Finallymylifebegin - • Nerim •

Hi, it’s me, back at it again with another Varian post

I just…can we talk about this for a second? This is a moment at the end of Ready As I’ll Ever Be that’s very difficult to catch at a glance, but to me, it says a lot. These are all expressions that Varian makes just before the Final Battle- when he’s just finished preparing and is watching the automaton as it’s being lowered into the cellar.

In the first two images, he doesn’t look nearly as sure of himself as he does throughout most of the episode. In the second one, if you look close, you can even see his gaze has drifted to the side as though he’s contemplating something; possibly wondering if all this is really necessary and whether or not he’s actually doing the right thing, here.

But then, by the third one, his resolve hardens. He’s likely reminded himself of his (supposed)motivation to free his father and of the fact that he’s already come too far to change course. And we know what happens from there…

We’ve seen this kind of thing before, though; In the Alchemist Returns, he seems to be second-guessing his actions just before turning on Rapunzel:

It’s already made pretty clear that Varian is neck-deep in denial about who’s really to blame for his father’s condition, but he also appears to be wavering a lot in his resolution for solving the issue. Despite the bravado he uses when confronting the king and Rapunzel - bragging about how they’re “not in a position to demand anything” - any time he really stops to think about what he’s doing, his expression suddenly becomes hesitant and unsure. 

This, to me, reaffirms that the only real motivation he has for his actions is anger. He’s not thinking clearly; the logical side of him is still not completely sold on the course of action he’s choosing, but he’s letting his emotions override it (as distraught teenagers often do). Varian is not all-in with seeking revenge against Corona, but at this point in time, he views it as his only choice. Not because it makes the most sense, just because it satisfies his desire to deflect and refocus his anger on something(or someone) else.

Because where would he turn it on otherwise? Probably, himself.

Man, I just… realizing that Varian is eventually going to have to come face-to-face with his own guilt and accept the blame for everything that’s happened… Varian may be a villain (and I do personally believe he can be referred to as a “villain” at this point), but at the end of the day, he’s still just a grieving kid who’s too afraid to admit that his mistake may have cost his dad his life.

I truly hope he’s able to reconcile his relationship with Rapunzel and save his father. And when he does, I hope it’s his decision to make. 

I really want this boy to make a turn around of his own volition. Because, deep down, he knows that what he’s doing isn’t what he wants to do- what his FATHER would want him to do. And he needs to come to terms with it, and set it right (just as he said he was going to do in Let Me Make You Proud.)

I’m not trying to excuse any of what Varian has done, but this scene definitely had me shouting “OH C’MON!” at the TV screen on his behalf. I know they were just having a “thank goodness everyone is safe” hug, but they’re having that family moment literally mere feet from where Varian is breaking down at the feet of his father’s encased body after his latest failure to save him.

NOT. COOL.

Something went wrong, Varian’s crushing under the weight of his failure, and he’s seeing his friends get their happily ever afters while ignoring him and his plight. If there’s a single scene that can summarize his journey to the dark side, this is it.

I’m getting more and more into digital art. (I’m just using ProCreate for the IPad rn) and I was wondering how you create your blush around the face and fade it around the skin.

Oh! I can show you that, absolutely!!!

FIND MAIN SKIN LAYER

MAKE NEW LAYER ABOVE SKIN LAYER, RIGHT CLICK, MAKE CLIPPING LAYER–

PICK SICK AS HECK ROUNDED TEXTURE BRUSH (that i got from Sam Nielson, who got it from Jason Kim!)

PAINT THAT MAGIC IN (don’t forget the ear tips and elbows!)

SET LAYER STYLE TO MULTIPLY, ADJUST LAYER OPACITY

(don’t forget the hairybabies!)

And that’s the most common way I do blushes! Simple, quick, gives some texture!!!

Max: You see this? This is my 'I don't care' face.

Neil: That's your everyday face.

Out of everything from the Tangled series, this scene is hands down my favorite. It’s such a quiet, thoughtful moment and despite the fact that he never says a word, it tells us a lot about Quirin.

But mostly, it really cements that Quirin undeniably misses his wife and *loves* his son, so, so much. That little chuckle as he looks at Varian’s baby pic is so ‘That’s my boy’ it kills me.

Why do you still like Varian? I mean, I get he’s a kid but he’s not so young that he wouldn’t know that kidnapping is wrong? That you shouldn’t threaten the life of another person? And the way he keeps casting himself as the victim. Would you explain why you still enjoy his character and want his redemption?

This might be my favorite ask ever, as it’s basically an invitation to gab on at length about my love for well-written characters. Gosh, where do I even begin?

The short answer? I love nuance and complexity in characters, and the more characters exist in shades of gray, the better I think they are.

The longer answer…

Varian’s antagonistic, sure, and he’s dabbling in some villainous ways, but evil? Evil, he’s not. You said it yourself, he’s a child. There are adults that can’t go through what he’s experiencing without it going badly, and you’re gonna hold it against a child? I don’t care how intelligent Varian is, he’s still young and developing. He can’t control his emotions yet, and it’s Varian’s emotions - not his logic - that are currently in control. A lot of people seem to be missing that key factor to his motivations.

There’s also the question of intention. Varian is making a lot of bad decisions - none of which I’m excusing - but ultimately he’s doing it to save his father. He claims some of it is for revenge, but that need for revenge comes from his deflected guilt over causing and then failing to prevent his father’s current state. His need for revenge is coming from the pain of being abandoned by literally everyone around him but his raccoon in his greatest time of need. Pain is not evil. Pain is just pain, and it has to be worked through or else it becomes a rot, which is what we’re seeing.

You reference how Varian keeps trying to paint himself as the victim. Yes, because the alternative is him admitting that what happened to his father is potentially all his fault, that through his passion for science he might have murdered his own father, and he just cannot grapple with that emotionally right now because he’s too young to know how. He can’t do it on his own, so he’s deflecting it. That kid needs a blanket and a hug in the most major way, and there’s nobody around to give him that.

Plus, he’s not solely at fault for this chain of events. It doesn’t matter if they’re “the good guys”, Rapunzel and King Frederic share some of the blame. It’s not Rapunzel’s fault that she had to break her promise to Varian when he came looking to her for aid, but she is at fault for never once following up with him. Imagine how differently things might have turned out if, instead of taking a painting class for example, she’d taken a trip out to Old Corona to check up on someone she apparently felt guilt about breaking her promise to. She could’ve given Varian comfort, learned about his father and offered her help, etc. Then there’s the King. By his own admission, he knew the black rocks were destroying the kingdom and he chose to do nothing. Varian messing with the rocks was a direct result of that inaction, him hoping to help people by figuring out a solution. Imagine if the King had addressed the issue instead, and how that might have kept Varian’s experimenting at bay. Then there’s the issue of someone spreading it around that Varian had attacked Rapunzel, a lie that apparently cut him off from the rest of the kingdom so he couldn’t ask for aid from anyone. He couldn’t then just walk up to the castle asking to speak to Rapunzel. His options for action dwindled rapidly, and he got desperate.

So you have a 14-year old boy isolated from the world in the middle of the grieving process. People go to bad places when cut off from others during crisis, and even the best people can wind up making bad decisions. Does any of this mean I agree with Varian? Of course not. I’m not excusing anything he’s done. He made his choices. I simply understand where he’s coming from in making them.

But you also asked about redemption, and why I want him to have it. Varian’s a good person at his core, we’ve seen that, and he deserves a chance to come back from his mistakes. Did Elsa not deserve redemption because in a moment of panic she froze her whole kingdom? If you think about it, she and Varian share similar paths. She lost control over a power she didn’t understand, it endangered and injured loved ones, people treated her like a villain, she refused to “see reason” when Anna tried to get her to return, but inevitably she came back from it and got a happy ending. Varian deserves that same chance, doesn’t he? Plus, basically everyone else is getting their happily ever afters even after making bad choices: Eugene, Cassandra, the Pub Thugs,Rapunzel, King Frederic… The question I put back to you: why do you feel Varian is the only one who doesn’t deserve that same redemption?

I still love Varian because I’m empathetic enough to understand his choices, and a glutton for great characters even if they’re bad guys. Frankly, I’m not sure how anyone can see stuff like this:

…and still refuse to acknowledge that Varian isn’t evil, he’s just in a really dark place. You don’t understand how I can stand by him? Well, I don’t understand how people can be so quick to just write him off. People seem almost eager to hate him, and I don’t get that attitude. Fans took Lance in even as he was actively getting Eugene back into trouble for no good reason. Why is Varian the one getting the brunt of people’s hate for bad choices? Answer me that.

And failing all else, some of Varian’s choices were less an issue of malice and more just him being incredibly smart about maneuvering what few resources he had at his disposal. He didn’t kidnap the Queen to be terrible; he did it because he knew it was exactly the right catalyst he needed to get people moving how he wanted. For me, that kind of craftiness is worth respect, even if I don’t personally agree with it.I’m always here for a master class in strategic genius.

I did not mean for this post to go on this long, but I have many feels about our little alchemist and his current situation, so here we are.

Alchemist’s Log, Entry #103: Weird Rocks “I’ve discovered some strange-looking rocks near the border of the village. They’re black with a metallic sort of shine and unnervingly sharp. They also appear to grow in clusters, like crystals. I’ve never seen anything like them before… But the strangest thing about these rocks is that they just sprouted up out of nowhere! And they haven’t ceased growing yet. Each spike continues to grow, indefinitely.

So far, I haven’t been able to collect any valuable data about these rocks, but I’m going to keep trying. If more spikes like these begin to grow regularly, they could become a big problem for Old Corona.”

Character designs for Zootopia by Cory Loftis 

Little Rapunzel and Pascal via @bobbypontillas on Instagram.

u know he legit built up a freaking phone just to make that one call to rapunzel 

hello yes @little-dream9 is to blame for this she posted it on the tag and i should’ve finished this a lONG time ago but here it is :’-) i love my angry son