Cassarian

"Call me Cassie"

- Cassandra to Varian in "Great Expotations"

Cassarian is the het ship between Varian and Cassandra from the Tangled fandom.

Canon
Cassandra had heard about Varian from whispers about a "wizard" living in old Corona and when she and Rapunzel took it upon themselves to uncover the answers to their questions about the princess's newly returned hair, Cass subjects that they seek Varian's help. When they met Cass is surprised to learn that the said person she heard about is in fact a young teenage boy and an alchemist who doesn't believe in magic.

At the beginning of "Great Expotations", as Cassandra was hanging up a banner of Corona's science exposition, that Varian attends with one of his inventions, he says hello to her while his crush on Cass has him putting some charm into his words, that aren't able to sway Cassandra to them. Since she isn't interested in him and only seen Varian as a kid who can be a bit annoying at times, like Eugene. Along with her asking Varian to not call her "Cassie". When one of the royals guards told Cass that she has a chance of being one for the day and dashes off to see her adoptive father about it, Cass's owl alerts Varian to the undo rope Cassarian was in the middle of tying and races up the ladder to keep the banner from falling down, by retying the rope. After Cass's meeting with her Caption of the Guards father and works to continue her chores, so she can be made a royal guard for the day, Varian asks her if she can be his assistant in the demonstration of his invention, but Cass tells him that she can't and she needs to get all of her long list of chores done as soon as possible. During their conversion the two bond over the shared feeling of wanting to live up to their fathers, knowing where Cassandra is coming from and seeing how importin being a member of the royal guards is to her Varian officers Cassandra his assistant, through the use of his alchemist intentions and formulas to speed things up.

After Cassandra was made a guard, however, her assigned role of acting body guard to Doctor St. Croix prevented her from becoming Varian's assistant. Cass tried to explain it to him and that she is sorry that she can't pay Varian back for his help, even though one his formulas is the reason that a few of the guards have slipped and fall in the aria he used it in, but chose to not tell anyone of that fact to keep Varian from getting into trouble on her behalf. With little choice and short on time, Varian gets the Pub Thug, Shorty, to act as his assistant. Varian's presented invention creates a purple stone element that he calls Cassandrium, in which touches Cassandra as she knew right away that he had named it after her. Corona's visiting judge, however, wasn't impressed by it due to the lack of showmanship in displaying it and after Shorty's drunken-like actions had nearly gotten Croix hurt, if it wasn't for Cassandra's quick reflexes, he disqualifies Varian. Seeing that he is upset on the matter, Cassandra goes over to him at the fountain so she can cheer him up. Even Cassandra is able to make Varian smile and tells him that he would have been the winner, Croix ignoring Varian's warning to be careful with his invention led to it being merged with the winning invention in which caused a chaotic even. Knowing that it needs to be stopped before it could cause a much more greater damage to Corona, Varian explains that he knows what is causing it to act that way and how he can stop it, knowing that he can't do it alone Cassandra offers to help him as his assistant. In which delights Varian, and they were able to save the kingdom.

Once the dust settled Cassandra picks up the dropped first place ribbon, while Varian picks up the Cassandrium and attaches it to a purple beaded necklace. Because of Varian's heroic actions and knowledge of alchemy, she gives the ribbon to him as he has rightfully desires it, and since Varian wants to thank Cassandra for helping him he gives her the Cassandrium necklace that brings a smile to Cass's face and after he says her name she asks Varian to call her "Cassie". Hearing his crush asking Varian to call her by the nickname he earlier gave Cassandra also brought a smile to his face. Shortly after Rapunzel joins the two, Varian mentions the black rocks that have appeared in his village, and because both girls what of the rocks he is talking about they include him in their task of finding out what they are and how they are connected to Rapunzel's new hair.

At the end of "Queen of a Day", however, any feelings Varian has for Cassandra were replaced by hatred once he saw Quirin sealed in amber and blamed Corona for turning their back on him and his father. Since Cassandra is loyal to the kingdom and wants to be a royal guard, she doesn't let her now past friendship with Varian stop her from doing what is right. The same with Varian as he didn't let his past feelings for Cassandra stop him from trying to hurt her. Sometime after Varian was defeated and placed in prison, while Cassandra joins Rapunzel on her journey beyond Corona, Varian had time to reflect on his hate filled actions and wants to take them back, Cassandra on the other hand had began to feel the effects of her long held feels of envy get the better of her. Just has Varian had let his feels of anger and hate get the better of him. In which led to her becoming the antagonist of season three, at the end of season two, while Varian was able to redeem himself at the beginning of the third season; but he did heard what had happened to Cassandra.

Sometime before Cassandra finally returns to Corona in "Cassandra's Revenge", Varian was entrusted with the resembled Demanitus Scroll and after months of stationing it he was able to uncover the incantation that unlocks the moonstone's power. While Varian was at first happy to see Cassandra again for a brief moment, despite knowing what has happened to her and is now dangerous, he knew what would happen once she gets a hold of the translation key and destroys his wall scribbles to make the scroll useless to her, but as he told her that she'll never get know that said incantation he accidently slipped out the fact that he remembers it clearly. Cass smirks as she tells him that she is taking him as well. Rapunzel and their friends tried to stop Cassandra from doing so, but she had set events that kept them "busy" and once the dust cleared they learn that Cassandra wasn't only successful in obtaining the scroll but had also kidnapped Varian in order to translate the incantation she seeks. Cassandra had even grabbed a bag that contains a few of Varian's alchemic formulas and while he was unconscious she took advantage of his open mouth so she could give him a dose of his own truth serum, as she knew that he would refuse to translate the scroll for her. Varian wasn't aware of this until he regained consciousness and told her a lie before the serum made him tell the truth, the young alchemist tried his best to not give Cassandra the incantation that will grant her the full power of the Moonstone, but he couldn't fight off the strong effects of the truth serum and gave Cass what she wanted to know.

Varian watched in horror as Cassandra uses the incantation to build her new dark tower. Once it was completed and had created black rock made cuffs that Cassandra places on Varian's wrists, before she takes him to the top of it, he hears her talking to someone that he couldn't see or hear and became curious. After they reached the top Cassandra removes the cuffs as she tells him that dragging him into her affairs with Rapunzel isn't personal, and is only using him to lure the princess to her. The young alchemist remembers the mistakes he made when his anger got the better of him and didn't want to see Cassandra putting herself through the same thing, but as he tries to reach out to her Cassandra refused to hear Varian out and placed him in a black rock made cage; to keep him from escaping or helping Rapunzel once she comes for him. At some point Varian had drifted off to sleep in his cage, that is now on a black rock-like beam that stretches out of the tower, the Enchanted Girl could see that Varian wishes to save Cassandra and how he is a bright young man who can read the scroll, she takes advantage of his concerns for Cass in order to trick him into uncovering the hidden incantation that works with the Sun-Drop. Cassandra had brought Varian back into the tower to make Rapunzel fight her, but once she saw Eugene with Varian she used him instead. To save his friends from Cass Varian gives Rapunzel the fourth the fourth incantation that helps her to defeat Cass, who was shock at the knowledge of unknown incantation. While the Moonstone opal was cracked and a small chipped shard fell out of it, along with the Enchanted Girl gaining a physical form from their girl's magical battle, Varian was saved and spent the rest of the day with the friends who came for him.

Because of what happened has everyone began to view Cassandra as a villain who is waiting to unleash her wrath upon them, Varian creates a bazooka-like weapon that is able shoot a weaponized amber crystal, that is similar to the very amber that Quirin was trapped in and Varian had used to stop Cassandra's red rock. So Varian and his friends will be able to fight and trap Cass with. Varian creates the weapon with Eugene's help and after they showed it to Rapunzel they agreed to use "Project Obsidian" as a last resort. While on Cassandra's end she learns that her so called friend is Zhan Tiri and how she has been using her, Cass fled back to the kingdom to make amends, but her resent actions towards Corona forces her use a magical cloak to disguise herself. To make sure that Cassandra doesn't reconnect with Varian or any of her former friends, Zhan Tiri takes the cloak away so Cassandra would be revealed to the whole kingdom and once Varian and Eugene arrive with Project Obsidian that Varian points at Cass before Rapunzel tells him to stand down. Seeing that Varian wasn't going to use it in the next few seconds, as Varian stands aside to see if Rapunzel can reason with their friend, Zhan Tiri sneaks up behind Varian and activates the weapon without his knowledge as it fires a blast of amber at Cassandra, as it encases her in it. Unlike the amber that Varian's father was trapped in, however, Cassandra was able to break herself free from it and because she believes that Varian had fired it on purpose, while he is made to think that his creation had malfunctioned, Cassandra snaps as she decides to become the bad guy everyone thinks that Cassandra is before she unleashes an attack that has her taking over the kingdom. While Varian fled with the rest of its civilians.

Moments
Plus Est En Vous
 * Cassandra's new look at the end of the episode has her wearing the very necklace that Varian gave her in "Great Expotations".

Quotes
Great Expotations "Call me Cassie"

- Cassandra to Varian

Secret of the Sun Drop "Helleo Cassandra. I always knew I could sweep you off your feet!"

- Varian to Cassandra, after he grabs her with one of his giant robot's arms

Song
Nothing Left to Lose | Jeremy Jordan and Eden Espinosa

Love With Pride | Eden Espinosa and Jeremy Jordan

Fanon
Shortly after "Great Expotations" aired Cassarian became a well liked het ship within the Disney Tangled fandom, despite the age difference gap between them. Which is why some fans age-bend (which is a bit like genderbending) Varian's age to make him older and more around Cassandra's age for the ship. There have even been a few fans who feature the two having a sister and brother-like relationship. The romantic side of the ship has Cassandra treasuring the necklace Varian gave her, since the small purple element he made and attached to it, Cassandrium is named after her.

After Varian became a villain in the second half of season one, a few fans feature Cass being devastated of the dark path he took in their fanfic and art. While a few non-villain Varian fanart and fics have him accompanying Cassandra and the others on Rapunzel's journey in season two. This would have Varian be temporally turned into a bird with Cass and the others, helps Cass fight the battles she faced in the second season and be there when Cassandra's hand was gravely hurt by the decay incantation. At the end of season two, Cassandra became the main antagonist of season three, while Varian was able to redeem himself at the beginning of the third season. This has inspired a few fans to feature (season three) Varian trying to help an antagonist Cassandra, before she permanently destroys herself.

Long before Cassandra merged herself with the Moonstone opal in "Destinies Collide", and sometime after "The Quest for Varian" reveals that the mysterious black rocks originate from a drop of moonlight, just as the magical golden flower came from a drop of sunlight, fans had began to theorize that Varian might end up being the human host of the moon drop's power. This fan theory has given Varian the fan nickname of "Moon Varian", which is also the name of the popular fan theory within the Tangled fandom. While "Destinies Collide" disproved this theory, the idea that began in season one of the Tangled TV series is still well liked among fans of the series; which is why it is sometimes featured in the ship. Along within the fanon side of the Tangled fandom. With Moonstone Cassandra (better known as Moonsandra) and Villain Varian teaming up as a villain duo, Cass giving Varian some of her newly gained destructive powers, or has an non-villain or redeemed Varian trying to reason with Cass to not go down the same path that his own rage led him down, like he tried to do in "Cassandra's Revenge". Despite Cassandra clamming in their duet that she and Varian aren't the same, a few of her actions towards Rapunzel and her loved ones weren't too different and were in their own way a bit similar to Varian's villain actions from "Secret of the Sun Drop". While fans who see "Nothing Left to Lose" as a Cassarian song had inspired them to draw their shared scenes from it.

Even though the events that happened in the "Secret of the Sun Drop" indicts that the young alchemist may no longer have any romantic feelings for Cassandra, while it is also unclear if Cassandra dose wish for him to be her friend again, Varian did at first look happy to see Cass when she came for the scroll in "Cassandra's Revenge", along it being a common trope for villains to manipulating a hero by exploiting their feelings toward someone they care about, which is what the Enchanted Girl (Zhan Tiri) had done when she used Varian's concern for Cassandra to reach the next few steps of her main goal. It hints at the possibility that Varian may still have feelings for Cassandra or still cares about her in some way, and there was a brief moment where Varian's words might have gotten through to Cassandra and was beginning to resent what she is doing until the thought of Rapunzel causes her push those regretting thoughts out of her mind.

After the series finale, a few Cassarian fans began to make fanwork that features Cassandra and Varian saying goodbye to one another as friends before she leaves on her self discovery journey. Along with having the two repair their friendship and the feelings Varian has for Cass when she returns to Corona years later, where she discovers that her friend has grown into a fine young man.

On AO3, the ship has over 114 fanfics in total. 79 about the romantic side of the ship and 35 on the friendship side of it, while fanfiction.net has 47 with only 13 placed under pairing.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Cassandra/Varian tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Cassandra/Varian tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Cassandra/Varian tag on FanFiction.Net

DEVIANTART

TUMBLR

Variations

 * Cassunzerian refers to the ship between Cassandra, Varian and Rapunzel