Ship Sleep Dynamics:
Atash Laidir x Emmrich Volkarin Edition
(repost of probably one of my favourite paintings I've ever done ever)
I was tagged by the awesome @dragonracer for this little exercise. Thanks!
I have the say that, being ace-spec, this kind of cuddle intimacy is very very very much my jam. So of COURSE I've thought this through way too thoroughly:
How often do they sleep together?Ā
Oh, once they come to that point in their relationship, it is every single night. Atash pretty much only uses the meditation room for getting dressed and actually meditating. In my little HC universe, Atash actually hates sleeping alone (grew up in a big family, didn't even have her own bed until she was an adult, has deeply entrenched trauma from being shut up in slaver brigs as a little kid) and before Emmrich offered his bed, she would sleep in random public spaces around the Lighthouse (the kitchen, the library, etc.) where people would be passing through regularly during the day.Ā
I am one of the āEmmrich has a hidden bedroom behind one of the bookshelvesā people. It is perfectly keeping in character, and out of all the team he's the most likely to succeed in āconvincingā the Lighthouse to give him his own bedroom. He would also likely be the most motivated to do so - heās very active and fit, but come on. Man is not gonna endure a dinky little infirmary cot.
How do they prepare to sleep?Ā
Emmrich is very regimented, with a strict routine he adheres to come hell or high water. It involves the normal bedtime stuff like brushing teeth, but also includes his skincare routine and a short meditation session to transition his mind from āworkā to āsleepā mode. This is what he's referring to when he offers to teach Bellara breathing exercises to help her sleep.Ā
Atash is very much a delay-er when it comes to sleeping, so the first part of her preparations is just avoiding going to bed as long as possible. Eventually, she does a quick face wash and teeth brushing, and then settles in for a long night of staring at the ceiling and feeling deep existential dread. Luckily, there's also a hefty stack of erotic novels by her couch.
Ā Since she started sleeping with Emmrich, though, her sleep hygiene has significantly improved. But she still has her stack of erotic novels close by. They often read together before they go to sleep, but they have made a hard rule to not allow anything academic or mission-related in their room. Theyād never sleep otherwise.Ā
What do they wear to sleep?Ā
I'm gonna have to echo all the other EmmRook people out there and say Emmrich's definitely a silk/satin pajama man (although he says it like āpyjamasā, which should ostensibly sound exactly the same as āpajamasā but he somehow manages to pronounce the āyā differently). He has several sets, as well as several dressing gowns and slippers. The man loves clothes and he rocks it.Ā Ā
Atash just takes everything off and sleeps in the nude, or her smallclothes. She doesn't really see the point in pajamas/pyjamas, for which Emmrich is initially torn between feeling dismay and slightly salacious appreciation. He doesnāt mind it in the privacy of their room but gets really embarrassed when Atash just casually answers the door without any clothes. Rivaini, I tell you. So shameless.Ā
Oh, they cuddle. They cuddle hard. They are both very touchy feely people and Atash hasnāt had anyone to hug (apart from Harding - Varric is not a huggy person) for over a year. Again, coming from a big family of equally huggy people, sheās been absolutely starved for affectionate touch and is so happy to meet someone who is willing to give it, even before they figure out they ālike likeā each other. And although it is literally officially fully canon that Emmrich gives the best hugs, he hasnāt really had anyone to give hugs to before joining the Veilguard. He becomes the groupās Resident Hugger very quickly. Members of the team will just come into his office looking sad, heāll open his arms, theyāll hug, and then they continue on with their day. Atash is the first whoās willing to fully reciprocate and give him cuddly attention, though, and heās really into it.Ā
What are their preferred sleep positions?Ā
This is where it gets a little bit complicated. Atash has Big Ass Horns that she can't sleep directly on, and has to ensure that her head is immobile while she's sleeping so she doesn't roll around in her sleep and accidentally wrench her neck or thwack her partner. She also is significantly heavier than Emmrich (seven feet tall and 230 lbs. vs. six-foot-four and 145 lbs. soaking wet) and so has to make sure she doesn't roll over him either. She would prefer to be draped all over him all night with her head on his chest and her limbs all wrapped around him, but physiology forces her to use a special Qunari pillow that props up her horns, cradling her neck, and doesn't really allow for any other position besides sleeping on her back.Ā
She's very very bummed about this, particularly after finding a partner. Sleeping on your back gets real boring, and deep in her soul she's really a side sleeper. And dammit she wants to cuddle.Ā
Emmrich, for his part, is a side sleeper, and before Atash he would generally sleep very neatly and tidily with his arms across his body - sort of hugging himself to sleep. All his previous partners have been human or elves smaller than him, and so he's used to being the Big Spoon.Ā
With Atash, he's now found himself in the novel position of being the smaller partner, and finds himself rather enjoying it. His preferred position is laying his head on her chest, arm wrapped over her, other arm tucked up against his body, legs tucked through and over hers. Just as snuggled up as he can possibly be. She wraps an arm around him and likes to massage his head to lull him to sleep.Ā
After Atash gets her horns broken off in the fight with Ghilan'nain at Tearstone, her grief over her horns is greatly soothed by the fact that she can now spoon Emmrich properly and be fully spooned in return. She can rest her head on his shoulder. She can lay her head in his lap. She can nestle. She's never been able to nestle before. She loves this so much she actually seriously considers keeping her horns short. But Qunari tradition/vanity wins out in the end. It's very taboo to intentionally file down your horns, even among the Vashoth.Ā
How easy do they fall asleep?Ā
When she's not alone, Atash is just out like a light the minute she closes her eyes. She's gotten very very good at sleeping anywhere (as long as she's got a pillow or couch arm or sack of coffee beans or bundled up shirt to prop her horns on) and has no trouble just conking out anytime anywhere at will.Ā
Emmrich takes a bit. In his youth, he really struggled with anxiety-induced insomnia, and during times of particularly intense stress (which, like, is pretty much his whole life while he's at the Lighthouse) he needs a bit of time to talk, cuddle, read, soothe his racing thoughts until he can fall asleep. Atash's head massages have been very therapeutic to this end.Ā
Do they toss and turn a lot?Ā
Atash probably would if she weren't rendered immobile by pillows, and when she loses her horns she does go through a period of thrashing around in her sleep due to PTSD-induced nightmares. For his own safety, Emmrich had to put up a pillow barrier between them for a while, which absolutely broke both their hearts. If he were really pragmatic, he would have just slept in a separate bed altogether, but neither of them can even stand the thought. Thankfully this period doesn't last long (the thrashing, not the PTSD, sadly) and they're cuddling again in no time.Ā
Atash does. Sleeping on her back and having an ever so slightly deviated septum causes her to snore pretty loudly, which means she is very easy to find when sheās napping around the Lighthouse. She's initially very self conscious about this when she starts sleeping with Emmrich, but he actually finds it rather charming in a funny, cozy kind of way. He even finds himself profoundly missing the sound (to the point of not being able to sleep) when she's trapped in Solasā Fade prison.Ā
He himself does not snore at all, of course. Maker forbid.Ā
Being a Qunari, born in the tropics of Par Vollen and raised on the warm, sunny coast of Rivain, Atash gets cold very easily and will hog all the blanket if the temperature is anywhere below Bright Rivaini Summerās Day. Snuggling with a partner helps, of course, but she is very big and has a lot of body to warm up. Thankfully, the Lighthouse is pretty temperate and she even forgoes blankets altogether on some nights.
Ā Anywhere elseā¦ well, Emmrich's learned to pack three blankets instead of just one (one for him, two for her).Ā
Emmrich does not hog. He discreetly and politely scoots the blanket from underneath his partner until it mostly covers him on cold nights.Ā
What do they dream about?Ā
Atash and Emmrich never remember their dreams - unless they're particularly bad nightmares. Depending on how stressed he is, Emmrich will sometimes have night terrors - full-on panic attacks in his sleep, thrashing and whimpering and hyperventilating and clawing at his hair and sheets. Atash has learned not to immediately wake him up in these moments (the disorientation makes the anxiety way worse) but instead gently holds him (not trapping him, just a light touch)Ā humming and speaking softly and quietly, usually repeating their breathing exercises. This helps him settle down gradually, easing awake and then back into peaceful sleep.Ā
Atash has her own nightmares after the Fade prison, expressed through violent thrashing initially, gradually evolving to curling up into a fetal position and sobbing quietly. Emmrich does actually wake her up when it gets to that point of despair, gently bringing her back to reality and then soothing her back to sleep.Ā
How easily do they wake up?Ā
Emmrich, being such an early riser, seems like he should wake easily, but the truth is the man is a creature of routine and he does not appreciate being awoken before his usual wake-up time. Itās very very hard to get him to wake up before dawn.
Atash, on the other hand, is up immediately no matter what time sheās awoken, ready to go at any second.Ā
How awake are they afterwards?Ā
When his schedule is respected, Emmrich is quite bright and energized after waking up. He is a morning person and enjoys every second of consciousness he possibly can.Ā
Atash isnāt exactly a āmorning personā, per se, but she is definitely a āwell, if Iām up Iām up, letās get to work,ā person. So sheās not happy but sheās getting on with it.Ā
theartofmadeline
andulkaphoto
origamiaround
gummygunk
izzy806
