#alexej

came from the bottom, now he’s here...

Alexej grew up in a small polish village close to the coast in the north of the country. But his family had always been some kind of broken: a distant mother and an apathetic father was no environment to raise two children.

After his brother had died in a fire on the family’s farm, Alexej packed his belongings. With no one left to be there for, he ran away from a place he had barely ever been able to call home.

After this, Alexej seemed to be a magnet to trouble. Not rarely that had lead to the young man getting tossed in front of a jury to be judged. Yet, Alexej had been gifted with being able to smoothly talking himself out of almost every crime on the agenda.

how he changed...

Two years after leaving home, an elderly man had taken Alexej in, training and perfecting his skills.

Even though hand to hand combat, fights settled with skill and stamina, had always been the young man’s favorite, Alexej learned that he’s even better around guns. Alexej also learned to think faster, analyse situations, sense trouble even before it appeared.

Alexej has learned to live in the shadows and to step out when time calls for it. His angry character has settled and by now people fear him without knowing he exists.

some more info…

analytical and practical, doesn’t leave much up to surprise

as much as he loves the precise and clean way of murdering someone with a gun, the good ol’ knuckle duster just feels wonderful in his hand

favorite food: Bigos (hunter’s stew), a Polish tradition

It was still early in the morning and relatively quiet. Peacefully so almost at least if one could ignore the unusual deep, breathless and congested snoring that resounded inside the small flat. Outside the chill autumn air was still hazy with mist and damp with frosted dew that had sprinkled the windows. The newly rising sun fought for supremacy with the seemingly ever present opaque shroud which could only be displaced temporarily these days. Bright rays of bronzed golden light illuminated the thick swirls of mist. They only managed thinning it enough to reveal an alley of old, widely branched maple trees whose leaves flashed auburn and rust red in an entity of white.

Evan watched from inside his cozy and warm apartment as a strong gust of wind made the big yet pliable branches wave and sway. His steel grey eyes followed the instantly loosened clouds of five-pointed leaves tinted in different layers of gleaming reds. They drifted and danced sluggishly through the fog, flashed their splendor until slowly gliding out of view. The sight was eerily pretty yet Evan would have preferred to indulge in it while dreaming instead of blurring it with tears created by a jaw-cracking yawn. Being up this early on a free day and after an almost sleepless night should have been rewarded with a bit more. He stifled another yawn against the rim of his mug and drowned its remains with a last stream of lukewarm coffee. The pleasantly bitter taste and aromatic smell managed to linger for a few moments longer.

Evan rubbed over his rather rugged, angular face, neatly buzzed head and full beard while pondering what would be more alluring: Another round of news reading followed by a nap on the small couch or a hot shower. The shower won the uneven match easily. Could have been a different outcome if it had rivaled with his big, comfortable bed. But Evans younger husband did strictly refuse sharing a sleeping place or other close quarters whenever he happened to fall ill- which was the case much more often than it should have been. Well, Evan unyielding insisted that his ill yet much smaller partner should sleep in the bed and NOT on the couch. So maybe they were even in stubbornness.

His back protested and ached while getting up which made him cringe. He´d only been a civilian for some years after a prolonged time of military service yet sometimes the amount of subjective effeminacy seemed to be hinting on a couple more.

A series of wheezing, crackling coughs made him turn on his heels and wide awake immediately as he hurried to swiftly open the bedroom door. The sight of his husband bent forward and shaking with forcefully suppressed, barking coughs alarmed him instantly as he crouched down next to the bed. “Alex? Do you need your inhalator?” He asked and pried away a slender, slightly trembling hand to place the small device into it´s palm. The gesture made Alexej look up despite the rattling spasms. When Evan had previously thought that he felt tired his husband clearly looked the part:

Alex skin, naturally very pallid, almost translucent with a faint dapple of freckles above his nose, high set cheekbones and lightly concave cheeks, was flushed and sweaty with fever. His deep set yet big bright eyes were dulled and glazed over. Now only resembling a fading cyani flower instead of their usual glowing bouquet of blossoming blue. They were also puffy and even more embedded into shadows created by too much worry, work and an irregular sleep pattern. The latest tour of long concerts had worn the already small and dainty, almost fragile built harpist out and probably paved ways for this recent illness. His beautifully curved yet small lips were devoid of color as well- a stark contrast to his straight, narrow nose which was tinted an angry red and chapped around the edges. Lingering exhaustion had deepened the fine, usually barely visible lines in his face and hopefully only marred it temporarily.

“Ndo….” Alexej managed to choke out after the small yet intense fit- voice almost inaudibly hoarse and slurred with heavy congestion. His fine and wavy, chin length wheat blonde hair was widely ruffled, damp with cold sweat and underlined with premature silver. Yet Evan loved gently combing it back behind a feverishly heated ear while he caressed the others delicate and long fingers with his much bigger and calloused hand. “I´m sorry if I woke you up.” Alex mumbled around a few futile tries to suck in a bit of air through his hopelessly clogged nose. “You didn’t, no worries. Can I bring you something?” Evan asked and had to restrain himself from kissing the others slightly parted mouth. He´d probably refuse which would leave him longing even more. “No tha-hah-nk youhh- hheh-hih-hold on-” Alexejs already unsteady breath had started to quaver mid sentence. Evan watched as his husbands red rimmed nostrils flared irritably while his breath hitched. They revealed tender yet angrily blushed insides and a septum already slightly wetted with shining fluid. Alex light blonde lashes fluttered feathery as he fought to keep his tearing eyes open while his free hand went on a frantic search for his box of tissues. Evans own did find it a bit earlier though and gathered a whole bunch of them right in time to gently cup them around his husbands gasping mouth. A small hand gripped his own with surprising force and pressed the protective barrier closer to his down turned lips and shaking nose as he surrendered:   “hhh-heh-hhiih-PTZSSCH-hieh!- hheh-hah-TSSSCHHiuh!-AH´PTZSSCH-iiiew! unngh snfff" The sneezes had been unusually rough and tortuously teasing with their build ups that made Alex face scrunch and contort helplessly in rhythm of his frantically rising chest. They also were richly accompanied by moisture and spray worth of a restless night with congestion. It had not only been audible but also burst steamingly through the thin barrier and had managed to heat Evans skin.

Alex rather frail body had been at complete mercy of their exceptional force as he shook with each one and would have tumbled over if not steadied by his husband. He looked tired and teary eyed as he finally emerged from the sodden cluster of tissues. Still too dazed, feverish and breathless to feel shame or the traces of moisture still lingering around his nose and chin.

"Bless you, angel.” Evan simply replied while plucking a new bouquet of tissues.

“Ndoh- let me-” Alex tried but was shushed effectively by the cloudy fabric and even softer touch that gently cleaned his now deeply blushed face.

“Jesus… How did you get it on your cheek?” Evan could not help but snort a bit with amusement. It accomplished the impossible and made Alexejs fair skin turn into an even deeper shade of red.

“Don´t do that, I´m gross!” the younger man finally managed to say and gathered his remaining strength to pull away a still caressing hand.

Evan could not resist any longer and planted a gentle, soft kiss on Alex forehead. He tasted salt, bitter sweetly radiating warmth and that special, tingling aftertaste so delightfully unique to the other.

Alexej shivered with pleasure at his husbands surprisingly soft lips and coarse yet mellow rub of beard against his overheated skin.

He snuffled and tried rubbing the persistent tickle out of his nose that managed to squish and squelch wetly with the massaging motion.

“Don´t be stubborn. Let me stay and take care of you. I can´t sleep much outside anyways.”

“But you´ll get sick, too.” Alexej mumbled and bit his lower lip to give a contrast to the again rising tickle burning through his swollen sinuses.

Evan slowly, tenderly kissed the arch of his husbands delicately trimmed brows.

“I´ll be extra careful…” He breathed and let the tiny, soft hairs tickle his lips.

“But you-” Alexej really wanted to argue or at least revel in the sweet fondle and stroking breaths for a bit but could hardly concentrate as his own grew erratic again. The tickle had quickly grown big and urgent enough to crumble the last pieces of control while demanding his immediate attention.

“Hhhold on, I hah-ve tosneeze-” he gasped out as his eyes closed against his will once more and nostrils opened widely.  

The harpist had barely time to avert his head and hide the snarling grimace behind a hastily raised forearm:  “Hhh-hhiieh-IZZSSSCH-iieew! hhah-APTSSCHiieh! huh-heh-YISSSSCH-iuh!” Building faster, more easily this time but no less desperate and urgent the sneezes had left his shirt copiously wet and him slightly dizzy. Alexej could not help but cringe at the damp feeling tickling his skin and big wet spots distinctively visible on his light grey sweater.

“Here sweetheart. Bless you.” Evan said kindly, this time offering the tools for a much needed clean up instead of doing so himself.

“But I?” He then asked once Alex had finished off with an extensive and crackling nose blow.

“…. You made me sneeze at your hand. That´s not being careful.” He replied groggily and slumped back into a pile of propped up pillows. Those last outbursts seemed to have sapped the last bit of his much restricted strength.

“And you just did so all over yourself. Both of us can be washed.” Evan pecked a quick, teasing kiss on his husbands lips.

“Let me start with myself and come back with some tea, meds and breakfast. And then we´ll try to get some sleep.”

Lillandlian: 

He has a distinctive photic sneeze reflex due to his unique, pallid complexion and the fact that he has lived in a deeply shaded forest. If not in complete shadows he´ll sneeze right after waking up, when passing through rays of bright sunshine or from looking directly into any radiant source of light. Quick changes in light-and shadow ratio can trigger a sudden release as well.

Those forced photic reactions tend to be quicker and less drawn out than his regular sneezes. For example a sudden yet forceful: “heh-PTSCHieh!”   Due to his unique link with nature the druid is also oversensitive to any kind of air pollution (smoke, ashes,...). This can cause prolonged fits and even breathing troubles. Lillandlian is also prone to catch colds and vulnerable to cool weather and chills. His cold sneezes tend to be more drawn out, come in multiples and rise from deep out of his fused lungs. His regular sneezes are very wet and spraying already and things can get very messy when he´s sick. Generally he does his best to keep them as quiet and polite as possible- giving them a softly spraying, yet forceful kind of tone. This won´t work when his nose is affected very badly- they´ll burst out unrestrained, loud and thus embarrass him even more than his regular ones.  The sounds are all wet, spraying with a lot of force behind and often ending with a higher pitch. Mostly expressed in one or two syllables but rarely in three. ”hhh-TDZSSSSCHiieh!”,  “ hah-IDZSCHHIIIEW!” Stifling them always hurts and needs lots of effort but he will do so to be unobtrusive and considerate despite his discomfort. Telling him to stop will secretly relieve him a lot.  The centaur always tries to shield or angle them away from people and prefers to safely release sneezes into a handkerchief. If nothing else is available he´ll sneeze against his bare forearm, wrist or into his hands. Feeling or seeing his own spray makes him cringe and shutter though.  He will bless other people with: “May Acacia bless you!/Acacias blessings be with you!” or simple “Blessings to you!/Bless you!” -referring to the goddess of nature and creation and wishing the other health in that way. Lillandlian will be very flustered after sneezing himself and apologize. 

Shokhrakka: 

Is sensitive to certain flowers and healing herbs. They will make his nose itch and tingle for a while before the teasing grows into a more pressing need. At that point his nose will be utterly swollen shut and they´ll burst out suddenly. With a lot of force behind. 

There´s not too much actual voice in them but a snarling, deeply growling quality mixed with the distinct sound of air rushing by mighty tusks. The kind of release that vibrates through ones chest and scrapes the throat a bit. Also they´re really loud and tend to startle others. They mostly happen in singles but a very persistent tickle can cause a double with a stray third trailing behind. They mostly sound like: “Huhhr-ERZSSCH-UE!”, “HEH-HURRZSCHH-ah!” Changing or cleaning his several nose piercings can cause a sudden and powerful reaction too. The big Orc is rarely sick and generally not prone to any kind of infection. Shokhrakka is not considered to be a sneezy person and has no other sensitivities.  He´s simply angling his head to an unoccupied side or will sneeze down towards the floor- not being rude on purpose but simply not thinking further about the matter. Surprisingly he always carries a handkerchief with him in case he needs to blow his nose.  If another person sneezes he´ll mostly ignore it but is more attentive to people who are close to him. Then he´ll make sure that the sneeze is not caused by any kind of discomfort. And in case it was: Find a way to ease it.

Marya: 

The Alchemist is allergic to a flower that´s simultaneously an important  medical ingredient called pale nightingale. It´s pollen or crushed petals will cause an instant and strong allergic reaction expressing itself in multiple wet, desperate sneezes. And a clogged or streaming nose as well as badly tearing eyes.  Generally her sneezes are pronounced softly: There´s a wet, mellow sound in them even in the bigger ones and they´re mostly voiced and blended together as one syllable, very rarely two. They come in rapid, spraying multiples that have a distinct “girlish” pitch and ending.  “apTSCHIU! -TSSCHih! -ahTSSCHIEW!” or “ Ah~PTSCHiih!- IZSCH-uh!- TDSCHiuh!”

They´re neither very loud nor very quiet and almost never stifled. She´d only restrain them to avoid sneezing on somebody or infecting another person. Marya tries to cover with a handkerchief or something else available. She is thoughtful about germs and careful not to cause others harm. Yet sneezing is a completely natural thing to her and normally no cause of embarrassment or stress. 

She also has the kink and very much enjoys most sneezes of other women. Especially those from her girlfriend Amaziah. In that relationship Marya has fantasies about being sneezed on and inducing the Archmage in various scenarios.With the later both have had a surprising amount of fun and excitement already. Although not a necessity for fun sneezing does play a big role in her sexuality.  Maryas overall constitution is very sturdy and healthy though she´s prone to falling sick when overworking herself over a long period of time. Or after taking care for Amaziah- because despite knowing better she´s adamant in cuddling and keeping comfortingly close to her girlfriend. There any shared intimacy and care is worth a possible contagion in her opinion.  She´ll mostly wish the other “Gesundheit!” after a sneeze but will vary with “Bless you.” or exclusively to Amaziah the elven “Anvael ci na´eve.” from time to time.

Amaziah:

Is a rather sneezy person and hates every bit of it. She´s a highly decorated leader that personally emphasizes a lot on self-control, manners and ever present strength. So when her body is “disfunctioning” like this it makes her feel angry, annoyed and embarrassed in company.   This is why she´ll try to fend off the inevitable multiple releases as best as possible when others are in vicinity. That works only for a while though. If she´s forced to give in she´ll try to stifle them with cruelly pinching her nose. The action is hurtful, full-bodied but mostly silent. Sometimes the restraint fails and is painfully audible: “-kdnxxt-ugh” or like “Hah-kngxt-uh”. Her natural sneezes are clearly vocalized and mostly separated in two or three syllables: The first distinctly stressed, the middle a deep, harsh and throat scraping sound and the third again rising in pitch and vocalization. Also very loud and a bit achy for her chest: “ Hah-ERRSCHH-hue!”, “huh-AERSSCHH-ah!”. Amaziah has severe dust allergies and is suffering from a strained physical constitution that makes her fall sick often and easily. In addition to that she´s mostly unable to get the much needed rest and thus her condition worsens despite healing potions.  She does hate it when others acknowledge this or react to her sneezing which is why most people have given up on it. They get the dreaded and very intimidating “How dare you!” stare if they dare to offer a blessing. This does not include close people or her girlfriend Marya however: While Amaziah had felt embarrassed and shy about the matter of sneezing at the beginning of her relationship she´s now fine with it as long as both are in private. She even enjoys inducing for her but struggles with the concept of actually sneezing freely.  

The Archmage prefers to turn aside and muffle them securely into a silk handkerchief or the crook of her arm.   Normally she does not offer any kind of blessing because she things it would make others as uncomfortable as herself. She may make an exception for Marya though:  “Anvael ci na´eve.” Amaziah is afraid of germs and thus always aiming for good hygiene in both ways. She´s struck with quite some persistent stuck sneezes and false starts from time to time.

Azra: 

Does share some sensitivities regarding certain flowers and healing plants with her half brother. They cause a lingering, buzzing sensation inside her nose that soon spreads to a full faced tickle and discomfort. She´ll try to harshly rub it out of every offended place which will cause her eyes to water even more. She mostly doesn't mind rubbing, grinding or even wiping her nose against her palm or back of the hand. Her nose responds with a lot of visible crinkling and flaring nostrils when teased.  Other than those triggers she also has a slight sensitivity to dust. It doesn't bother her much in small portions but can trigger some impressive sneezes when she´s exposed to bigger amounts over time.  Azra is not sick too often but when it hits her it´s usually doing so in a hard, unforgiving fashion. She´s not too good with taking care of herself and tries to hide any discomfort since being sick is could be equalized to a weakness she can´t really afford.  Generally her casual sneezes tend to come in doubles with the occasional triple. Her pre-sneeze face and build up are rather expressive and involve a lot of snarling, fang baring and possibly a few irritated hitches that grow in strength and audible depth before reaching their climax.  The final releases are very harsh and resound in her chest with a latent growling intensity. They´re sound could be described as “masculine”, fairly vocal, loud and she mostly sneezes off to her free side: “HuhhrERSSCHH-UH!  HAH-ERSSSCHH-ue!- HURH-EIZSSCHhah!” She does make an effort to cover or shield them when she´s sick. Will even try to stifle when in close quarters despite the fact that this is not fully possible due to her protruding, very big tusks. It´s a good way to tell that she´s unwell though. As are the longer fits that can hit her when she´s suffering from a bad headcold. Azra sometimes uses her plenty nose piercings to coax out some stubborn stuck sneezes rather violently. The feeling of having to sneeze and not being able to is a lot more annoying to her than the actual release.  Generally she doesn´t feel bad about sneezing if it´s not happening in an inconvenient situation or displaying too much vulnerability.  She´s not very used to any kind of blessings or reactions related to sneezing. 

Zephyr: 

Has the kink. And enjoys his own sneezes more than those of another person. He loves the feeling of it, the start of a light teasing tickle that rapidly grows into a more demanding itch. The first subtle and than more visible changes it causes to his body posture, breathing and face. The building pressure in his lungs right before the exquisite release hits him. 

The Satyr goes even so far as to watch his reflection while the sneeze builds- his eyes try to stay open and admiring as long as possible but will eventually be forced shut.  If he would live in a modern day setting instead of the present high fantasy one Zephyr would record his sneezes to watch and listen to them later. Revel in the moment and feeling. And probably have pleasure with it all over again. He can be rather embarrassed to sneeze in front of another person though.  Both things can lead to activating his curse: He´s prone to evoke gusts of wind and even storms with any kind of deeper routed feelings. So semi destructive blasts of wind that trail after some sneezes are an often occurring possibility. 

To Zephyrs own dismay he does not have many allergies. Luckily for him his nose is very sensitive to touch and inducing- a condition he uses very often. With feathers, sensual massages or by teasingly plucking the chain that´s attached to his nose piercing.  Zephyrs sneezes mostly build teasingly slow and are almost always precluded by a series of hitching breaths. Sometimes slightly moaned in desperation. They´re harsh and full-bodied commitments that tend to rattle him more than a bit. Although he does try to give them a (to him) pleasant sound: Always aiming for all three syllables, audibly parted and still musically melting into each other. With that slightly over dramatic rise in pitch and voice towards the end to conceal the harsher middle part: 

“hah-heh- HAH-ERRSCH-iiuuh!- HAH-IZSSCHH-iuh!- hheh- ah- Hadt-EISSCHIOO!” He´s not the type to stifle because... Why miss out on something great? Zephyr will sneeze freely and uncovered when alone but will turn aside to sneeze against his forearm or wrist when around people. 

Evan: 

This man has an immune system so strong it´s an almost indomitable fortress. Which is good since his husbands health is the exact opposite. Normally he does not sneeze much at all but has developed a nasty and itchy allergy to birch tress and hazel bushes. When exposed his eyes and nose are opening the flood gates simultaneously while both turning visibly red and irritated. His nose starts to tingle and buzz with sneezy desperation right after and it doesn't take long to be fully overcome.  Despite him being very tall and muscular his sneezes are restrained and squelched into almost silent submission. And directly followed by an achy groan or shaky exhale. Desperate and painful sounding stifles that can arrive in singles or a whole big party when allergies hit him.  Initiated by a big breath and trembling grimace as his hand flies up to press against his shaking septum in a futile attempt to avoid the following: “HAH-nxdt!-uhh” or “HEH-kxndt-ah!” and very rarely he looses the battle for control after a longer fit- ending it with a harsh: “AERRRSCHooh!” or a similar sounding, very relieving sneeze. All variations are followed by some sniffs and a husky “xcuse me...”. His Love does chide him for stifling and keeps reciting the risks and possible harms of this kind of action. Although this does not stop Evan from doing it again.  Most of his stifles are dry since he effectively blocks every other option. A full release or a bad allergy day can still turn out messy from time to time. 

Evan always sneezes against his shoulder, into the crook of one arm or into his shirt that will be hastily pulled up over mouth and nose. He is especially careful with keeping all kinds of germs away from his husband Alexej. He´s not scared of catching things himself though.  He does thank people for blessing him and also very friendly blesses others who are in close vicinity to him. No matter if they´re friends or complete strangers. Has kind of a funny habit with calling “bless you!” through the whole flat upon hearing his husband sneeze in a far away corner of their shared place.  Which leaves Alexej blushing a bit, silently thinking: “Was it.... that loud?” before calling back a flustered “Thank you!”.

Alexej:

His health is very frail with his immune-system  actually compromised due to several chronic issues. He´s almost all the time at least achy and sniffly with the tendency to get worse very fast and really seriously.  In addition to catching colds and being sick way to often Alexej is also suffering from severe dust and perfume allergies.  Both he and his husband Evan do avoid any kind of scented products and keep their shared flat meticulously clean.  Despite the constant struggles his nose did not seem to have hardened against outside teasing since it can be vexed and irritated pretty easily.  All these ailments make him a very sneezy person and when doing so it´s almost always happening three times in a row. Although an allergy attack can easily cause a prolonged fit.  Especially his cold sneezes build awfully slow- teasing him with lots of gasped out hitching and a couple of false starts here and there. A struggle so clearly visible in his desperate facial expressions.  When they finally come they do so forcefully and accompanied by a lot of mess while shaking his lithe body and leaving him dizzy.  Despite their force and volume the sound is desperate yet underlined with a rather soft, spraying base that´s ending in a higher pitch. “hhh-heh-hhiih-PTZSSCH-hieh!”, “-IZZSSSCH-iieew!” He manages to keep his regular “just an itchy nose” kind of sneezes a bit lower in volume and force. They´ll built and come more sudden and he´ll hold them back to a more suppressed but still spraying “TZSCHieh!”.  If possible Alexej will always try and muffle his sneezes into a tissue, his sleeve or crook of an arm- resulting in big, very visible wet spots and a lot of blushing.

He used to apologize a lot after sneezing but has moderated that habit around Evan a bit due to his husbands constant reassurances and care. Although generally he´s feeling both deeply embarrassed and angry at himself for his often “misbehaving” nose and shattered immune system.  Having to sneeze in public, or worse in front of his audience during a concert, is still a huge horror for him. One that´s recurring from time to time despite his tries to ward it off.  Alexej is often too shy to bless anyone besides his husband Evan. He dislikes it when his husband stifles because he´s worried it will cause harm or hurt him. Alexej himself has had bad experiences with stifling- which is why he avoids doing so.