#quirin

Tysm for your patience! Sorry it took me so long to get back to you- it really was such a pleasant surprise to get your ask and I knew right away I wanted to draw smth silly to go w/ it!

I'll admit I tend to work in broad strokes w/ AUs vs. having a cohesive/linear plot outlined, but it's fun to think abt how events might unfold and how the diff character's involvement/roles in the plot would shift. I think Rapunzel would still recognize that Varian is the smartest and best qualified person to translate the Demanitus scroll, and she'd still ask for his help. Quirin would reluctantly permit it.

I want to think that the amber incident would be a wake up call for Quirin? He realizes that he can't be a bystander- he and his son are wrapped up in this cosmic plot and living a life free of the moonstone's shadow won't be possible until it reunites with the sundrop; the best thing he can do is a father is to be there for Varian and his friends and try to keep them safe, because their involvement is inevitable.

In an alternate S3 where Quirin was the villain in S1, I also think he becomes an ally again and fills a similar role as Varian did with assisting the mains. Rapunzel freeing Var + Fred apologizing (and hopefully resolving to do better and be more proactive in the future lmao) would cool the worst of his anger and he could turn his sights back to the issue at hand.

Maybe he gives Varian and Rapunzel and co. a lesson on the DK and the moonstone's history, so they know what they're facing? I think it'd be satisfying to have him 'come clean' and reveal all the secrets he kept for so long + ofc I wish they'd explored the lore more. Maybe he gets in contact w/ the rest of the Brotherhood, and summons them to join the fight? He wanted to leave them and his old order in the past, but Varian getting tangled up in the black rocks makes him realize that's not possible, and he recognizes Moon Cass as the threat she is so he calls in the cavalry. I could see him giving Var/Eugene/Lance (and Raps, but I feel like she has her own assets and fighting style) an introductory lesson in swordsmanship and combat, too.

You make some good points abt the smaller differences there'd be if Var got trapped in S1! I wonder how Cass would respond to seeing him again- surprise ofc, but I think that even in her villain arc, beneath the cold facade she'd be happy to see that Varian was alive and free- he was a kid who just wanted to help and prove himself, and losing him was tragic. (Tho it'd probably be followed by a calculating assessment that he's a new player/piece on the board, and Rapunzel is getting stronger and improving her control of the incantations.)

If Cass still kidnapped him, she might not have Var's truth serum to work with, but I can't imagine Quirin wouldn't spearhead the rescue attempt and I think it'd be easy for her to get Var to comply by threatening his dad. I can't imagine Quirin sharing a duet w/ Cass lmao- maybe he could reach out to her from the perspective of a parent, how it'd break his heart to see Varian go down this path, she's so young and has a whole life ahead of her, he knows Corona is flawed but this isn't the way, etc.. Given Cass' tumultuous relationship w/ Cap in S3 I think she'd shut him down, though. (I think having a member of the bhood actively involved in the fight and hunting her would also be a good motivator for seeking out the mindtrap.)

There aren't a ton of fics that I know of that have explored a roleswap with Quirin and Varian in depth-

Looking Through a Window & its sequel, Happy Endings Exist Only in Fairytales are the only ones that really come to mind and even tho they're older I'm still happy to recommend them! Both are from very early in the fandom, with the first one being written before S2 even premiered, so there's no concept of the moonstone, the DK, Hector or Edmund. That said, I think the emotional journey still holds up really well as an envisioning of what Quirin turning against the crown could look like.