had thoughts about Dream being able to sleep, how soft and human he would look. for your consideration:
Hob announced his arrival from work with a long sigh, heavy with exhaustion, and leaned into the door as he opened it and stepped into his flat. He dropped his keys in the little bowl and toed off his shoes. He had just shrugged off his messenger bag when he noticed a pair of large black boots in the living room, stark against his off-white rug. They were about a meter apart, like they’d been kicked off or tossed aside without a second thought.
With one brow raised, eyes scrupulous, Hob deposited his bag on the couch and bent down to pick up first one boot, then the other, tucking them together and neatly placing them on the wooden floor next to a bookshelf.
“Dream?” Hob called out, straightening up and casting his gaze upon the room. It wasn’t like Dream, when he paid surprise visits, to not immediately be within eyesight of the door, let alone leave his shoes haphazardly on the carpet.
Hob’s eyes landed on the entryway of the hall, spotting Dream’s thick, long coat in a heap on the center of the floor. Worry began to creep in as Hob slowly stepped up to Dream’s mystical coat, his pulse thrumming under his skin. He stooped down, grabbing it by the collar and brushing it off with his other hand. The material felt luxurious in Hob’s hands, soft like cashmere or shahtoosh, but also durable– something akin to wool or even canvas. Hob’s fingers caressed the fabric, feeling the lip of the tall collar between his thumb and fingers.
Gently folding the coat over one arm, Hob continued down the hall, stepping softly, carefully.
Hob’s bedroom door was open, the rays of the setting sun streamed in through the window and lit up the entryway, revealing more dark clothes in a jumble leading into the room.
Swallowing, lips parting, Hob bent down once more to collect Dream’s t-shirt, his pants and, following the line of mayhem, his socks, taking them all into his arms. Hob wasn’t sure what he expected to see when he finally straightened up and turned, but it certainly wasn’t this.
Hob almost dropped all the clothes he had spent carefully collecting, his mouth going dry.
There was a considerable, person-sized lump in Hob’s bed, buried under his thick gray comforter. The only indication that it was indeed Dream laying in Hob’s bed, was the mane of wild dark hair poking out from the mass of linens.
Hob took a step forward, then another, crushing the pile of clothes to his chest as he walked around the bed, his gaze transfixed to the top of Dream’s head– a smattering of black ink spilled on his white pillow. He held his breath as he finally came to face Dream, the only part of him sticking out was his nose and eyes, Dream’s impossibly long lashes draped down, threatening to brush the tops of his cheeks.
Hob felt his jaw drop, lips parting in wonder at this ethereal creature in his bed.
Dream was sleeping.
Or… it looked like he was sleeping. The shape of him steadily rose and fell, imitating breath that Hob knew Dream didn’t need. Hob didn’t think Dream needed sleep, either… or was even capable of it. Was Dream sick? Had he been injured?
Hob quietly deposited the bundle of clothes into a wicker chair in the corner of his room, turning back to Dream and leaning over him, slowly pressing one hand into the mattress next to him, and bringing the other up to lay it against Dream’s forehead.
Hob immediately felt foolish, of course Dream didn’t get sick, he’d nearly beaten it into Hob by now, how Endless never fall ill (not in the way humans do, apparently), but Dream did actually feel quite warm. Hob moved his hand from underneath Dream’s soft fringe, grazing his fingers down the side of his head, brushing the shell of his ear, cheekbone, and across his pointed nose, unable to get any further with the blanket folded up tight around half his face.
With his heart lighter than it’d felt in a long time, Hob couldn’t resist carefully hooking his fingers around the edge of the comforter, leaning in close as he pulled it down to expose Dream’s lips and chin. He looked softer, like this– human and vulnerable. There’s a trust here, Hob knows, his chest tightening, as his knuckles caress down the line of Dream’s jaw, free of blemishes and marble smooth. Hob swallowed again, his eyes flicking down in unrestricted interest at the line of Dream’s concealed body, cocooned in creamy grays. He looked back up, focusing on plush lips that are too red for Dream’s alabaster skin, like they’d been bitten.
Hob’s own teeth pull on his bottom lip, moving his hand to press a thumb against that mouth, barely touching, like a paint brush, dragging it from corner to corner.
“What are you doing?”
Hob huffed a surprised laugh, but didn’t remove his hand. Dream’s voice was lower than usual, thick, and rumbly, pulled from a deep slumber.
“Checking your temperature,” Hob answered in a whisper. His breath caught in his throat as Dream’s eyelids fluttered open, crystal blue eyes focusing right on him.
Christ almighty, he was gorgeous. Hob still couldn’t believe it sometimes, that he was allowed to see this, to be regarded by such beauty, such a divine entity. That he could call Dream his, and be confident in the knowledge that he was Dream’s, too. Hob felt himself begin to shake, his thumb was still at Dream’s lips, which had parted slightly when he’d spoken, his hot breath hitting Hob and causing something both carnal and pure to race through his blood, something devotional.
“You’re quite warm,” Hob tried again. Dream hadn’t spoken, only watched him, like he was waiting for something.
“Yes,” Dream’s voice ran over Hob in that velvety way of his; a warm tide crashing over him and lifting Hob up.
“I was seeking warmth. You weren’t home, and I know how pleasant you are after a long rest.”
“Pleasant?” Hob’s lips curled in a smile, distractedly pressing his thumb a little harder against Dream’s bottom lip.
“Tepid.” Dreams amended, parting his lips and allowing Hob’s thumb access.
Hob gasped softly as Dream bit down, his eyes blazing now, the black of his iris growing so there was no more blue. Hob hummed, his fingers curled around Dream’s chin, tilting it up.
There’s a tongue that swipes the tip of his thumb and Hob knows he’s lost, feigning nonchalance was never his strong suit when it came to this entity in his bed. His heart crashes against his ribs and Hob’s sure Dream can hear it, can hear the desire there.
A bare arm slips out from the pile of gray and latches onto Hob’s bicep, pulling him down. Hob goes along with a smile, getting one knee up on the bed, then the other, dislodging his fingers from Dream’s face to steady himself.
They lift the comforter together, allowing Hob to crawl in next to Dream. The shock of the sudden temperature hike against Dream’s bare skin makes Hob’s breath catch, desperately wishing he’d taken his clothes off first.
“Christ, Dream it’s like a furnace under here.” He’s never felt Dream radiate so much heat before. He truly was learning something new about this man– Endless, every day.
Dream’s long arm pulls the blanket back down, going around Hob’s middle and tucking it under him, coaxing Hob to be flush against his sinew body, usually firm with restrained strength, now soft from sleep. Dream’s chin tilts down, lips brushing Hob’s forehead.
“Could be hotter,” he murmurs, lips traveling down, his sharp nose nudging against Hob’s face, encouraging him to meet him evenly.
Hob is already panting, he’s sure he’s already sweating too, but he meets Dream’s mouth eagerly, pressing hard, getting his hand back on his face to cup Dream’s jaw.
“Well,” Hob pants as Dream wetly breaks the kiss, pressing his lips instead up Hob’s face and into his hairline. “I certainly wasn’t expecting this today.”
Dream hums, the sound reverberating down his body and tickling Hob’s senses.
“I’m pleased I can still surprise you.”
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I really ought to finish these damn Transferrin Saturation paper notes but I'm struggling with the line-by-line horror stories of how fucked up it is.
Like phew I don't even know what's worse:
• Transferrin Saturation as an indicator of Hepcidin production (oop)
• >50% Transferrin Saturation exposure associated with joint symptoms
• High Transferrin Saturation (>50%) also associated with the appearance of NTBI (Non-transferrin bound iron), which is likely linked to things like *organ damage*
• Therapeutic Phlebotomy treatment linked to an INCREASED iron absorption after procedures because (somehow. I haven't found exactly HOW yet) it decreases Hepcidin production.
It's such a fucking hot mess like what do we even DO with this information??? There's no hepcidin synthetics from a few (admittedly quick) googles (I *did* check the clinical trials website and nothing of interest/help). The paper in question talks about how a Melbourne study suggests that it may be more beneficial to *NOT* treat mild cases of iron overload. Which I find wild because the same paper also points out that a low ferritin does not mean you have a low transferrin saturation, and it's exposure to a high TS% over a long period of time that seems to be associated with worsening symptoms (particularly joint pain, ability to do work, athletic ability, and libido).
From my brief googles, there's no easy lab tests for Hepcidin. There's no easy lab tests for NTBI. These are things that could be doing who-knows-what and we can't even tell.
Add to it the whole Estradiol/Hepcidin link and it just all is an absolutely hot mess and do not like the implications of where this leads nor the fact that it seems very few people in research world have looked at this. (I'm not surprised. I'm not fucking surprised. They love to run with the myth that women with haemochromatosis are protected by their periods. In the words of a specialist I absolutely loathed, "you're self medicating with periods". Yeah. Sure. Tell that to my 18 year old self. Tell that to anyone who either knowingly or unknowingly is taking a Contraceptive Pill that has iron tablets instead of sugar placebos. [Because I only just found out THAT is a thing. I was always so worried about what's in the hormone tablets, but this was a whole new level of 'wot'].)
I'm rambling because I keep stopping every couple of sentences. This paper goes hard. Sure it's not perfect and there's a lot of unanswered questions too but there's plenty of food for thought and ooooh boy I'm sorry Dr Haemotologist Sir, it's gonna be one hell of an introduction session.
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Ugh dammit alright maybe I should get a little bit more serious about posting on here since I'm not terribly thrilled by any other social media, it's perhaps the most active, and while Tumblr sucks shit for the porn ban, I can at least do a little bit without fear that the whole site will sink into the ocean.
So, okay. Just going to take this as a fresh start and reintroduce myself, as I've gotten some new followers (in the double digits now since deleting my old account back during the porn purge) and would like to just sort of, I don't know, start fresh.
So. I'm Bafauxmet, but I also answer to Baf or even Kit. I'm 27 (and in saying that I'd love it if minors stayed away from me, I don't want to engage with you). I'm an editor by trade and a writer by passion. I play banjo, I'm re-learning Spanish after minoring in it, and I'm a total freak for horror movies and sometimes for classic literature.
If you do any of those things, come hang out with me please.
You can expect... Well, a lot of shit I just get a giggle out of (#laugh rule), things I think are lovely (#beautiful things), movie reviews/posts (#movie night with the girls), and things I'm writing, which will have a #writing real good tag and a #inspiration: title tag if it's a longform work.
I'm also not going to put like, a big DNI thing or whatever, I don't care, but I will call you a creep and block you if you're a TERF or otherwise a massive bigot.
And... I'll leave it at that. Check the tags for an assortment of things I like, come hang out if you're cool, leave me alone if you're not.
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