#saby's fic

[sabyfangirl]

Down With The Flu

A new day dawned on the Wild Kratts team, somewhere in North America where the Tortuga was nicely parked in a rainforest.

Chris was busy packing adventure gear while waiting for his brother who hadn't showed up yet.

"Binoculars, climbing rope, extra socks..." He recapitulated to himself. "Alright, I think everything's ready. Now where's Martin?" He looked around, still not spotting his brother.

"Maybe he's still asleep?" Jimmy guessed, fully concentrated on his video game. "Score!"

"Martin would never miss a creature adventure by sleeping in," Chris stated with a frown.

Just then, Martin entered the room, dragging his feet like a mummy, head bowed with slumpy shoulders.

"Hey bro, ready for- " Chris took one look at him and couldn't help but sense something was off.

"Morning," was all Martin could mutter, grabbing his bag and placing it near his brother's.

"Uhh... You alright, bro?" Chris asked. Martin looked up, his face not as bright as usual. "M'fine," he mumbled, heading to the fridge where he grabbed a drink.

Was he... Nah. Chris thought his brother must've gotten up from the wrong side of the bed, that's all... Right?

"Okay, bros. The suits are ready. You're good to go," they heard Aviva say from behind them, holding up the suits for them.

"Thanks, Aviva!" Chris delightfully grabbed his suit, followed by Martin just as he finished his drink.

Now they were ready to leave.

"Let's go, bro!" Chris grabbed his bag and headed outside, followed by Martin.

"Wait up!" he called, his voice sounding unusually pained...

Four hours later, the brothers returned to the HQ. Chris came in looking pumped and energetic while Martin...looked like he came back from the dead. He was huffing and sweating, as if he had ran a marathon, only worse.

"Feew... Now that was great!" Chris dropped his bag and stretched in satisfaction.

An very obviously exhausted Martin dropped his bag almost as soon as he walked in and went over to sit down, breathing abnormally fast.

"You alright, MK?" Koki asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her, forcing an unconvincing smile. "Yeah, m'okay." He faked a smile.

She frowned, still worried for her friend, but then he got up and headed for his room when-

"Hey, Martin, don't think you're getting away that easy." His brother's words caught him off guard. "You were barely moving back there! What was that about?" Chris asked, rather teasingly, but Martin didn't feel like talking to anyone... He just wanted some rest.

He turned around to face his brother and the crew, but before he could say anything, the earth beneath him started to shake, his vision becoming blurry in a matter of seconds. The last thing he remembered was his friends' horrified faces, before everything went black...

The crew's POV

The crew watched in horror Martin swaying uncontrollably, before losing consciousness and heading for the floor. Thankfully, Chris swiftly dashed past Aviva and caught his brother in his arms just in time, his head centimeters away from the ground. He gently layed him down and held his head in his lap, his eyes being closed shot.

"Martin? Martin, wake up!" Chris called out, panic clear in his voice.

He felt Aviva, Koki and Jimmy surrounding them with worried faces. Aviva knelt beside Chris and grabbed Martin's arm, wrapping her hands around his, while Koki was being squeezed by an exaggeratedly nervous Jimmy.

"Ahh- I-Is he okay?! What happened?" The ginger guy asked, stuttering.

Having had enough, Koki forced herself out of his arms then patted his back reassuringly.

"Don't worry, JZ. I'm sure Martin will be fine, but we need to get him to his room and find out what's wrong with him." She looked over at Chris and Aviva; they nodded.

A few minutes later, Martin was laying in his bed, sweatshirtless and breathing heavily, while Aviva examined him closely. The crew watched as she took out a stethoscope from the medical bag and started examining the unconscious Kratt.

Martin's POV

Surrounded by nothing but pitch darkness, Martin felt paralyzed, trapped and unable to speak. He was anxious when he felt a sudden small, cold metallic object pressed against the left side of his chest, but couldn't put a finger on it.

Just then, he started hearing indistinct familiar voices echoing near him...

The crew's POV

Chris, Koki and Jimmy were watching anxiously as Aviva examined Martin.

"Hmm... His heart beat is a little faster than usual," she remarked, before taking out an infrared thermometer gun to measure his temperature.

Her eyes widened.

Chris leaned in and looked over at the indicated temperature. "103,5 F?!" he exclaimed, now more worried than before.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Jimmy asked, both he and Koki filled with concern.

"Influenza," Aviva sighed, rubbing her bridge nose.

The crew gasped, then exchanged sad and worried expressions.

"The flu?" Chris whispered to himself, guilt rushing through him as he felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. He mentally beat himself up for being so oblivious.

"But don't worry guys, all he needs is to stay in bed, stay hydrated and take some meds for about a week or two," Aviva reassured, putting away the medical material and instead taking out some OTC medication.

"And these will ease his symptoms," she clarified, placing them on Martin's night table. "Now, all we can do is let him rest."

As they were heading out, Chris pulled a chair close to his brother's bed. "I'll stay here," he insisted with a sad tone.

The others only nodded understandingly as they walked out the door.

"Just make sure he takes those pills when he wakes up," Aviva reminded, earning a nod from him without turning his head. She sighed and exited the room, following the others.

Cue silence, followed by a sudden moan from Martin. Chris eagerly placed a gentle hand on his brother's burning forehead, a few sweat drops slowly making their way on his pillow, making it wet. That, and a reddish color dusting his face, made Chris frown deeply. He got up to go get something...

Moments later, he returned with a bowl full of water along with a white wash cloth, then placed them on the night table. As he sat on his chair, he noticed his brother's head twisting a little as he groaned in pain. He dipped the wash cloth in the water, rinsed it, then carefully massaged Martin's forehead, who flinched at the contact of the cool damp wach cloth.

Chris went on like that for a while then, not knowing when, fell asleep, his head resting on one arm whith the other still holding the wash cloth...

Hours later, Chris woke up to a sudden movement. His eyes flung open as he looked down at his brother, who was slowly waking up.

He held his hand with hopeful eyes. "Martin?" Chris called in a whisper.

Martin groaned before half-opening his bloodshot eyes, he opened his mouth to say something but his sore throat prevented him. Instead, a weak cough came out.

"Shh... It's alright, bro. I'm here." Chris softly caressed his head with the back of his hand; Martin let out a quivering sigh.

In sudden remembrance, Chris grabbed the medicine on the night table along with a cup of water, giving Martin a sad smile.

"Here, Aviva says you need to take these to get better."

With slight hesitance, Martin slowly sat up with a grunt. His head had never felt heavier. He took the pills before gulping down some water. Chris took the cup from his hand then turned to him, not knowing what to say...

"Hey, Martin, I-" he couldn't look into his eyes. "Sorry for being a pain earlier, I didn't know you weren't feeling-"

He was cut off. "No, it was my fault." He heard Martin say with a hoarse voice, now looking into his eyes. "I should've said something instead of going along."

They both looked at each other for a brief moment, then let out sheepish chuckles.

"So... how are you feeling?" Chris suddenly asked, feeling his brother's temperature again.

"Agh... M'head and muscles hurt, and my throat's killing me," he forced out with an achy voice.

Chris sighed as he tucked him back in bed, adjusting his blanket.

"Just stay in bed and rest. I'll go make you some soup, you must be starving." Chris assumed, acknowledging the fact that Martin had not only eaten nothing the entire day, but that he'd not have much appetite at the moment.

"Thanks, bro." He heard Martin manage behind him.

"You don't have to thank me, bro." A small smile crossed Chris' face.

He then left the room, allowing his brother to get the rest he needed.

[mynamesaplant]

Comfort for Weirdos

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Dawn gets a new babysitter and she is not a fan.

Another PLA Mer AU! This one's been sitting in my Works in Progress for a little while, so I'm just posting it to be done with it. Thanks to Monsoon-of-Art for all the inspiration!

Don't like reading on Tumblr? Read it here on AO3.

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Dawn occupied herself while Ingo was engaged in quiet conversation with Palina, staying tucked behind Ingo’s fin and puffing out warm air only for it to turn into little clouds and drift away. Palina was nice, if a tiny bit overbearing. She was always so concerned about what she was eating. Dawn always made sure she had a belly full of something from Jubilife before she set out on her journeys.

Although Ingo had her tied up in discussion, Dawn felt the mer’s gaze on her – silently fretting about what she could possibly be eating when Ingo was notoriously picky and bad atrocious at hunting. The surveyor pretended not to notice Ingo shifting his weight slightly to glance down at her, trying to be absorbed in a new task (grooming her snowy tail) while the adults spoke in muffled tones overhead. She was obviously the topic of conversation, and she was relieved when Ingo told Palina he would join her in less than an hour, shepherding Dawn away.

“Bye, Dawn!”

Palina called after her, waving before they rounded the corner and Dawn waving back with a sheepish smile on her face. She really did like Palina… Now if only the warden tried giving her something cooked.

“Where are we headed today?”

Dawn asked, wriggling across the ice and finding it frustrating that she was so slow. Her claws were so blunt and useless in these ice caverns. Ingo didn’t immediately reply, nudging her towards a hole to the underwater entrance to the main settlement.

This cavern was just one of the many. Little hidey holes for seclusion and storage. The cavern they were leaving was dedicated to food stores which desperately needed replenishment, but Dawn was hoping that she was finally going to see where Ingo spent his time when in the settlement before they headed out to “hunt.”

Ingo’s version of hunting was setting up clever traps. Ingo was big and Ingo could be fast, but he just did not have the natural knack for hunting that she had seen any of the other mers display. Even the young wardens like Lian and Sabi had the skills for catching small fish.

All the clan members utilized traps in some way, but Ingo was the only one who seemed to have trouble actively hunting. On one of the few occasions that she had seen Gaeric and Calaba interacting, they both readily agreed that Ingo probably had issues because he was used to hunting in a pod, just like regular orcas, so hunting solo was harder for him to grasp.

“I must make a small detour before departure with Palina.”

Dawn was a little too excited by the prospect of seeing somewhere new to realize Ingo’s choice of words. He told her to take a deep breath, guided her through the tight tunnels with a hand on her back, nudging her forward. She trusted him completely to get her safely to their next destination, despite her poor vision and swimming ability, he always took it upon himself to keep her safe.

She had asked him the first time he brought her to the settlement about barely seeming to fit in the tunnels and he blushed, tugging the brim of his cap low and sinking into the collar of his jacket. He had mumbled something about them not being designed to his specifications, before diverting her attention, but it slowly dawned on her why the more and more she got to interact with the other clan members.

Although Ingo had never outright stated that he wasn’t originally from Pearl Clan, it was obvious that many of his idiosyncrasies made his relationship with the clan quite strained. His odd eating habits. His withdrawn behavior. His out-of-place dark clothes. Ingo was no outcast, but he did stick out like a sore thumb, just like she did.

Maybe that’s why they got along so well. Pearl clan’s bewildered acceptance of “Ingo’s pup” was proof enough to the girl that they trusted him implicitly, even if they wound their warden a little peculiar.

“Almost there.”

Ingo assured her, nudging her ahead as he wiggled through a particularly narrow passage, before arriving to their destination – which seemed familiar to Dawn, although she didn’t immediately know why. She clambered out of the water, Ingo pulling himself up and taking up most of the space, unable to climb out with so little space. The surveyor swiveled her head around the space, they must have been pretty deep considering how dense the ice looked down here, although there were a lot of tunnels off this…

“Hey, wait a second…”

Now she remembered where she was and scrambling back toward Ingo when he scooped her up. He looked sheepish but still maneuvered her over to the hole she had fallen down once before. She wrapped her arms around Ingo’s hand, holding on for dear life as he apologized.

“You cannot join me on this adventure, Miss Dawn. Those tracks are too dangerous for an additional car.”

“I’ll stay in the forest! I promise! Please, don’t send me down there.”

He looked mournful at her for a moment, ears drooping at the fearful tint to her voice, but carefully started to pry her fingers loose.

“He’s expecting you.” “He’s going to bite my head off!”

Ingo frowned, pausing, which only gave her more time to sink her short, blunt claws into skin. He thought that she might be a little more forgiving after their last encounter with the story about Gaeric. The other warden had a gruff exterior, but he was a good man, and on occasion a good friend. Ingo knew how all of Pearl clan felt about Dawn, mostly confused and very concerned, but they did what they always did and protected a pup. To the clan, she was a pup, and that meant she had to join the rest of the pups with their designated guardian. Today, it was Gaeric’s job.

Ingo’s hope was this time around that, with other pups around, Dawn would see another side to Gaeric and warm up to him some, and the warden in return would warm up to her. He did not realize just how frightened Dawn still was of him – even with the buffer of other interactions, albeit with other clan members within proximity, she seemed to find any one-on-one time without Ingo’s presence to be very distressing.

“Gaeric doesn’t hurt pups. He will not hurt you. Please, even if you do not trust Gaeric, trust me.”

He knew from the word go this wasn’t going to go well, but he still pried Dawn loose and sent her down the chute, nails screeching for the entire descent.

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This time down the chute was a lot shorter than the first time. Dawn was cursing and trying to get on the slick ice to stop herself because she did not want to go down there. She could bear to be around Gaeric when other adults were around, but the sense of dread and anxiety she felt from being remotely alone with him made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

The incline grew steeper, and she was in Gaeric’s lair, sliding across the ice on her front until she knocked into the warden’s flank. This time, he was awake.

“About time.”

He grumbled and reached down, whether to pick her up or just touch her in general, Dawn was not interested. To her own surprise, she hissed and managed to coordinate her limbs well enough to send her skittering back along the ice. Not that she got far. With a twitch of his tail, she was sailing back in his general direction, this time greeted by a few familiar faces.

“Sabi?”

Dawn said, Gaeric releasing an exasperated sigh when the young Diamond clan warden waved and clambered over to her, Lian not too far behind her. Both looked extremely excited to see her.

“We were worried that Ingo forgot.”

Lian had taken her hand and was trying to pull Dawn back over toward the bigger mer, but she resisted. She was a little surprised how strong Lian was, but she was quick to distract him with a question.

“Why are you guys down here? Why are you down here Sabi?”

“Oh, Mr. Gaeric and I play a lot. He doesn’t know how to get rid of me.”

Beyond them, Gaeric rolled over onto his back and snorted derisively, he clearly had other thoughts on the matter and chose not to voice them. Lian answered her first question while he still tried to pull on her arm.

“It’s Gaeric’s turn to watch us. Gaeric’s the best! He usually lets us do whatever we want until we get tired.”

Dawn couldn’t help but notice the man in question puff up with pride at Lian’s words. With a quick yank, she freed herself and was looking over at Gaeric with slit eyes. She didn’t trust him further than she could throw him. She wanted to get out of here ASAP… The problem was that she didn’t know this place well enough.

Sure, there were a lot of little tunnels, but they were probably like the chute she had come down which made them too icy and steep to climb or just lead to nowhere. The only surefire way she knew out of here was the large hole in the floor that was filled with sea water, the issue there was that Dawn was a miserable swimmer and, knowing how deep they were, she wasn’t going to have enough air to navigate the underwater passages in pitch blackness and make it out into the open water.

She needed a reasonable way of getting out of here. She could do it while Gaeric was dozing, but she would need help from Lian and Sabi – neither of whom seemed keen to let her go. They wanted to play. They loved to play with her, and she loved to play with them, just not here. Gaeric made her way too anxious to want to do anything but leave immediately. Lian was still talking, chattering up a storm about some game they could play, but Sabi was watching her expression closely, noticing the surveyor had no interest in games.

“Hey, I have an idea for a game.”

Dawn said, keeping her voice lowered and clapping her hands together. Lian perked up and Sabi tilted her head, a hint of mischief in her sea green eyes that wouldn’t have been noticed unless you knew to look for it. Gaeric would have recognized it.

“You guys are really good at swimming, but who do you think is better at climbing?”

“Me, I have more limbs.”

Sabi replied matter-of-factly, already getting wind of Dawn’s “game”, and finding it extremely amusing. It was fun to annoy Gaeric and this would annoy him to no end. He didn’t mind playfighting or even pups clambering all over him, but he did not tolerate escape attempts. Sabi knew this would be fruitless, but it would still be funny to watch how events unfolded.

“Yeah, you’re right, Sabi. You must be faster than me or Lian.”

Lian puffed up indignantly at the quick acceptance on Dawn’s part, clacking his claws on the ice with a distinctive tink-tink-tink.

“No way! I have claws.”

He was quite aware that his claws were not long, but he had his whole life to get used to the ice and snowscape surrounding him. Sabi was still new to his home territory and often got assistance from Lord Braviary to get from place to place, he was positive that he could beat Sabi in a climbing competition and impress Dawn.

“You think so?”

Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow, and glancing skeptically at the sharp slopes that lead into Gaeric’s lair, some exposed in parts and others not. She was trying to be smart about this. It would probably be better to pick a chute that wasn’t exposed so Gaeric couldn’t stop her once her little competition was under way. A suitable one was the one she had fallen down, but that had also been a long way up…

“Well, let’s give it a try. It’ll be a like a race, so we should pick a shorter tunnel to climb up.”

“Oh, I know the perfect one.”

Dawn could tell that Sabi was indulging in her little game. The small mer was a little strange like that, but the surveyor was not going to question it. She gestured for them to follow and took them to the base of larger tunnel that Dawn could see the top of faintly and didn’t look too steep compared to the other chutes. Perfect.

“This’ll be easy.”

Lian proclaimed confidently, adjusting his hat on his head and cracking his knuckles just to emphasis his point. He had actually pulled his hat a little lower to cover up the light sweat accumulating on his brow.

He already knew that Sabi had quite the advantage over him better multiple limbs and how well she was able to coordinate them. Lian took a deep breath, taking a quick peek at the tunnel and flexing his hands, preparing for the climb. He wasn’t going to let the Diamond clan warden intimidate him. He was going to prove Pearl clan’s superiority and win over Dawn’s favor in one fell swoop.

Sabi was also looking at the tunnel, wondering if her limbs would even be long enough to reach the other side, but she wasn’t in this for the competition. She was mostly wondering how Dawn, with her blunt nails, was going to finagle her way up there without directly asking for their help and without alerting Gaeric.

The large warden appeared to be sleeping not too far away, but she was certain that he was moving incrementally, aware of Dawn’s half-baked plot, and only pretending to sleep to see how and when he would need to intervene.

Dawn’s plan was a little convoluted. She knew she couldn’t climb up the chute, so she would see who the better climber was and then try to convince them that sliding down the chute like a slide would be fun. They could make a new game out of it to see who could go further.

Once Lian and Sabi had helped her up and had slid away, she would make her escape.

“Okay, who wants to go first?”

Dawn barely got the words out when Lian took off his hat to let it drape across his back and got onto his belly. He pushed himself back aways and narrowed his eyes, attempting to determine his trajectory with his tongue caught between his teeth in thought.

His claws dug into the ice and, in a flash, rocketed forward on the slick ice. His aim was perfect, Sabi and Dawn jumping forward to watch his progress as he maybe got halfway up the chute on momentum alone. The boy let out a little growl and crunched into the side walls, clinging there and dangling for a moment, before he began to work his way up.

His tail flopped and the sound of heavy breathing filled the space, little droplets of sweat showered on them like rain, but he made it to the top and peered back down with a toothy grin.

The Diamond warden seemed to be lost in thought, running a gloved hand over the ice and the palm came away damp. She frowned, casting a surreptitious glance to her limbs while Dawn called up her congratulations. Lian was always going to go first, he had more to prove, and thought he had a slight advantage over Sabi because he was used to the terrain – which was undoubtedly true, but Sabi was used to ice and snow now.

Sabi already knew what Dawn hoped to gain from this so-called game, she wanted them to assist her to get to the top of the tunnel because she knew she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. Lian would be quick to step up and help her as the winner of the race, Sabi’s suckers wouldn’t be able to get the proper suction needed on the slick walls. Nevertheless, she attempted it anyway, encountering the exact problem she foresaw, but still managing to get to the top to look down at Dawn who was beaming up at them.

“Lian won! Sabi had a disadvantage going second… Man, it’ll be fun to slide down those. It was fun the first time.” “Weren’t you screaming the whole way down?”

Sabi called down and Dawn’s features broadened into a forced smile. It actually sort of hurt. She was hoping that hadn’t been noticed, but apparently loud screaming wasn’t subtle. She didn’t want to upset either of them, so she didn’t say anything, but she did double down on her suggestion of sliding down and how fun that could be.

Lian’s tail thumping against the ice overhead, his eyes lighting up and ears perking with excitement, he would take any opportunity to play more with Dawn. She was very fun. Sabi could be fun too, but she could also be a stick in the mud because she knew the outcome of all their games. If she wanted to slide, Lian would slide with her. Heck, he would even help her up.

He joined her at the bottom of the chute, frowning at her blunt claws and wondering how on earth she survived on her own being so small and having no real way of defending herself. Dawn wasn’t much bigger than him, but he had had his own troubles getting up to the top. Luckily, Lian didn’t have to think too hard about the logistics, because, as he tried to nudge Dawn in front of him to give her a boost, she was grabbed by her tail and dragged backward.

The motion was not as delicate as it should have been, but Gaeric was a little aggravated. Ingo’s pup was trying to rope the others into an escape attempt. Although his irritation was mostly extended to Dawn, he reserved a little of it too for Lian and more of it for Sabi. Lian should have known better and Sabi would have been the cause for the problem had Dawn not been there. He held back a low warning growl as he dangled Dawn before him, his face turning stern while she wriggled and writhed.

“Nice try, pipsqueak. Find something else to do with them.”

He set her down a lot more gently than she was picked up, instinctively grabbing her tail to rub where his fingers had applied pressure. Another small, defiant hiss escaped her, which made the warden roll his eyes impatiently, but he laid back down, watching her and the two young wardens through narrowed eyes.

Gaeric didn’t know how to feel about Ingo’s pup. She was just a little too peculiar. She was like Ingo in that way, which was why Ingo probably felt so strongly about protecting and guiding her, but Gaeric couldn’t get over the little warning bells in his mind. His gut told him that she was a threat. A little stunted, malnourished pup… What in Sinnoh’s name was wrong with him?

Dawn remained still until his eyes closed before rejoined Sabi and Lian, both of whom looked a little dejected that their fun had been interrupted. She was brewing a new plot in her mind, but all the possibilities were coming up short. There were very few avenues for escape. The tunnels being one. The hole in the ice that Gaeric used to get in and out of his lair seemed looming and dangerous, but it was the only other glaring possibility.

Swallowing thickly, Dawn pushed some panic back down below her ribcage where it sat heavy and churning in her stomach. She really wanted to get out of there. Ingo told her to trust Gaeric – she couldn’t do it. Their first interaction was just plain bad, she was utterly convinced that he would just snatch her and gobble her up. It had actually brought her to tears with how frightening it had been. It also seemed like Gaeric just didn’t trust her, not an ounce, when she had given him no real reason not to trust her.

Sabi and Lian watched her cast her eyes over to the hole, the cold, dark water beckoning to her. Sabi, not one to squelch an opportunity to swim, caught up to Dawn, even when Lian called after them that maybe they should pick something else to do. They could play tag or make some snowballs to toss around in a game of keep away. Neither of them seemed to be listening to him, so he hesitantly trailed after them.

The surveyor stared into the water, murky and emanating a freezing chill even without touching it. It was not remotely inviting, but Dawn’s distrust of Gaeric and Ingo’s betrayal at leaving her there with him like she was some useless, flopping baby was making her just want to go back to land and mope until she was scheduled to return to the village. Over her shoulder, Lian was cautioning her, trying to dissuade her from entering the water. It was a bad idea.

“We could play some other game.”

Lian suggested weakly, staring daggers at Sabi who blinked back at him. He gestured to Dawn’s back wildly, eyes huge and a small snarl curling his lips, the Diamond warden tipped her head and her horizontal pupils darting over to Dawn. She knew the outcome of this too. It would be hard to sway Dawn from her path but that could be a game in and of itself. It would save everyone a lot of trouble if she intervened, so she did.

“I think we should play a bit of hide and seek in some of the tunnels. Remember when you and some of others found some tunnels that lead to different caves?”

Lian’s face pinched like he was really debating on whether he wanted to tackle Sabi for bringing it up, but it had the benefit of immediately getting Dawn’s attention and her dark eyes were gleaming with interest.

“Tunnels? Caves? That sounds like so much fun! You found them Lian?”

Lian’s eyes grew even wider as she leapt forward, a dazzling smile on her face. He felt his cheeks grow a little warm, rubbing his chin in thought even as his ears and tail gave him away, the former being perked up, almost wiggling with the attention, and the latter slapping lightly against the ice.

“Well, I can’t take all the credit…”

If he was trying to sound modest, he wasn’t doing a very good job, but neither Dawn nor Sabi said anything. The smaller mers took Dawn by the hand and dragged her over to some of the smaller tunnels, all of them were just small enough to fit, which was claustrophobic, but perfect for evading Gaeric. The tunnel wasn’t particularly long, shimmying along far too slowly behind the more cautious Lian and Sabi crowding behind her.

“Are there more tunnels in these other caves? “A few but we didn’t get to explore a lot of them.” “Why not?”

Lian made to the cavern, pausing to check the ice, and already spotting an obvious problem. Dawn squirmed past him, trying to get a better look and to get some space, but Lian grabbed her arm and held her back, the ice beneath her groaning in protest.

The cavern was big and almost looked as though it was formed by bubbles, the ceiling was made up of half circles that caught what little light filtered in and refracted it around the space. That light was emanating from the floor, a soft orange glow. The cavern would have been quite dark without these odd features and Dawn squinted into the gloom as Lian pointed towards the center.

“That’s why.”

He replied, nodding toward the ground. Dawn squinted.

“I don’t… What am I supposed to be looking at?”

Lian looked at her with a level of disbelief that made Dawn cringe. How anyone fell for her and Ingo’s web of lies about her origin she did not know.

“The ice is thin. See the puddles? It’s like this every so often. We think there are heat vents or something below the ice-” “I think its magma. I don’t think heat vents glow.”

Sabi interjected, Lian closing his eyes to prevent anyone from seeing them roll in his skull. Lian had never seen a deep-sea heat vent before, but he knew what the ones closer to the settlement looked like, and although those ones didn’t glow, he found the idea of magma in the icelands a bit farfetched.

“Anyway, when the ice is solid, we can play in here. It’s not safe right now.”

Dawn wanted to counter that they were all capable swimmers, but she feared that if she opened her mouth and said anything else, she would make herself out to be even more of a fraud than she already felt. Lian felt a wash of guilt as that light in her eye vanished and her ears drooped. She was disappointed.

“We should go back is what you’re saying?”

She asked morosely, spotting the aforementioned tunnels across the room and looking at them longingly. Oddly enough, there were huge chunks of ice encrusted rock jutting through the floor, so she had to wonder if these were natural caves that lead into rocky crevasses in the earth. Maybe Sabi’s theory wasn’t too far off.

If that were the case, she definitely didn’t want to go down there in her current mer form, the rock would feel unpleasant against her skin. Even as a human, she wasn’t sure she would want to go down there. Although she loved exploration and discovery, she felt as though that discovery could be made by someone else, and she would be just fine with that.

 “We should go back.”

Sabi had said unexpectedly, clinging to the walls and dangling down between the two of them upside down. She hoped now that Dawn would stop having funny ideas and just go play with them back in the other cavern. There was nothing else of significance she could foresee, so now she just wanted to get to the fun stuff. Gaeric would yell at them when they got back, being a little harder on Dawn specifically for causing such a ruckus with her mere presence, but they all would inevitably end up asleep as they usually did.

Dawn was the caboose on their journey back. Dragging her feet, so to speak. She already got the impression that Gaeric was going to yell at her for persuading the two wardens into exploring the tunnels, which he had told her to not do. She was attempting to delay the inevitable. She hated to be berated. Captain Cyllene had been very disappointed in her last few reports, calling them fanciful tall-tales and that she needed to remain “grounded in reality” if she wanted to continue working in the survey corp.

They weren’t tales! The mers were right in front of her! All her captain could see was her making up stories instead of looking at pedantic sea stars and mussels in tidal pools. She was doing her job! Laventon had had to take her aside and gently explain that, while the information and drawings (all from memory, by the way!) of the merpeople in the waters around their settlement would be of particular interest to children, Cyllene would have very little patience for it.

Dawn stopped writing about them and returned to her sea stars and mussels - enjoying the world that she had inadvertently discovered, and still somehow finding ways to disappoint all the adults.

Gaeric was waiting for them, his whiskers bristling, and eyes narrowed when the two wardens slunk out of the cave, a growl reserved for Dawn in particular, making the space rumble. She flinched when he addressed her.

“When I said finding something else to do, small fry, I assumed I was being loud and clear. Stay where I can see you and stop causing trouble, got it?”

Although he was saying it to Dawn, Gaeric stared daggers at Lian and Sabi, affecting the former much more than the latter, Lian pulling his hat down tighter over his eyes much in the same way Ingo did to avoid eye contact. They should have known better, but Dawn should have listened to him, she had deliberately disobeyed. He didn’t know how Ingo managed her, he really didn’t. The pup was a handful and a half.

She was fussing with the sleeve of her tunic, dark eyes cast down as if she was waiting for more yelling and the large warden stopped midway through a tirade that he had been planning since he saw them disappear into the cave system. This was a little unfair of him, wasn’t it? Dawn wasn’t from here. She didn’t know how to act appropriately with the clan and their hierarchy, and on top of that, Gaeric hadn’t really given a reason to trust him. Especially after their disastrous first encounter.

It was a mutual distrust, but he recognized that she was out of her element and didn’t receive as much guidance from him as he should have provided as her temporary caretaker.

She heard a sigh overhead and a big hand at her back, scooting her along. Dawn squirmed, clearly uncomfortable being touched by someone who wasn’t Ingo and Gaeric moved his hand away.

“Come on.”

Dawn didn’t move and he was tempted to say something, demand that she follow him, but he was reminded of a young Irida in this moment and just how stubborn she could be when there was something she just didn’t want to do. He left her, figuring she would come over of her own accord. Trusting her to stop misbehaving. Although not a pup but the strictest of definitions, she was no doubt tired, and she would come rest sooner or later.

It took less than ten minutes for Gaeric to regret his decision, most of the pups all curled up and nestled on top of one another near his side, sleeping and quiet. He was about halfway to join them when he heard a loud splash and a shriek.

“Cold! F-F-F-Freezing!”

Gaeric lunged forward instinctually, shoving Sabi and Lian out of the way and scooping Dawn out of the water. Both of them, but especially Sabi, looked shocked that she had gone into the water. They both knew how shocking it would be to their systems. They knew acclimation was necessary for such cold water.

“What is wrong with you?”

He snarled, looking at her sodden coat and listening to her chattering teeth. Although she squirmed and wriggled, Gaeric pressed her against his chest with one hand and unknotted his parka with the other. Her pristine coat could hold up in relatively cold water, but the water down here would still be shocking to the uninitiated. Dawn should know that.

There were a lot of things that Dawn should know. It wasn’t a lack of Ingo teaching her, his fellow warden was diligent and patient in all that he taught her about their clan, but she had no concept of the fundamentals and that just seemed so suspect to him.

Gaeric tried swaddling her in his parka, it would help dry her and keep her warm, but being sopping wet and just being so damn wiggly, she slipped out of his grip and was quick to try and drag herself away.

"Alright, I've had just about enough."

Before she even knew what was happening, she felt a light pressure at the back of her neck. Although she thrashed and squirmed, she had been a little too slow to prevent Gaeric from getting a good grip on her this time. She was scruffed. Dawn reached over her head and tried to pry his fingers loose to no avail, dripping water, trying to stop her teeth from chattering, and wailing to be let go all at the same time.

Gaeric huffed and cast a glance down at the content pile of pups left undisturbed by her shenanigans, then to Sabi and Lian, looking up at her unapologetically, cringing when the older warden jerked his head over to the other pups. They went without argument. Playtime was over.

"W-Wait!"

She squeaked when Gaeric swung around, bundling her up in his parka and effectively pinning her arms at her side as he did so. He lowered himself to the ice by the pups once more and set her down, Dawn trying to wriggle free with very little success. In the blink of an eye, she was surrounded on all sides by flesh. Dawn was effectively trapped in an arm prison. He moved himself accordingly to cut off points of escape and sighing when she kept trying to free herself, too much fabric and wrapped very tight.

"You've got to chill out, kid. Ingo will be back later."

Gaeric wasn't an idiot. The pup was frightened. She only really seemed to trust Ingo and they hadn't really gotten off on the right fin, so to speak. Although he was trying to be stern with the best of intentions, she found him terrifying and she now had no avenues of escape, which only made her more anxious. The little keening noises of fear making Gaeric reconsider his choice to isolate her to keep her out of trouble.

"Oi! Lian, Sabi - get up here."

He couldn't allow her to keep roaming around, but she might calm down in the presence of others. He knew the young wardens were awake – having just moved to the pile of pups a moment ago themselves so as to not inflict his ire, but, when they didn't move, Gaeric grumbled.

With a surprisingly quick movement, he pinned Dawn with one hand and reached down with the other, scooping up the pups with one massive hand. Pups felt safer in groups. He deposited them all on top of her before he lowered himself down, resting his head on his arms. There would be a bit of fussing, but he knew they'd settle down and sleep. It was hard to resist considering how comfortable and warm and safe the piles felt.

"Please, just sleep, Dawn."

Gaeric almost begged, slowly sensing the pups returning to sleep as Dawn emerged, having managed to free herself (probably with the help of Sabi or Lian), looking up at their babysitter and the mer eyed her back, almost daring her to do something.

"You called me by my name..."

So, he had. There was a beat of silence, and, to his immense relief, she was settling down in the crook of his arm, idly drawing patterns on his skin. She must have realized that this was not a punishment as much as it was a silent plea for her to calm down and relax a little.

Flipped over on her back, but she didn't close her eyes, just stared up at the ceiling of the cavern for a long time. He watched her impassively, feeling his eyes start to droop. His irritation, however, would not allow him to fall asleep. Something nagged him persistently in the back of his head, his gut instinct that something was not right about her making the large warden narrow his eyes and grumbled out a question.

"Why won't you sleep?" "’m not tired."

She replied stubbornly, her form tensing against his arm as he asked more questions. It wasn’t an opportunity to be missed. She was never away from Ingo long enough to get a straight answer out of her.

"Pups are supposed to sleep. Helps you grow. Maybe that's why you're so tiny." "I'm not a pup."

Her lower lip quivering a little, her dark eyes fixed on the ceiling above and refusing to meet Gaeric’s gaze because she knew she would succumb in the same way she crumbled under any adults’ eyes. She would spill all the beans just so she would stop receiving that look. Arms folded tightly over her slim chest, she tried to feel braver than she felt in this moment.

Gaeric already made her nervous - why was he bringing this up again? No answer either she or Ingo provided ever satisfied him and their answers never changed. So, why ask again and again? Was he trying to catch her off-guard? Catch her in a lie? If he kept pressuring her, Dawn might just snap.

She felt like she was trying to shrink back against his arm, trying to avoid his notice the same way that she would try to avoid the captain’s scrutinizing gaze. She knew what was coming what she saw his brow furrow. She had seen the commander’s face with the exact same expression many times before.

“You say that, but you certainly act like a pup. You should know better than to jump into unfamiliar water. You’re as finicky as Ingo... You never eat. You don’t sleep. You wander off on your own. You can barely even swim. You’re both so… weird.”

He watched her turn her head away, bringing her hands to her face and Gaeric could see they were coming away wet. He quickly bit his tongue. That was too far, his mouth was ahead of his brain. What was left unsaid was that Gaeric thought they were a perfect set. Ingo seemed so normal in comparison to Dawn. Everyone knew it and was too kind to say it, especially to the pup. Not him. He had to make himself look like more of a jerk.

"Why does it matter?"

The words quivered with held back emotions and Gaeric internally berated himself. She’s a kid. She’s just a kid. She never asked for this. In his head, he was trying to form an adequate apology, but in the meantime, his mouth kept moving.

"Because you should be twice as big at your age, and you shouldn't have this coat. It should be getting all patchy and you should be getting some spots."

He replied, trying to keep his tone even as he adjusted his arm, indicating her pearly white coat that stuck out like such a sore thumb. Maybe by pointing out the oddities, she could see why he thought it was so strange that she looked the way she did. It did nothing of the sort. She sank lower and lower, rubbing her eyes and trying to hide the fact that she was sniffling. Oh Sinnoh, Ingo was going to kill him for making her cry.

“Kid… Listen, that came out wrong.”

Dawn didn’t even try to stop him when he shifted his arm to nudge her back into sight. She was scrunching herself up into a ball, her sniffling becoming more pronounced as she wrapped her arms around her tail. Gaeric squeezed his eyes shut. Lord Avalugg, grant him the wisdom to know when to shut up.

He heard Lian’s small voice trying to rouse Dawn and not sounding very successful. She was going to wake up the other pups. He adjusted his bulk one last time, scooping Dawn and Lian up, Sabi grabbing onto his fingers with her arms, suckering into place so the large warden didn’t try to shake her loose, and deposited the trio onto his flank.

Gaeric had every intention to apologize to her later because, even if he didn’t understand her and her situation, nobody deserved to be treated as he just treated Dawn.

“Please, just sleep, you three.”

He placed a hand over them, enshrouding them in darkness, and only moving it away when they were still. They were finally sleeping and Gaeric sighed, folding one arm beneath his head and the other protectively around the remaining pups, before drifting off to sleep himself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scene he stumbled in on was certainly a more serene one than he anticipated. Ingo appeared from the hole in the floor, peering around before clambering up to gather his young ward, and he found everyone sleeping peacefully. He shifted closer, softly calling her name with no result.

 “Dawn?”

He tried again and that’s when Gaeric grabbed a fist full of his parka and dragged him down onto the ice with less of a resounding crash than expected. Although he had never felt so inclined towards aggression, a deep, throaty growl resonated through the cavern and Gaeric glared at him and pressed a finger to his lips before gesturing over at a few sleeping pups on his side. Dawn was among them, nestled into his Gaeric’s fur beside Lian and Sabi (of all pups), which only sent a little twinge of jealousy through the bigger mer, but Ingo got the picture.

After what had probably been a long day of trying to wrangle Dawn and the young wardens, Gaeric had finally managed to get them to sleep, and he would do anything to keep them that way.

Ingo stifled a sigh as he was dragged closer, Gaeric’s grip loosening while sleep began to reclaim him, but not relinquishing his hold entirely. In a few hours, he would be completely awake and ready to start his nighttime patrol, but he was content to return to sleep. Ingo being added to the sleeping pile whether he wanted to or not.

He carefully worked Gaeric’s fingers loose, but settled down beside him, using one of his soft fins as a pillow and closing his eyes. Ingo listened to the soft breathing of the pups and the light rumble of the other warden’s snores felt soothing in a way he couldn’t quite describe. Ingo pulled his cap a little lower over his eyes and allowed himself to relax. This cavern was the most comforting and safest place in the world as of this moment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gaeric woke up before the pups or Ingo, remaining still for as long as he could afford to. He had never seen Ingo or Dawn look so relaxed, the pup’s small hands fussing with his spotted fur as she slept, Sabi and Lian half on top of her like they had been holding her down… Or maybe hugging her. Gaeric didn’t need a closer examination to know he had upset the pup; he could still see the tear tracks.

He needed to be careful about the things he said about her and her caretaker. He turned his gaze toward Ingo, his frown softened in sleep and his arm half thrown around him. Both of them were so weird about doing group activities. Ingo had every excuse in the book to avoid communal grooming, meals, and rests, and Dawn was just the same. It’s like they fought every instinct that would make them less out of place.

Ingo was a good mer. He cared so deeply for the clan, and it ran deeper than the debt he felt he owed them. Gaeric respected him – he had even said so, although he wasn’t sure if Ingo took his word for it.

His pup was… weird, but she was doing everything in her power to help them (and the Diamond Clan). She was weird, like extraordinarily weird, but he had to give credit where credit is due. Even if she was weird, she was Ingo’s pup. Even if she was weird, she had a good heart.

“Weirdos…”

Gaeric said, but he meant it with affection.

[vizishereig]

Do you have any other WIPs and/or AUs in the works? If you have a snippet to share (no pressure) :3

oh, I do! uhmm, hmmm, lets sift through my documents.

okay, I'll give ya two <3

hiding under cut bc one has mentions of eye trauma and the other is kind of 18+? just a little?

He’s sitting in bed, on his phone, when it happens.

His left eye starts to tear up, out of nowhere. He blinks, confused. Trying to blink the tears away, but they keep coming. Leon blinks again, first the left eye, closing it for a second, then opening, then doing the same with the right.

There are black dots in the vision of his left eye. Something is wrong. He doesn’t know what, but something is wrong.

A small spark of panic is growing, but he pushes it away. He gets up (and he’s still in his night clothes, hasn’t even left his room all day) walking over to look in the mirror. He gets close, trying to see the problem. He catches a glimpse of his left eye, the spots in his vision making it hard for him to understand what he’s seeing.

The panic spreads. Something is wrong.

His phone is in his hand, and he thinks about calling 911, but hospitals have always been a huge fucking no.

He calls Luis instead.

---

"I'm not a dog, asshole," he spits out, the pain in his head knocking words loose. The tug on his hair is entirely expected, but he still winces at the sudden yanking, hazy blue eyes forced to meet Krauser's.

"You know, you say that, but you still follow orders so well. Even now, on you're wild goose chase to save that girl. You can't help it, huh?" The hand in his hair tightens it's grip as Krauser continues, "You were made for this. And I think you know it, deep down. You are nothing if you aren't listening to someone."

The words hit too close to home, but all Leon does is glare, struggling to move away, blood tracing the curve of his face. Krauser barks out another laugh, using already bloodied fingers to catch the drop and bringing it to his mouth. His rage is blinding as his own blood is smeared over his lips.

He wants to bite him. He doesn't.

"Here's how it's going to go, boy scout," The hand on his hair loosens just a bit, but he's distracted by the gentle shh of a knife being unsheathed. The tip comes to rest against his chin, digging into his skin. He tries to pull away, but the hand in his hair doesn't let him.

"Ah, ah, ah. Listen closely. You're going to open up," he pauses, knife moving up to gently trace over his lips, "and you're going to suck me off. Just like old times, right?"

[elithesia-autem-danguarde]

Chapters: 9/30 Fandom: Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Video Game), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions, Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kudari | Emmet & Nobori | Ingo, Kudari | Emmet & Shou | Akari, Nobori | Ingo & Shou | Akari, Nobori | Ingo & Tsubaki | Melli, Kudari | Emmet & Tsubaki | Melli, Nobori | Ingo & Queen Ohnyula | Lady Sneasler, Kudari | Emmet & Hisuian Zoroark Characters: Nobori | Ingo, Kudari | Emmet, Shou | Akari, Seki | Adaman, Kai | Irida, Volo (Pokemon), Yone | Mai (Pokemon Legends: Arceus), Tsubaki | Melli, Hinatsu | Arezu, Susuki | Iscan, Wasabi | Sabi (Pokemon), Kikui | Lian (Pokemon Legends: Arceus), Yuugao | Calaba, Garana | Palina, Hamarenge | Gaeric, Teru | Rei, Perilla | Zisu, Shimaboshi | Cyllene, Original Female Character(s), Kamitsure | Elesa, Shaga | Drayden, Taro | Lacey Additional Tags: Legends Arceus AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Living in Hisui, emmet in hisui, warden emmet, Ingo Emmet and Akari all connecting, Friendship, Misunderstandings, I mean like LOTS of misunderstandings, poor communication kills, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Ingo really hating his amnesia, Eventual Happy Ending, Brotherly Love, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, No real shipping in this fic, The Unova characters don't appear until like the last three chapters, But I'm tagging them anyway because they're still important, actions have consequences, This fic is as long as it is because no one knows how to communicate properly, Emotions, Big Sister Elesa, Uncle Drayden, Ingo Emmet and Akari are all autistic, Hikari | Dawn and Shou | Akari are Different People, Siblings, The Ride Pokemon are Considered Nobles Summary:

The Pearl Clan witnesses Ingo mourning the memories he just can't seem to recall. The Diamond Clan witnesses Emmet concealing the past that he fears would alienate him. Both groups are aware that something is suspicious, but don't know how to approach it when considering all of the other strange things currently occurring within Hisui and the interests of their individual clans.

Akari forms separate bonds with both brothers as she investigates who they are and what they mean to each other, but will it be too late to bring them back together after months of secrecy and poor communication? Or can Ingo and Emmet's brotherly bond endure even through hardships beyond what they ever could have imagined before?

[theharrowing]

Harrow this is completely dumb but I saw this screenshot on social media and thought that it would be somethingthe Collateral boys inherited from either a club buyout or Yoongi’s dad, and they are torn between keeping it because it’s hilariously iconic or burning it in the backyard 🤣

SABIE LMAO!!!!

i just snort-laughed so disgustingly loud, i am obsessed.

i am sooooo tempted to go back to chapter 5, to the scene at Serendipity, and make the couch Yoongi and mc get semi-frisky on identical to this couch lmao. this is truly iconic!!!

[egginfroggin]

Genuinely curious what y'all think, because I sure as heck can't pin down Sabi and Emmet's relationship in I Told You So

The fic in question (T-rated for violence, heavy on the found family)

[abhainnwhump]

New Whump story.

I don't have a name for it yet, but it's about two country girls and a cyborg forming a magical girls group in a sci fi world.

Addi (27, short for Addison) and Sabi (17, short for Sabrina) are both Whumpees and Caretakers. They work on their family's wheat farm, which Addi took over when her parents died in a shoot out. It's profitable and well loved by the community until a company called R.B Institutes wants to buy the land, giving them no choice in giving it up. Addi is stoic and more stand off-ish, and she's pissed about this. She and Sabi go to the lab to argue over the land. While there, Sabi finds a secret door and goes down to a secret lab. Sabi is more closed in and timid, she only feels comfortable at work on the farm or talking about her favorite books. They let out Dr. Quad's most prized experiment as he comes down. He wants to kill the sisters for finding out about it, but Sabi trips backing up and falls in a table, shattering two bottles that land on her and Addi. They barely get out alive, still in pain due to the potions' effects.

M.U.L.T.I is the main Whumpee, and the prized experiment. No one knows her age because they don't know when she was considered born. She was created as an executioner for Quad's failed experiments. Quad has a controller in his jacket that takes over their mind, keeping M.U.L.T.I naive to the murder they're doing (hence why she stabbed Sabi, Addi is very angry). She's also never been outside the lab basement and is treated and abused by the other scientists, but she doesn't understand it as abuse. They still believe Dr. Quad loves them like a daughter. M.U.L.T.I is rescued by Abbi and Sabi and brought back to the farm. She's the one who tries to help them through their new powers. With the potions, Abbi now has healing abilities and Sabi rots anything she touches, so she always needs to wear gloves.

As for Dr. Quad himself, he's the Whumper. He's very prideful man, both in his accomplishments and his appearance. That is, until an experiment goes wrong that completely rots his left face, neck, and top of chest. It's a chronic condition that slowly gets worse, so he always wears a mask in public. It's also why half of M.U.L.T.I's face is human. Dr. Quad started going mad trying to find a way to cure himself. If he doesn't, then society would lose their trust in him. He started taking people, people that could easily have their absence excused, and used them as experiments. Unfortunately, most of these tests are failures.

Also, if you're wondering why their names are like that (Addi, Multi, Quad), it's because this was a comic I was assigned to do in a math project. I kinda forgot to make it about math. The last page was supposed to be a metaphor for factoring quadratic equations, but I barely had enough time to finish the last page, much less another two.

Here's the comic and a very blurry picture of the concept designs:

[drowned-debris]

@dotflowweek Day 4: School Uniform Effect, School, Repeatedly Going Over Thoughts

He should’ve been here two hours ago.

Two hours.

She expected him to be late —he always is— but not by this much. It feels like a jab at her, like one of those half-serious insults he’s so fond of. Mocking her for taking him at his word.

All things considered, she should probably leave. If Smile is gonna be a no-show, there’s no reason for her to waste her time sitting in this classroom any longer. She risks getting trapped in the school when the gates are locked.

…But then again, she doesn’t really have anywhere better to be.

Half the reason she even agreed to meet with him was out of boredom. Hanging out around town with a guy she mostly hates still beats going back to where she’s staying. For the millionth time, she laments her complete ineptitude at making friends; maybe if she talked to her classmates more, she’d have a companion with whom conversations didn’t feel like battles.

Unfortunately, she’s stuck with the smuggest, most arrogant bastard on the planet. It’s just like him to leave her hanging like this; their time together thus far has been an elaborate dance of one-upping each other. He’s probably going to show up tomorrow and laugh at her for being so gullible, for waiting two whole hours for him to arrive. Then he’ll mockingly ask if she’s in love with him, to which she’ll respond by telling him he wishes, and then they’ll kiss to shut each other up. It usually goes something like that, anyway.

What if something happened to him?

The thought comes out of nowhere, shocking Sabitsuki. Her nails stop scraping against the desk— she didn’t even notice they were doing so until now.

Just what on Earth even provoked that thought? He’s proven he can handle himself. Smile knows this town just as well as she does; the idea of him being caught off guard in a bad place is ridiculous.

You can’t say that for sure.

“Urgh!”

Sabitsuki slams her fist hard onto the table she’s sitting on. She wishes she could deny it, but… there’s always a chance. Her eyes dart to a clock in the corner— the incessant ticking only fuels her unease.

With a groan, she pushes herself off of the desk. Sabitsuki feels like she’s gonna start going crazy if she spends another second just sitting here. Surely she can at least go check around the school?

Shakily, she steps out of the classroom and creeps over to the rooftop staircase. She has no idea whether anyone who works at the school knows about the two of them staying late so often— but she’d rather not risk it, so she takes her time heading upwards.

She arrives at the roof, and the cold night air rushes out to greet her. It’s refreshing, good for clearing the head. It’s not even six o’ clock yet, but the moon is making steady progress into the sky. She’ll never get used to winter.

Taking a few steps towards the railing, she bends carefully over it and surveys the area below. No signs of movement within the school grounds. The lights of the town outside the gates glow resolutely, like knights in shining armour riding out to combat the darkness. It’s funny— the night makes this shithole look almost beautiful.

“Not that I don’t like what I see, but that looks sorta unsafe.”

She stands up straight and swivels around instantly at the sound of a familiar voice. It’s him: Mr. Human Garbage himself. Before she even knows it, she’s marching towards him, her steps making heavy footfalls across the grey floor. Smile is standing next to the doorway that leads back inside the school; she grabs the sides of his brown jacket and pins him against the wall.

“YOU!” Sabitsuki yells. All intention of staying quiet vanished the moment he appeared. “Where the HELL were you!?”

“Just taking care of something. Why? Can’t live without me?”

She’d never admit this, but she’s grateful that he’s okay with her shouting; she feels so goddamn angry these days, and he gives her somewhere to let it out.

“Taking care of something for two fucking hours?”

He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. “So clingy. If you must know, my sis hurt her leg and I went to help her out.”

Sabitsuki sighs and lets go of him. She knows how much he cares for his sister— it’s one of the few things she likes about him.

Stepping back a little, she speaks, more calmly this time. “...Fine. Just try to be quicker next time! I thought something had happened to you!”

He gasps in mock surprise. “What’s this? Sabitsuki is worried about me? My fair lady Sabitsuki is worried?” He pretends to swoon. “Oh my, I think I might faint!”

She scowls. “Oh, shut the fuck up. I didn’t even want to think about it! The thought just wouldn’t leave my head, is all. Jesus.”

Smile shrugs nonchalantly, then leans forward toward her. “Well, if you need a distraction…” he grabs at the tie of her uniform and pulls hard, bringing her face mere millimetres away from his. He offers up his trademark grin. A complete loser wearing a winning smile. “...I think I have an idea.” Before he even stops speaking, he’s already closing the gap.

She doesn’t need to be told twice.

[sabiekay]

Interest Poll!

Hello! I’m considering doing a special event in December - January to celebrate the festivities and end of the year. And since I only have the capacity to do something small due to said holidays and traveling…help me choose!

[bluethedream]

WIP Title Ask Game

I was tagged by @troubadour-malin thanks!

Rules: reveal the titles of the documents in your WIP folder and tag as many people as there are documents. Let others ask questions about the ones that interest them and post snippets or explain the contents as you see fit!

Sooo. If we're gonna count all my wips, they're 12, but technically speaking, I'm only working actively on three right now and the others are from fandoms of the past and I probably won't touch them ever again, they're just probably gonna stay unfinished forever.

Anywho, here we go:

Morning, 'Tis for Mourning: this is pure angst for Kaveh. My boy hurts all the time here, he can't catch a break (the title is a historical literary quote - guess!)

In The Depths, Shelter: it's an alhaitham/kaveh mermaid and lighthouse au which I shared a snippet from a few days ago! Kaveh is a lighthouse keeper and Alhaitham is a merman

Moonshine: a fluffy thing about Blade and Dan Heng when they were yingxing and dan feng, before everything went to hell. Yingxing crafts Cloudpiercer and they drink together under the moon. It's a bday gift for a friend (I'm very creative with my gifts I know, sigh.)

[sabyfangirl]

A Birthday Creature Rescue!

The team was still in shock from the villains' attack, but no one had it worse than Martin. Chris turned to his brother, spotting him on his knees. He went over and slowly placed a hand on his shoulder, trying not to startle him.

"Martin, you okay?" he asked with a calm voice. His older brother stayed motionless, not saying a word. He then looked up at him with sad eyes, guilt written on his face.

"This is all my fault, Chris," his voice cracked, his brother giving him a confused look.

"What do you mean, bro?" He knelt down on his knees beside him.

"I lead them to them, I helped them find them, and now they're in danger and it's all because of me," he said miserably, regret in his voice. Chris patted his older brother's back, comforting him.

"It wasn't your fault, Martin. You couldn't have known they were following you," he said with an attempt to convince him. Martin looked at him with those same gloomy eyes.

"Thanks, Chris. But I won't forgive myself until I've helped them get back living free and in the wild!" he spoke determinedly, the sadness in his eyes melting into perceptible anger.

"Count me in," added Chris with the same tone and determination.

"Count all of us in!" They heard Koki say from behind. The trio - Aviva, Koki and Jimmy - joined the Kratt brothers as they formed a circle, about to elaborate a plan.

"Alright, we can't let Donita and Gourmand use those animals for some soup or accessory..." Aviva started.

"Yeah, but how are we gonna stop them?" Jimmy quized.

"There's only one way we can bust into Donita's plane and rescue all those animals in time," responded Chris.

"We have to be agile like a pine marten," continued Martin.

"Discret like a wolf," added Aviva.

"Sneeky like a fox," pursued Koki.

"And swift like a squirrel," finished Chris.

Jimmy gave a confused look to his friends before realization hit him. "Oh, you guys need to activate creature powers!" he beamed.

The crew exchanged amused looks before turning serious. They had animal friends to save.

Aviva and Koki rushed off to their creature power suits while Chris and Martin took out four different discs. The girls came back with their suits on before the bros threw two discs at them: a wolf disc for Aviva, a fox disc for Koki, a squirrel disc for Chris, and a pine marten disc for Martin.

Once the discs were inserted in the suits, the crew realized the animals weren't present for DNA activation. Just then, Chris took out a familiar object.

"Don't worry everyone, my creature souvenir collection will help," he reassured. As he opened the box, each member with a suit took out a sample of fur respectfully to the creature powers they wanted to activate.

Once everyone was ready, Jimmy stood aside to give his friends space to activate.

"Ready?" Martinasked ; they all nodded. "Activate creature powers!" They yelled out simultaneously.

Instintly, blasts of green, blue, purple and orange illuminated the area, the previous human figures morphing into four different animal aspects. Jimmy smiled in satisfaction at the sight of his friends, ready to save the day.

"To the creature rescue!" they let out as they headed toward the villains' hideout.

"Good luck!" Jimmy waved goodbye.

Later, the team arrived at a pink jet parked near a rusty plane, recognizing both vehicles as Donita and Gourmand's. They hid behind some buishes in order to elaborate a proper plan first.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do: Chris and I get in and distract Donita and Gourmand while Aviva and Koki free all the animals," Martin said, a serious look on his face.

"Got it!" let out the others at the same time. Martin turned to look at Donita's jet.

"I bet all the creatures are in there, let's bust in and save them, Wild Kratts style!" He clenched his fists, a confident smile on his face. They nodded.

"Let's go!" On his signal, they all darted accross the thick layer of snow and to the pink ship.

Soon, the group found itself lurking inside the vents of Donita's plane, making noisy bumping sounds while they were at it. It wasn't long before they heard familiar voices below them, followed by laughter.

Martin squeezed his fist at the sight of his fellow creature friends lifelessly frozen by suspended animation. A gentle hand on his sholder helped calm him down. He turned to find Chris giving him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, bro. We'll save them," he whispered. Martin took a deep breath and nodded.

"Hey, it looks like Gourmand's getting his cooking utensils ready," pointed out Koki while peeking through the vent. The others gasped before quickly putting their hands over their mouths, but they were loud enough to be heard by the chef.

"Huh?" Gourmand let out, looking up at the vents above him.

"What is it, Gourmand?" Donita asked, an annoyed look on her face.

"Hmm..." The chef started sniffing sceptically. His eyes widened then squinted unpleasantly.

"I think I smell those pasky Wild Kratts," he informed with an irritated tone. Donita gave him a flabbergasted look.

"The Wild Kratts? Where?" She asked paranoidly. Gourmand's eyes turned back to the vents, where the team gulped.

"On three, guys. One, two, three!" Martin trailed off as they busted through the vent and landed perfectly in front of the villains, making a heroic entrance.

Goumand and Donita let out gasps followed by angry growls. "We knew it was only a matter of time before you've come for these animals," Donita started with a surprisingly calm tone.

"Ooooh wait 'til ah get mah hands on yah," Gourmand let out angrily, on the other hand.

"You won't get away with this!" Aviva threatened.

"Yeah! We're saving these animals and there's nothing you can do to stop us," Chris added.

"You will pay for kidnapping them on my birthday!" Martin growled. The evil duo just laughed at their predictable statements before attacking. Gourmand launched himself at the bros while Donita sent her pose beams at Aviva and Koki.

An epic fight broke off as the chef swang one of his bats at the Kratt in the pine marten suit, who swiftly dodged the hit then swang his tail at Gourmand who successfully jumped back, avoiding the tail. He cackled at Martin's attempt, when something came to his mind. "Hey, where's greenpea?"

"Over here!" he heard a familiar voice coming from above his head. Looking up, Goumand spotted a green figure dropping right on him.

"Gah, get off me you pasky rodent!" he cried out as the Kratt in the squirrel suit stood on his shoulders, blocking his view with his chef hat before hopping off. "Try squirrel will ya?" Chris said sarcastically.

Not being able to see, Gourmand started swinging his bat randomly in the hopes of hitting one of the Kratt brothers. They hopped around to avoid each swing, harder than the last.

Not too far, stood a confident Donita with a remote controller in her hand, trying to put Aviva and Koki in suspended animation. They bounced, ducked, dodged every single beam.

Suddenly, Aviva looked over at the brothers with Gourmand, then back at the pose beams. A brilliant plan formed in her head.

She dodged one more beam before calling out her friend. "Pst, Koki!" The girl in the fox suit's attention turned to her. Aviva pointed at the pose beams then at Gourmand and, automatically, Koki got her plan. She winked.

"Hold still!" yelled out an annoyed Donita, angrily pressing the buttons on her controller. The two girls nodded at each other before running off on all fours to the guys, luring in the pose beams.

"Chris! Martin! Get outta the way!" Koki alerted.

Seeing their friends coming their way with two pose beams behind them, they knew what they were up to. So without hesitation, the brothers jumped out of the way, leaving Gourmand in the center of the room still blinded by his hat.

Aviva and Koki waited until the pose beam went off before jumping out of the way, and just as the chef got his hat off, a blast of pink light hit him and rendered him uncapable of moving a muscle.

"Hey, what's the big idea!"

"Oops!" Let out a slightly embarrassed Donita. But just as she was about to turn off the pose beam, a long blue tail smacked the remote out of her grasp.

"Oh no, you don't!" Martin let out. Donita flinched as the device dropped out of her hand and into Aviva's "paw".

"NOO!"

"Oh yes! No more pose beams for you Donita," said Aviva with a heroic voice.

"And now let's free you guys," she added as her attention turned to the creatures that were still stuck in suspended animation, setting them all free.

"Pouncer, Toughy, Fluffy!" Martin let out delightfully as the animal cubs pounced on him. He laughed as they licked his face.

"Everyone's free, now they can go back living free and in the wild!" Chris said gloriously.

"Yeah!" the others cheered.

"NO! Their tails were going to make perfect scarves for my winter collection!" yelled out a enraged Donita, interrupting their happy cheers.

"And ah was gonna make the most delicious soup outta them!" Added a frustrated Gourmand, still stuck in suspended animation.

"These creatures don't deserve to have their tails taken away or end up in a soup," started Chris. "They deserve to be free and out in the wild, where they belong!" Martin finished.

"And don't ever mess with these creatures again!" Koki threatened, snarling like a real fox.

"Because when you mess with them, you mess with the Wild Kratts team!" Aviva clarified.

The villains growled in annoyance when a sudden loud sound came from above the plane. The crew looked up through the open airway on the ceiling to find the Tortuga flying above them.

A sudden ring tone came from Aviva's creature pod; she answered.

"'Sup guys! Ready to head back to the party?" Jimmy asked with a smug look on his face.

"YEAH! WOOHOO!" they beamed.

The ginger guy descended a platform on which the animals were put on, followed by the team. Then, Martin took the remote controller and threw it at Donita.

"By the way, thanks for the birthday creature rescue, it was fun!" Martin let out enthusiastically.

Donita caught the device with a huff while watching the team rising up to their ship and flying off. It was a succesful creature rescue!

"I can't believe they got away, again!" she complained.

"And ah can't believe you haven't freed me from suspended animation yet!" Gourmand reminded with an annoyed tone.

As in sudden remembrance, she quickly turned off the pose beam, making Gourmand fall backwards as a result. "Argh," he growled.

Out of nowhere, Dabio showed up in the room with some cooking utensils and skecthbooks. He looked around, confused.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked innocently. Donita and Gourmand gave him death glares.

"What?" He rubbed his hair in pure confusion. The villains completely ignored him as they were too angry to speak.

Next chapter

Previous chapter

[marxy-06]

Favorites Fic Recs 4

was supposed to post this a long time ago but tumblr didn't save...this got a little long, apologies (or you're welcome?)

Kim Seokjin

Replacement (@akinnie75)

The truth untold (@vminity21)

The flower bridge (@yoongsisbae)

Fall for me (@ebonyinktea)

Cinnamon bliss (@yoonia)

Glazed and dazed (@floralseokjin)

Voix (@yoonia)

With you (@yoonpobs)

I'm all yours (@sailoryooons)

Smile (@shuadotcom)

Scar kisses (@girl8890)

No pyjamas (@jinkookspencil)

Min Yoongi

No more (@gyukult)

Chocolate opal (@babesindestroyland)

Changing one's tune (@1uckygold)

Before you go (@sweetcarrotsandroses97)

Perfect for me (@7dipity)

Ps, is it okay if I start calling you dad (@btsficsandsuch)

The third & sixth (@jimlingss)

Insecurities (@taetae-mic)

Performance evaluation (@kookscrescent)

Tricks of the trade (@stutterfly)

I'll protect you (@glassbangtan)

My miss right (@lavenjoon)

Step up (or step out) (@hollyhomburg)

Never, never fall (@joheunsaram)

The seven year itch (@jimlingss)

The sweetest thing (@illneverrecover)

Ink petals (@yminie)

Quiet and qualms (@sugafreeagustd)

Illicit favors (@yoongiofmine)

Jung Hoseok

Outro: love is not over (@kiirokero)

Heaven sent (@aquagustd)

Sunshower (@jimlingss)

Unconditionally (@rmsrkive)

Kim Namjoon

The stand in (@yoonia)

The making of: Love (@inkjam-moon)

Easy, like sunday morning (@angelguk)

Inside my mind (@jimlingss)

Park Jimin

Into the wilderness (@gukyi)

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Puppy steps (@simp-4-jm)

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A special gift (@peachy213jiminie)

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My forever: Park Jimin (@bts-trash-blog)

The only way (@ethertae)

Exposure (@dreamyjoons)

Kim Taehyung

Charade (@ughcore)

Wabi sabi (@flurrys-creativity)

Like real people do (@bangtanloverboys)

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Jeon Jungkook

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2002 (@tattookoo) -> pt. 2 to 1999

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Last christmas (@whatifyoulivelikethat)

Bleeding for you (@mixtapejimin)

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1999 (@tattookoo)

Home (@bonny-kookoo)

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Cherry (@peachypinkygloss)

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For me (@personasintro)

OT7

Bon voyage: Into the sea (@yoongsisbae)

Thank you to all of the wonderful writers, ily <3

[elithesia-autem-danguarde]

Chapters: 12/30 Fandom: Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Video Game), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions, Pocket Monsters: Black 2 & White 2 | Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 Versions Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kudari | Emmet & Nobori | Ingo, Kudari | Emmet & Shou | Akari, Nobori | Ingo & Shou | Akari, Nobori | Ingo & Tsubaki | Melli, Kudari | Emmet & Tsubaki | Melli, Nobori | Ingo & Queen Ohnyula | Lady Sneasler, Kudari | Emmet & Hisuian Zoroark Characters: Nobori | Ingo, Kudari | Emmet, Shou | Akari, Seki | Adaman, Kai | Irida, Volo (Pokemon), Yone | Mai (Pokemon Legends: Arceus), Tsubaki | Melli, Hinatsu | Arezu, Susuki | Iscan, Wasabi | Sabi (Pokemon), Kikui | Lian (Pokemon Legends: Arceus), Yuugao | Calaba, Garana | Palina, Hamarenge | Gaeric, Teru | Rei, Perilla | Zisu, Shimaboshi | Cyllene, Original Female Character(s), Kamitsure | Elesa, Shaga | Drayden, Taro | Lacey Additional Tags: Legends Arceus AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Living in Hisui, emmet in hisui, warden emmet, Ingo Emmet and Akari all connecting, Friendship, Misunderstandings, I mean like LOTS of misunderstandings, poor communication kills, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Ingo really hating his amnesia, Eventual Happy Ending, Brotherly Love, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, No real shipping in this fic, The Unova characters don't appear until like the last three chapters, But I'm tagging them anyway because they're still important, actions have consequences, This fic is as long as it is because no one knows how to communicate properly, Emotions, Big Sister Elesa, Uncle Drayden, Ingo Emmet and Akari are all autistic, Hikari | Dawn and Shou | Akari are Different People, Siblings, The Ride Pokemon are Considered Nobles Summary:

The Pearl Clan witnesses Ingo mourning the memories he just can't seem to recall. The Diamond Clan witnesses Emmet concealing the past that he fears would alienate him. Both groups are aware that something is suspicious, but don't know how to approach it when considering all of the other strange things currently occurring within Hisui and the interests of their individual clans.

Akari forms separate bonds with both brothers as she investigates who they are and what they mean to each other, but will it be too late to bring them back together after months of secrecy and poor communication? Or can Ingo and Emmet's brotherly bond endure even through hardships beyond what they ever could have imagined before?

[theharrowing]

Harrow!!! I am diving deep into your archives for your audio fic writing ask game, because after a couple years since I read Moonstone and Onyx, I’m doing a reread and had forgotten how much I *adore* it. So my questions are for that fic!

🩷 What inspired you to write it?

💜 What is your favorite thing about it?

💚 Why did you write this for this Jin?

SABIEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it took me many days, but i did the thing!!! these clips are way too long and meandering, and do not contain kitten screams (there might be one...), but i hope you enjoy them!!! 💜💜💜 thank you so much for asking!!!!!

send in asks about my fics & i’ll respond via audio clips! 💌

[just-some-random-blogger]

Brat Hours

You dramatically react to an issue involving your friends and so Billionaire Entrepreneur, Lanniscorp CEO Tywin Lannister takes your phone, makes you an offer that makes you panic, then fucks your panic away.

Modern!Tywin Lannister x Reader | 5k+ | cw: fem!reader, crack fic kinda, implied sugar daddy/sugar baby dynamic, age difference, pwp tbh, smut (bdsm, brat/brat tamer, daddy kink, degradation kink, bondage [belt], teasing, edging, fingering, piv, mild spit kink, dumbification kinda, breeding kink, cockwarming, biting, marking), fluff, etc.

A/N: im so down bad for this old man that the plot ends at 1k 😀 cross posted on ao3. Please consider donating €5 to Rital's GoFundMe, so that she and her family can evacuate Gaza.

Tagging: @ceoofyearning sabi mo tag kita wag mo ko block

Tywin Lannister lifts his gaze from his computer screen, eyes narrowing at the sight across the room. His desk is positioned in front of a window that looked out to the large expanse of the Casterly Rock estate. Directly in front of him, laid upon his massive bed, there, I sprawled, squealing into a pillow, wallowing in the velvety sheets.

He leans back into his leather office chair, stretching out an arm. He rests his palm on his oak desk, "will I be hounded for concert tickets to some smelly half-wit vocalist's concert again?"

His stubbly jaw clenches as he awaits a reply. He gets none.

I throw my phone onto the pillows and stand. I start pacing around the bed.

Tywin calls my name.

It does not register. I jump back into the sheets and continue to scroll on my phone. After I yelp and sit up, I flinch when he calls my name sternly.

Tywin shakes his head and sighs. He raises a hand and beckons me over with two fingers.

I chew my lower lip and rub my thighs. My skin is cool to the touch, as I only had booty shorts and an old band tee of The White Walkers on. Tywin hated it.

I sluggishly walk over to him, dread lumping in my stomach as I take in the old man's expression. "I didn't do anything wrong," I pipe up.

Tywin turns his chair to the side, anticipating my arrival. He spreads his legs, giving me perfect view of his well-ironed, grey dress pants. He opens his arms out for me, and I gratefully take my seat on his lap, my bum on one thigh and my legs in the middle of his. He links his hands together, resting them on my hip bone, "then who would cause a troublemaker so much trouble?"

I drop my head and peer up at him through my lashes, unable to fully meet his gaze knowing what I would have to say to him.

I nestle my face into his neck. One hand sneaks its way around his back, the other fondles with his white dress shirt. I undo two buttons as I take in his rich, earthy scent.

Immediately, he understands what is happening, "speak, girl, even if it's petty."

"But it's hella petty."

Tywin sighs and tries to look at my face. He cannot, so he instead turns his chair back to his computer and pulls us closer to his desk, "I cannot help you if you do not tell me what ails you."

I scowl when his hands leave me to go back to typing on his keyboard. I pull away from the comfort of his shoulder to show him my displeasure.

He ignores me.

My pout exaggerates, "nooooooo."

"No?" he spares me a raised eyebrow, "so you want my attention?"

I furrow my brows and cross my arms, "no."

"Funny," he looks back at his computer, "I was certain you'd sooner perish than be rid of it."

I sound off, offended and annoyed.

He clicks on his mouse, then scrolls through his emails.

I shoot him a nasty look.

He mumbles whilst reading the text on his computer screen, momentarily making a face because of whatever he reads.

My annoyance festers.

He begins to type his response.

I grumble, "Tywin."

He continues typing.

"Tywin," I groan and whine, "I want your attention."

He leans back on his chair again, hands coming down to his armrest. We stare at each other for a moment, I knew, because he was waiting for me to take it down a notch. He tilts head, "sit properly then, girl."

I make an annoyed sound, tightening my lips.

Tywin acknowledges the challenge and simply squashes it, "will you really make me repeat myself?"

I scoff, "I don't even like sitting on your lap."

He chuckles, deep and gutteral, annoyed and amused at once. It makes my stomach do flips. He motions with his pointer, "then get off."

I growl and straddle his lap, sitting on him 'properly'. I wrap my arms around him and nuzzle back into his neck, "stop telling my what to fucking do."

He nostrils flare. His thorax emits a low hum. He scratches his nails on my back then digs one hand into the roots of my hair. He tugs my head back, forcing me to turn to him, "watch your mouth, else I'll put it to good use-"

"Try me-"

"-I'll make you record the Lannister jingle for me."

My eye twitches. I pull away and sit up straight.

His expression shifts, knowing how much I fucking loathe his company's stupid-ass jingle. My lips curl in disgust, "yuck, the fu-- the... heck."

Tywin's lips curl slightly upward. His one hand rests on the curve of my bum, the other rests on my cheek. He swipes my lips with his thumb then brings that hand opposite the other, "filthy girl."

I scowl again.

He leans on his headrest and shakes his head, "will you speak, or shall I return to Mr. Baelish and his Vale proposal?"

My brows relax at the mention, "he's proposing something in the Vale?"

"Mmm. Undoubtedly a plot to get a promotion," he says, swiveling to reach out for his keyboard.

I swat his hand and place it back in my side.

Tywin looks back at me.

I growl and brush my hair back in annoyance. With a deep sigh, I cross my arms, looking down at my lap. I feel him looking at me, so I toy with his belt to distract myself from his scorching gaze.

He does not appreciate it, "behave."

"I ammmm."

He does not respond.

I sigh again and finally look up at him, "you know that show I watch?"

He places his hands on my thighs, his large, warm palm heats up the area, "the ghastly one about looney blondes?"

"Mmm."

"Yes. Are they finally cancelling it?"

I turn to his chest and trace the opening of his shirt with my fingers, "opposite actually. They renewed it and my moots are killing each other."

I look up at him when he does not respond.

"Online friends," I correct and drop my hand.

He furrows his brows, "so? Let them die."

I inhale deeply, "Tywin-"

"No," he raises a finger, "I understand these online friends of yours mean something to you, but if they are causing you to scream and roll around the bed over an idiotic programme, then you're more simple minded than you've let on."

I scoff, "why not just call me a slur?"

He slips a hand underneath my shirt, rubbing my sides, "I will never understand why such an exquisite creature finds such entertainment in something so dull anyway."

"Hey, it's not that bad, plus I'm only watching the show for Smith Matthews."

He hums, "and what shall we do with the people vexing you over that show?"

"They're not vexing me, they're destroying themselves over opinions on fictional characters and started bringing personal agendas into it."

Tywin watches as a line forms between my brows.

"It's seriously making me anxious because, oh my gosh, it's not that deep," I sigh, resting my hands on his shoulder.

He stares at me for a moment, "show me."

Without another word, I stand up, get my phone from the bed, and sit back down on him. I open my app and begin to drone about the details of the drama.

"Which user is doing this again?"

I show him my screen and he takes my phone, staring at my following list as I explain what happened, "--and then she was like, 'no fucking way' then posted this whole-ass thing about-"

"I've blocked them," he hands me back my phone.

My soul escapes me, "w h a t?"

"I believe the feature was created precisely for moments like thi-"

"DID YOU ACTUALLY?!" I gasp, "OH MY GODS, OH MY GODS--"

Tywin watches as I frantically look through my phone. My expression drops and my heart races as I swipe the screen, seeing that I, in fact, was now following significantly less people. I frantically unblock them.

"TYWIN, YOU BLOCKED PEOPLE NOT EVEN PART OF THE-"

"Enough!" he grabs my phone and chucks it onto his desk.

I stare at him and clench my jaw. My adrenaline is pumping, and so I take it out on his arms, squeezing his biceps until he groans and grabs my hands.

"Your calamity is imagined," he mutters. He rubs my shoulders, "do not waste your time on people you'll not even meet."

"IT'S NOT IMAGINED!" I shake my hands, "IT'S REAL TO ME!"

He flinches at my shriek. He releases me and sighs.

"You can't just do stuff like that!" I whine, feeling my eyes water, "this is like if I went through your emails and deleted the ones that annoyed you."

He purses his lips. He takes a moment before sighing his response, "so? What would you have me do?"

I glare at him and scratch my eyes.

"Hmm?" he shrugs his leg, nudging me on his lap, "is all that's left? For you to cry about your digital pals?"

"grAH! It's not like I can just follow them back and say someone took my-- no wait... I can just say that!"

Tywin raises his brows as I turn to take my phone. Before I can do anything though, he shakes his head, "I thought interacting with them 'freaked you out?'"

"Yes, but I can't just-"

"I'll have their accounts suspended." 

I raise my brows as he turns to his desktop.

"What's that app called? I'm sure it will be easy to get someone to-"

"No-- honey, that's so dramatic," I place my hands in his chest.

He turns to me with a raised brow, "now it's dramatic?"

"You're talking about suspending accounts just because!"

"Because they bother you," he rebuts, face dead serious.

His deadpan makes my stomach roll. I gulp and feel my heart race.

"Besides, what's one more bloody email to me when I've gone through hundreds?"

My breathing begins to grow heavy, but no longer because of my internet dilemma.

He averts his attention to his computer, "now tell me the name of that stupid app."

I take a deep breath and chew on my lip. I place my phone down and slump as I look at him, "you like me so much you'd waste your time on this?"

If it was possible, Tywin's deadpan drops even more. 

I lick my lips and hold back a laugh, momentarily grinding down on him.

He turns to me.

I mutter, "my stomach feels fuzzy."

"Because of your internet issue?" he leans his head back.

"Hmm... and cos I like how much you like me."

I catch the slight glimmer in his eyes, though he tries not to betray his deadpan.

I sniffle for effect and shrug. I rub our noses together and bite my lower lip, "Mr. Lannister, do you have a crush on me?"

His brows quirk and he is unable to conceal his chuckle. He breaks into a groan and rubs his hands up my back, "what irritating creature you are."

My breath hitches as he leans in for a kiss. It was a chaste one, one that meant to show affection or even soothe. In truth, it was slightly surprising, considering his affections were mostly tangible. I pull away to giggle at him and grasp his cheeks, "you like annoying girlies?"

"Careful now, girl" Tywin narrows his eyes, "I enjoy you, but be careful."

"Mmm," I nudge his face with my nose, "and how would you like to enjoy me, kitty?" I bring my hands to his belt.

"Gagged."

I chuckle as I undo his buckle, "but milorddd--"

He gruffs.

"--I want you to use this on my wrists."

Tywin draws a deep breath, "the brat wants to be bound, does she?"

I nod slowly and pull his belt off. I hang the black leather on me like a scarf and grab his face, kissing him greedily. I shift on his lap and grind down on him. I chuckle when I feel him hardness through my shorts.

"Where do you want to enjoy me, daddy?" I mutter before licking a stripe up his neck.

He groans, "on my desk, whore."

He doesn't have to tell me twice as I shove his things out of the way to make room for myself on the surface. I lie on my back, curling my legs up as I excitedly loop the belt.

"On your belly," he commands.

"Nooo," I whine as I willingly trap my wrists in knot I prepared, "wanna see you. Wanna see you get tired as you fuck me."

Tywin grabs his belt and tightens my bounds, "filthy brat."

I giggle then huff as he yanks my arms up and positions me on his desk. He pushes the hand that held my bound ones above my head and looks down at me. I stretch my legs and wrap them around his waist, "love seeing your face when you come in me, daddy."

"Mmm," he leans and grinds down on my steadily dampening core, "you like seeing me use you like a clock sleeve?"

My breathing strains. I nod with enthusiasm, "all I'm good for."

He hums again, deeply pleased. He grinds rougher into me, causing me to shift from my spot. He grabs my thigh with his free hand and repositions me, "you know your place-"

I grind my hips, meeting his rhythm.

"-yet you somehow believe I should reward you for being a whore," he mutters, stopping his movements.

I make a sound at the lack of friction and seal him tighter around my legs.

"So audacious in your need," he digs his fingers into the garter of my shorts, "beg for it."

"Please," I lick my lower lip, "I need you-- need you to fuck me- use me like toy-"

"Desperate hussy," he pulls my shorts down.

Just as he said, I desperately wiggle to help him pull my shorts off with one hand. He chuckles and sinks his face into my neck, taking in my scent then nipping my skin.

"Let's see how desperate you are," he whispers hotly against my ear.

He rids me fully of my bottoms. He fastens my legs back around him then grinds down into me once more. The friction of his pants on my bare cunt makes me hiss. I moan and throw my head back, adjusting my hips until it feels good. The sound that leaves me when he rubs me the right way is nasty.

Tywin simultaneously moans and sighs. His nails scratch up my thigh and he squeezes my hips before continuing the travel to my breast. He pushes my shirt up and kneads my fleshy lumps. He hums in approval when I arch my back.

"Please. More," I whimper, looking up at him.

He tilts his head, "more what?"

"More you," my hands begin to strain as I overcome with the need to touch him.

He senses it and tightens my bounds, making me whimper. He renews his grip on my wrists then brings his other to inspect the building mess between my thighs.

I moan when he rubs my clit. He pulls back and inspects my arousal. He wets his two fingers with my slick before sinking into me. I whine at his prodding, jaw hanging low, hips grinding into him, "Tywin."

"So soft," he pumps his fingers into me, "so fuckable."

My stomach tightens at the wet sounds of his ministrations, and in turn, I clench around his fingers.

He moans my name, making my stomach flip. He rubs his palm into my clit, "your cunt's hungry for my fingers."

I moan, needing more friction. I pant like a depraved animal, "more, fuck, please."

Tywin basks in the way he makes me tick. He tunes in to the sounds I emit as my folds leak more and more.

I whimper when he pulls out and brings his fingers to my lips. Without any thought, I dutifully clean them, lapping evidence of myself off his digits. I graze his skin with my teeth as he pulls out with a pop. He chuckles, "dirty work for a dirty girl."

"Yes, please, I'm a dirty girl."

I yelp when he grabs me by the throat and pushes my head back. He does not choke me per se, but there is pressure in his hold. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head, "again, you think you deserve a reward for being a harlot?"

"No, daddy," I whine, "being a needy whore doesn't win me prizes."

"Mmm," he trails his hands back down to my breast.

"But it does make your cock hard," I sigh as I roll my hips.

This sets Tywin off. It's a visible change. He proceeds to rub my clit to prove a point, and clearly the point is to make me writhe and come all over his desk.

I moan unabashedly, something he's always loved about me. I whine his name and chant agreements, encouraging his finger fucking. I roll my hips and arch my back even more. I throw my head back and feel my neck strain as I chase the building pleasure he was supplying.

And I really shouldn't have been surprised, but he stops just as my orgasm was dawning.

I look at him, teary eyed from the loss of my incoming high. I pout and whine.

"Beg."

"Please, please,  I wanna come, baby. I need it. I need it, I want it."

Tywin teases me with his thumbs.

I let out a strangled moan, feeling my body quake, "mmm-- daddy, please. I need you! I need you to fuck me. I want you to fuck me with your fingers, with your cock, oh- fuck- want you to come in me and spit in my mouth and ruin me."

Tywin groans and shakes his head, "you truly are a depraved little whore, aren't you?"

I moan and nod, "yes. Yes, I am. I need it so bad, daddy, it hurts. My pussy needs you-"

He grabs my jaw, squeezing it to keep it open, "you want my spit in your mouth?"

I nod rapidly and stick my tongue out.

"You will not get everything that you want, slut," he says, releasing me to undo his pants with one hand.

I pant as I watch him free himself. When he does, my cunt quakes in anticipation, aching to be filled. I spread my legs, bringing my knees to my sides. My brows furrow in concentration, "please, please, please, I need your cock. Use me, please. I need you--"

My words are cut off by him finally driving into me. I squeal in excitement. I groan and tightly grip on the belt as much as I can. He thrusts into me with little regard for anything but himself. He gets lost in his thrusts. He presses his hand into my inner thigh and pushes my leg down. He pulls the belt on my wrists and pistons harder.

I cry out in approval. I mumble incoherent words of praise and encouragement in manner that scratches my throat.

Tywin eventually releases his hold on my bounds in lieu of rubbing my clit. At the same time, he thrusts slower and deeper, making me throw my head back in pleasure.

"Fuck! Just like that. That feels so fucking good, mmm fuck-"

He drags out his cock even slower, withdrawing until he's nearly out then sinking back in till his stones hit my ass. His deft fingers, wet with my lust for him, rapidly rub my clit in a fast and delicious pace. I squeal when he sporadically slaps into me, only to draw back out in a languid manner again.

My eyes begin to water and my belly trembles at the ministrations.

I whine on beat with his thrusts when he grabs my hips with his large hands and plunges deep, bullying my cunt with short and shallow shoves. My breathing is loud and hard as I wrangle out of my bounds, dying to touch him as he makes my pussy flutter. Seeing this, Tywin growls and pushes my hands back down, "stupid whore. Lay down and take it."

I make a squeaky noise, "wanna touch you- needa touch you."

"Were you not the one who asked for this?" he groans through laboured breath, "are you so dumb fucked already you've forgotten?"

I squeal and feel my breath get knocked out of me when he returns to a more brutish pace, holding me down by my decolletage. My body jolts on impact, in turn, making the desk creak and the objects upon it jostle. My salivating mouth chokes out a response, "no-- wanna to- wan' touch you, da-" I whine, "please."

"Greedy come slut."

I let out a broken moan, "lovie, please- please. Wanna touch- wanna pull you close--"

"I'm inside you," he chuckles darkly, one hand tightening around my throat.

The lack of oxygen and his thrusts make me see stars.

The next moment, he begins to fuck me slowly again, grinding into me in a moderate tempo. He stuffs his thumb into my mouth, effectively muffling my whines. I haughtily suck on his finger. With the new found quiet, the wet slapping and thrusting was now audible to anyone earshot. The sounds makes my belly wild with lust.

"Look at you," he mumbles as he does just that. He looks at me as I suck on his thumb and mewl; he watches as his cock disappears into core, my puffy lips parting with every thrust, "so eager for my seed."

I pathetically sound off at the idea, rolling my hips as I did.

"Shall I put an heir into your belly, pet?" he releases my wrists, bringing the now free hand onto my stomach, "my pretty girl."

I gag at the idea, nibbling down on his thumb as I desperately wiggle the belt off my hands. Tywin ignores me as the fantasy of fucking me pregnant clouds his mind. His breath strains as he rubs a side of my stomach, "though, I do like painting your skin with my seed."

I whimper and furrow my brows. I choke on his thumb as I mutter, "no, inside. Inside, please!"

Tywin is snapped out of his fantasies and pulls his thumb out of my mouth. He tilts his head as he watches me struggle out of the belt, "oh? You think you deserve that?"

I make a frustrated sound as I free myself from my bounds. All the while, Tywin uses his wet thumb to slowly draw circles on my clit.

I gasp when I finally manage to shrug the belt off my wrists.

Lost in the thought again, Tywin continues with his steady and deep pistoning. He imagines how my body might change to accommodate his child, how my belly will grow, how my breasts will heavy, how my slick will sweeten. He hums and curses under his breath. He doesn't actually want an heir, he doesn't think, but gods fantasy of it all.

"Need it," I whimper, reaching out to him. I grab his dress shirt and scratch the sides of his ribs. I lick my lips and debate ripping the his shirt open, but don't want to deal with repercussions of flying buttons nor what he'll do to me for destroying his shirt. I hastily unbutton his top and rub the expanse of his chest. My hands run up to his neck. I massage his shoulders and pull him close, lifting my head up to kiss him.

Tywin leans down, lips finding my own, but just before I can deepen our kiss, he pulls away and clutches my jaw, "I asked if you deserve it, my stupid fuck-toy," he rests his forehead on my temple, "not if you need it."

As this point, his movements slow then cease altogether. I whine in protest.

He clicks his tongue and rubs my thighs, "use your words, darling."

I continue to whine as I scratch as his nape. "I deserve it," I stretch out, peppering kisses all over his face. He leans into me. I lick his lower lip, " 'm a good girl, officer. So good."

He groans when I begin to roll my hips again. He grips the curve of my ass and shakes his head, "your whorish nature proves overwise."

"Please, please, please--"

"Will you cry to me about your woes and then cry again when I take action?"

I rapidly shake my head, "never. Never, lovie."

Tywin hums and rubs his nose on my cheek.

"Please," I beg, "please," I urge, "please."

He kisses my jaw and begins to move again. I squeal in relief and nip at his ear.

"Since you asked so nicely," he mutters, propping himself up on his palms.

I shift my weight on my elbows and chase after his mouth. I give him messy kisses and make it a point to catch his lips between my teeth at least once. Though normally, he would see this as an act worth punishing, in the moment, he did not care. He, quite frankly, loved the neediness, not that's he'd say that out loud.

Tywin loses himself as he bucks into a thorough pace. He plows into me with enough force to make his desk squeak and thud in protest. I meet his movements with the grinding of my hips and wanton pants. Amidst all the sensations, I feel my climax quickly drawing near.

"Yeah, baby, so good. So good."

He grunts as he squeezes the flesh on my hips. He pushes my knees back with one hand as the other rubs down to the small of my back, "you like that?"

I claw at his shoulder, dig my fingers into his nape, and rapidly nod, mumbling in mindless agreement. He huffs, looking down at me in self-satisfaction, wholly enjoying the reaction he was garnering. He spectates the wet slapping of our skin and the shuddering of my belly. He rubs circles on my clit.

"Fuck, Tywin."

He hums, "such sweet sounds."

I drop my head back.

"Prove your obedience then. Come on my cock."

I whimper his name out repeatedly and chase my incoming high.

Tywin pounds into me with more vigor, rougher and harder and more desperate.

I feel my belly begin to tighten. I howl and pull him close. I bring my mouth to his neck and graze him my teeth. I sigh and lick his skin before sucking the area, "give it to me, gimme, baby-- need it, need'a-"

His mouth finds mine and we share a heated kiss. He pushes me flat on the desk, hands on my shoulder and hip. He grips me tightly as he stokes the fire building inside him. He flicks his hips at a desperate pace and his expression displays his single-mindedness: his brows furrow, his jaw drops. My own face makes known how intoxicating it all was. Much as I wanted to watch him come, the twitch of my features prevent me from doing so, and soon enough, my eyes screw shut to focus on my pleasure.

Tywin's nails bite into my skin, and with two strong, distinct plunges, he grunts and releases his lustful heat. He continues to fuck me through his peak, and I feel him throb as he sighs deeply in ecstacy.

Quickly after, I let out a throaty squeal as my body breaks into burning bliss. My spine twists and my thighs shake as I feel my come spill down my ass onto the wood supporting my weight. I heave heavily through my open mouth and squeeze the arm pushing my shoulder down with both my hands. I lick his fingers as I grind into him, riding out my climax.

He begins to falter moments later. I wrap my legs around his waist and seal him in place. My body buzzes as he caresses my neck and rubs my lips with his thumb.

Breathlessly, he praises, "good girl."

My belly tingles and my eyes open to his look of bliss. I lick his thumb then kiss it, pulling his hand off me to then kiss his palm, "thank you, daddy."

Tywin takes a couple open-mouthed breaths as he examines me. He kneads my exposed breast then rubs down my belly. He licks his lips, evidently satisfied. I whimper as I push myself up and bury my face into the crook of his neck. I sneak my arms underneath his open shirt and pepper kisses on his skin, licking, nibbling, and doting on him.

He's accustomed to how I get after a good fucking, and though his sigh was that of content, it was also something else. He places his hands on the curve of my hips and nudges me with his nose, "I have work to do, needy pup."

I bite his neck hard enough to make him react. He calls my name out as a warning. "Wanna stay like this," I whisper hotly against his ear.

He sighs again as my lips kiss their way to his. He knits his brows but returns my affection.

I drape my arms over his shoulders, one hand combing through his white hair, "don't want my old man to be cold."

Tywin makes a disapproving sound at my feigned concern. He rolls his eyes and I simply giggle, knowing even in his annoyance, he'd let me have my way. "You will not distract me," says the man with his serious Lannister™ voice.

I am immensely undeterred and overly confident in my post-sex state, and so I stick my tongue out through my teeth before shaking my head. He sighs yet again, shaking his head as he tries to push me off. I whine and scowl in offense, tightening my arms and legs around him. The man knows it's futile, and yet he continues to push me back, as he also knows he will let himself get distracted once this work stokes his ire.

Coming to terms with his defeat, he stops pushing me off. I pull my lips into a pleased smile and look at him.

He raises his brow and warns, "you will not speak a word unless spoken to."

My stomach rolls at the severity of his tone.

"And you will not complain about how I'm ignoring you, nor long it's taking me to complete my work while you are nestled on my lap."

I chew my lip and tilt my head, "can I complain if I'm off you?"

"Yes."

I nod, "okay, kitty meow meow, sit down on your chair then."

Tywin's brow quirks.

I blink expectantly, "come on, honey. With all the exercise we do, I'm sure you can manage to get us on your chair."

He glares at me, but I simply do not care. I grin and rub the line between his brows.

With a grunt from him and a giggle from me, we end up on his chair. I kiss his cheek and rub his shoulders, "good boy."

He ignores me and rolls his chair towards his desk with slight difficulty. He arranges his things and wipes down the wet blob on his desk with a tissue, "dirty temptress."

I chuckle and rest my head on his shoulder.

We both know Tywin Lannister would never donate to charity 🤢 be better than our old man, and please consider donating €5 to Rital's GoFundMe if you enjoyed this fic.

[svholand]

𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙢?

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: nenhum! smut apenas nas rotas individuais, mas aqui é só fluff (ou algo parecido).

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: a vida em buenos aires como estudante de intercâmbio não era fácil, ao contrário do que muitos pensam. contudo, com os seus três amigos mais próximos, as coisas se tornavam mais leves. claro, aquele alguém especial entre eles também ajudava. depois de uma calourada, tudo fica bem mais claro para você. ( esteban x f!reader ou enzo x f!reader ou pipe x f!reader )

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 2.1 k.

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: minha primeira fic aqui, então relevem qualquer coisa! se estiver bom, aceito elogios e se tiver ruim, aceito que finjam que está bomkkkkk optei por deixar o curso da leitora em aberto pra que vcs possam imaginar o curso que acharem melhor! também finjam que todo mundo é da mesma idade (ou, ao menos, com idades próximas) e eh isso! vou postar as rotas em breve, então tenham calma cmg

era muito fácil dar close no instagram, postar as melhores fotos dos pontos turísticos de buenos aires e exibir o fato de estar fazendo intercâmbio ali. a realidade, depois de anos morando ali, estava longe de ser gloriosa.

quando não estava presa no campus, estudando ou atendendo as aulas, tentando manter uma média alta para que não cancelassem sua bolsa de estudos, você estava fazendo bicos para que pudesse se sustentar. fazer trabalhos e formatar para outros alunos em troca de dinheiro, passear com cachorros, cuidar de crianças... enfim, qualquer coisa que ajudasse com o aluguel do dormitório - que não era incluso na bolsa - e a alimentação no final do mês, porque você não era de berço de ouro como alguns ali.

além disso, também ganhava dinheiro pela monitoria do comitê que fazia parte. basicamente, ganhava uma merreca para recepcionar os alunos intercambistas e calouros como você, assim mantendo aquele problema longe da coordenação do curso e garantindo que tivesse um saldo quase positivo na conta do banco todo mês. o salário, no entanto, não era a única coisa positiva daquela monitoria.

enzo vogrincic, um estudante uruguaio de fotografia que, assim como você, também fazia de tudo por uma graninha, era uma das suas coisas preferidas da monitoria. se identificava tanto com o rapaz, porque haviam entrado juntos na faculdade e dependeram juntos daquela monitoria para intercambistas. agora, fazem parte dela, auxiliando os novatos assim como também foram auxiliados na época em que entraram.

inicialmente, tinha sido difícil se aproximar do homem. a beleza dele lhe soava intimidadora e a lista de admiradoras também. não que tivesse segundas intenções inicialmente, mas tinha medo de passar essa impressão... mas aquilo não impedia de admirar o uruguaio de longe, especialmente quando ele estava andando de bicicleta pelo campus entre uma aula e outra. isso até, um dia, ele mostrar que reconhecia a sua existência naquela monitoria e se aproximar. tornaram-se colegas e, quando juntos viraram monitores, se tornaram bons amigos.

enzo era centrado e dedicado, sempre andando por aí com uma câmera digital e novas ideias do que iria fotografar. quando não fotografava, estava pintando aquarelas que poderiam confundir qualquer um que olhasse, imaginando que o homem fosse do curso de pintura. se elogiasse o moreno em suas pinturas, ele apenas balançaria a cabeça, negando o talento. em dias mais falantes, vogrincic colocava a mão no peito e murmurava um "obrigado", com um sorriso leve no rosto.

porém, seria equívoco assumir que ele não tinha confiança em sua arte pela maneira que agia: era sempre o primeiro a tomar atitude ao se inscrever em exposições e o instagram pessoal parecia mais um instagram profissional de tanto que divulgava a própria arte. gostava de colaborar com outros amigos, dar a opinião dele e se impor, especialmente quando ninguém fazia e quando todo mundo tinha medo de se mostrar.

se tivesse que assumir, diria que enzo lhe ajudava a ser confiante. não tinha medo de errar na monitoria, pois sabia que ele estaria lá para ajudar. também não tinha medo de propor novos eventos e ideias, porque ele apoiaria ou então te ajudaria a pensar em algo ainda melhor. logo, enzo vogrincic era a sua confiança.

contudo, enzo não era a única pessoa da qual tinha se aproximado em buenos aires. não tinha uma vida social tão movimentada, mas outras amizades vieram com o tempo necessário que tomou para se desinibir e ter confiança no seu espanhol.

o primeiro amigo local veio quando teve um amistoso brasil x argentina. era o último lugar que esperava encontrar algum argentino legal, mas, para sua surpresa, pipe estava lá.

felipe otaño era estudante de educação física e apaixonado por futebol. quando chegou a hora de decidir qual carreira seguir, não teve dúvidas: queria inspirar a juventude com o amor que tinha pelo esporte. no mesmo ano que entrou pra faculdade, conseguiu um estágio como professor auxiliar de educação física simplesmente porque era extremamente carismático e divertido, além de apaixonado pela área.

quando chegou o dia do amistoso entre brasil x argentina, pipe estava de folga - felizmente -, o que permitiu que ele, depois das aulas, fosse para o bar mais próximo da faculdade com alguns amigos. estava vestindo sua melhor camiseta da argentina e um boné para trás, sentado em uma das mesas com a sua galera e os olhos fixos na tela grande da televisão. vez ou outra o olhar desviava para que pudesse pegar a garrafa de cerveja, mas logo voltava a olhar o jogo.

se viu obrigado a se levantar quando a cerveja da mesa acabou e, por estarem em um barzinho de quinta, tinham que se levantar para pedir a cerveja porque não havia garçom ali. estava na vez de felipe se levantar para buscar cervejas para a mesa, então ele foi. claro que ele não contava com o fato de você estar indo fazer a mesma coisa. claro que foi um completo acidente quando vocês acabaram tomando lugares próximos na fila do bar. claro que foi um acaso a conversa que iniciaram, falando sobre o jogo e se provocando.

"uma aposta então, bebita. se o brasil ganhar, minha mesa paga bebidas pra sua. se a argentina ganhar, vocês pagam." o rapaz de olhos claros disse, despertando um sorriso nos seus lábios.

o jogo empatou, ou seja, todo mundo teve que pagar sua própria conta. aquilo não impediu você e pipe de manter contato, sendo constantemente chamada de brazuca por ele. você, por sua vez, mantinha o boludo na ponta da língua como resposta.

pipe lhe ajudava a se divertir, a se descontrair. a vontade dele de descobrir mais, de experimentar e de rir lhe tirava da sua zona de conforto. assim, felipe otaño era sua diversão.

mas seria injusto falar de amizades e esquecer de esteban kukuriczka, um nome que tinha ouvido falar antes mesmo de ter a oportunidade de conhecer o argentino.

estudante de artes cênicas e integrante conhecido da companhia de teatro financiada pela faculdade, esteban já tinha até fã clube e era extremamente merecido. alguém tão apaixonado pelo o que fazia merecia ter fãs e, se te perguntassem, você diria que ele merecia ainda mais amor do que recebia.

em um final de semana entediante, você recebeu a mensagem de uma colega do grupo de intercambistas divulgando que ela estrearia em uma peça naquela noite. ela disse que separaria três lugares para quem do grupo tivesse interesse em ir e como uma grande amante das artes, você decidiu ir... e também para passar um pouco do tempo, já que seria um rolê 0800 e aquele tédio precisava ser matado.

na hora marcada, chegou no auditório da faculdade e se sentou no lugar reservado: praticamente perfeito em uma das fileiras mais próximas do palco. quando o ambiente começou a lotar, você sentiu que a generosidade da sua colega era enorme, porque tinha certeza que não deveria ter sido fácil pegar aqueles ingressos disponíveis. os lugares ficaram todos ocupados antes da peça começar e ainda teve gente em pé no fundo do auditório.

meninas levavam placas com o nome de um tal esteban sei-lá-o-quê (um nome desnecessariamente complicado, em sua opinião) como se fosse um ator famoso. você, achando graça, apenas balançou a cabeça em desdém e esperou a peça começar.

ao final da peça, você entendeu bem o motivo de todo aquele amor por esteban.

antes mesmo de anunciarem o nome dele no final da peça - junto com o resto dos atores - para que pudesse ser aplaudido, você já sabia que ele era o esteban, porque todos pareciam invisíveis perto dele naquele palco. a peça era uma versão moderna de édipo rei que tinha te deixado extremamente emocionada, um fato marcante do roteiro e também da atuação de esteban como édipo.

após a peça, a colega - que você acabou esquecendo de prestar atenção, justamente pela presença de esteban ser tão contagiante - lhe chamou para ir no camarim falar com ela e os outros atores. conheceu muita gente legal ali, mas ninguém era tão legal quanto kukuriczka.

você fez questão me mantê-lo em sua vida depois daquela noite porque o argentino era a personificação da calmaria. ele, alguém tão adorado, tinha tudo para ser um metido e não era. era humilde, ficava vermelho com seus elogios e preferia ficar com os amigos do que ceder ao ego e passar todo o tempo com as fãs.

ele sabia como manter o pé no chão e não se perder. sabia quando te dar um norte quando você sentia que nada daria certo e que a única solução era voltar pro brasil, pro colo da família. não era difícil concluir que esteban kukuriczka era sua calma.

mas aquele era o seu último ano em buenos aires. último ano para viver tudo o que queria viver e aproveitar tudo o que queria aproveitar. depois de tanto tempo se matando, trabalhando para conseguir se manter, deveria agora desligar um pouco a cabeça e focar em relaxar.

a oportunidade perfeita surgiu logo no começo do ano mesmo, com uma calourada feita para receber os novos estudantes da faculdade. você, como monitora do comitê de intercambistas, tinha que estar presente de qualquer jeito. se tinha que ir, então por que não se divertir?

com isso em mente, você vestiu um top e um short, além de tênis confortáveis; roupas que valorizavam o corpo, mas que também não te deixavam com cara de deslocada pois, afinal, era uma calourada. a maquiagem também era leve, nada muito doido que fosse derreter no inferninho que estava se enfiando.

depois de pronta, encontrou-se com alguns membros e monitores do comitê - enzo excluído, porque ele preferia morrer do que ir em uma calourada - e foram todos juntos para a festa. estava esperançosa de uma forma meio infantil, com aquela insegurança de que tudo podia acontecer e que não queria se preocupar com o depois. não que você fosse uma certinha, mas tinha dificuldades de se deixar levar pelo flow quando tinha tantas obrigações. tinha que manter um padrão de excelência para continuar ali porque, como intercambista, tinha que provar o seu espaço.

não te surpreendeu que, ao chegar na festa - que estava sendo realizada em uma boate próxima da faculdade -, estava lotado de gente. todo tipo de pessoas, da faculdade ou não, estavam ali. as músicas variavam entre reggaeton, pop e, quando algum brasileiro ameaçava, um funk pesado. todo mundo procurando uma noite de pegação, de dança ou, somente, pura diversão. você, no entanto, estava aberta para as possibilidades. que será, será.

depois de apresentar alguns intercambistas calouros para outros alunos e fazê-los se sentirem confortáveis naquele ambiente, finalmente se sentiu livre para focar em você. então, a primeira decisão foi seguir para o bar e pegar um copo de... bem, qualquer coisa que estavam servindo com álcool ali. era open bar e não podia reclamar; o gosto era forte, mas dava para o gasto. era o suficiente para criar coragem para que pudesse se soltar ainda mais.

ali, apoiada próximo ao bar, viu pipe na direita. o argentino estava jogando beer pong com alguns amigos e, pelo grande sorriso no rosto jovial dele, estava ganhando. focou a atenção um pouco nele, vendo como o rapaz se soltava quando estava se divertindo... não que ele não fosse naturalmente solto, claro. era quase como ver um animal em seu habitat natural: pura diversão.

quando desviou o olhar para a esquerda, surpreendeu-se ao ver esteban no canto, encostado na parede. por algum motivo, estava sozinho, sem fã clube ou amigos em volta. fitou o rapaz alto por um tempo, vendo que ele estava com um copo na mão - provavelmente da mesma bebida duvidosa que a sua -, mas, estranhamente, parecia completamente fora de lugar ali. o que alguém tão calmo fazia naquele ambiente?

antes que a visão pudesse percorrer por mais pessoas naquele ambiente, você sentiu o celular vibrar com força no bolso do short, por estar recebendo várias mensagens seguidas. curiosa, pegou o eletrônico na mão e se surpreendeu ao ver o nome na tela: enzo. não era do feitio do uruguaio mandar mensagem tarde, então não resistiu ao abrir o whatsapp para ver o que ele havia lhe mandado.

enzo: está se divertindo nessa festa? enzo: aposto que não. enzo: tenho uma coisa pra te mostrar. enzo: quer ver agora?

[enzo te enviou a localização]

um sorriso abriu em seus lábios. obviamente, enzo sempre era direto e também era a personificação da confiança.

ficou claro que tinha uma escolha para fazer. as possibilidades lhe deixavam animada e, de qualquer forma, imaginava que conseguiria fazer a sua noite valer a pena. assim, bebendo todo o conteúdo do copo de uma vez só, você decidiu...

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 — enzo vogrincic. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗔 𝗙𝗨𝗡 — felipe otaño. (vem aí...) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗔 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗠 — esteban kukuriczka. (vem aí...)