#vat7k analysis

before the library, varian asks hugo if he’s hiding something. hugo says he isn’t, and varian mumbles “i don’t know why i asked that when i knew i’d only believe one of your answers.”

varian bonds with hugo, yes, and part of that is because he is genuinely hopeful that this could be the time that ends well. the other part is self-punishment for deeds he’s already made up for, because he feels like they’re doomed, and all he can control is how much it hurts. (he gets so very close, and it will hurt so very much.)

and then hugo’s standing across from varian, and varian’s connecting the dots he knew were always there. anger flickers across his face, but it fades to tiredness, and varian walks through the portal without another word.

when ulla’s excruciating light has faded from her son’s eyes and varian has allowed hugo to hug him with all the desperation he’s never shown before, hugo asks why he doesn’t seem furious.

varian’s answer is contemplative in a way that can’t fully conceal how much the words hurt him. “i think there is something bad i have in me, or… or some ‘x factor’ everyone else has that i don’t. something about me is easy to betray and lie to and make false promises to and forget about. and being mad at you for it… that’s like being angry at the sky for raining, when it was my fault for trying to have a picnic under storm clouds. you know?”

over the years, hugo will be able to make up for shattering varian’s mixture of faint trust and fainter hope. hugo will be able to convince him that he’s just had rotten luck and lived through things no one should have had to. hugo will be able to show varian that he is worth loving and he deserves not to be let down, but to be cherished.

What does her gang do exactly? Why kind of work Hugo does for her except to join Varian? Since when they work together? Okay, “protection” definitely can be interpreted as giving Hugo some kind of… home? So being a mother figure, even basically an adoptive mother, even a genuinely good mom can be viewed as an offer of protection.

But why we see Don as DANGEROUS criminal boss through only thing we know she wanted was a science journal so she could keep the world save?

???

Okk because we all know how in Greek myth Prometheus gives humans fire which was previously a secret. Obviously fire can be both helpful and hurtful. It can become an out of control blaze, or it can help cook food, something that is very necessary.

Quirin gives Prometheus the donkey to Varian for his trip to the eternal library, the place that is all about knowledge and how it can hurt vs help!

And not only that the VERY FIRST trial being the fire one, about “burning away dross” and revealing secrets like c'mon. You mean secrets like uhh idk FIRE ITSELf!

Also fire and knowledge are very interconnected because, Prometheus gives humans the knowledge to make fire. However they need to meet a specific quota of knowledge because if they don't fully understand how to use and control fire, they wont be able to utilize it. Too much and there are other problems, specifically with control. (fire power wow). Spoiler this goes for knowledge too, especially with Ulla's whole thing in the eternal library being her obsessed with knowledge.

anyway I headcanon that the eternal library spreads like fire instead of plants

trans varian and his mother possessing him.

trans varian and her— literally— living vicariously through him. denying him ownership of his body. pulling him along to her every whim.

the symbolism.

the invasion, the control, the long-lasting trauma, the destruction of it.

“how dare you?” says one.

they’ll have a running joke of hugo groping/sexually harassing varian in a number of ways and laughing when varian “gets flustered”, and there’s usually a theme of varian being head-over-heels for him from first sight despite this. the whole thing reads like some comic book from the sixties written by an incel, except it’s gay and modern!! so that must make it different!! /sar

there’s probably some internalized homophobia that goes into this. making them both act like the young men they are is really drawing attention to the fact that it’s a gay pairing. (whether or not you believe one of them is genderfluid, they’re still men at least most of the time).

there’s just… a lot of mischaracterization with this trend, i feel. yeah, maybe hugo would be creepy because he’s trying not to form attachment, or because he doesn’t know how to handle any budding feelings, but varian would shut that down immediately. and if he couldn’t for whatever reason, nuru and yong would call it out. and when they’re dating, hugo is way too much of a loser to be the only suave one. (and varian wouldn’t be a flustered mess The Entire Time.)

also, kay and anna have said that hugo and varian are intellectual equals— there’s no reason to lessen one in favor of the other.

just. cocky, pretentious, self-assured, handsome, not that trustworthy (but varian wants to trust him). he lives with this guy for months. (trapped.) there’s an objective that both he and this guy are trying to achieve. varian would risk his life for him (but would he do the same if varian was in danger?) there’s a sense of waiting. (everything is not quite right.)

Genuinely, why Varian was is so short? “He’s got that from his mama!”

His mama is tall. She’s taller than Hugo. Even if Varian is afab he should be taller considering his parents’ height, so I suppose he has some problems with height hormones.

Next question what is his height?

I mean he’s definitely shorter than average height, even Nuru is taller. He’s most closer to Rapunzel (her height is 5’1” as I understand? Yep? Nope?), he’s a little bit taller than her. So…

Varian’s 155-160 cm (5’1’’-5’3’’). Hugo’s around 175 cm (5’9’’).

Ulla is around 178 cm (5’10”)

Donella is 185 cm (6’1”)

Nuru is 160cm (5’3”)

Yong is 145cm (4’9”)

Cyrus (and Quirin I suppose) are around 6’7” (200cm) because sixseven and they’re like super big compared to other characters.