you and how did you find me?”

‘Is this all hair yours?” The intruder asked in return, eyes scanning the room. “That’s a lot of hair. Is it real?”

“Wha-? Of course it’s real and- Hey!” Varian started replying before he noticed the teen changed the subject. He pointed the frying pan at him again. “Just answer the question!” 

“How about a no.” The teen shrugged and looked at him challengingly. “You can’t make me.”

“‘No, but I can let Ruddiger scratch your face.” Varian answered, pointing at the raccoon which growled. 

“Ugh, fine. Name’s Hugo.” The teen, Hugo said. “Hugo McCoy. What about you, Princess?”

SMACK

~~~~

“Why do you have to hit me every damn time?” Hugo growled, drops of water falling down his bangs. “And can’t you find a way to wake me up that doesn’t include making me wet?!”

“We tried to smack your face but you wasn’t reacting.” Varian shrugged. 

“So you just decided to dump water at me? Way to go, Princess.” Hugo growled. 

The long-haired boy flinched and raised the frying pan.

“Do you want me to smack you again?” He threatened, eyes sending daggers. 

“Nah, I’m good.” The tied teen replied, raising open palms to show he was giving back. “So what is your name? Or should I just call you Blondie?”

“I’m Varian, and you can stop with the stupid nicknames.” Varian finally said. “Now, for the second question. How did you find me?”

“I wasn’t looking for you, per se, Sweetcheeks.” Hugo shrugged. “I was running from those crazy guards and more crazy horse while trying not to lose the goods and-” He suddenly stopped himself and looked around frantically. “Wait, where is my satchel?”

Varian smirked.

“I’ve hidden it somewhere you’ll never find it.” He exclaimed proudly. The teen looked at him unamused and then took a scan around the room.

“It’s in this pot, isn’t it?” He asked, pointing with his head at the pot standing behind Varian. 

SMACK!

~~~~

“Alright, now it’s hidden in the place you’ll never find.” Varian marched in front of the tied-up teen. “And you can take apart this tower brick by brick, and you’ll never find it. Only I know where it is.” The raccoon chittered angrily and Varian corrected. “Okay, only I and Ruddiger know where it is.” 

“Nonononono! You don’t understand! I can’t come back without it!” Hugo argued frantically, eyes widening in terror. “Donella’s going to kill me!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll give it back to you. Now, you were saying something about the… horse?” The long-haired boy cocked his head in confusion.

“Yeah, horse. Four legs, tail, mane, hooves-” The bespectacled teen started but Varian cut him in.

“I know what a horse is, I’m not an idiot!” He cried. 

“Could have fooled me…” Hugo murmured and Varian rose his frying pan higher.

“You’re really asking for another smacking.” He growled. “But why were you running away from the horse?”

“Dunno what they feed that thing, but it’s not normal.” Hugo shrugged, not elaborating. 

“So… you weren’t looking for me?” Varain’s eyes widened in realization. Hugo huffed in response.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you from the beginning!” He exclaimed loudly. “I was running away from the guards and this crazy horse. Found the tunnel. Found the tower. Climbed the tower to hide. End of story! Now, can I have my stuff back?”

“Actually, no.” Varian replied matter-of-factly. He reached for his notebook and showed it to Hugo. “Do you know what these are?”

The tied-up teen squinted his eyes, gazing at the picture. 

“The alchemical lanterns? Yeah, why?” He looked up at the long-haired boy quizzically. “Also, nice drawing.”

“I knew they weren’t stars!” The boy exclaimed, not listening to his hostage anymore. “The colours were off and they were moving too fast to be stars. Plus, they appear only once a year, which is unheard of when it comes to stars.” He turned to Hugo with a serious face. “I’ve come to a decision, Mister McCoy.”

“Just call me Hugo, Blondie.” Hugo cut in and Varian raised the frying pan again. “Okay, Varian.” He corrected and the pan was lowered. “Geez, you need to work on anger control. You can’t just go around smacking people in the head.”

“Anyway, as I was saying.” Varian continued, ignoring completely the last comment. “I’ve come to a decision. Those alchemical lanterns, as you call them, appear only once a year, which is tomorrow night. And you, Hugo, will take me there and bring me safely back into the tower.” The bespectacled blonde looked ready to argue but Varian was having none of it. “Then, and only then I will give you your satchel back. Do we have a deal?”

“Um, no.” Hugo replied quickly. “Can’t you, like, go alone? Why do I have to take you there?”

“I don’t know the way, and you, clearly, do.” Varian answered quickly and smirked. “Of course, I could let you go now, but I already told you. You get the satchel back only after we’re back safely from our little trip.”

Hugo sighed in defeat.

“Okay, I didn’t really wanted to do that, but you give me no choice, Princess.” He somehow managed to reach into his pocket and took out a blue ball. “Beware the power of Alche-!”

SMACK

Hugo’s head fell down, the teen falling unconscious yet again. His grip on the ball loosened and it fell on the floor, rolling away. Varian came closer and picked it up, inspecting it from all angles. 

“Did he really just tried to attack us with a bath bomb?” He asked in confusion, looking at the raccoon sitting on his shoulder. The animal shrugged. 

Varian sighed as he observed the unconscious teen. This is going to be much harder than he imagined.

------

Hugo smack count: 6

Have a good day~

[val-off]

”Hello Rapunzel... ” I wanted test new style with Varian with a meca arm !! A style with many squares, and other geometric form...  I don’t know why he could lost his arm, but I imagine that be since his escape from the jail.

[s-creations]

What He Feared - Tangled Adventure Fanfiction

Quirin might have been a ex-warrior, an accomplished farmer, the head of a prospering village, and the father of a brilliant child. That doesn't mean he's infallible. Or that he doesn't have his own fears and worries.

Quirin always knew Varian was going to achieve great things in his life. He was smart and more than a little eager to try and help people. The problem, when Varian was younger anyway, was he didn’t always think things through. Sure, his inventions were great in concept. But in practice is where things tend to fall apart. Because Varian never could get the idea of small scale experimentation down. Why do that when you can just go big? 

 Go as fast and as hard as you can to find a solution. Especially when said solution was to find a way to destroy the encroaching black rocks. Which resulted in a dark day for Varian and Quirin. With the latter being trapped in an amber prison unintentionally created by his son. One that he remained in for almost a full year. 

 When he was released, a new world greeted him. One where his personal past invaded his present. Where his son was marked as a traitor, jailed, and pardoned when he helped save the kingdom he once tried to overthrow. Where Quirin wanted to tear Fredric apart for allowing Varian to be used as a scapegoat for the king's own transgressions. Only to be told to save his breath when both the king and queen had lost their memories. And then to finally learn that Cassandra now held the Moonstone.

 It honestly took awhile for Quirin to fully digest all of this. 

 When he passed through each day, Quirin took notice of how the citizens greeted Varian with dark looks and harsh whispers. How his son had become more reserved. Not as open to greeting or sharing his ideas. How being touched on his shoulder would cause Varain to flinch. Then profusely apologize for overreacting.  How the younger seemed to check on Quirin, multiple times a day. It hurt to know his carefree son was replaced by a nervous and easy to anger teenager. One that seemed fearful of what he could create. 

 Quirin will admit it. He was not the most approachable person. Being the leader of a village that mainly governs itself meant that Quirin had to carry himself and others on his shoulders. Meaning he needed to be stoic and put the needs of others before him. Couple that with a brilliant child that he couldn’t keep up with while being a single parent and it took everything to keep Quirin from drowning. But this also stunted his emotional growth. 

 All of this cultivated in being unsure of how to really help Varian. It hurt to realize this. What kind of father can’t comfort his own son? 

 Quirin felt sick with worry when Varian would spend weeks at Corona’s castle. Working on some secret project for the princess. When Vairan was home, Quirin would do what he could to keep him comfortable. 

 Varian could probably tell his father was trying to make some attempt to connect. Because, while Varian would still toil away at his projects when home, he willingly joined Quirin in the fields. Listening to his father on how to tend to what was growing with the simple tools they had. How to tell when something was ready to be harvested. Each lesson learned ended with a gentle hug. One that Varian would melt into, beaming up at his father. 

 It was the first time in a long time that Quirin felt as there was a loving relationship being built between them. Even if there was a lot hiding behind the clear blue eyes. But this was a start and Quirin would take it over being shut out again. 

 As the weeks of Varian’s pardon and Quirin’s freedom passed, things seemed peaceful. At least in the sense that Cassandra hadn’t been seen and the black rocks hadn’t advanced further. Not even the Brotherhood could track her down. 

 “We’ve never hunted the Moonstone in such a way before,” Adira commented, “When you’re unsure of what to look for, the black rocks are plentiful, and Short Hair seems unable to settle anywhere, this becomes difficult.” 

 It was unsettling. But Quirin was trying to make the most out of the peace. Because there was the looming worry of it all ending abruptly. 

 That day arrived much faster than Quirin wanted. When Varian rushed out of their hut with a frantic look in his eye, Quirin should have paid better attention. But the morning was peaceful. Quirin was focused on bringing in the newest harvest. In all honesty, Quirin thought that Varian had just made a breakthrough and had to race off to tell the princess. So he didn’t give much thought to it. 

 It was as Quirin was leaving the harvest shed that he found a large crop of red rocks. 

 He should have known better. Perhaps his years out of the Dark Kingdom and away from the Brotherhood had dulled his senses in some way. The quiet farm life had made him soft, as Hector would say. Whatever the reason would be, Quirin ignored the warning flags as he approached the rocks. He leaned forward to examine the structure. Fingers barely brushed against the smooth surface. 

 He flinched back when a sharp sting was felt behind his eyes. Rubbing his forehead to quell the slowly growing headache, Quirin stepped away. 

 “What in the world…”

 “Dad!” 

 Quirin felt his stomach churn in fear hearing Varian call out. His son was in trouble. What had happened, where was he?

 “Varian? Son, where are you?” As he rushed back into the hut, a horrifying sight greeted him. 

 Right at the front entrance was where Quirin found Varian. His son’s right arm and leg already encased in amber. The parts that were still free were shaking with absolute fear. Varian was breathing harshly, tears streaming down as he tried to pull himself free. 

 “Varian!” Quirin rushed over, hands hovering over as he tried to figure out some way to free his son. “Vairna, h-how did this happen?”

 “D-Dad please,” the teen choked out, “Please, I don’t… I don’t want to be trapped.”

 “You won’t. You won’t be, I promise. I’ll get you out.” Quirin felt sick as the amber grew. That sound haunts him in his dreams. That snapping and cracking sounded like broken bones as it grew. It was the last thing he heard before he was trapped. Now it was happening to Varian.

 “Dad?”

 “I’m here Varian. I’m right here. I’ll get you out, just-”

 “Quirin?”

 He turned back to the opened door. Paul, one of Old Corona’s villagers, was standing in the doorway. He looked over the scene, worried and confused. 

 “Paul!” Quirin felt the briefest hints of relief. “Paul, listen to me. I need you to get to the castle and get Rapunzel. Tell her Varian’s been trapped in the amber and-”

 “Sir, you… What are you talking about?”

 “Vairan- How do you not see this! Varian’s trapped in-” When Quirin turned back to his son, he found the space empty. No Varian. No amber. Just a darkened room.

 “What… But I saw him, he was just here…”

 “Uh, Quirin. Maybe you should take the day off?”

 Quirin shook his head. “I can’t… I need to find Varian. I need to know he’s okay.”

 Not waiting for a reply, he was rushing out and headed for the castle. If he couldn’t find the alchemist along the way, then he would find Rapunzel. The amber might be somehow growing again and the princess was the only person who could help. As he entered the kingdom proper, Quirin was greeted with fearful screams. Citizens rushing around or cowering in whatever corner they could fit into. Red rocks were everywhere. 

 “What is happening? Concentrate Quirin, you need to find-”

 “Dad!”

 There was a beat of fear hearing Varian call out. But Quirin calmed when he spotted his son rushing towards him. Not trapped in amber. He almost felt sick with relief. “Varian, you’re alright…”

 He pulled the other close, letting out a relaxed sigh. Varian was alive. Not about to be encased in amber. “Son, what is happening? What are these red rocks?”

 “D-Dad… I’m sorry…”

 “I… Varian, it’s fine. Whatever you’re worried about. It’s-”

 As Quirin pulled away to comfort further, he felt the cold sickness of fear crawl through him. Varian had been impaled. Red rocks protruding through his stomach. Shirt was slowly turning a deeper shade as blood seeped through. The alchemist gave a weak cough, blood splattering his lips and chin.

 “No… No, no, Varian!” 

 “D-Dad…” Varian’s breathing was labored, skin becoming ashen.  

 “Shhh, no, don’t talk. Just...just try and stay awake. Y-You’re going to be okay. You’re…” As Quirin placed his hands on Varian’s cheeks, he realized how hopeless this was. 

 If it was just the amber imprisonment, this could be an easy fix. Rapunzel got Quirin out. Why couldn’t she do the same for Varian? But this was irreversible. Rapunzel couldn’t heal. Couldn’t bring the dead back to life. That power had long since vanished when her hair had returned. 

 Varian was dying and there was no way to stop it.

 “Dad?” Varian sounded so small. Quirin wished it was just his son coming to find him because of a bad dream. Not because he was losing his life.

 “Varian...y-you’re okay. You’re going to be okay. I’m right here. I’m not going to leave you. Just… Just focus on me. Don’t close your eyes. Please… P-Please don’t leave me…”

 When had he started crying? 

 Quirin’s panic grew when Varian let out a shaky breath, his eyes rolled back, and he slumped.

 “No! No, Varian, open your eyes, please! Please!” 

 The last he remembered was reaching out to pull Varian’s unmoving form closer. He was inches away when Quirin felt his body seize up and everything fell dark.

He took a deep breath. 

 Eyes snapped open. 

 He stumbled as he attempted to keep himself upright. 

 Confused, Quirin quickly took a scan of the area. No red rocks. No screams of fear. No Varian impaled. In fact, no Varain anywhere in sight. 

 How long had he been out?

 What happened?

 Where was Varian?

 Still slightly dazed, Quirin made his way to the castle. Hoping he would find answers there. But he was interrupted once again when he found Varian. His son alive and well. Walking with Rapunzel and practically beaming. 

 “Varian!” Quirin didn’t miss the flinch. Or the way Varian looked to Rapunzel and only relaxed when the princess gave a nod. That’s all it took for the smile to return with a look of relief and Varian rushed over. 

 “Dad!” 

 Quirin wasted no time in pulling Varian close. The older burying into the ebony hair. This was right. This felt right. Varian warm and solid as he was held in Quirin’s arms. The faint smell of smoke and chemicals. His heartbeat. 

 “I thought...I thought I had lost you. I saw you…”

 “It wasn’t real. Whatever it was, it wasn’t real.” 

 Quirin pulled away to look Varian over once more. No sharp rocks. No blood. No desperate gasps for air. Varian was alive and well. “What...What did happen? What were those red rocks?”

 “Uh, as far as I can theorize, they were a physical manifestation of Cassandra’s fears. And they caused everyone else to have their fears become fully realized. So...yeah...are you okay?”

 Quirin laughed weakly. “I should be asking you that. I’m assuming the rocks have disappeared because of you and the princess?”

 “Yeah… We were able to conquer our fears.” Varian launched into his tale. Where he’d found Ruiddger, frozen in fear. How he reached his conclusion of the cause and the solution. Rapunzel and him worked together to pour the amber solution to nullify the red rocks. 

 The more Varian spoke, the more Quirin felt pride swell in his chest. The alchemist had seen so many hardships and rose above each of them. It was clear, as they traveled through the crowds, as the citizens greeted him with smiles and gratitude, Varian had finally been forgiven. Finally welcomed into the community. In turn, Varian seemed to glow. Now content with himself and the world around him. 

 Being mindful of the raccoon resting on Varian’s shoulders, Quirin pulled his son close again. Arm gently wrapped around the younger.Varian looked up, confusion turning into a returned smile.

 “I’m so proud of you Varian.” Quirin didn’t miss the way Varian’s eye lit up, the smile becoming wider. 

 He would always play the role of the worried, overprotective father. He will see Varian and think back to the five-year-old who would run to him for comfort. Quirin also knew that Varian was accomplished in his own way. Having overcome hardships and grown in the year that Quirin couldn’t be there. To try and help carry that weight. Varian had others he could rely on, able to handle and care for himself with the help of his friends. From raccoon, to princess, to ex-thief. 

 Quirin will always be Varian’s father. 

 But Varain was carving his own path.

 Quirin couldn’t be happier.