Varian And Tangled Thoughts

I don’t like the idea of Varian knowing how to use a sword well because of the way he isn’t really a fighter unless he needs to be. We only see him weaponize alchemy during his villain arc, with the Saporians, and the finale. He only fought when he was literally the bad guy and felt he had no other choice, was with people who more than likely had him making alchemy for combat (notice that those compounds he uses as a Saporian are never used again), and when he was fighting to reclaim his home. Varian never even wears the alchemy belt after his time with the Saporians even when he is knowingly marching into battle. His only attack on Zhan Tiri was using a beaker as a freaking bottle rocket!

Even if he’s being pushed into combat, I do prefer if he’s a pure alchemy user because it makes more sense than a sword even if he’s trained considering most people who write the sword training forget Varian is hemophobic. If he gets a cut on someone, he might pass out and then we have an unconscious alchemist on our hands. I mean, I still think he made his automaton have a red glass panel so it’s harder to distinguish what’s blood and what isn’t, but I can’t imagine people who faint at the sight of blood want to use a sword on someone.

Also, most of the main cast can use swords. Varian being a pure alchemy user makes him stand out in that sense. Cass, Eugene, and Lance’s main weapons are swords, Rapunzel uses her hair, and it is a lot more interesting if Varian is also a ranged fighter, but he’s a lot more limited because he has a limited amount of alchemy. Writing around that is much more interesting when you consider how many solutions he has and how little he can hold.

Lastly, and I think this is just me being overly obsessed, but I feel like it kind of cheapens his relationship with his dad in the finale. Quirin’s arc, as unexplored as it is, felt like it was about accepting his son and being proud of him for who he is. Varian and Quirin are opposites in so many ways and it often felt like Quirin’s major block in being there for Varian was the fact Varian was so different from Quirin and wasn’t an ideal son. Varian can’t stand the sight of blood, he doesn’t seem to be physically very strong, and he’s not a fighter. Quirin was a knight who used a sword and is built like a tank. Varian learning to use a sword feels like him becoming someone he isn’t and more like the ideal son Quirin wanted, which doesn’t feel right to me when the final battle of the series has Quirin proud to march into battle with his son who isn’t there to fight, but build what they believed was the key to banishing the demon who stole their home.

It is also my job as a Varian fan to try to torture this kid as much as possible, and I may write a fic of this, but we always say Varian got life in prison. However… what if he didn’t?

What if during the trial Varian has an audience? What if they’re all watching Varian talk about what the king did and the coverup, and the king, who has always had a hairpin trigger of a temperament when it comes to hurting his daughter, was able to twist the narrative, saying they kept quiet because they didn’t want to cause a panic? What if when Varian shouts that Fredrick knew and more than likely knew years before, the king turns his back on his daughter’s promise?

He chooses to not sentence Varian to life in prison, but four years in a holding cell until he turns 18, and he will be hung for his crimes.

That would explain why Varian was put with Andrew and there wasn’t more consideration for who he was put in with. They didn’t need to care. He was dead in 4 years anyways. They just didn’t account for the fact these two very dangerous and capable individuals both shared a goal, and now that Varian’s on a timer? He has all the more reason to take over a kingdom and wipe away everyone’s memories.

He heard Varian come home and cry alone after being refused help from the princess.

He heard Varian vow to free him and swear revenge on the princess.

He heard the king’s guards drive out his son from his home and try silencing him.

He heard Varian failing to free him with the flower and realizing his son fully committed treason.

He heard Varian experiment on Ruddiger and having to hear his son turn on his only friend.

He heard Varian kidnap the queen and try encasing her in the same amber he’s trapped in.

He heard Varian tell the king that he had to threaten the queen to get Rapunzel here.

He heard Varian fail with Rapunzel’s hair and hear his son finally snap.

He heard Varian lose it with his own automaton and threaten to kill them.

Then it’s quiet and, for the next year, he hears nothing until Varian and Rapunzel finally free him.

“Just give me until my father returns. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

Rapunzel’s promise wasn’t just that she’d help get rid of the rocks when her parents came back. She also promised Varian things would be okay. The help with the rocks was what was mostly focused on, but it’s so much worse when you remember that extra bit tacked on.

When Varian is being dragged away and thrown into the snow, the promise of getting rid of the rocks isn’t the only promise she broke. She wasn’t by his side as he lost his support network and everyone around him. Then the masked men showed up and tried to silence him. Then he was wanted for attacking someone he didn’t attack.

Varian is Rapunzel, who wants to see the world and discover more about themselves (family and his mother for Varian, more about The Sundrop and the Moonstone for Rapunzel). They’re also kind and working with limited information because their father just won’t tell them anything and have to deal with the weight of their past that no matter how much they run from, always comes back to bite them in some way.

Hugo is Eugene, a thief who has ulterior motives and initially wants to betray the main character, but doesn’t in the end and cut ties with his coworkers after falling in love with the main character. They learn to put their past behind them and soften over time, becoming an asset after making a terrible first impression and slowly letting their walls down to become a better person.

Nuru is Cass (without the betrayal), a girl who feels out of place in her position and wants to do something else with her life, but isn’t able to because of her family not wanting her to get hurt. Her skill set is often extremely overlooked as well, and yet she’s integral to the team. She also bickers with the thief nonstop at the start, but slowly gains respect for him overtime.

Yong is Varian, who wants to create but is young and an accident prone mess who doesn’t to know when to stop, learning overtime to be better, more controlled, and more careful. He works to hone his craft and becomes more reliable, turning into someone the others can turn to despite being the youngest of the group who has a tendency to cause explosions wherever he goes.

However, when writing the outline for my Season 2 rewrite with Varian included, I may have written a quote for Adira that was definitely harsh, but... well, I just want to share it because it started as an acknowledgement of fault into this.

Varian and Rapunzel crush an automaton, and the only thing Varian has time to learn about it is that it uses the weird music box as a power source. The only things he’d seen up until that point is it on the outside and it’s power source.

I don’t think Varian had time to examine the automaton after revealing he’s a traitor to Rapunzel, and he more than likely didn’t return to the secret tunnels because of them being a booby trapped maze of certain death that he has no way of knowing how to navigate and also below the likely more guarded castle.

Varian would never have had time to go back and examine the automaton’s inner workings, and yet he managed to make one that came together on its own with a delay BY HIMSELF.

I’m writing an outline for my fic about Varian tagging along in Season Two, and it’s somewhat akin to Alchemist Out of Corona in terms of going episode by episode, though I won’t do the drawings. I had a different setup to get him in the caravan and want to tap into him being a child who’s a war criminal and very much dealing with his trauma in all the worst ways while reconciling with his guilt, but also wanted to have it sorta be a fix-it since if the show refuses to acknowledge how bad Varian was screwed over with the implications of what happened after Queen For A Day, I will.

While writing, I have thus far come across two quotes IN THE SAME SCENE of The Return of Quaid that I know if Varian was there for in canon, he’d probably crash tf out. Both of these are direct quotes I am using in my fic.

Eugene says “Look, I’m all for helping the little guy, but say we fight Weasel when he gets back. We can’t stay here and beat him up forever.”

*cough cough* Varian is little *cough cough*

Rapunzel also says TO THE GROUP “You, of all people, should know that sometimes, all that’s needed to get the best of what’s inside of you, is a little help.”

…RAPUNZEL, THE CHILD FREAKIG ASKED YOU-

This is also the episode she fights against an oppressor who is trying to TAKE THINGS FROM PEOPLE BY FORCE for their own selfish gain.

I adore TTS, but oh my canonical Christ, Varian was mistreated SO BADLY by Rapunzel and the kingdom of Corona and the show barely touches on it. It’s a kids show, I know, but you had an actual secret police trying to stifle a child’s voice and paint him as a terrible villain, but early the next season you condemn that treatment and say yes, people DO need to fight back against tyranny!

Remember, Varian was planning on tearing Corona down because the kingdom turned its back on him. He was trying to free his father first, then tear the kingdom that hurt him and made him suffer apart. He HAD no peaceful solution when word was spreading that he had attacked Rapunzel. He tried being civil. I can only fault him for hurting Ruddiger and the attempted murder, and I have become less sympathetic towards Arianna because she enabled this to go on, but it depends how much she knows about this.

Here’s the link:

Anyways, I’m not here to talk about that. Watch the video yourself and the rest of his stuff for TTS, it’s all really good and he’s hilarious. I’m just here to say that in chat before the premiere started George Washington deemed Varigo canon-

Listen, I don’t make the rules here! I’m just the messenger!

…he also endorses Varian for president.

Rapunzel has just been betrayed by Cass, the way Varian felt Rapunzel turned. Cass leaving gave Rapunzel the perspective needed for her to realize why Varian lost it. She understands his pain.

Varian had to choose between the kingdom or his friends, the same way Rapunzel had to. The situation is a bit different, but the same general premise. If Varian wants to save his home and the people he loves, he must turn his back on who he believes were his friends.

She was 100% correct in not letting Varian stay on that ship. I don’t know if she read the subtext of what he was saying, but “you have to get off the ship. I gotta clean up my own mess” is him basically saying “let me sacrifice myself for this kingdom.”

I’ve seen estimates of the time between Queen For A Day and Quest for Varian ranging from 3 months to 4-5 months. I think there was some rebuilding of Corona’s infrastructure at that time, but did she seriously never checked up on him, even after the demonic art class?

Not to mention the implications of his home being ripped away from him by the masked men, the fact he may have been attacked by the townspeople thanks to Nigel, and the fact that Nigel’s actions would have barred him from legally going near Rapunzel, and you have the perfect storm for someone to commit a ton of treason.

I’m aware of how nuanced the situation is. I know that Rapunzel could never have helped during the blizzard, but after everything is said and done, you seriously aren’t going to check on the 14-year-old whose dad is dying!? Come on, Rapunzel! You made this monster!