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aj-illustrated · 4 years

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what’s this is it a one-shot born from my love of Varian’s redesigns

Fic below the cut!

It was his dad’s idea to get him the goggles.

Varian couldn’t remember how old he was when he first took up alchemy, but he remembered his first major explosion like it was yesterday. Setting the garden shed on fire at the tender age of four had to be some kind of record.

His dad was positively livid, and once the fire had been put out and Varian was checked over for injuries, he was stuck with his nose in the corner for what felt like hours. Of course, that didn’t stop him from plunging headfirst back into alchemy the minute his father’s back was turned, and it was only a matter of time before Varian was once again in time out.

Eventually, Dad realized that the time outs weren’t working and Varian was going to keep mixing chemicals regardless of how much trouble it got him into. So on Varian’s fifth birthday, instead of a new toy, Dad had gone into town and purchased a brand new pair of brass-lined goggles.

“There,” Dad had said, strapping the goggles around his son’s head. “Now you can do your experiments safely.”

“Like a real alchemist?” Varian had asked in earnest, grinning so broadly that he thought his face might split.

Dad smiled. “Like a real alchemist.”

******************

It was Xavier’s idea to get him the apron.

Ever since he was little, he’d been using the small kitchen apron his father had made for him years before. But by the time he was eleven, the apron was frayed and scorched in certain places where he had spilled some of his more volatile substances– not to mention, it was so small that the strings could barely tie together and the front fell just above his knees. Something would have to be done about that.

Over the years, Varian had gradually taken on the responsibility of the household mending. Between him and his father, there was an abundance of shirts to be patched and socks to be darned, and Dad was… admittedly not super great at it. Luckily for Varian, sewing came naturally to him, and he didn’t mind the chore so much as he wished he could get it done faster.

Initially, he’d only gone into town to pick up some extra fabric to adjust the length of his apron and maybe get some extra thread, but as always, the temptation to wander inside Xavier’s forge overcame him. Something about the smell of coal dust and molten iron drew him in like a moth to a flame, and no matter how he tried, he could never bring himself to look away from the sight of Xavier pounding a slab of metal into an actual working tool. As far as Varian was concerned, this was as close as the world was going to get to real magic.

Evidently, it seemed like Varian stood staring for too long that day. Xavier turned from his anvil to face the boy, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Like what you see, eh?” he asked playfully, a smile curling at the corner of his lips. “Why don’t you take a closer look?”

Varian’s feet seemed to gain a mind of their own, because before he knew it, he was standing at the edge of the anvil, eyes fixated on the gleaming hunk of iron before him. It was like staring into the sun, the glow was so bright, but Varian couldn’t tear himself away.

“So, young alchemist…” Xavier drawled, glancing down at the enraptured boy. “What brings you to the capital this fine day?”

Varian finally looked up from the anvil. “Just picking up some new fabric. My, uh… my apron needs some repairs.”

“Does it now?” asked the man playfully. “I might know of something that could suit your purposes.”

Xavier ducked into the back room, and in a moment returned with a folded length of brown cloth. “Recently, I bought some leather for the tailor to fashion me a new pair of gloves. But it seems as if I bought too much,” he said, offering the cloth to Varian. “Leather is a fire-resistant material, and your father has told me of some of your… eh… close calls. Perhaps you could find some use for this.”

Varian took the cloth with wide eyes, nodding and murmuring a thank-you. By the same time next week, he’d completed the last stitch of his new, fireproof apron. It was a bit big (Varian hadn’t wanted to waste any of the precious leather), but he still had plenty of time to grow into it.

Oh well, back to work. Those pesky raccoons were eating away the apple harvest again...

******************

It was Andrew’s idea to get him the coat.

“You have to show these filthy Coronans who’s boss,” he’d said, not long after the coup had taken place. “And no offense, kid, but you’re kind of a runt. You’ve got to do something to make yourself look more intimidating.”

Varian hated to admit it (and he hated it more to hear it said out loud), but Andrew had a point. He was barely five foot two, and though he was hoping for another growth spurt, it didn’t seem to be coming any time soon. The coat in question was stolen off a rich noble, a glossy red-and-black leather that was a size too big, but it certainly did the job of making Varian seem larger than he actually was.

The slick black boots followed soon after, and so did the fanged bandana. With every new addition, Varian got more and more used to his new identity. He wasn’t just Varian the alchemist, Varian the screw-up – he was Varian the Saporian, and he was going to use his newfound alliance to make everything right… no matter how wrong it felt.

******************

It was Eugene’s idea to get him the suit.

It had only been a few weeks since they had taken down the Saporians and freed his father, so Varian didn’t fully expect for things to feel normal just yet. He was thrilled to have Dad back, of course, and Rapunzel commissioning him to help rebuild Old Corona had kept him busy– designing blueprints and schematics might be second nature to him at this point, but it was certainly a step up to redesign an entire village.

When he wasn’t actively involved with a royal project, though, he was ignored or brushed off by pretty much everyone but the princess herself. That was... fine. To be perfectly honest, Varian didn’t expect anyone to start trusting him right away. Or ever again. Varian didn’t even trust himself after everything he’d done. So when Eugene had glanced him over and judged that he was in need of a new wardrobe, saying Varian was shocked would be an understatement.

At the moment, Varian stood alone in one of the palace dressing rooms, buttoning the vest of the freshly tailored suit of clothes Eugene had insisted be made for him.

“Believe me, Goggles, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the suit makes the man,” he’d said with a grin, gently pushing Varian inside the dressing room. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re pretty amazing as-is, but I’m thinking you could use an update. Starting with some clothes that actually fit.”

Eugene– or rather, Flynn Rider– had been Varian’s hero ever since he was old enough to pick up a book. Even when they were technically enemies, Varian couldn’t help but admire Eugene’s strength and ingenuity. He was everything Varian wished he could be, right down to the forgiven criminal record and flawless facial hair (which may or may not have served as the inspiration for Varian’s drawn-on goatee).

Varian glanced himself over in the mirror, straightening up a bit. He looked… older. Mature.

He took a deep breath, chancing one more look in the mirror; something seemed like it was missing. Glancing over towards the pile of his old things, a glint of glass and metal caught his eye. With a smile, Varian slipped on his goggles– the ones his dad had given him so many years before.

Perfect.

******************

It was Varian’s idea to get the second hairstripe.

Being the Royal Engineer had its perks, sure, but spending every day solving other people’s problems had long since grown tedious, and Varian couldn’t deny that a part of him yearned for something... more. More what, he wasn’t sure yet, but he was hoping that these “seven trials” his mother had spoken of her in her old journal would give him that answer.

That is, if he ever convinced Dad to let him seek them out.

Varian had gotten his work at the castle done early that day, and when he arrived back home in Old Corona, Dad was still working in the fields and would be until sunset, which was hours away. Hopefully, Varian wouldn’t lose his nerve before then.

It wasn’t long before boredom overtook him; he’d read all his books, and he’d left all his projects for the kingdom back at the palace. He had practically memorized his mother’s journal at this point, and as of late, it was the only thing that seemed to capture his interest for longer than thirty minutes.

Varian sighed, pressing his back against the wall and glancing over to the mirror hung on the wall across from him. His eyes wandered up to the streak of turquoise in his bangs and he absentmindedly tugged on the lock of hair; Dad said that Mom was experimenting with different formulas for shampoo and had tested one of them on an infant Varian. According to Dad, while the formula had gotten his hair clean, it also permanently stained the roots blue– which in retrospect was pretty funny, though Varian could only imagine Dad’s reaction when he saw the results of his wife’s experiment.

The longer Varian dwelled on the streak, the more the idea of dying his hair began to appeal to him; if Mom could do it, why couldn’t he? It wasn’t difficult to color hair... he just needed a bit of hydrogen peroxide and some sort of colorant...

Dad came in from the fields a few hours later, and by that time, the washroom basin was smeared with homemade hair dye and so were Varian’s gloves. A second, slightly brighter streak of blue adorned Varian’s hair, still wet from application.

Looking back, dying his hair probably wasn’t the smartest decision Varian could have made to convince his dad that he was responsible enough to venture out into the Seven Kingdoms on his own. Then again, at least he didn’t try to pierce his belly button (an argument Dad did not appreciate).

Luckily, Dad wasn't nearly as upset about it as he could have been (he was more concerned with the state of the washroom), and by the time Varian found it in himself to bring up the idea of him leaving home, Dad... wasn’t actively opposed to it.

“I’m not going to say I love the thought of you traveling on your own,” Dad explained wearily as he helped load a bag of supplies onto Prometheus’s back. “But you’ve more than proved that you can take care of yourself. Just... stay safe. And when you feel ready, come home.”

Varian nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat. “I... I’ll write to you as often as I can,” he said as he mounted the donkey, reins in hand. “I promise.”

Dad smiled down at him, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I can’t wait to hear about all your adventures,” he replied softly. “I love you, son.”

“...I love you too, Dad.”

With a flick of the reins, Varian was heading down the path leading past the Corona walls, the early morning sun shining like a beacon into the beyond.

#varian #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #varian fanfic #tangled fanfiction #AJ writes #one shot #if necessity is the mother of invention then boredom must be the father #and late-night impulse the weird uncle

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classpect-musings · 6 years

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Could you analyze a bard of time? (I love your blog so much!!)

Sure thing! (And thank you, I’m glad you enjoy it! c:)

Classpect Analysis: Bard of Time

Active or Passive: Passive

What they do: Bards allow the destruction of their aspect or allow destruction through their aspect. Time is the aspect of endings/inevitability, repetitiveness/rhythm, mechanisms, timelines (and literal time), and death/mortality.

Active equivalent: Prince of Time

Inverse: Maid of Space (Porrim Maryam)

A Bard of Time would start off acting like a Space player. Space often represents watching as opposed to acting, and Bards are pretty passive players (at least at the start), so the Bard of Time would be very chill and calm. They might be the type to space out frequently, lost in their creative thoughts. Maybe they act like a hippie artist, always relaxed and at ease as they make their creations. I could definitely see this Bard being the type to make and wear DIY baggy rainbow tie-dye T-Shirts. And speaking of DIYs, upcycling is definitely up this Bard’s alley too! They reduce, reuse, and recycle like no one else’s business, taking supposed trash and turning it into their latest creative endeavor.

Space is the aspect of femininity, so the Bard of Time might be interested in fashion– adding in to their DIY, tree-hugging type style, there might be some kind of influence in their wardrobe from the 70s. They also might be the type to dote on their friends in a motherly sort of way. They keep a bunch of low-maintenance plants around their house, too, because they want to be able to support as many as they can. Maybe they grow tea leaves, drink the tea, and then try to read their future. This Bard might also have a lot of frogs in their vicinity.

The Bard of Time currently lacks or avoids their aspect, Time. They might upcycle things again and again, still believing that they can use it for another purpose or creation. They’re reluctant to let go of things or suddenly act out, and as a result they tend to procrastinate on important things. Combining this with their passive nature, this makes the Bard of Time seem very careless. (And because they tend to put off or forget to do things, this could lead to these things gradually being destroyed through Time.) Time can also represent repetitivity/monotony, so they strive to always create something new and interesting in order to avoid falling into a pattern. And, with Time representing endings/death, they surround themself with Space in order to block out the death and destruction happening in the real world. They like to believe that there is still some light even amongst all the darkness. This Bard hates to think about death and likely wastes a lot of their time on silly recycling projects or whatever else is on their mind that day.

So, your typical Bard of Time would be a recycling, tea-leaf-reading hippie living in a giant atrium with paintings and plants, basically thriving in a setting akin to a fever dream. Super nonthreatening…that is, until they go through a sudden change.

Bards do start out acting like players of the opposite aspect, but once they have a sort of aspect-related collapse in their life, they actively pursue their aspect, trying to take in as much as possible. The Bard of Time’s collapse definitely won’t end well, considering how the aspect of Time is. Because they enter SBURB (or any other version they’re in), they have to realize that the world will end, and the universe they are so used to will be completely obliterated. That would definitely shatter their tree-hugging hippie nature. On a smaller scale, though, the Bard of Time might witness the death of a family member or a close friend, or even the destruction of their precious artwork. This destruction could perhaps be caused by their own negligence, as in, their passive attitude. Time would suddenly rush into their life, forcing the Bard to realize that the end is inevitable. They can’t avoid it forever.

You might be thinking that this Bard’s sudden character development change could be detrimental to the whole session, and that’s certainly true, since Bards are usually a wildcard in their session capable of saving or destroying it. However, if the Bard of Time does not go through this collapse, they might be just as bad (or worse!) off. Due to their procrastinating and laid-back nature, it’s likely that they wouldn’t bother with the upkeep of timelines. This could easily lead to everything spiraling into disaster. Their so-called ‘screwing around’ with the timelines could end up creating paradoxes and lots of doomed timelines too. And there’s no telling how successful they’d be at initiating the Scratch, either (though maybe that would be a little easier for this Bard, considering how it is a way to allow the destruction of that timeline by creating a reset of the session). Also, this Bard’s natural tendency to avoid death will also prevent them from facing Time. It is only through a major catastrophe in their life that they can learn to face their aspect.

But anyway, once the Bard of Time has their collapse moment, they’ll start to experience Time in great measures. They will become a much more active and outspoken person, plunging headfirst into all the destruction they witness. Nihilism? Absolutely! They’d stare death right in the face and say, “You know what, I don’t even care anymore.” This would probably result in a lot of timeline hopping too, which, like I said before, could end up being very fatal, but it’s important that the Bard experiences Time. They might even start to destroy all their art and purge their home of any of the recycled creations they have, finally learning to let go. They might keep some clocks around in order to make sure they are always on time. They might also pick up playing an instrument, since they don’t seem to have as much faith in their artwork at this point.

The Bard eventually creates a sort of balance by destroying their aspect, intuitively learning “how much is too much?” They have learned when to lay back and when to act. They’d be able to allow destruction through Time. This could involve them destroying through the literal timing of events. They’d be able to use their time travel to go forward and do something, like, “Here, let me put this banana peel right by the cliff!” And then, at just the right time, an enemy would slip over it and fall to their death. That’s more of a specific example, but in truth, this idea of destruction through timing can have a variety of applications. If the Bard were more evil, they could use this against their own team by making all the wrong things happen at the wrong times. Even the most clever and well-thought out plans would stand little to no chance against the Bard, who uses their time travel to cause the destruction when you least expect it. Destruction through Time could also involve the gradual decay of any object or, horrifyingly enough, a person. So they could do some subtle damage over the course of the battle with the Black King, gradually chipping away at his strength in a way that goes unnoticed but does a significant amount of harm. Another way this Bard could destroy through their aspect is through themself, or their own Time. So they might be able to summon a bunch of their selves from alternate timelines in order to gang up on someone. Considering their ability to decay timelines, though, it would probably be pretty chaotic. Time also has some relation to music and sound so maybe the Bard of Time can destroy through those in some way? So, to combine all these, the Bard of Time appears at just the right times on the battlefield, using it strategically thanks to the direction of a Seer, and starts strumming an electric guitar. The Black King just thinks it’s annoying, but eventually he raises a hand to his ears and finds that they’re bleeding. He is significantly weakened and can no longer hear, allowing players to have better success with attacking him. Cool, right?

Bards also allow the destruction of their aspect, so the Bard of Time allows timelines to gradually decay. Unlike a Prince, whose powers are powerful and difficult to control, a Bard might be able to direct this gradual enervation towards certain timelines. So it’s a great power if they have someone to advise them on what to do, especially a Seer, but it could go downhill real fast. Destroying Time can also prevent the future from happening, essentially, so this Bard might be able to decay Time until everything is stuck in some kind of loop or even a timeless bubble. The Bard might also be able to destroy their own Time, so they’d be much faster, more agile, and have a decreased reaction time. A Prince of Time would be able to use this in an extremely powerful way for offense, but I see the Bard of Time using this ability in a more passive way. (Maybe picture that scene from X-Men: Apocalypse in which Quicksilver runs around, moving stuff this way and that before it has a chance to affect anyone.) Destroying Time in an enemy could shorten their Time, as in shortening their lifespan. In a more literal sense, the Bard of Time could destroy clocks and music or musical instruments.

As for a land for the Bard of Time, I suggest the Land of Pottery and Tremors. LOPAT is a swamp land with lots of clay embedded naturally in the rivers. The consorts here are all very shy and often stay hidden in the beautiful vases that they have created and painted. They tend to not act on their impulses, resulting in a world with little change. However, a strange noise is starting to beat throughout the ground, shattering some of the pottery with the tremors. It comes from a series of clocks that the denizen has created in order to force the consorts from their homes. They tick constantly, and every hour, a bell sounds, causing the ground to shake. Depending on the hour of the day, they do more or less damage (one toll of the bell vs twelve). The Bard of Time must learn how to stop or destroy the clocks in order to prevent all the pottery from being destroyed, but they also must make sure that some mechanism stays in place that gradually destroys some of the pottery at times so that the consorts aren’t always hidden away.

We don’t know much about the weapons for Bards apart from Gamzee’s clubs. As for Time players, we have seen a variety of weapons (sword, whip, needles?). Since a Bard of Time would start out acting like a Space player, they might have a Space-based weapon, something big and flashy, like maybe art supplies or a giant shovel for their gardening. Once they suffer their collapse, they might start to use a Time-based weapon. As for a cool powerful weapon, Crowbar from the Felt has a crowbar (wow, who would’ve guessed?) capable of destroying any kind of temporal artifact, so maybe the Bard has something similar.

Overall, the Bard of Time is an interesting classpect capable of some pretty cool abilities, as long as they don’t completely screw over their session. Thanks for reading!

#bard of time #bard class #time aspect #classpect #classpect analysis #godtier #godtier analysis #hs #homestuck

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