Cassunzerian

Cassunzerian is the poly ship between Rapunzel and Cassandra from the Tangled fandom.

Canon
Because of Rapunzel and Cassandra's breaking the rule actions had caused Rapunzel's hair to grow back and Cassandra didn't want to get in trouble for it, once they learn that it was her idea to crossover Corona's border wall, along with Rapunzel having nightmares about the black rocks that are possibly the cause of it, the two girls decided to take it upon themselves to discover why Rapunzel's hair has grown back by seeking out the help of a wizard that Cassandra has heard about. When the two arrived in Old Corona and first saw Varian in a dark room, which made him look terrifying to them, they were surprised to learn that Varian wasn't a wizard but a fourteen year old alchemist who doesn't believe in magic. While Cassandra was tempted to turn around once she began to believe that he may not be able to help them after all, Rapunzel chose to give Varian a chance since his alchemy might be able to help them and Varian was interested by their request. It wasn't everyday when the princess and her handmaiden would ask Varian for his alchemic assistance. Cassandra observes Varian as he looks at Rapunzel's hair and learn that Rapunzel can no longer use the healing incantation, before Varian shows the girls one of his inventions that would run a few tests on Rapunzel's hair. Cassandra didn't like the looks of it or the idea of Rapunzel stamped to it, while the answer seeking princess placed herself in it with hopes that Varian's invention would give them those answers. Sometime after Eugene joins them, another one of Varian's well-meaning inventions had began to cause chaos to Old Corona before Varian had a chance to stop it from happening. Cassandra had manged to save Varian, which sparked the young alchemist to develop a crush on Cass, while Rapunzel ends up losing the facts that Varian's invention had on her hair. As the girls and Eugene began to make their way back to the castle, the black rocks, that chased them on the night Rapunzel's hair grew back, had began to appear make their way to Varian's village.

Sometime after the rocks began to appear in Old Corona, Varian journeys to the kingdom of Corona so he can enter one of his inventions in its science exposition. He first sees Cassandra as she is putting up the banner of kingdom's event before she gets called away and after Varian reties the banner when its note came undone, Rapunzel approaches him when she tried to show Cass one of the exposition's inventions she wanted her friend to see. Despite what had happened in Old Corona, Rapunzel is happy to see Varian again, just as he is happy to see both girls again. While Rapunzel looks at the exposition's other inventions, in which inspires her to enter it with her own invention, Varian helps Cassandra with her handmaiden duties so she can be made a guard for the day to which Varian explains to Rapunzel when she caught him with the castle's laundry. Just as Rapunzel wanted to take part in the exposition with her own invention for fun, Varian had asked Cassandra to be his assistant for when he displays his since it needs two people, but shortly after Cassandra was made a temporally royal guard she was assigned to serve as the judge's bodyguard. In which allows Cassandra to see both of Rapunzel and Varian's inventions, that did not win since Doctor St. Croix was more interested in showmanship than what the inventions themselves can do. When both Varian and Fernanda Pizazzo's inventions merged together and began to casus chaos, Rapunzel uses hers to help Varian and Cassandra stop it before anymore more chaos from its destroys the exposition's ground. After Varian and Cassandra exchange rewarding and thank you gifts, he tells both girls about the black rocks in Old Corona before the three travel back to the village in order to see them for their selves. As Rapunzel gets close to them the rocks began to glow to which gets Varian to note that she and they are somehow connected. Because of the King's orders Cassandra watches Rapunzel and Varian as they agree to keep their work on the rocks a secret.

In the events of "Queen for a Day", Cassandra helps Rapunzel with her acting queen duties while Varian tries to rid his village of the black rocks when they began to threat the people and the village itself. Varian had informed Rapunzel of his Old Corona's problem and promises to help him when she could, but in the end Varian decided to take matters in his own hand and had accidently placed his father in danger. While Varian make his way back to the castle, Rapunzel and Cassandra were having a snow day of fun until they get hit by a blizzard. Because of the state of emergency either Rapunzel or Cassandra were able to help Varian, as he was later sent out of the castle while the girls went in search for the ancient device that stopped a snow storm just like it. Even though both Rapunzel and Cassandra were able to save Corona, turning their backs on Varian while his father gets encased in crystal amber the young alchemist began to hate them and the rest of Corona for not helping him.

Varian kept his hatred for the girls a secret while making them think that they are still friends until Varian made his anger known. Which later led to his attack on Corona in "Secret of the Sun Drop", as Rapunzel and Cassandra fight the Automaton Varian had sent to attack them as a taste of what there is to come, before he sends a mutualized Ruddiger to serve as a distraction to keep the girls and their friends buzzy while he kidnaps the queen. In their plan to save Arianna, Cassandra leads the assault on Old Corona and battles Varian's automaton army while Rapunzel confronts their former friend. Varian had planed to use Rapunzel's hair to free his father, but that failed he attacks them and takes Cassandra hostage to hurt Rapunzel. Who was able to use her connection with the black rocks to save Cass and defeat Varian. After Varian was send to prison, Rapunzel, Cassandra and their friends set themselves out on a journey beyond Corona.

As the girls and their friends learned a bit more about the black rocks and the moonstone opal that created it, along with Rapunzel learning a second incaution that injures Cassandra's hand, their friendship slowly began to fall apart. While Varian had time to reflect on his actions as he began to regret them, along with wanting to be friends with Rapunzel and Cassandra again. Before Rapunzel returns to Corona, Varian had joined the Separatists of Saporia so he can help the group take over the kingdom while he works on a formula that would allow him to erase everyone's memories so he could befriend Rapunzel and Cass again, without worry of his past actions towards them. On the girls' end, however, there have been a few events that tests Rapunzel and Cassandra's bond with one another and when Rapunzel was stranded on an island she had a terrible vision about Varian before Cass helps her to destroy the item that caused it. Before the two had reached the Dark Kingdom, Cassandra had learned that she is Mother Gothel's daughter and how her own mother abounded her for Rapunzel. The mysterious Ghost Girl who gets Cass to remember that cruel moment tells her to take the Moonstone Opal for herself, before Rapunzel can reunite the opal with the Sun-Drop. Making Cassandra the second person to betray Rapunzel, like Varian had done to them.

After Cassandra fled from the Dark Kingdom as Rapunzel's new enemy, the princess learns that Corona is in trouble and needs her to return. With the pain of Cassandra's resent actions towards Rapunzel still fresh in her mind and wounded heart, seeing Varian with Andrew and rest of the Separatists of Saporia was a painful reminder. Since Varian was the first friend to betray Rapunzel, due to the resentment he held towards the princess and those who are close to her. It is the similar kind of hatred that Cassandra now has towards Rapunzel and those she has cut ties with. As Rapunzel sneaks around the conquered castle for Varian, she comes across Cassandra's room before she begins to cry into Cass's handmaiden dress, the princess's thoughts on her former friend is what allowed Varian's new friends to find and capture her. Once Rapunzel was locked in the dungeon Varian goes to see her so he could tell the princess that the pain he felt from Rapunzel failing to keep her promises to him are the reason this has happened, and while he now regrets what he had done to her, Cass and everyone else in Corona he wants to repent. By starting over once he erases everyone's minds of his crimes, but once he learns that the Saporians aren't going to keep to their deal of not hurting anyone Varian knew that he has made a mistake and tries to stop them. When his attempt failed and gets locked up with Rapunzel, who sees the pain and guilt of what he has done, she tells him that she has recently felt the same kind of betrayal that he had been feeling and even though she doesn't tell him that it was due to Cassandra, she knows that Varian trying to stand up to Andrew has shown that there is still good in him. As the two repaired their broken friendship the right way.

Shortly after Varian helps Rapunzel stop Separatists of Saporia and reclaim the kingdom from, she decides to finally fulfil her promise to Varian by using the incantation she had learned beside Cassandra on their shared journey. Despite knowing the dangers of the Decay Incantation and how one of Cassandra's arms payed the prise when she tries to snap her out of the trance it places her in, Rapunzel didn't want the same to happen to either Varian or his father. After Rapunzel explains how she is going to free Quirin she needs Varian to be the one to bring her back to her scenes before either of them gets hurt, as she hands him a bucket of water to assist him. Knowing what Rapunzel is asking of him, Varian promise the princess that she can count on him, but when the water failed to snap Rapunzel out of the trance Varian grabs Rapunzel in an attempt to shack her out of it. Unlike what happened to Cassandra when touched the chanting princess, Varian's thick gloves prevented him from suffering the same kind of injured that fell upon the now former handmaiden, and was able to use the trust that Rapunzel has for him to bring her back. With Varian being grateful to finally have his father back and shortly after Rapunzel is appointed acting queen, Eugene goes to see Rapunzel as he tells her that he is glad to have Varian as their friend again before asking the princess how she feels about what happened between her and Cass.

While Cassandra trains to master her new powers, Rapunzel and Varian continue to live happily with their families in Corona. Even though the thoughts of what happened with Cass and Varian's earlier dark actions still troubles the two, as Rapunzel is still hurt by Cassandra's betrayal and refuses to give up on her, while Varian feels guilty for what he had done to the people of Corona and knows that a lot its people are still angry at him. At some point Varian had learned what had happened between Rapunzel and Cassandra in the Dark Kingdom. Rapunzel had also entrusted Varian with the resembled Demanitus Scroll, since Varian was able to translate the small piece he had of it before Cassandra had helped Rapunzel piece the rest of it together on their journey.

As the Enchanted Girl helps Cassandra with her training, while planting seeds that would keep her from reconnecting with Rapunzel or any of her former friends, she informs Cassandra that it is her destiny to destroy Rapunzel in order to reclaim the shard of the Moonstone's power, that the black rocks gave the princess for protection. The thought frightened Cassandra as it causes her to create red versions of the black rock, but unlike the black ones the red rocks have the power to show people their fears until they are placed in a frozen-like state. With the new rocks making their way to Corona, Varian has a nightmare of his father being resealed in the amber while Corona's residence surround him in anger for what he had done as a villain. After Varian wakes up from his nightmare and uncovers the red rocks in his home village, he makes his way to the kingdom where he learns what makes them different to the black rocks. He informs Rapunzel of this discovery before the two makes plans to put a stop to the rocks.

To help them in their task Varian brings along the very formula that creates the very amber his father was sealed in, and the power of Cass's red rocks has him seeing visions of Quirin calling out to him while being encased in the said amber. Rapunzel puts on a brave, kind face for Varian as she tells him that everything is going to be alright and how he is no longer the villain. As the two reached the Demanitus chamber and searched for the remaining black piece of rock before it turns red, Rapunzel could see that Varian's fears and past are shattering his confidence to see their task through, to help her friend tells him what her fear vision from them is. They are of Cassandra covering the whole kingdom in black rocks as she takes over it, but what frightens her the most is the thought of losing Cassandra as a friend. Hearing this from Rapunzel and how she doesn't let it stop her gives Varian the confidence he needs. Before Varian uses his amber formula on the rocks, both Rapunzel and Cassandra were touched the red rocks from their ends as they link the two together. When Rapunzel and Varian defeated the red rocks on their end, Cassandra was angry that Rapunzel was able to stop them. As the Enchanted Girl uses it to keep Cass on the path she wants her on. While back in Corona Varian's heroic actions with Rapunzel finally has the kingdom forgive him, as for Rapunzel her brief link through the red rocks tells her that Cass has felt scared and how it was a sign that the Cassandra she knows and love is still there.

At some point Cassandra had returned to the ruins of the Great Tree where the Enchanted Girls mentions the Demanitus Scroll, that she believes to had been destroyed many years ago. Hearing her friend say this and how the said scroll can help them, Cassandra makes her way back to Corona. By the time she reached her former home, Varian had already translated the whole scroll and had found the Moonstone's incantation, but he had trouble find the fourth incantation that works with the Sun-Drop. When Cassandra made her demands for the scroll with Rapunzel, the princess knew that she couldn't let Cass have it and after Cassandra gives Rapunzel a deadline to when she wants it, the princess makes her way to Varian. Who shares what he has learned from the scroll with her. Unknown to the two and their friends, Cassandra had followed Rapunzel to Varian and the scroll's location and after she made herself known to them Varian looked happy to see Cass again, while Rapunzel stands in front of the young alchemist to protect him from her. As Cassandra demands them to hand the scroll over to her, Rapunzel tells her no while Varian slips out the fact that the scroll is useless without his translation formula, so Cassandra decides to take both. During Rapunzel's battle with Cassandra for the scroll, Varian kept himself hidden for the first few minutes of it until he came up with the idea to destroy his wall drawings and notes of the translation, but after he did so Varian accidently tells Cassandra that he still remembers and because Cass had summoned the black rocks in her fight with Rapunzel, who is currently trying to keep the whole chamber from falling on top of them all, the princess wasn't able to stop Cassandra from kidnapping Varian. As she leaves with both the scroll and the young alchemist.

Fanon
Like Rapunzel, both Cassandra and Varian are two of the favourite characters in the Tangled TV series that are close with Rapunzel before certain events involving one of their parents causes them to betray the Princess. After the black rocks were revealed to have a connection with the Son-Drop flower and a drop of moonlight (which created the Moonstone opal), fans had believed that Varian was going to turn out to be the human host of the power that became from the moon, which had him and Rapunzel linked together in many versions of the Moon!Varian theory turn AU, before the season two finale had Cassandra merging herself with the Moonstone opal and gained its destructive powers. While Varian was able to redeem himself during the first episode of season three. Because of the bond that both Rapunzel and Varian had with Cass, the two had tried to reach out to her in "Cassandra's Revenge", along with fans seeing the two teaming up in their mission to save Cass from herself. It may not be the most popular poly ship, and is bit of a friendship ship, in the Tangled fandom, the ship still has a few supporters. To make it fair for Varian, since Rapunzel and Cassandra had powers that were dropped from the heavens, some fans give Varian his own celestial powers from the stars.

Growing up as a only child in a tower before living with her birth family in a castle, it makes scene that someone like Rapunzel would long for a sibling and both Cassandra and Varian are two of the closes people who she could have for a sister and brother. Since Rapunzel has a sibling-like relationship with the two, and Rapunzel had once told Cass that their connections to Gothel makes them sisters, along with there being a few fanfics that have Rapunzel and Varian sharing a sibling-like bond with one another.

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

Variations

 * Cassarian refers to the ship between Cassandra and Varian
 * Cassunzel refers to the ship between Cassandra and Rapunzel
 * Varunzel refers to the ship between Rapunzel and Varian