this idea came to me from the culmination of many, many late nights i’ve spent running around in this silly little game. my sleep schedule is absolutely wrecked, but at the very least i can daydream :,)
characters included : eli clark, luca balsa, matthias czernin, naib subedar, and norton campbell
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eli clark
he’s very much a night owl (pun intended), so it isn’t uncommon for him to be up late into the evening. i wouldn’t say that he has insomnia, but he’s able to keep himself awake for awhile. when the two of you rest together, you’re almost always the first to fall asleep
his odd schedule is pretty convenient too, given that brooke rose is nocturnal by nature. when he’s able to, he enjoys taking late-night walks around the manor’s perimeters. there’s a decently sized forest nearby that brooke especially likes, allowing her some much needed time to stretch her wings and hunt
you notice that she likes to leave things on your windowsill for you to find the next morning. her gifts tend to range from oddly-shaped rocks to small reptiles. there was one evening when you woke to her pecking at the glass itself, trilling in between her incessant tapping
it was a bit terrifying, honestly. imagine sitting up and turning your head to see a single, glowing eye staring at you through the second-floor window lol
he had apologized on her behalf, but only after a fit of laughter. needless to say you were not amused
eli usually turns in at around two in the morning. it’s not the healthiest, and he’s definitely a bit of a hypocrite given that he always attempts to get you to rest at a reasonable hour, but he’s trying!
honestly, having you as part of his routine nowadays has gotten him into a much better schedule. he finds himself looking forward to sleep, opting to end his day earlier than he typically does as to not keep you waiting
though, this unfortunately means that brookie’s midnight strolls are a little less frequent than they used to be. he decides to make up for it by leaving his window open for her, allowing her to fly in and out of his room as she pleases
perhaps a bit self indulgent, but he’s a big fan of pillow talk! the seer loves listening to you ramble about your day or whatever else is on your mind while rubbing his nose into your scalp. there’s just something so intimate about late night talks. ones that only you, him, and the moon can hear
well, and occasionally brooke, should she spend the night in. but the point still stands! he adores whispering to you until you both eventually drift off
speaking of drifting off, he’s actually a pretty normal sleeper. aside from a few mumbles here and there, he’s quiet and still throughout the night. he naturally runs a bit warm too, so he’s lovely to cuddle up with on colder evenings
no, he still doesn’t close the window during said nights. and he definitely, definitely doesn’t use it as an excuse to nestle closer to you (lie)
but if you’re still feeling chilly, he’s more than happy to pile on extra blankets. he has plenty stored away just for you
luca balsa
luca definitely has one of the worst sleep schedules among the other survivors by far. he doesn’t actively try to stay up so long, really! he just loses track of time
one moment he’s fiddling with electrical wires and all of a sudden the manor is quiet and the moon is hanging from its highest point in the sky
oh well, he’ll just work a little longer. that’s what he tells himself, at least. by the time he finally lifts his head again, there are morning doves cooing outside
ah... he’ll be sure to sleep tonight, then! (he will not)
it’s like he has blinders on, completely focused on whatever new project he’s thrown himself into this time around. there’s dozens upon dozens of ideas bouncing around in that head of his, and he only has mere moments to realize them before he inevitably forgets
he’ll keep going with it too if left unchecked—staying awake for days at a time until he inevitably crashes, typically somewhere in the afternoon. it’s incredibly unhealthy, he knows
getting him to rest at a normal hour is sort of like… leading a horse to water. except instead of a horse, you’re dealing with a stubborn mule that’s fully distracted by a mountain of apples in the opposite direction of the trough. forget about making him drink—he’s not following you in the first place
sometimes you have to physically drag him into bed because he keeps forgetting to come himself. “i’ll be there in a bit, love” he tells you, pressing a quick kiss to your temple before zeroing back in to the contraption in his hands. “don’t wait up for me”
but you do. ‘a bit’ turns into ‘awhile’, and soon enough you’re throwing off the bedsheets in a huff
in his defense, his promise probably slipped his mind. but being the man that he is, luca still tries to coax out five more minutes from you
luca tends to sleeps in one of two positions: either flat on his back with his limbs sprawled out like a starfish, or on his stomach. the former is much better for his spine, but he swears that he falls asleep faster face down
with you, however, he’s become much more clingy. he loops his arms and legs around your limbs and torso until the two of you both become one big, tangled pile
it’s sweet, though the close contact does cause him to occasionally shock you from time to time. he snickers lazily into your skin whenever you try to complain about it, still half-asleep before he pulls you closer anyways
matthias czernin
matthias has a complicated relationship with sleep
well, it’s more of the relationship he has with the cursed marionette version of himself, but i digress
he has a nightly routine of placing the wooden puppet in a box, shoving said box in the very back of his wardrobe, and then locking it before he feels somewhat secure enough to rest. even then, he’s still tormented by reoccurring nightmares. louis can’t seem to ever leave him alone
so, more often than not, he finds himself awkwardly standing at your door in the dead of night. he doesn’t even remember getting up and walking down the hall, still stuck in a half-daze by the time you twist the knob on the other side
while it’s difficult to tell from his expression, he’s always horribly embarrassed at first. shame crawls up his spine and carves out a spot at the back of his neck the second you open the door and perceive him—oh, but you’re so sweet
his heart squeezes in his chest when you recognize him in the dark, smiling up at him with tired eyes as you silently invite him in. this little habit of his has become commonplace in your relationship. he doesn’t have to explain himself, which is something he’s exceedingly grateful for
by the time he shifts under your bedsheets, he’s already murmuring shaky ‘thank you’s into your hair. you’re still in a softer state of consciousness as he curls next to you, and the smell of cedar and string coax you back to rest not long after
one thing about matthias is that his grip is deceptively strong, even while asleep. he’s always had a bad habit of squeezing too much whenever he’s anxious—something that’s caused him to snap several marionette crossbars in his time preforming
if his hands are linked together when he’s holding you, there’s no getting out. at least, not without a lot of effort. you have to manually pry off every finger, which is a lot harder than it sounds
speaking of, there are times where a few of his twitch in his sleep, as if being pulled on by invisible strings. you can always tell when he’s having an… unpleasant dream that way. aside from that and the occasional jolt or two, he’s relatively still and easy to sleep with
most nights he’ll still be awake long after you’ve already drifted off, but that just means he gets to look at you for awhile. it grounds him, honestly—being able to comb his fingers through your hair or absentmindedly trace along your spine
he’s… a little bit of a creep depending on how you view it HDJDHJDS
he thinks you’re too kind to him. he doesn’t deserve it, but he’ll always seek it out anyways. your embrace is warm, never failing to soothe the flashes of flames that linger behind his eyes
naib subedar
honestly, it takes a long time before naib feels comfortable enough to share a bed with you. not that he doesn’t want to—he does. he’s just very aware of his… habits
life as a soldier wasn’t kind to him, and it shows through his subconscious. he frequently suffers from all-too-vivid nightmares, and in the more extreme cases, sleep terrors
there are nights where he shouts in his sleep, thrashing his arms and legs. sometimes he wakes with his hands reaching towards to a non-existent gun, his index finger itching for the trigger. it’s scary to witness and he knows it
he can’t fully settle without something on his person either. he always has his gurkha blade or some other weapon for self-defense. whether it’s under his pillow or wedged in between the mattress, he keeps it within arm’s reach
it’ll take a lot of persuasion and reassurance for him to even consider the idea of going without it. sure, he’s talented in hand-to-hand combat, but that will only get you so far if your attacker is armed
naib also insists on sleeping closest to the door. was that was your favorite side of the bed? not anymore, scoot over
you can convince him to go without his blade, but there’s no room for compromise with this one. he’s stubborn and he loves you—it’s only natural that he’ll try and protect you in whatever way that he can. sleep is one of the most vulnerable states a person can be in, after all
there’s definitely an adjustment period when the two of you first begin resting together. he wakes up incredibly easily. you shift just barely in your sleep? he’s already cracking an eye open. truthfully, he hasn’t slept near another person since his training days, back when his fellow soldiers were all piled in run-down barracks
it’s a long process, but eventually he grows accustomed to your presence. he’s still a light sleeper, but he no longer wakes as you turn over in his arms. it’s… really nice, actually. he feels as if he can actually rest with you—rest he definitely needs
he’s taken a liking to tucking his face in the crook of your neck while holding you. he drapes himself over you as he breathes you in, the steady rhythm of your heartbeat lulling his weary soul to sleep
norton campbell
light sleepers beware, this man snores
it’s not the nice, respectable ‘honk mimimi’ sort of snoring either. he’s loud. it’s to be expected given that his lungs are charred black from all the coal dust he’s inhaled over the years. have you ever heard of that one brainrot sound that goes “AAAUUUGH”? yeah, that’s him
oddly enough, he only snores when he’s flat on his back. if you flip him on his side, the noises practically stop all together
you can always tell when he’s pretending to sleep because of it. he’ll still snore (quite convincingly, honestly), not knowing about his little quirk
yet another member of the ‘impossible to escape’ club. he’s quite the heavy sleeper, so he isn’t the type to wake if you try and get up. that is, if you can in the first place
when juggling several different jobs at once, sleeping at a normal time becomes a luxury. yet another thing he couldn’t afford. he often relied on 30 minute power naps to get him through the day, finding a slightly ‘smoother’ rock to rest against or a quiet corner to slump into
unfortunately, the type of men he worked with weren’t the sort to leave a sleeping person alone without at least checking their pockets. his body has been more or less conditioned to hold on to his belongings as if his life depended on it, and old habits die hard
you can tug all you want, he’s not going to let go. he isn’t waking up either—norton absolutely sleeps like a rock (pun not intended this time). very few things are able to wake him if he doesn’t on his own
you didn’t hear this from me, but if you pinch his nose for long enough his eyes will snap open pretty quickly. though reliable, it’ll still earn you a glare and a gruff “what??” every time
he’s typically an early riser, but if the sun hasn’t yet peeked over the horizon, he’s dragging you back down into the mattress. you don’t have to get up yet, so stay with him a little longer, yeah?
