#este always having lance's back literally and figuratively

[chiscribbs]

PLUS EST EN VOUS Review

(Over a week later, and I’m finally posting this. At least I don’t have to worry about another episode coming out before it’s posted.)

Okay - there’s a lot to cover, so without further ado...  Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Things I liked about the finale:

All of the beautiful Cass / Rapunzel scenes! 

They were so emotional and beautifully done, it felt like everything that needed to be said was said, and seeing them act like friends again was very cathartic for me. In a lot of ways, Cass & Raps’ relationship reminds me of some of my own (old ones that didn’t end so smoothly, and then newer ones that I can already tell will leave a lasting impression on my life) and seeing them reconcile and talk about how much they meant to each other really warmed my heart. A best friend is an irreplaceable thing, and I love that their interactions showed that. I also really appreciated the “I love you”s, because the world needs more of those between friends. And it also reminded me of Eugene saying the same thing to Lance, in Beyond the Corona Walls.

The awesome Team Awesome content!  There was an abundance of it in this episode, and I loved every second of it! Truth be told, I was never a big “Team Awesome” fan until S3 came around. The relationship always felt a tad too one-sided to me, and I just couldn’t see them being particularly close, at least not as close as Varian and Rapunzel. The fandom helped me warm up to the idea a little bit, but this past season definitely sold it for me. Eugene has really matured and become a lot less self-involved since the first time they met. I absolutely love that he’s turned into sort of a cool older brother figure to Varian (in fact, many of their interactions are reminiscent of moments I’ve shared with my own brother) and Var now looks up to him rather than just the “Flynn Rider” persona. The fact that Eugene could tease him about his past mistakes and Varian just turned around and casually joked right back? That made my heart happy.

Speaking of maturing & happy hearts -

 I’M SO PROUD OF THIS BOY!!! 

I know I say that a lot, but He’s just come so far since S1, or even the beginning of S3! There were a ton of little moments showcasing his growth in this episode. Such as:  - Jumping onto the piano to help Raps rally the troops (did anybody think we were going to get pianist Varian? I sure didn’t, but I’m not complaining.) - Stating with certainty that he can rebuild Demanitus’ portal, before even seeing the schematics, and just overall showing more confidence in his abilities. (Quirin looked so proud when he was building the portal...you know, before going  all mind-slave and trying to pull the lever.) - Being the first - the FIRST - of the gang to walk into Demanitus’ tomb. This may seem small, but it was such a 180 from Be Very Afraid, where he was nervous and trailing behind Raps the entire time. Now he’s not only joining in on the adventure, he’s taking the lead on occasion! - Rigging Quirin’s helmet with a temporary stun mechanism as a fail-safe for the mind-trap. He seemed hurt and offended when Eugene initially brought up the possibility of his dad being a double-agent, but even so, he listened. He put common sense and the safety of others before his own feelings, and that’s not an easy thing to do.  - Firing an explosive concoction straight into the face of an enormous demon monster??? I mean,...heck yeah, boy!! Also - using his past mistakes (i.e. the amber and monster!Ruddiger) and repurposing them towards something good. I could go on, but you get the idea. he’s just come so far and I could not be more proud of his development. And the fact that he went on to become Corona’s Royal Alchemist Engineer was just the cherry on top! YOU DESERVE IT, BOY!!! 👏👏👏

You know who else I’m proud of? Rapunzel. She was never my favorite character in the series (despite being the protagonist,) but this story - and this past season in particular - has really endeared me to her. She’s grown so much, she’s become a strong and wise leader, and I’m proud of her for it. Honestly, I’ve related to her far more this past season than any other. And I don’t know if that’s because she’s older and more mature now, or because her naivete and eager-to-please attitude is all but gone, or because she just felt a lot more real and vulnerable in recent episodes - but I really, truly love her. And I’m happy to see her story reach its completion. (Also - long-haired brunette Raps is my new favorite thing, tbh.)

THIS:

‘Nough said, I think.

The epic new powers and abilities (and return of some old ones)!!! There were so many moments while watching the finale where I was literally just yelling at my sister like “wHOA, DID YOU SEE THAT?! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” I had no idea that Cass could make ANIMATED WOLF HEADS of the black rocks, that completely blew me away! And then there were those golden rocks that Zhan Tiri manifested, that was so cool! I wonder if the sundrop alone could make those appear, or if you had to have both of the elements to make it work. Also - the Healing Incantation was finally brought back! I knew it would be, eventually, but I’d almost completely forgotten that was a plot point by the time the finale came around. It was good to hear Mandy’s voice saying those familiar, nostalgic words again. And she put so much emotion into it!

Now, onto the less fun stuff...

Things I disliked about the finale:

(Feel free to skip over this section if you’d rather just focus on the positives, I fully understand. I’ll do my best to be fair and only address the things that really stood out to me.)

This subplot went on for far too long:

It was pretty funny for the first few minutes (and I’m sure the animators loved getting to go crazy with the characters’ designs like this,) but after awhile, I was like “is this really what we want over half of our cast to be doing during the BIG FINALE?” I mean, we already had the monkey gag, which I actually thought was a riot. And this one came right in the middle of a pretty climactic moment, so it just seemed kind of out of place.  I’ll admit, the snake-hair joke and Lance’s multiple eyes had me rolling, but ultimately, I just felt like this whole bit only served to waste limited time that definitely could have been better utilized.

The portal was too quickly demolished.  They could have at least come close to a success with it before it was destroyed, so that it didn’t feel completely useless! I get that they wanted ZT to be defeated by her own power, and I’m down for that, but if the portal’s sole purpose within the story was just to temporarily remove all the secondary characters in limbo so that the mains could do their thing, I can’t really get behind it.  Especially seeing as their only Plan B was “throw things at the giant all-powerful octopus monster,” come on, guys. I would have preferred that be a last-resort after several failed attempts at other pre-orchestrated plans. They could have had Varian and Quirin working on repairing the portal while the others distract/attack Zhan Tiri and THEN have her destroy it (purposefully, rather than by some random falling rock.) Or, maybe everyone could have been in on the plan to get the sundrop and moonstone to meet, and then have Raps and Cass are the ones who finally succeed in doing it. I don’t know, I just feel like there was a lot of wasted potential there.

This scene:

I’m going to be perfectly honest, this scene bothered me. For a multitude of reasons:

Firstly; it was a shot-for-shot copy (not a parallel, a copy) of the iconic New Dream moment from the movie, just replacing Eugene with Cass. That wasn't necessary, Cass and Raps have their own unique relationship and their own moments, they don’t need to steal Raps & Eugene’s. This should have remained a New Dream-only thing, in my opinion. (Especially seeing as her parents already stole their gondola bit...I’m mostly joking about that one.)

Secondly; it didn’t make sense? Rapunzel was standing just as close to the blast as Cassandra, yet she wasn’t harmed at all. In fact, she seemed completely unfazed by it. Why was Cass the only one effected? (And we can’t even make an argument that the moonstone shard protected her, because the powers were lost the moment the two fused.) If they needed a brush-with-death scene, why not have ZT hurt Cass? I feel like that would have been a lot more dramatic, especially after manipulating her for an entire season.

And finally; it made every other character’s “death” seem unimportant in comparison. I get that the writers needed Raps to use the Healing Incantation, but, EVERYBODY ELSE WAS ALREADY HALF-DEAD, AT THIS POINT. I’m sorry, but, why wasn’t that incentive enough to use the healing power? Why did we need to have Cass’s near-death on top of everybody else’s?  I mean, I would’ve been maybe a little bit more okay with it had Rapunzel mourned everybody’s death and not just Cass’s, and then used the power to save ALL of them at once. But instead, she completely forgot about everyone else until the very last second, which was frustrating. I’m not a fan of plot devices that ignore other characters, especially when the protagonist is supposed to care about them but then just doesn’t even seem to remember that they exist for a hot minute. This felt like the ending of Freebird, only worse because you can’t make the excuse that she was unaware. (Just to be clear, I’m not blaming Rapunzel. I know it wasn’t meant to come across that way, I just feel like it was not well executed.) There are a lot of ways that this could have been done differently. Rapunzel and Cass could have BOTH been devastated about their friends/loved ones, I would have loved to see Cass show genuine concern and remorse towards the OTHER people whom her actions hurt, not just Raps. Or, Rapunzel could have at least landed near Cass so it would’ve made sense for her to notice her first, and then looked around and noticed everybody else before using the healing incantation. At least that way, the other characters wouldn’t have felt so much like a second-thought. I don’t know, I just didn’t appreciate the treatment of the supporting cast in this scene at all. It felt like they were forgotten right up until the very last second.

Cass didn’t get to sing in any of the songs.  I was really surprised by this, I figured given how important her role had become, she’d get to sing at least one line (like Lance and Varian did.) But nope. Actually, a good 90% of the music in this episode was sung by Raps, and as much as I love the songs & Mandy’s beautiful voice, I was hoping for the other characters to be a little bit more involved. Especially in the Life After Happily Ever After (Reprise), that would have been a great opportunity to have everybody sing together.

Things I would have liked to see in the finale:

More information about Demanitus and ZT.  We got so little! I was expecting this episode to answer all of our questions about that two, but I still have no idea; what their relationship was, where Zhan Tiri came from, why exactly she wanted the power (besides just to have it for herself, I guess), or how they came across the SD and MS in the first place! Like, just a little bit more information would have been nice, the only thing the flashback really gave us was what ZT looked like before spending a few millenia in limbo. (Also - apparently Corona is several thousand years old??? Which, I didn’t know, I was under the impression that it was a fairly new kingdom.)

Closure for this relationship:

This is probably what I was most disappointed by. Honestly, I’m still kind of surprised that this didn’t happen, even just a little bit. Given that Cass was wearing the Cassandrium at the end, we can safely assume that they at least parted on good terms. But the last few exchanges that they had really gave me the impression that we’d be getting some kind of closure before the credits rolled. We were given two whole episodes focusing on the unique bond that these two share (that’s more than we were given for Cass & Eugene,) they were painted as parallels, so it only makes sense to give them a proper wrap-up. In CR, Cass seemed hurt and devastated after realizing that she’d effectively pushed Varian away, it’s clear his friendship meant a lot to her. Not to mention, Var had the best understanding of Cass’s feelings, he could relate to her - especially about her guilt and fear of not being forgiven. But despite all of the build-up & foreshadowing, they didn’t even get an on-screen goodbye? Not a single “thank you” or “I’m sorry”?  I realize that the main focus was always on Cass & Raps’ friendship, and I’m totally fine with that. I’m just saying that after all the obvious parallels and time invested in this relationship, it would have been nice to get some closure. I just wish they’d included at least one little dialogue exchange to wrap it up in a satisfactory way, like we got with Cass and Eugene.

Actual pay-off for all the Varian - Demanitus parallels.  I think we can all agree that this seemed like it was going somewhere, and then it just...didn’t. He did rebuild the portal, but it turned out to be useless, and outside of that, the similarity was never touched upon. Not by Rapunzel, or Zhan Tiri, not even Xavier made the connection. I mean - this kid is doing at 15/16 what Demanitus did in the latter half of his life. He’s not only following the legendary engineer/inventor’s footsteps, he’s expanding the legacy. If that’s not foreshadowing for something, I don’t know what is! And I do love the fact that he became the Royal Alchemist Engineer, but at the same time, I just feel like there was so much wasted potential in this almost-but-not-quite-subplot.

An actual Brotherhood reunion, without all the mind-trap influence.  It would have been so interesting to see them all interacting! I was surprised that, even though Edmund and Quirin were both in the same place for most of the episode, they never really interacted? Outside of mind-controlled Quirin, Hector, and Adira attacking Eugene &  Edmund, they didn’t exchange so much as a word. And I get that a lot of that was time restraints, and having to focus on more important plot points (as Edmund said “bigger fish”) but honestly, if they had time to thrown in all that netherworld nonsense, a little Brotherhood interaction doesn’t seem like too big of a favor to ask. 

Rapid-fire Opinions: 

Favorite song: Through it All

In my opinion, this song is the best group number in the show (not counting the ones only sung by main 3, such With You By My Side or Next Stop Anywhere) It’s not quite as epic as Ready As I’ll Ever Be, but it has an infectious beat and a triumphant melody that I really enjoy. Also, the scene as a whole was so cheerful and fun, and we got Varian, Lance, Kiera, and Catalina all playing various instruments! (Plus more New Dream dancing! ❤ )

Favorite callback to a previous episode: Easy answer, because it comes from (what is still) one of my favorite episodes in the series - the Cassandrium.

Favorite scene: This one’s a little tough, but I did really enjoy the little moment that Eugene and Varian had after Quirin was incapacitated by the helmet. 

I also loved the final scene where Cass said goodbye to Rapunzel and they gave each other the biggest, warmest hug I’ve ever seen in animation history (and the prior exchange between her and Eugene was really sweet, as well.)

OH! And how could I forget? That beautiful New Dream proposal. 💜 That was absolutely perfect. The animation, the music, Mandy & Zach’s incredibly heartfelt voice work, just...I loved everything about it.

Most underrated moment: Catalina pushing Kiera out of Zhan Tiri’s way and getting grabbed herself. (Show of hands, who else briefly forgot that she was a werewolf and had a small heart-attack in that moment?)

Theories I had that were proven true: 

- Cass leaving Corona to “find her own destiny.”  I’d always felt like Cass never really had a dream of her own; she didn’t know who she was, and she was never going to get the answers by staying by Rapunzel’s side. So I had a strong feeling that she would be leaving, but I’m glad to see that it was on good terms.

- Everyone vs Zhan Tiri.  Granted, like most people, I was under the impression that Xavier’s “magic and alchemy” statement would be more...relevant? Turns out, we read into that way too much. Which, honestly, is a tiny bit disappointing, but it was still cool to finally see Zhan Tiri at her most powerful.

- Varian becoming Corona’s Royal Alchemist Engineer.  This is a theory I’ve had since my early days in the fandom, and I’m glad to see it finally confirmed! My only complaint is that we didn’t get to see Rapunzel bestow the honor upon him, because I would have loved to see that exchange.

Theories that were not proven true, but I still believe:

- Varian (and possibly Quirin) being a descendant of Demanitus.  You can pry this one out of my cold, dead hands, there are way too many clues pointing to it. I’m not even sure if Demanitus has any descendants (again, we have very little information on him still) but if he does, Varian’s a prime candidate. His lineage comes from the Dark Kingdom, he’s a genius alchemist/inventor, has a personal connection to both the Sundrop and the Moonstone; honestly, I’m kind of surprised this possibility was never even considered, at least one, in canon.

- Cass will eventually return to Corona.  I have no idea when, why, or how, but I truly believe she will. Her spirit may be roaming free at the moment, but the heart always returns home. And - as it stands right now, at least - her heart is still waiting in Corona. In the meantime, though, I’m glad she’s living her best life, seeking out adventure wherever destiny leads her! She deserves it <3 

Well, that’s my full Plus Est En Vous/Tangled the Series Finale review! I’d love to hear everybody else’s thoughts on the final episode, as well; how many people were satisfied vs unsatisfied with the ending? What were everyone else’s favorite moments, what else would have been nice to see? Let me know!

Final words: This show and this fandom have meant so much to me, and I’m far from done loving it. I still have many projects in the works to celebrate the show and its completion, but in the meantime - thanks for reading.

And God bless the amazing team that came together to bring us this incredibly beautiful, meaningful, story which will always have a special place in my heart. 

[squidbatts]

your funny mouth to the clouds

Or: Fabian stresses, confesses, and gets some kisses in

((The last couple of Fantasy High episodes have been Buckwild but IN THIS HOUSE we ignore current canon happenings to write about fabian wanting to kiss ragh and then getting to kiss ragh!!! because i crave ragh/fabian content even if i have to Do Everything Myself))

{ao3}

Fabian Aramais Seacaster, son of Bill Seacaster, knows he’s hot; it’s kind of his whole thing, being a charming, roguish pirate, as dangerous as he is dashing. So, obviously, it makes complete sense that he and Gorgug would be Ragh’s dream makeout partners. They’re all hot athletes and they spend a decent amount of time together, he gets it.

It shouldn’t even be a thing.

Except that Fabian can’t stop thinking about it. When Ragh lances a demon through the eye and then turns to grin at Fabian, manic, muscles straining his letterman jacket, he thinks about it; when Fabian’s trying to teach the party literally anything about the sea and Ragh slides in right next to him, body a point of warmth on Fabian’s left side as he points at completely the wrong part of the map, he thinks about it; when Ragh tears off his shirt and leaps into the water with Fabian, throws a glistening and sea-wet arm over Fabian’s bare shoulders, tugs Fabian into his sculpted chest as he laughs-

The point is, Fabian keeps thinking about it.

Which is why he thinks he should be excused for asking Kristen for advice; she is, after all, their “token gay friend"; the rest of his close friends are straight, so she’s really the only one he can ask.

“Kristen,“ Fabian starts one afternoon when it’s just the two of them on the roof, “You know about gay stuff, right?“

Kristen lights up. “I don’t know if you know this-“

“I do, you say it all the time-“

“-but I’m gay!“ Kristen finishes like she doesn’t come out over breakfast every morning. “So yeah, I do.“

“Awesome, great, listen, I have a question. Have you ever- hm.“ Fabian cuts himself off with a hum as he attempts to word it correctly. He decides to try another route. “Do you think Ragh is attracted to me?“

“Oh, for sure,“ Kristen says and, even though he already knew that, Fabian chokes on air in surprise at her surety. “He’s really into the whole ’straight boy jock’ thing and, I’m a lesbian, but even I know that you’re objectively the hottest person in our party. You and Fig are the hot ones.“

“Obviously,“ Fabian replies, kneejerk.

“Yeah, so, duh. Why do you ask?“ Kristen asks, and Fabian-

Fabian falters because, obviously, he wants to get to the bottom of why he can’t just forget about Ragh’s proposition like Gorgug has, but the idea of talking about it, of telling Kristen makes his stomach twist. Something about it makes him feel weird, the same way he feels weird whenever he thinks about Ragh wanting to kiss him.

“He just said something and I-“ Fabian waves a hand dismissively. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter.“

Kristen’s eyebrows furrow and she places a hand on Fabian’s arm, firm but still kind. “If you’re uncomfortable with a gay man simply being attracted to you, you’re the asshole here. But listen, Jawbone has some pamphlets about it and we can totally work this out-“

“I’m not uncomfortable, I just wanted to know if he had said anything to you,“ Fabian says, the words quick and awkward in his mouth. Maybe I am uncomfortable, He considers. Maybe the twisting how of his gut and the heating of his face are merely symptoms of his discomfort. He’s always been fine with Kristen and Tracker, he was fine with Ragh when he told them about Dane, but maybe he just thought he wasn’t homophobic until it directly affected him.

Kristen stares at him silently for a second, tilting her head as her eyebrows raise. “Huh. Never would’ve guessed that.“ She says, then, “Well, actually, I maybe would’ve because you’re like, supernaturally obsessed with your appearance, but stereotyping is bad and all that.“

“What are you talking about?“ Fabian snaps, irritated with her vagueness. He realizes that he should’ve just gone to Adaine for help, she reads books and knows about a great many things, not to mention that it certainly would’ve been less of a tax on his patience than dealing with Kristen at her… Kristen-est.

“I think… I think you should talk to Ragh,“ Kristen says, and then continues on quickly before Fabian can get the horrified Absolutely not out of his mouth. “No, listen, this is really something that would go best if you just, like, talked to Ragh about it, I think. And like, I rolled a seventeen on persuasion, so you kind of have to.”

Fabian, not blessed in wisdom, fails his saving throw and has to admit that Kristen’s point is pretty compelling. Still, “I don’t even know where Ragh is right now.”

Kristen gives him a look that clearly says We all live in the same vanboat, you have to know that he’s less than three minutes away. She leans away from Fabian and, still holding eye contact, yells into the van, "Hey, Ragh, Fabian wants to talk to you!"

"Kristen, no," Fabian hisses. Kristen just grins back at him.

"Kristen, yes!" She says, "You will so thank me for this."

Fabian is still cursing Kristen's name when Ragh climbs up to join them on the roof. He's wearing his normal jeans but has elected to leave his letterman jacket in the van. Probably a good idea, Fabian thinks, eyes involuntarily drawn to the sheen of sweat over Ragh's biceps as Ragh stretches before he sits. It's been hot all day, but Fabian would bet gold that it's gotten hotter in the past five minutes. He certainly feels rather feverish, suddenly.

"What's the problem, bro?" Ragh asks when he settles down. Kristen makes a face at him from behind Ragh's back and mouths Take my advice!!!! When he pretends not to notice and instead stares pointedly at the sea, she huffs loudly.

"Well, I'm going to go back into the van, I'm real tired," She says, obnoxiously obvious. Fabian makes a face back at her when Ragh turns towards her. "I'll, uh,see you guys later. Don't even worry about everyone else, I'll keep 'em down there."

Fabian tries to infuse enough That is absolutely not what I want! and Don't leave us alone! into a single glare to make her stay, but she just winks at him, like she's a bard or something, which of course makes Ragh turns back to Fabian, puzzled.

"What was all that about?"

"It's nothing, really," Fabian says, forcing lightness into his voice as he waves a hand, as though all this awkwardness could be as easily dispelled as Fig's cigarette smoke. "Kristen is just being dramatic."

Ragh frowns, his dark eyes are stormily serious. Fabian's heart skips a beat. "We're bros. And bros don't have to lie about their feelings, right?"

"... Right."

"Dude." Ragh says as he punches Fabian's arm, clearly about to get started on the Jawbone taught me emotional vulnerability and now I think everyone should do it spiel. Fabian's already heard it at least one time apiece from Kristen and Adaine, and he still thinks he's good on the emotions front, thank you very much. Still, his stomach flips even now with nerves, and he thinks of how Kristen thought that talking with Ragh would sort him out. As truly awful as he imagines it will be, he wonders if Kristen has a point, just this once.

"Alright, alright!" He concedes, "I suppose we can talk about my feelings."

"Awesome!" Ragh grins lopsidedly, shifting to sit lotus style, his full attention on Fabian. "Now, what's up?"

A feeling rises in Fabian's chest, like his ribcage is stuck in a vice, and he feels nearly sick with guilt. Here Ragh is, so kindly and sincerely devoting his attention to Fabian, and Fabian's body can't even relax enough to appreciate it.

"I think I owe you an apology," Fabian says, and before Ragh can respond, he rushes on with, "I think I might be homophobic, but I'm going to work on it and be a better friend for you and Kristen, and I'm very sorry."

Ragh's opens and closes his mouth wordlessly a few times, tusks catching on his upper lip. "I- what?"

Fabian sighs huffily and explains, how he's felt weird and off-kilter since Ragh's proposition and Kristen's offered explanation. Ragh listens thoughtfully, brow furrowed and a hand on his chin. He's still frowning as Fabian finishes his tale and Fabian fights the urge to fidget under the scrutiny.

"I don't think you're homophobic, dude," Ragh says, eventually. He sounds like he's choosing his words carefully, like he's walking on eggshells, and Fabian aches to think that he's made Ragh think that he has to do that.

"Of course I am, what else could it be?" Fabian asks, and Ragh screws up half of his face. "See! I made you uncomfortable with my- weirdness. I'm sorry."

"No, no, I'm not uncomfortable, I'm just trying to… Reconcile some things. Sort stuff out in the old noggin." Fabian tries not to look too doubtful but Ragh must've aced his insight check because he sighs and continues, "Listen, this has got to be weird for you too, I mean, obviously it is if you think you're a homophobe, but I think there's a pretty easy way to figure out what your discomfort means."

"And what would that be?" Fabian asks snipily, turning away. He doesn't like apologizing in the first place, much less when the other person won't just accept it.

"Feel free to say no, but I figured you could just try kissing me." Ragh says, and Fabian’s head whips back to him. Ragh lifts up his hands defensively. “Full disclosure, I think you’re super hot so I'm definitely getting something out of this, but if you can't stop thinking about it… It couldn't hurt, could it?"

Ragh shrugs as he lays his offer down and Fabian-

Fabian's heart pounds like he's in the middle of a Bloodrush play as heat pools in his face and his stomach. He hadn't ever considered actually kissing Ragh, but now that it's on the table, something deep within him twists with want.

"One kiss?" Fabian asks, trying to will away his blush, "I wouldn't be… Opposed."

"Uh-uh, none of that. I need a definite yes or no, bro," Ragh says, "I don't want to pressure you into this."

Fabian feels his flush flare hotter and squeezes his eyes shut. The deep buried part of him has rapidly expanded and spread throughout his body, leaving his fingers twitching towards Ragh and his lips tingling with anticipation. He can't imagine saying no, but to say yes also seems almost insurmountable. He opens his eyes, sees how softly Ragh smiles and the patience in his eyes, and it feels like someone's reached into Fabian's chest and twisted. Fabian nods, excessively, embarrassingly, then says, "Yes, yes, I'd like to try it-" before Ragh is upon him like the tide on a beach.

It's different from kissing Aelwyn; there's no bitter taste of alcohol or sticky-sweet lipgloss, no, Ragh's lips are chapped and he tastes of salt from days at sea, but it's still so much. Ragh cups Fabian's head, gentle, but presses his mouth insistently forward, easily leading Fabian through the sweeping movements of a makeout. Fabian's heartbeat still thuds in his ears, but he can also hear Ragh's slow and steady breaths, feel how he nips Fabian's lips and smiles against Fabian's mouth. When it's over, when Ragh pulls back and Fabian embarrassingly chases after him for half a second, Fabian is breathing like he's been near-drowned.

"Still think you're homophobic?" Ragh asks, teeth flashing in the ocean sunlight, lips slick from Fabian. Fabian burns brightly.

"I have," Fabian clears his throat awkwardly. "A few other theories now."

Ragh laughs, full and perfect, throwing his head back. Fabian looks at the vast muscled expanse of his neck, realizes that the twist of his gut just means that he wants to press a kiss to the juncture of Ragh's jawline and neck, and thinks, Huh.

"Well, that was super fun," Ragh says, clapping Fabian on the back, "Always down to help a fellow Owlbear with a sexuality crisis, dude, just let me know if you wanna do that again."

Ragh heads back into the vanboat, whistling cheerfully, and Fabian waits until he's absolutely out of sight to raise a shaking hand to his lips. He feels a smile giddily crawling over his face and he buries his face in his hands rather than risk someone seeing him like that. He wonders, in a corner of his mind that's not fully busy simply rejoicing over getting his kisses in, if having a boyfriend is much different than having a girlfriend.

[deathishauntedbyhumans]

Usagi-kun

Short but sweet. Like... tooth-rotting, cavity-inducing sweet. S o s w e e t. The sweetest fluff I have written in a very long time. The fluffiest fluff. 

Keith can’t sleep without his stuffed bunny, and Lance... Lance may have accidentally walked off with him when he’d collected his gear that morning. Keith has been training all day, and he’s exhausted, but... Damn it, he needs to reveal his secret, because quiznak, he needs his bunny. 

Stranger: Lance, did you take something when you left my room this morning? -K

You: Um... no? LM

Stranger: Are you sure? -K I'm not even, like...accusing you of stealing. You might have just snatched him up on accident when you grabbed your stuff this morning. -K

Stranger: ...It. You might have snatched it up on accident. -K

You: Him???? LM What exactly are you looking for? I can check in my stuff. LM

Stranger: [delayed] Don't laugh. -K

You: Okay...? LM

Stranger: He's a stuffed bunny. -K

Stranger: And I need him to sleep. -K

You: Oh. LM Awh, that's.. kinda cute. LM Let me check. LM

Stranger: He's purple. So...he'd stick out. -K

You: [delayed] Ah ha! I found him. LM He's adorable!! LM

Stranger: Yeah. He is. -K

Stranger: Uh. Can I have him back now? -K

You: Yeah, yeah. Of course. I'll be there in a few. LM

Stranger: Thank you. -K

You: ((Is this est or unest?))

Stranger: [[ which would be easier?? i like est ]]

You: ((Sounds good to me! Just making sure we're on the same page :D))

Stranger: [[ yay!! ]]

You: Okay, Lance had to be honest: his boyfriend was /fucking adorable/. Like, it was unfair just how adorable he was. If anyone else could have heard his train of thought, they'd probably laugh in his face. Pidge especially. But he couldn't help it! Keith had so many habits that were just... really cute. And now this? He slept with a stuffed bunny?! It was literally the cutest thing Lance had heard of. Ever. He was cradling the bunny in his arms as he stepped out of his room, and after briefly checking to make sure that no one else was around, he headed towards Keith's, absentmindedly petting the rabbit's head. He stepped inside without knocking, since he figured Keith would be used to it by now, and grinned, holding up the stuffed toy. "Delivery!"

Stranger: Really, Keith didn't want Lance to ever know about Usagi-kun (his stuffed bunny) if he could help it...he would hide him in his sweatshirt when they slept so that Lance wouldn't see, or would keep him under his pillow or something, because honestly, he thought he'd get laughed at. Lance doesn't seem to think it's funny, though, which is good enough for him right now. When he hears his door open, Keith immediately sits up from his bed, getting out of bed as soon as he sees Usagi-kun in Lance's arms and running to snatch the bunny from him as soon as he can. He buries his head in the bunny's matted fur for a solid minute before he looks up at Lance, murmuring softly. "Thank you."

You: Not fair. It was absolutely not fair, how adorable Keith was. Not fair at all. Lance let go of the bunny as soon as Keith made a run for him, and watched with a fond smile growing over his features as Keith pressed the toy to his face, eyes shut tightly. "Dude, you don't have to thank me," he said, though his voice was gentle, matching Keith's soft tone. "Why haven't I ever seen him before?" He brushed past Keith, grabbing him by the wrist and tugging him towards the bed. "Does he have a name?" he asked, genuinely curious. He'd had plenty of stuffed animals when he'd been younger, and all of them had had both their own names and their own backstories, in several cases. He took a seat on the bed, still tugging Keith with him.

Stranger: "I thought you'd laugh or something." Keith is quick to respond to that question, at least, though he waits until the two of them are settled on the bed before he speaks up again. He leans over, resting his head against Lance's shoulder and closing his eyes, trying his best not to fall asleep. "His name is Usagi-kun. My parents gave him to me a few weeks before they died." Aaaand there it is. It's a pretty solid justification for why he's almost 18 and still has a stuffed bunny with a name that literally just means "Mr. Bunny" in Japanese, he supposes, especially considering he was five when his parents died, which means that his ever-so-original name was at least kind of justified.

You: Lance automatically wrapped his arms around Keith, kicking off his slippers and laying back against the pillows. He bodily moved Keith with him, too, especially since he seemed exhausted. Unsurprising, given that he was pretty sure Keith had been on the training deck for most of the day. And a sleepy Keith was an adorable Keith, so Lance would absolutely take advantage of it to gain maximum cuddles. "Usagi-kun," he repeated, reaching down and patting the bunny on the head, though he was careful not to knock him from Keith's hands. "Nice to meet you." He shook his head. "I wouldn't laugh at you," he added, subdued somewhat in the face of Keith's revelation. They didn't talk much about the past, unless one of them was feeling particularly depressed. Otherwise, it was a lot of waterworks and remembering and sadness, and Lance liked to avoid it all if he could. That wasn't to say, though, that he wasn't prepared to listen if Keith was going to talk. "I mean, not about something like this. I get it. We all have stuff that makes us happy. Stuff that makes us think of home."

Stranger: Keith wouldn't usually be this tired, but he'd spent all day training, then spent a good hour or so frantically looking for Usagi-kun since he can't sleep without him, so the day is just catching up with him. Combine that with the fact that he and Lance didn't get to sleep until late the night before, and there's a perfect recipe for him being absolutely exhausted. He curls up in Lance's arms, though he doesn't wrap his arms around him or anything, instead opting to just keep hugging Usagi-kun instead. "You promise? Not just saying that to make me feel better or something?" He asks, then lets out a quiet yawn.

You: "Why would I do that?" Lance asked, rolling his eyes. He loved Keith --not that that was, y'know, something they really talked about much-- but he really wished the guy would calm down on the whole... self-hatred front. Because Keith had a habit of doing that, of thinking the worst of himself, and it had taken Lance /reaaaally/ getting to know him before he'd realised it was a thing that happened. Like, constantly. "I'm not going to think less of you because you've got Usagi-kun," he told him firmly. "In fact, it's nice that you've got him. It's a reminder of good things, right? And that's nice." He laid a hand over one of Keith's, squeezing comfortingly.

Stranger: "I guess so, yeah." Keith murmurs, eventually just resting his head against Lance's chest and closing his eyes. He tries his best to not be so self-depreciative all the time, but that's so damn hard when 1) there's no therapy in space or anything, and 2) he just has so many goddamn reasons to hate himself all the time. He knows that it's not good, but he can't really help it at this point. "You're warm." He says, eventually letting go of Usagi-kun for a minute with one of his hands so that he can hold one of Lance's hands.

You: Intertwining their fingers, Lance couldn't help a small smile. "So're you," he pointed out, nuzzling his nose into Keith's hair for a moment before laying his head back again. "You can go to sleep, you know. I know you were training all day. Hunk said you wouldn't even stop to eat." Personally, he thought Hunk had been a little offended, but he wasn't about to mention that to Keith, especially when he already seemed so down on himself about the whole bunny thing. "Which, by the way, you totally should have. Because I, for one, will never get tired of Hunk's cooking." He grinned, the hand not curled in Keith's coming up to thread through his thick hair. "Go to sleep, babe. Me and Usagi-kun will still be here when you wake up."

Stranger: There's a bit of a pause from Keith, half because he may or may not have dozed off (not that he'd say anything if he did) and half because he might be a little embarrassed that he forgot to eat all day. Really, he tries, but he's also pretty damn good at getting hyperfocused on one thing and ignoring everything else for a while, even if it means ignoring things like eating and sleeping. Besides, he needs to train. Lance is always homesick, and how are they ever going to get home if Keith isn't strong enough and they lose because of him? "I wasn't really hungry, though." And, of course, because why the fuck not, his stomach lets out a growl at that moment, though Keith pretends that it didn't happen at all. "Promise you'll still be here?"

Stranger: [[ also i will brb for a few minutes! ]]

You: ((No worries!)) Yeah, right. Lance had to bite his lip to forcibly restrain the snort that threatened to escape at the blatant lie. He knew better than to attempt banter with Keith when he was like this. He'd learned the hard way that it was a really, really shitty thing to do. Keith was all warm and soft, and ruining that... Bottom line, it sucked. Like, a lot. He'd get kicked out of the room, Keith would probably end up trying to train and getting his ass kicked by putting the field too high because he was pissed, and Shiro would have another Talk with him about Feelings. He shuddered inwardly. He'd had more than enough of that for his entire life. "Promise," he responded simply, letting the lie about eating rest. He'd just make sure that Keith got something in him before he made it to the training deck tomorrow, that was all. He pressed his lips to the top of Keith's head in a gentle kiss, lips turned into a smile.

Stranger: Trying to be somewhat affectionate--because he knows that he isn't always too affectionate, and he always chides himself a bit for not showing Lance how much he loves him more often, since he knows that he really could be more affectionate if he wanted to--Keith leans in with his lips puckered, attempting to give Lance at least a little kiss on the chin or something, but...nope. He should've expected it with his eyes closed and being half-asleep and all, but he doesn't get anywhere near his face, and instead winds up pressing a kiss to his chest. Too tired to protest too much, Keith just lets out a little whine, hoping that Lance got the message for now.

You: It was too much. It was absolutely, positively too much. Keith was too cute for his own good, and Lance couldn't help the quiet laughter that escaped him at the kiss he pressed to his chest and the resulting whine right after it. "G'night, Keith," he murmured, still grinning, both amused and incredibly, incredibly fond of him in that moment. Not that he wasn't always incredibly fond of him, of course. "Go to sleeeeeep." And he shifted his head, tilting his neck as much as he could, and used the leverage of the fingers threaded through Keith's hair to gently tilt his boyfriend's head as well, so that he could press his lips to Keith's slightly chapped ones.

Stranger: Of course, that doesn't help at all, and soon enough, Keith is letting out another whine, using the hand that isn't holding Usagi-kun to reach up and try and cup Lance's cheek. "Noooo. Don' kiss me and then tell me to sleep, 'cause I jus' wanna--" He trails off, staying silent for a good ten seconds before he speaks up again, acting like he definitely didn't just doze off for a second there, "I jus' wanna give you more kisses when y' do that." There's another little pause, and then Keith speaks up again, a little pout on his face as he buries it into Lance's shoulder. "It's not nice."

You: "Keith, you are literally falling asleep on me," Lance pointed out, doing his best to hide just how amused he was. He was failing at it, too, but who could blame him? Sleepy Keith really was adorable. "Like... literally. I don't even think you're fully conscious right now." He slid his hand from Keith's hair to his cheek, doing what Keith had probably been trying to do to him when he'd missed and his hand had landed funny on his chin instead. He tilted Keith's head up towards himself and used his thumb to poke lightly at his cheek. "See? You can't even keep your eyes open."

Stranger: "Noooo." Keith lets out another quiet whine, though any attempt for him to do anything else is stopped when his body decides that nope, enough is enough, he needs to sleep now whether he wants to or not. Soon enough, he's just straight up dozed off, and the only real response to Lance that he gives is a few quiet whines in his sleep and some unintelligible murmurs about God knows what; probably not in English, and possibly not in any actual language, for that matter. Maybe just sleep gibberish at this point. Either way, Keith is quick to snuggle up close to Lance again, at least, letting out a soft snore.

You: When he was sure that Keith was asleep, Lance began to laugh. It was quiet, of course, so as not to wake Keith up, but... God. He was so lucky. He was so, so damn lucky. Keith was the literal best. His entire being felt fuzzy and warm, and he was /happy/, which was always so weird, because the last thing he'd expected upon realising that they were all in this crazy space mission together was to fall for the quiet, emo kid with the dark past. But quiznak, he had fallen, and he had fallen /hard/. Still reminiscing, Lance found himself drifting into an easy sleep, his arms curled protectively around Keith as he slipped off.

Stranger: Being the wonderful sleeper that he is, Keith wakes up in the middle of the night...or whatever time it is, since he supposes there's not really day or night when they're flying in space. He almost gets up, doing what he normally does when he wakes up this way and just going straight to train or something, but...well, he's got Usagi-kun in his arms still, plus Lance is asleep next to him and is hugging him and he's so damn cute, so maybe he can just be content with staying in bed like this for now. For a while, he just watches the other male before he leans up, giving him the tiniest kiss on the cheek. "Love you." He says softly. He knows that they haven't said it to each other yet, but...well, it doesn't count if one of them is asleep, right?

You: Lance... Lance was, apparently, a lot more tired than he thought he was. They /had/ gotten to sleep late the night before, and he /had/ been staring at Pidge's screen half the day, since apparently she'd needed a second opinion about something and he was, quote, "the easiest person to convince." Which he had most definitely taken offence to, but... It hadn't mattered in the long run. He'd helped her anyways. So yeah, he was pretty exhausted. He slept like an octopus, though, limbs curled tightly around the warm body beside him. He was having an amazing dream, too... Keith was in it. His family, too. His mom was talking to Keith, and they were laughing and smiling together while Lance watched. It felt so /real/. In the dream, Keith caught his eye and whispered something, and Lance felt himself flushing, though when he awoke, he wouldn't remember what it had been. In reality, he merely curled up even more tightly against Keith, his face pressed snugly into his neck.

Stranger: Luckily, Lance doesn't seem to be awake or anything when Keith says that he loves him. That's a relief, at the very least. After a few moments, something sets in--apparently, that had been on the tip of his tongue longer than he wanted to think it was, and saying it to Lance (even if he was asleep the whole time) helped him feel a lot less anxious than he was before. In the back of his head, he notes that it helped and resolves to tell Lance for real the next morning when both of them are awake instead of just one of them. Soon enough, he's able to doze off again, but not before he makes sure that the two of them are snug under the blankets again.

[lil-shiro]

Esteban letting Lance go first | Monaco 23' - Hungary 23' - Abu Dhabi 23'