#self stimulation

66. Guiding them away from a situation that makes them uncomfortable. - Regulus/Barty

(non-magic college au that i’m definitely contemplating writing eventually)

Regulus was standing at the back of the shop biting his lips and picking at his thumbs, skin tearing back in protest, blood staining his fingertips. Barty hadn’t seen them that bad in a year, not since he’d gotten the fidget rings to stim with. He left his place in the queue and crossed the room quickly, pushing through the crowd to get to him.

“Reggie? Hey, hey, stop,” he said quietly, unclenching the other man’s hands and pulling them into his own.

“It’s too… I…” Regulus trailed off, tilting his neck and lifting his shoulders in annoyance.

“I know. Hey look at me, let’s go this way,” Barty said before leading him through the crowd in the most direct path out of the shop. He sat them both down on a bench outside of the building without letting go of Regulus’ hands. “Sorry, I should’ve realized how crowded it would be today.”

“No, I’ve been fine, it was just... Two kids were screaming and playing tag, and a woman ran her bag into me, and my AirPods are dead, and I left my rings at home-”

“Hey, shhh. It’s alright, you don’t have to explain yourself, I’m not upset, okay? Hey, look at me,” Barty said quietly, letting go of one of Regulus’ hands to tilt his chin up and stare into his light grey eyes. “I’m not upset. Why don’t we just call and order Chinese and go back to the flat and watch Friends? Does that sound good?”

“Only if we get steamed dumplings,” Regulus smiled at him tentatively.

Barty grinned back, eyes crinkling happily, “You got it, babe.”

now though, I move my legs way more. I'll do knee lifts, or kick my feet up, or do squats, etc. idk if it's because my body is stronger and healthier now and I feel like I can actually move it these days, and/or because exercising has made me more comfortable or attuned to my body, or if I'm just becoming less self conscious about stimming, but i think it's interesting.

I was just doing this knee lift + abdominal twist thing a few minutes ago that got me thinking about stims, lol

i paint my nails with clear topcoat because it works for stimulation with touch (the sensation of nail polish on my nails) and smell (the smell of the nail polish)

and also visual stimulation in school because it’s nice to see how it shines if that makes sense

sidenote can visual forms of stimulation be things like looking at nail polish or what i do a lot which is looking at marker or paint marks on my hands and clothes? idk how to explain it it’s just so nice to have something like that to look at

I haven’t made a stim post in a hot second so have some happy spins!

Image description:

{a small framed, light skinned, androgynous person is wearing a navy blue blue beanie, a light blue mock neck shirt with short sleeves, and a navy blue circle skirt and is visible from about the knees up. They are in front of a window and they are spinning around with their arms out to the side.}