#so i have to INCREDIBLY CAREFULLY

[mars-ipan]

just pulled the biggest stealth mission of my life

#so my parents fall asleep to tv. i do not #so when we share a hotel room i wait for them to fall asleep before turning the tv off #tonight i was doing that #but i couldn’t for the life of me find the remote #i eventually get nervous. i look at their bed #there i see it. between their pillows #so i have to INCREDIBLY CAREFULLY #reach OVER my father #(if i ended up waking my mom she would have startled and my dad’s the harder sleeper) #get a good grip on this remote #and slowly pull it out #i felt like the thief stealing the precious diamond by being lowered down from the skylight. like it was so precarious #but i did it baby!!!! and i’m going to bed now #goodnight tumblr

[simmyfrobby]

that last flower poem moved me to tears. wow. WOW.

that entire poem makes me feel so !!!!!!!

#you know how poetry often isn't that interested in telling the full story but instead #picks one specific moment and focuses on what it feels like to inhabit that moment #with such. precision. that you have to carefully read every word #unlike with fiction where the brush strokes are coarser #and you can skim-read. or skip a word or a sentence or even an entire page and the story will still make sense #I think this poem is so incredible for the way it forces you to slow down your reading #to take in this moment together with the poet #I read it and it slows my breathing down #slows my heart down. fills my lungs. #it is a beautiful beautiful poem #and there is so much room left on the page #for the person reading it #like. yea. same boat. moves me to tears

[totopopopo]

Okay I made this to represent a specific event but then I thought about it and realized that more generally soeaking this actually sums the exact dynamic I have with my fourth grade girls.

#like you guys don’t understand this is LITERALLY me and my girls #like. the example this was originally made to represent. I road the bus with [name redacted for privacy reasons] who is the apple of my eye #my incredible little girl who I have known for a year who I just adore. #I was taking the bus with her and she saw there was a security camera and asked about it. and it was like a 30 minute bus ride we had time #and I often will teach her about things I’m interested in even if they’re like. advanced right #so I was like alright have you ever heard of a man named Foucault? #i took the next 15 minutes to explain to her about who Foucault was and his essay about the panopticon and what that meant #described was a panopticon was described why he was talking about it talked about how that applies to us now #about how the police state is increasingly harnessing more and more technology to create an era of surveillance hitherto unknown of #and how this helps enforce the status quo etc. #she listened intently. nodding along thoughtfully. she quietly thought about it longer. #the whole time. GLOWERING. which is her response to everything. #I’m like. it’s interesting right? trying to prompt her to say what she was thinking. #instead of responding she just turns to the security camera at the front of the bus and very carefully puts up her middle finger #and then mouths ‘fuck. you.’ #I could not be prouder of her but this is also just how all our conversations go #no matter if it’s about tattoos or Ancient Greek tragedy or Taylor swift.

[kinnbig]

I just started learning Thai so I’m interested. What is the difference between jing and jingjing? On your tags about favorite Thai words

oh! so in Thai, repeating an adjective turns it into an adverb.

in this case, jing is an adjective that means true or real or honest, and jingjing is an adverb that means really, trully, honestly. they're just my favourite Thai words because I like the way they sound lol.

my other favourite is ning, which doesn't have a perfect English translation but that you might recognise from My Engineer. it means cool as in (a person who is) cold, distant, or aloof, or alternatively calm and self-controlled. it's often used sarcastically when describing other people. ningning is an adverb that means something like carefully or calmly - you hear people saying "ningning!" to tell someone to calm down or take more care. kind of like "chill out!" in English lol. I like these because their English translations are so interesting! and because of RamKing and ai'Ning, obviously.

#oooh thank u i love talking about language! #also just to cover all bases - #an adjective is a descriptive word that describes nouns (nouns are things - including people places and concepts) #and an adverb describes verbs (which are 'doing words' that show the action in a sentence) #for example. 'she is careful'. careful is an adjective describing the 'she' in this sentence. #'she walked carefully'. carefully is an adverb describing how the action of walking took place. #adverbs in english usually end in -ly so that helps with identifying them #sorry if this is incredibly obvious #linguistics is one of those things that's been a special interest for so long that i genuinely have no baseline for what is common knowledg #darcey.txt #ask #darcey.lang #linguistics posting

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

There always seems to be one kid who just screams like a tornado siren, all day long, at any given opportunity. Like, kid, I love you, you are precious and deserve all the happiness in the world; but please for the love of god shut up. There are people trying to learn here and you’re not helping them or yourself.

#I don’t like being harsh with people in general but if one child is raising the tension in the room to a fever pitch every single day #making it incredibly hard for the kids who are trying really really hard to focus when they already have focus issues #and because I know this specific kid gets absolutely spoiled rotten at home and is allowed to do whatever they want #you know… sometimes it helps to show the kid how they sound to others by demonstrating the obnoxious nature of The Scream #because when the parents do Jack Shit about teaching their kid discipline and courtesy; you have to be a parent in their stead #But do NOT continue to scream. You are an adult with adequate emotional control. Screaming should be be done EXTREMELY sparingly #and only utilized for demonstration purposes or to stop a brawl; not for bullying or intimidation #Don’t do a JoJo Siwa and TRY to make kids cry even though you may get stressed enough that you want to escalate on purpose #Again: you are an adult with adequate emotional control; don’t escalate unless the overreaching plan is to deescalate #if eliciting a startle response will stop harmful behavior and “snap them out of it” for long enough for you to get through #or if they just need to let all their emotions out at once so they can lose enough of that high energy to think critically #then sure #but you have to guide them back down very carefully and calmly; it’s a precise science #Don’t be mean about it; be genuine in your feelings and don’t go overboard. Genuine ≠ mean unless you’re evil #Or if you don’t feel emotions very strongly (like I do) then react like a “normal” person. Lie about being angry or sad if it is appropriat #Again: Your goal should not be to get the kid to do what you want; the goal should be to get them to feel good enough #so they are ABLE to do it in the first place #And the goal should also be to show them how their actions affect others if they are not aware of it #“Teach a man to fish” and all that. Don’t always check them; get them to check themselves #If a kid hits another kid when they’re angry at something completely unrelated; then 1.) redirect destructive behavior #and 2.) walk them back over to the kid they hurt and say: #“Look at [name]; look how sad you made them. [name] didn’t do anything to you #It’s okay to be angry but we CANNOT hit people when we are angry because it hurts and makes them cry.” Works great #Always remember there is a power imbalance inherent in EVERY child-adult relationship and NEVER abuse it #And if you’re not patient or emotionally stable enough to work with or have children; then don’t. Please don’t. #Children are not cute little dolls to play dress-up with; nor are they perfect angels; nor are they your personal stress ball #Having children is NOT A GAME. They are PEOPLE who will grow to be your age one day and everything you do affects them #Sorry I’m just tired of all these parents who shove iPads in their kids faces so they don’t bother them. You’re giving them an addiction

[carcarrot]

trying to eat my lunch at work is an olympic sport and brother im going for the gold

#there is no 'break room' or designated little area where i can sit down and eat it #and i cant take my self imposed roughly 2 hour break yet where i sit in my little spot thats almost tucked away #but people still walk by there and often incredibly annoyingly sit exactly right in front of me there #even though they have a wealth of options #but while im standing in my spot by where i brew the coffee #i must carefully attempt to eat my lunch during moments when people arent walking by #theoretically i could not give a shit and just eat when they are walking by or not but i dont want people to see that . #so i eat like the little gremlin i am #however todays proving to be a real tester which is why i have time to make this post

[daddy-socrates]

so glad i have therapy tonight im. Ready to talk about scary things

#gonna talk more seriously about hrt. im so scared but theres been Enough happening that makes me feel. ready ig #it's the yearning it's the longing it's the being envious of my friends when i am actually overjoyed for them #it's the i want to be a visibly trans philosopher it's the fathers day special on npr that made me sob in my car #it's the singing along w my favorite songs makes me cry it's the i dont sing on the rare occasion i go to church it's the. uh. #i don't go cuz i want to i go because i want to see what's being shared in the sermon bc that's what people take messages from #mini book reports and challenging the passages selected bc sometimes they are Vague or whatever #it's the i have a complicated relationship w religion in general lmfao #i am very scared of ruining my relationship w my parents though #im incredibly lucky and incredibly grateful every day that i had a good childhood and good relationship w them #never ever want to take that for granted #but im terrified bc i told them my name and mom carefully didnt show a reaction and dad uh. idk we were at starbucks and i did the order #bc im a starbucks girlie zillennial #and i gave my name and he went 😶🤨 #this is my blog i can say what i want here but im baring my soul in the tags becauee i trust ~3.2k strangers more than my father xo #anyway #blah blah blah in the tags

[ereborne]

whoops

Spent two hours in a meeting with The Most New Yawk Accents, felt the shape of my mouth physically changing to keep up with them, got out of the meeting and listened to a carefully constructed playlist of George Strait, Randy Travis, and Midland to reset, got called into an unscheduled meeting, spent fifteen minutes expositing unchecked, got a text from the IT rep (the only other overlapping person) after that said ‘lol you sound so diffrent now’

#yapping tag #by 'called into an unscheduled meeting' I mean my zoom ring cut into the howling at the beginning of Chris Ledoux's Call of the Wild #I had to jump directly from laying flat and basking in music times to defending my database setup plans #it was very unfortunate that song is incredible #and actually by 'carefully constructed' I mean I hit random and skipped anything that didn't make me switch breathing patterns #but I think it should still count #I should make a more intentional playlist though #who's actually from Carolina? Darius Rucker and Eric Church and Lee Brice all have songs that talk about it #google says they are all from one of the Carolinas yes and actually so is Randy Travis! bless the man he's a gift #Charlie Daniels of course of course I should've known #Emmylou Harris!! and Aaron Tippin and Don Gibson okay yes I can definitely make a playlist here

[wolves-etc]

hello please have some "actually a half-vampire just not aware of it" anton au thoughts

(virgil is human and clueless because I refuse for this to be otherwise)

goldblum figures it out and takes anton aside the second time he's brought in for questioning like "dude, are you okay? you got fake fangs instead of using your real vampire ones, you don't need those, you can just— wait, why are you crying—"

(goldblum's either a vampire himself or, to borrow a thing that's too good not to borrow & because it fits the gleefully-open-minded-about-fringe-shit vibe, he dated a vampire once)

@darkfinch had this LOVELY idea for the vampire intiates to stick together as a community post-canon and to my mind, what makes that better here is if most of 'em turn out to be real vampires to some degree - or Something Else, or just Aware of this shit. they're in it for the fun, for the local community, for the "yeah this is bullshit but some of it's fun bullshit and it's funny to see how bad at it the leader is."

when they manage to corner anton (freaking out quietly in his loft) (his whole world shattered in pieces around him) (goldblum gave him a number to call to answer some questions but the poor guy's petrified) half of them are like "we thought you knew and were just trying to blend in!" and half are like "we were trying to figure out how to tell you!!" and it's just this mess of supportive-but-worried chaos.

...and anton, betrayed, off-kilter, already primed to question the programming of the last year or so has some people to help set him on the right track.

this ALSO sets us up for a thing. :) a thing where maybe goldblum looks the other way (an actual acknowledgement by the still-shitty cops in this shitty cop show of how awful the situation is) or there's a terribly unfortunate powercut and a few of the initiates get to pay virgil a visit.

they admit it to anton while very drunk a year or so later and he laughs so hard he cries <3

#I sat on this for too long and it grew extra thoughts but pls feel free to play with whatever bits you want to #the thought of anton the actual real sort-of-vampire with fake vampire fangs (like a numpty) is just incredibly funny to me #the real vampirism was inside him all along & the real coven was the friends he made along the way etc #lost children of the blood #orig #also carefully excised the word 'cult' from this post because I'm not sure it counts if most of the members are #secretly laughing at the leader. sorry virgil you're just not that impressive. #the show never CALLS it a cult anyway just like it never calls it an abusive relationship #and the cult dynamics are way more Implied Not Shown than the abusive relationship imo #so I guess this is also ''anton and the murder victims are actually the only ones having a really bad time'' au #poor sarah and kyle showed up at a legit vampire club and got scooped up #by a human serial killer dipshit and his clueless half-vamp lieutenant. they just got That Unlucky. #this is a shaky crack au based on an already shaky canon it's fiiiine

[outeremissary]

Fandom reputation: Number one Tristian fan, kingmaker enthusiast with highly interesting thoughts, creator of beautiful little artworks and always so much fun to talk to.

Haha, thank you. Though I think I have been too late on the scene and too antisocial to be number one anything, truly... There are a lot of people out there who have been creating in the fandom much longer than I and have brought really impressive things into being. For reasons that elude me, some even follow me- a great and terrible honor indeed.

I am always happy to hear that the art and the company are fun :) As much as I grow, I know I'm still unskilled in both creative and social spheres, haha. It's high praise from someone as skilled as you. I'm amazed by what you can create and how rapidly you've grown.

#I am the Kingmaker philosopher with this reputation for thinking. #though I hope one day it translates into more than vaguely discussed thoughts... #I suppose at risk of being too sincere there is something truly frightening about putting things out there #when I started the Kingmaker blog I really didn't think there could be anyone on Tumblr who cared about the game #I'm very anxious and have a bad habit of comparing myself to others #I never really participated in online fandom before because the incredible abilities of others scared me- I had little to offer #the idea of quietly running a blog that no one saw appealed from me even if there was a fantasy of being famous and praised #like no competition would mean no stress. #but the truth is that there were a lot of people there already who created things I couldn't dream of coming close to #mature and skilled art. long and carefully crafted pieces of writing. #when I became aware of that I got scared. #it made it hard to be proud of what I was doing #so I went to Twitter where I had no audience and I thought no way of being discovered #and then there were people there too. #there have been times I've been so intimidated by others I've really thought about giving up completely #I can't grow or create fast enough to feel like I'm keeping pace #but I guess I want to take a cue from Balthazar and live more selfishly. #I don't really want to be the best anymore and I don't want to worry about what I ought to be doing #or to have a purpose for things or follow some process to a conventional goal #I just want to do what I enjoy without worrying about other people #or thinking I take up too much space #it's hard though right #anyway. no real concluding thought here #sorry to throw down such atrocious tags here on a post already fishing for compliments haha #turns out I actually don't know what to do with compliments when I get them. #ask me emithing #long post #dmagedgoods

[dreampearls]

oughhhhh

#oc rambling incoming Sorry #okay i am thinking of how to translate pianos story into genshin bc so much of her character revolves around this contention between #reality and fiction and the ways that fiction (art specifically) often paradoxically transcends reality #and how the two are presented as diametric opposites despite that not being the case at all; theyre reflections of each other and are #carefully intertwined as each builds upon the other #art and artist; creation and creator; author and audience; all being part of one huge ouroboros #in which each party constitutes the other i.e. ''we are what we eat'' #and this concept is juxtaposed with the concept of connection and humanity i.e. we are collages of each other #we are every little fragment from every little moment that passes us by and we carry bits and pieces of all the people we have ever loved #we constitute each other #and this can be used for incredible connection and kindness and fulfillment #as well as facilitation for unimaginable hurt and violence #SO. with those as the core concepts. #i think pianos story can be translated into something similar or adjacent given the existence of irminsul #literally being able to turn reality into fiction and vice versa #and the really obvious thing of how teyvat's ''true reality'' or original timeline can only be preserved using fables #piano as a ghost because she is a work of fiction brought to life via irminsul? #something compeltely artificial only given meaning because it is observed by others? #because someone else wanted it to be there... #huh okay. add that one to the list (throwing her in a box with scara and albedo)

[soryualeksi]

Me, liking my job in a Normal™ and in no way totally awesome autistic way: *smells my fresh work polo shirt every morning because the detergent the laundry service for our uniforms use has become so incredibly comforting*

#they smell really good ok and just. so comforting. #i love my autistic brain and how different sensory input puts me into specific modes of functioning #also it's such a nice smell i wonder if anyone else knows lol #it's like how when I'm driving by now the sound of my own siren is making me reeeally calmly focussed #like i never experienced such calm focus like extreme focus #because i have to watch the traffic so closely #and the sound just immediately makes my mind go into that 'keep ALL traffic under observation and carefully navigate it' mode #it's very relaxing and incredibly stressful at the same time but it's a good stress #of course it's also exhausting but only afterwards lol #anyway #autism at work lol #soryu does medical stuff #the smell of my nice polo shirt grounds me and the sound of the siren makes me focus perfectly #it's so nice

[srvphm]

hmmm should I spend 56$ on an arguably bad gay vintage bdsm manga

#it’s not incredibly expensive and I’m worried that the price will only increase cause it’s way out of print #but also it’s not exactly well known and I don’t see why it would become popular mow or in the future #I don’t Need it there’s scanlated versions online that aren’t going anywhere… but to have the original book….. #it has a place in my heart as smt that awakened smt in me at a tender age when I definitely shouldn’t have been reading it #also the style is impeccable it’s so 80s and there’s so much carefully shaded shiny leather and chains #not gonna drop the name but if you can guess what it is I wanna french kiss you #I ordered another much cheaper manga from the site yesterday. I’ll see if it gets here safe and sound and consider my options I guess

[deoidesign]

A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)

Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!

This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.

This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions in your writing, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!

This is NOT a medical resource!!! And never tell a real person you think they're using a cane wrong!

The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!

A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.

Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height can make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)

(some people elect to use a cane wrong for their personal situation despite this, everyone is different!)

(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)

When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane and the bad leg and follow with the good leg!

Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.

In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.

Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!

(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)

The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!

Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.

The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!

This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!

However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.

Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)

Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.

Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)

(my canes, for reference)

If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!

When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!

For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.

When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)

When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)

That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!

Happy disability pride month! Go forth and make more characters use canes!!!

#mobility aid #cane user #writing tips #writing advice #drawing tips #art tutorial #art tips #art reference #art resources #art help #my art #long post

[tossawary]

One of my personal nitpicks for historical fantasy is a lack of servants, staff, subordinates, and... idk... subjects? Like, their absence is not... a total dealbreaker for me, depending on the situations the characters are in and whether or not I can just assume that other people are there in the background... but so many of the protagonists in historical fantasy stuff are higher-ranking (very often royalty), and/or have busy jobs, and/or have enormous houses that would necessitate having at least part-time staff.

Like, girl, you should have a maid! WHERE is your chaperone?! WHO is driving this carriage?! Where are your footmen? Are you trying to imply that a WEALTHY DUCHESS is taking a CAB?! You know that you probably have tenants, right? Where is your steward?! Where is your lawyer? Your accountant?! (Like, yeah, you're not going to have your lawyer living in your house, but you HAVE one, right???)

Or, man, you're supposed to be a military commander and you don't even have a single secretary?! Where is your SQUIRE?! (In the spirit of historical fiction, I am jumping wildly across time periods with every sentence here.) Man, I know you aren't looking after your own boots. Where are your GUARDS?! Who set up this tent for you?! Who is looking after your horse?! Who is making and carrying the incredibly valuable maps people are recklessly stabbing daggers into?!

SOMEONE has to be scrubbing these floors and delivering the mail and cooking the meals and doing laundry, and they're probably all DIFFERENT people! My dentist has at least three different receptionists and we can't even get ONE for our court wizard here? A sorcerer's apprentice to take notes? Someone like Sherlock Holmes could get away with just having a housekeeper and taking taxis, sure, but your character is supposed to be a KING?! Why is he answering his own front door? He's going to get assassinated. His SERVANTS should have SERVANTS.

Like, yes, I understand that a lot of servants in certain places at certain times were supposed to make their labor invisible, but there have always been servants who still had to interact directly with the masters of the house?! Yeah, there are potentially really messy ethics here, class divisions are bullshit, but I don't think that completely ignoring the reality that humans have ALWAYS been doing work for other humans is better than just including some well-paid and well-treated servants and employees? Because a complete absence of them, especially where logically for the worldbuilding there MUST be servants (and probably exploited servants, or worse, for some particular worldbuilds to work), often makes me think that your main characters just don't care enough to notice the "lower class" people or know their names.

Also, even Frodo Baggins had a gardener and Samwise Gamgee might be the best damn character in the story?! Sam saved the world?! Servants are PEOPLE. Servants are often the funniest and most interesting characters, tbh, with the most to say about a society and its workings (yes, Discworld is a very good book series, highly recommend), and also the joke of some romantic scene being carefully orchestrated by a stage crew of servants frantically diving into bushes to stay out of sight never gets old to me. Teamwork makes the dream work!

I don't want to gatekeep historical fiction, especially not historical fantasy, because the worlds don't necessarily have to conform to our own and may have magic and characters are often in very unique circumstances, but... sometimes I pick up a story and it's like... "Author, please tell me that you know there is a difference between a butler and a valet?!"

#tossawary reading #tossawary watching #I don't know what to tag this as #tossawary fandom #long post #where are your servants

[adelheidvonschicksal]

The Love and Deepspace Boys Trying to Get You to Sleep ⋆｡°✩

Tags: Fluff, teasing, needy boys, mild sexual content, gender neutral reader (I had to re-write so please let me know if I messed up.)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Xavier is surprisingly softer than you expected when you first met him on your mission together. He’s an incredibly powerful hunter but possesses a quiet and gentle, almost oblivious, aura when navigating everyday life, like a ghost floating through the space he takes up. It should also be understood that this very nature of his makes him affectionate, so much so, that he won’t unwrap his arms around your waist and stop pressing his head to your shoulder as you sit at the kitchen bar, typing on your laptop.

“Are you planning on staying up later than the stars?” he mumbles.

There’s a gentle yawn against your skin from the sluggish man, highlighting just how long he’s been trying to coax you into going to bed.

“I wanted to finish this report for work.”

“The report will be there tomorrow,” he says. You swat away his hand that reaches for the power button on the laptop causing him to pout. He grumbles. “You should go to bed. Otherwise, I can’t sleep.”

Smiling to yourself, you decide to tease him. “Oh, so you’re really trying to get me to go to bed for your own benefit?”

“Well, you can’t very well expect me to do it by myself anymore.” Xavier nuzzles his head into the slope of your neck, cuddling you. “It’s your responsibility since you ruined my sleeping habits.”

“Ruined?”

“Ramshackled,” he repeats quietly, causing you to giggle. With an airy sigh, he presses his weight into you more. “How do you expect me to sleep when I can’t hold you?”

Defeated, you save your work and close the laptop. You swivel in your chair, enough to meet his eye, and cup a hand to his cheek. It never stops being endearing to you how he cutely closes his eyes and angles his head to snuggle your palm.

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to beg.”

His eyes flutter open, and the smile on his face grows as he wraps his fingers around yours. Carefully, he pulls on your hand to bring it up enough to begin to lace your wrist with affectionate kisses, tracing your pulse.

“I thought you enjoyed my begging.”

“That’s different.”

“It isn’t,” Xavier mutters into your skin, pressing another light kiss.

“It is.”

“So, you're resolute about that position?” he questions “innocently”. There’s something mischievous about the glint in those arctic eyes, which makes your face warm. You find yourself breaking eye contact, or else you’d lose it.

“Yes.”

Xavier chuckles then begins to lead his kisses down your arm. “In that case, care to explain the difference in detail, love?”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

“Sleep.”

“But—”

“Sleep.”

Zayne narrows his eyes at you from his side of the bed. You can’t blame him for being a little annoyed right now but the movie you put on to fall asleep was much better than you expected; and instead of falling asleep, you were more awake than ever at a very late one in the morning.

“I’m almost done with the movie,” you tell him, hoping he’ll cut you a little slack this one time.

“Everyone dies at the end of their own stupidity,” he bluntly states and grabs the remote. The television turns off with an overly loud click, and you pout. “Now, sleep.”

Crossing your arms over your chest, you huff. “You’re the worst.”

“I’m fine with that title if it gets you to rest,” he explains with a smooth yawn. “Poor sleep habits lead to bad decision-making later. You’re more likely to develop high blood pressure, and with your heart in particular—”

“I get it. I get it,” you say, wanting to be spared the lecture. Zayne is a good person and a better doctor, but you wish he didn’t worry about you so much just because you might have a little big heart problem. Sighing, you squiggle onto your back and pull the sheets up to your collar, kicking them a little childishly in the process (totally not to let him know that you were not pleased with his spoiling). “I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“Very.”

Zayne turns over onto his side, away from you, and you frown at the loneliness. Softly, you poke him in the back, once, then twice then a third time before you finally get a hum in response.

“Am I really not getting a good night kiss?”

“Do you need one to sleep?” he asks, his voice deeper from the lack of sleep, urging you to convince him to kiss you even more.

“Duh,” you explain. Slowly, he turns back over to look at you, propping himself up on one arm with a look that says “Is that so” as you continue to ramble. It makes you a little flustered when he watches you so intently. He’s always had this silent dominance that makes you obedient, but you could get what you want from him just as easily with the exact opposite strategy. Cutely, you puff your bottom lip out at him. “There has to be some health benefit to it. Kissing makes people all happy. Happy is good, right?”

It takes a second for him to take in what you say, those smokey eyes closing in on you with thought before he climbs over you. He places both hands at your sides and quickly boxes in your upper thighs with his knees.

“You’re thinking of dopamine,” he says.

“Huh?”

“That makes you “all happy”,” he explains and presses a deep kiss to your lips, leaving you thoughtless and breathless all at once. He moves to your jaw, and you begin to squirm from the pressure of his impassioned lips.

“And Serotonin.”

Another kiss, lower.

“Oxytocin.”

He’s at your shoulder when he starts to nip your skin, and one of his hands moves to ski up the back of your thigh.

“Reduced cortisol.”

Flustered, you grip his arms.

“Zayne, stop, it tickles,” you whine, but it’s the last thing you actually want as he readjusts his position and hovers above you.

His usually neat hair is messier and his breathing a little heavier judging by how his chest laboriously rises and falls. Groaning, you bite your bottom lip as he knowingly leans in and whispers,

“You need it to help you sleep, isn’t that what you said?”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

“Why don’t you just say you don’t love me anymore?”

You look up from your phone screen at the sudden accusation. You’re resting on the couch, your back propped up by the armrest and legs splayed out on the other cushion while Rafayel looks down at you with crossed arms and a less-than-pleased scowl on his face. You’re entirely confused as to what you could’ve done to make him think something like that.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been playing video games for what—the last two hours?” he says, uncrossing his arms to grab your phone. It’s too late to warn him as he glances at the screen, clicking a few times. “What are you playing anyway? An…otome? Sheesh, go ahead and say you want me gone. Come on, tell me you actually hate me.”

Holding in your smile, you shake your head and affectionately roll your eyes. It takes an enormous amount of effort to not laugh as he continues to rant. “So, it’s one of those things. I thought I was actually in trouble.”

And by those things, you mean his dramatics.

“Hush, my complaints are perfectly legitimate,” he demands as he pushes your legs aside and sits on the couch. Leaning over, he flashes the screen at you to show the evidence he has that you’re completely unfair, unfaithful, and downright mean. “What’s this game giving you that I’m not? Are my dashing good looks and even better personality not enough? Is that it?”

Gently, you take the phone from his hand and set it down on the end table. “You’re plenty, perfect even.”

He scoffs and refuses to look at you. “Apparently not. Don’t you ever think about anyone else? What if I want to cuddle with you one day but you’re too busy to notice because you’re playing silly games?”

Ah, there it is. His real want. You never know why he can never just come out and say it.

“Rafayel, do you want me to come to bed and cuddle with you?”

“Want is a strong word,” he remarks but you can see his resolve (can you call it that when he planned to give in all along?) crumbling as he slowly turns back to meet your gaze, “but I wouldn’t be opposed to it. Not that you deserve it or care.”

Humming, you sit up, wrap your arms around his shoulders, and pull him down onto you. Lovingly, you snuggle him, stopping to only take in how red his neck and ears start to get when you squeeze him and start to stroke through his hair. You’re not sure if Lumerians can blow happy bubbles like he claims, but he definitely hums and relaxes his entire body weight to lay on top of you like he wants to sink into your skin.

Teasingly, you coo at him. “You’re so needy.”

“I’d rather say you humans aren’t needy enough,” he fires back as he wraps an arm around your waist and kisses the corner of your lips. “Ah, the sweet taste of victory.”

Giving out a gentle and short laugh, you lightly tap his back. “Go to sleep.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

#zayne x reader #xavier x reader #rafayel x reader #love and deepspace #love and deepspace x reader #love and deepspace fluff #love and deepspace smut #adelssmut #notsfw