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#irregular authority
eelgraveyard · 9 months
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yeah (characters under the cut
green is ed (sheriff domestic)
purple is weldon (policecop)
yellow is just paul (petscop)
light blue is oliver (demo disk)
blue is richard (household felony)
magenta is nicholas (ai builds)
red is mike (irregular authority)
grey is malcom (dark castle)
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snailasleep · 8 months
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why does vash carry cigarettes if he never smokes?
extra comic
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if it makes anyone feel better heres what i named some of the layers for this comic
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also panels i liked!
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see you, vash! until next time!
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noahhawthorneauthor · 7 months
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There's something about queer cozy reads that soothes the soul. Speaking of, I'm hosting a Read-Along for Phantom and Rook on Halloween!
I've partnered up with Fable to give away ebooks to those who join the book club, and if you'd like to participate but prefer audiobooks, let me know! I still have some Spotify codes that I'd be happy to giveaway.
The book club is already set up, link is here. I'll also be creating a Storygraph challenge, and sharing updates on here for those of you who like to quietly participate. It's a great way to celebrate PAR's book birthday, and to prepare for the sequel coming out in a couple months!
Blurb:
Arlo Rook has decided it’s time to move out of Garren Castle, home for orphans of all races, magical or not, at 100 years old.
It’s not the first time he’s left home, but after a setback that landed the Hedge Witch in the hospital a year ago, he ended up right back at square one. But now he’s ready to strike out on his own, despite his friend’s worries that he’s not ready for the ‘real world.’
Then, he crashes into a mess of copper curls and bright eyes, sending apothecary goods and his life into a chaotic mess. Thatch is a mysterious and incredibly wealthy benefactor of Levena, only spoken of but never seen. He requests a night of Arlo’s company and a tour of the city, which Arlo immediately declines.
But that’s not the last time they see each other, and it certainly wasn’t the first. Arlo doesn’t remember him, no one remembers Thatch after he visits, but Thatch never forgot the Witch with a familiar mark on his face.
Thatch Phantom is an immortal, the last of his kind and perpetually bored. When he’s not closing inter-dimensional rifts and corralling demons, he’s visiting his favorite city of all, Levena. Centuries ago, when life was particularly dull, he set up a scavenger hunt for a starving village, providing them with a year’s worth of supplies.
He anonymously returned year after year, upping the ante and providing less practical things, as the village had become a city and was wealthy beyond belief. Festivals were thrown in his honor, and have continued every year since. Hundreds of years later, The Game is still put on by the fabled ‘Scarlet Illusionist’, but no one has figured out who blesses them with the puzzles.
Once again, Thatch is listless and has decided to throw a wild card into this year’s Game. Whoever discovers him will win one wish of their choice, no restrictions. Aside from the obvious, such as no falling in love, murder or resurrection.
What he didn’t anticipate was crashing into the one person whose soul mark flares like a beacon when Thatch is around, teasing the immortal with the one thing he wants most.
Someone to call home.
🍁🎃🏳️‍🌈📚✨
Find Phantom and Rook here!
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To be confronted with a blank page is not very nice. But Hemingway, a great American writer, taught me the finest trick when you are doing a long book, which is, he simply said in his own words, “When you are going good, stop writing.” And that means that if everything’s going well and you know exactly where the end of the chapter’s going to go and you know just what the people are going to do, you don’t go on writing and writing until you come to the end of it, because when you do, then you say, well, where am I going to go next? And you get up and you walk away and you don’t want to come back because you don’t know where you want to go. But if you stop when you are going good, as Hemingway said…then you know what you are going to say next. You make yourself stop, put your pencil down and everything, and you walk away. And you can’t wait to get back because you know what you want to say next and that’s lovely and you have to try and do that. Every time, every day all the way through the year. If you stop when you are stuck, then you are in trouble!”
- Roald Dahl
No one can uncover the circumstances behind why this picture of Roald Dahl and Ernest Hemingway was taken, other than it was in London during the Second World War. Hemingway found himself in Europe from June-December 1944 in his capacity as a war journalist.
Roald Dahl was commissioned into the Royal Air Force and was a frontline fighter pilot showing tremendous courage and bravery and who eventually rose to the rank of wing commander. His flying days came to a premature end after a crash landing that nearly cost him his life. Between 1939-1941 Dahl was the assistant air attache in Washington DC and moved around in those diplomatic and political circles hoping to get some inside information and intelligence on America’s intentions and plans with regarding the war in Europe. Bored by his work he fell into the murky world of intelligence and became part of a Brirish spy ring called ‘The Irregulars’ which included the future James Bond author Ian Fleming. His spy work chiefly consisted of mobilising American opinion. This was at a time when Britain stood alone against the expected Nazi invasion and Britain was hoping to the USA would enter the conflict and thus tilt the balance.
When this photo was taken Dahl was a mere 28 years old and Hemingway was 45 years old. The picture doesn’t really do justice to how tall both men were with Hemingway being 6 feet tall but towered over by Dahl’s 6’6” wiry frame. Clearly Hemingway was already a celebrated author with The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls already published. Dahl, by contrast, hadn’t written anything significant yet - like his friend and colleague Ian Fleming - other than his children’s book, The Gremlins, in 1943.
It’s speculative to imagine that Dahl, the inventive intelligence officer and aspiring author, somehow contrived a meeting with the old lion, hoping to get some writing tips.
Photo: Roald Dahl and Ernest Hemingway in London during 1944.
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beneaththetangles · 7 months
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First Impression: The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch
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When the cute witch Alyssa stumbles upon an abandoned human baby in the middle of a forest, she immediately falls in love and decides to raise the girl. Sixteen years later, Viola has grown up, way up, to the point that other villagers believe that she’s the witch and Alyssa is her apprentice. But make no bones about it, Alyssa is the more mature of the two. Viola spends most of her time accompanying her mother on trips, pleading for gifts—including a creature that she’ll be able to magically summon—and acting very much like a child, even throwing tantrums in the streets. Thankfully, Alyssa is full of patience, kindness, and love for her daughter, who in turn is viciously possessive of her mom. These two make for quite a tandem!
(Read More)
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haveyoureadthispoll · 2 months
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As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and...Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat. As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for....
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holmesoldfellow · 5 months
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"Profile by Gaslight: An Irregular Reader About the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" edited by Edgar W. Smith (Simon and Schuster, 1944)
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bibliophileiz · 1 year
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Ranking the Books I read in 2022
I feel really good about my bottom two and top four, but some of the middle ones may be more smushed. Also if my Goodreads stars don't always seem to line up with my rankings, it's because I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.
26. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. Date reviewed: Jan. 25, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 (apparently i averaged it bc i thought the writing was good, though now i can't remember why) 1-sentence review: Every time I read a thriller, I'm like Jason Bateman pulling the bag labelled dead dove out the freezer, looking at it, and going, "I don't know what I expected."
25. Royal Diaries: Isabel: Jewel of Castilla by Carolyn Meyer Date reviewed: Jan. 11, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3, but 2.5 were for Beatriz de Bombadilla 1-sentence reivew: Isabel is insufferable and I want a biography about Beatriz de Bombadilla.
24. Love, Hate, and Clickbait by Liz Bowery Date reviewed: Nov. 9, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: The characters are terrible but it's still a good way to pass election night.
23. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske Date reviewed: June 2, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: Main couple great, sex scnes are steamy, plot reasonably creative, but overall moves slowly and most of the side characters are terrible.
22. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton Date reviewed: Nov. 8, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: Hollywood is TOXIC and I hope Tom's living his best life in England with his brothers and his dog.
21: The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney Date reviewed: March 1, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: Hatshepsut was a boss, but Cooney's writing style could be livelier.
20. Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson Date reviewed: Sept. 27, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 (was probably generous) 1-sentence review: Super interesting memoir that taught me way more about blindness and guide dogs than about 9/11 (which is fine).
19. Husband Material by Alexis Hall Date reviewed: Aug. 16, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: Same hilarity, more emotional maturity, but Luc and Oliver didn't seem happy with each other's friends and somewhat traitorously (because I know this is the exact OPPOSITE of the point of the book) I kind of wish they'd gotten married.
18. Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey Date reviewed: April 20, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: We stan one leading lady. (Dude was ... fine I guess.)
17. Graphic Classics Romeo and Julie by Gareth Hinds Date reviewed: Oct. 25, 2022 Goodread stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Turns out graphic novels are a good way to read Shakespeare plays.
16: Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone Date reviewed: March 15, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: Goldstone's historical writing is great as always, but she should have written about French queen Blanche of Castile instead.
15. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall Date reviewed: April 25, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Here's to the book that made me silent-laugh so hard in a restaurant that I had to put my mask back on to keep the other customers from staring at me.
14. If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy Date reviewed: April 22, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Adored everything except the love interest, who seemed to have misplaced his personality.
13. To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters (audio book) Date reviewed: May 5, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: My favorite so far of the Regency Vows series and I didn't even get embarassed listening to an actor read the sex scenes aloud. (admittedly i was alone in my car, but still)
12. Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake Date reviewed: June 21, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: A lovely little w/w romance with great supporting characters and a fantastic sister-subplot that was arguably as engaging as the love story.
11. Lore Olympus Volume 1 by Rachel Smythe Date reviewed: Jan. 24, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence review: Greek mythology and breathtaking artwork -- what's not to love?
10. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden Date reviewed: Aug. 10, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence reivew: If you're like me and you love dark, eerie fairy tales, then this is the book for you.
9. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center Date reviewed: July 27, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 1-sentence reivew: I liked Wilbur and corgi-breeding stalker better than I liked Robby, which I think is what God and Katherine Center intended.
8. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston Date reviewed: Sept. 16, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: What starts out as a seeming scathing take-down of certain John Green novels with shades of gay Mean Girls thrown in turns into something completely unexpected and wonderful and warm and welcoming.
7. Royal Diaries: Cleopatra: Daughter of the Nile by Kristiana Gregory Date reviewed: Jan. 19, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Yes, I am being indulgent ranking this so high, but she has a pet leopard and insults Roman officials in their own language.
6. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell Date reviewed: Sept. 23, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: A thoughtful and engaging take on how language shapes cultures within communities, with sometimes insidious intent.
5. Book Lovers by Emily Henry Date reviewed: July 23, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Hallmark villains in love with NYC to the point of delusion make the best protagonists.
4. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna Date reviewed: Sept. 23, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Reading this is like walking into a sunlit room on a Sunday morning. (Note: I actually switched this to rank above Book Lovers, which is a VERY big deal for me because I love Emily Henry.)
3. Signal Moon by Kate Quinn Date reviewed: Aug. 20, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 1-sentence review: Combining World War II AND time travel (sort of) is like hitting all my tragic romance buttons at once.
2. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn Date reviewed: June 16, 2022 (I don't think GR has this right -- I got an advanced copy and reviewed it not long after reading it. I posted a review on Facebook on Feb. 28, 2022) Goodreads stars I gave it: 5 1-sentence review: Amazing writing, a bombshell of a heroine, and a story that makes me see, smell and hear the Eastern front -- I'm not kidding when I say this is Quinn's best book so far. (Note: I wrote that line when I hadn't read No. 1 on the list yet.)
and finally....
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn Date reviewed: July 4, 2022 Goodreads stars I gave it: 5 Entire review because I have no self-control:
Earlier this year, I said I thought The Diamond Eye may be Kate Quinn's best book. I am revising my opinion. THIS may be Kate Quinn's best book. I read it in one day, basically didn't put it down except to do work. I think the last time I did something like that, I was reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the day it came out. And I was 13.
The Rose Code has all the usual Kate Quinn Hallmarks -- great heroines, wartime stakes, swoonworthy love interests, engaging side characters, and cameos from real life historical figures (in this case folks like Alan Turing and Winston Churchill, plus a snide reference about Ian Fleming's womanizing) -- while also having a tighter story (unlike in, say, The Huntress, Quinn isn't having to juggle multiple flashbacks in this book) and what I felt was a slightly less over-the-top climax though ... it was still pretty over-the-top. I think by the time I got to it I was just in a jubilant state.
Anyway, just read this book.
Also, for a spoiler that will make you happy (but is a spoiler nonetheless) ... yes, Beth reunites with the dog.
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quillyfied · 1 year
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Um. AO3? Why are fics that haven’t updated in years and still have not actually updated being put at the top of my bookmarks when sorted by “date updated”? It is. Just a little strange.
Edit: Ah. Because AI scrubbing is making folks nervous and lock up their fics. Upsetting. Exhausting.
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cranberryberry · 1 month
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talking about webcomics, i feel a similar thing has happened with web animation where people feel pressure to only make a web/indie animation if it is high budget, highest quality, fully voice acted, huge art team etc etc or they feel they “can’t” do it at all?
a bit like how the definition of webcomic has morphed into this kind of highly polished full colour thing and there appears to be an expectation to Only do it that way to “be successful”, but almost all of the ones I like are b+w…
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forthehangedking · 11 months
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Alagaddan Freeverse 2
Alagadda, Alagadda, Alagadda That is all I can think of.
Yadda, yadda, yadda. That is all I can hear of.
Since I fled that place, My nightmares unfold.
Curious fingers slip through my mind, And all secrets shall be told.
I lived in Alagadda, I left it all behind.
But it's still there, In the back of my mind.
Damn you, King! And damn your noose!
I will not survive long enough, To be of much use!
My poems will burn, My secrets will perish.
All with me. All alone with me.
And as I write this, The noose tightens.
And I step through, Unabated and unashamed.
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sprout-fics · 5 months
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Mind the Drop
(Captain Price x F! Reader)
Call of Duty Masterlist
Rating: M Wordcount: 7k Tags: BDSM AU, Dom/Sub, Subdrop, Comfort fic, Non-sexual kink, Non-sexual intimacy, Aftercare, Pet names, Platonic BDSM, Cuddling, Subspace, Sleeping together, Praise kink, Mutual pining, Safe Sane and Consensual Warnings: Subdrop A/N: This is an experimental piece that takes place in a BDSM AU verse, where a certain segment of the population is hormonally disposed to being a submissive or dominant. This is not inherently sexual, as you see in this fic. Dom/Sub negotiation is commonplace, but societal stigmas surrounding these roles persist, such as discouraging subs from entering certain industries, such as the military. For more details on BDSM AU within a CoD context, I highly recommend you read "Surviving You" by WhisperedWords12
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“Do you know why you’re here, sergeant?” 
Price’s voice is calm, firm. There’s not a reprimand there, no gruff warning or the cold, leveled anger of immense displeasure. No, your captain stares at you with his hands folded under his chin, as you stand at a lazy parade rest before his office desk. His eyes are intent, focused in the way he always is, but there’s a concern there hidden by the attentive glint in his eyes.
You don’t look at him, staring down at the surface of his desk instead, not answering. Your eyes rest on a mug of coffee sitting atop a coaster, the steam gone. It’s long since gone cold. It speaks to his own distraction. With what, you’re not really sure. You can’t find yourself to care.
You haven’t slept in days.
It’s nothing to do with your workload. Nothing in regards to any sickness or fever of any sort. In fact, things have been rather quiet recently as the team awaits new marching orders. You’ve all been taking advantage of the downtime as much as possible, relishing the long lapse of respite for your own enjoyment. You’d even taken the chance to recently meet up with someone.
Being a sub requires a certain level of attentiveness to your self regulation. Doms, such as the ones on your team, can go long periods without needing a scene. Eventually they will need to scratch that itch, have someone soft and sweet kneel at their feet and be good for them. The aspect of control, of caretaking and dominance is a necessary part of their existence. It makes them good soldiers, able to take charge and provide insight into their missions.
Subs are uncommon in the military, and the surrounding societal stigma of their existence often relegates them to desk duty or intelligence work. It’s rare to find one in the field, and even then they don’t last long due to the frequent harassment from their dominant counterparts. It’s the reason you’ve concealed yourself for so long, posturing to stand alongside these men who are your comrades, feigning an aura of authority as you go willingly to your duty.
It doesn’t erase the thing inside you- the urge to kneel for someone safe, to listen to their low, rumbling voice as it rocks you into a floaty, warm surrender that relieves you of all tension and stress.
Too long without a scene, without subspace meant you were prone to an itchy, uncomfortable sort of irritation. It manifests as annoyance, a short temper, but eventually transitions into a depressive spiral with little end. Most of the time you can use one of the endorphin injections provided free by the infirmary to even yourself out. Such medical kits, known as SubStop and DomStop, were common in the field, designed to even out the irregular moods and imbalances left by a sudden twist in hormones. You’d gotten used to the nasty side effects, the inevitable crash that came in the wake of the adrenaline. It was easier than dealing with the team knowing your true designation, that you’ve been concealing yourself from them all this time.
Even so, sometimes you required a little extra handling to be able to regulate, feel comfortable and get out of your own head.
In your recent downtime you found someone just like that. A local dom who was calmer, more level headed than younger men on base who were interested purely in the sexual side of submission. You had talked for some time, had explored each other, and had ultimately agreed to meet up for a single session. You had both enjoyed yourself, had a welcome release of rushing endorphins, and for a moment you wondered if perhaps this would lead to something more. It all came crashing down as he began to dress following your scene.
“I don’t do aftercare.” He said blandly, and left.
You haven’t been the same since.
You’d gotten back to base tired, drained, and had curled into your bunk that night to cry yourself to sleep. In the days that have followed you’ve been exhausted, listless, entirely unfocused. Constantly dazed, you try to ignore the whimpering, festering emptiness inside you, feeling as if the world is too big, and you yourself are so very small. You turn into your bunk early in desperate search of sleep, trying vainly to power through the dark loneliness that permeates your entire being.
Subdrop. You knew as soon as your one night stand left, and promptly ghosted you. You knew by the sudden wash of cold, the tremble in your limbs, and the clenching, terrible regret of something wrong. Like tossed into an ice bath straight from the fire, the shock to your system makes you gasp, clutch at your chest at most random moments, wanting to double over due to the phantom pain there.
You know the solution. You know that pure, blissful aftercare will alleviate the effects of your scene gone wrong, but there’s no one to turn to. You can’t disclose to anyone on the team about this. They understand, they know, and they’d be ready to help you. It wasn’t that they weren’t available, but that disclosing yourself might somehow change your rapport with them. The idea that somehow they’d change their view of you, see you as less than was worse than the spiraling side effects of your freefall drop.
Maybe you can find someone to help off base, but even then you don’t trust your own judgment when your insides constantly feel scrubbed cold and raw. If anything, it might make it worse.
You have no choice but to just bite down and deal, and hope that in the coming days that the drop will naturally work its way out of your system. Nevermind the sleepless nights, the hours scrolling mindlessly in the darkness of your bedroom, the way you stare off into space and don’t hear the voices of others. 
The team is concerned about you. You’re not hiding your inability to cope very well. The bags under your eyes deepen with each passing day. You move as if pushing through water. You excuse yourself from the rec room when others enter for fear they’ll pull you aside and ask about your listless, depressive state. It’s all for nothing though, because here you find yourself in Price’s office, glassy eyes avoiding his stare.
“Sergeant?”
You blink as his voice prompts you from your reverie, and force yourself to glance up into his eyes before averting your gaze once more. 
“Apologies, Sir.” You force yourself to rasp, and frown, not knowing what you’re even apologizing for.
Price is silent. Observing. You feel pinned beneath his stare, try not to squirm under his scrutiny. 
“Sit.” He tells you, nudging a chair beside you with his foot. The command itself plucks inside your chest, the needed authority of his voice making something uncomfortable twist inside you. You slide into the seat, perching uncomfortably on the edge, hands folded in your lap. “Look at me.”
You do, you make the effort to look up into his unwavering stare, trying and failing to hide the fatigue in your eyes. 
“You’ve not been yourself lately.” He tells you, voice soft, and you grimace. “You’ve been walking around base like a ghost, barely completing your duties, and you’re clearly ignoring the rest of your team.”
The unsaid “Would you like to explain yourself?” Hangs in the silence that follows as you offer no response. There’s nothing to say, nothing you can say without the repercussions that follow.
“I’ve…just had a rough few days.” You tell him, voice tight. “It’s nothing I can’t manage.”
“You know you can rely on your teammates, love.” He reminds you gently, and you swallow hard at the endearment, feeling your shoulders tense. “Whatever it is, we’ll find a way to help. We all care about you.”
Find a way to help. Of course. With the one thing they can’t help you with.
“You can’t help.” You tell him, composure crumbling. “There’s nothing you can do.”
Price is silent, and if you were to look at him, you’d see the inklings of distress etched into his face. You fiddle with the hem of your shirt, mouth pressed into a bitter frown as you try and hide it from him with little success.
Price rises from his chair, circles the desk to you before hesitantly laying a hand on your shoulder. You shudder a sigh at the contact, feeling yourself relax under the needed contact.
“There’s always something we can do.” He reassures you. “But I can’t help unless you tell me what it is.”
If only he could. If only your unwavering, steadfast captain with his guiding hands and gentle, smoky voice could help you, could alleviate the festering emptiness inside you. If only he could hold you the way you so desperately want, remind you what happened wasn’t your fault, allow himself to comfort you from the hurt clenching deep in your chest.
It all comes crashing down.
It starts as a hiccup, a stifled little sound you try to hide, and then your eyes are warm, wet with tears. They spill down your cheeks as you take an unsteady inhale, trying desperately to rein in your volatile emotions, conceal them from the man you admire so much. Try as you may, it’s without any success, because soon you begin to sob quietly with your head bent, face scrunching in an effort to stop your tears.
“It’s alright.” Price encourages softly, hand squeezing your shoulder. “Let it out.”
You do. It’s not a proper cry, not the true chest squeezing kind of cry that entirely empties you, but it serves a purpose in relieving a bit of the pressure inside you. Price stands beside you throughout, his hand drifting to knead gentle circles into the top of your spine as you shiver.
When you finally manage to get yourself under control, you scrub at your face with your jacket sleeve, heave a final shuddering exhale before summoning your resolve.
“Sorry, Sir.” You try again, voice muted, throat raw. “Truth is I…had a bad experience off base. It just shook me. I’ll get over it.”
You don’t need to go into further detail. It’s common knowledge soldiers hook up off base all the time, and Price knows this.
Yet suddenly his hand is tilting your chin up so you look directly into his grave, serious eyes. 
“Did they hurt you?” He demands, voice suddenly deeper, grim with a scarcely concealed anger. You blink at the sudden change, the fierce protectiveness in his eyes that sets something in your stomach aflutter. 
“N-no.” You manage, realizing what he’s referring to. “No, nothing like that-” You feel warmth crawl across your face, embarrassment prickling your skin. “It was all consensual.”
“Then…?” He presses, and you bite down on the words, refusing to bare this secret to him.
Price pauses then, shifts every so slightly and narrows his eyes. He’s thinking, considering, and you fear he’s seen straight through you. You don’t expect the words that come next.
“Are you dropping?” Price asks, strangely hesitant.
You freeze.
The silence that follows, heavy and persistent, tells Price all he needs to know.
At last, he sighs, letting go of a breath you didn’t realize he was holding.
“Oh love.” He murmurs, voice sad. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
You hunch over at that, hiding yourself from him, curling in on the physical sensation of disappointment that he’s given you. 
Price sees it for what it is instantly, realizing his words have only furthered the festering ache inside you. 
“Easy.” He gentles, and his hand is firm as it strokes between your tight shoulder blades. “I’m not angry.”
You sniffle into your shirt. “You…you’re not angry I hid my designation?” You ask in a raw whisper.
“No.” He replies instantly. “Only that we failed to make you feel safe enough to tell us.”
“...’s not your fault.” You murmur quietly. 
“And what happened isn’t yours.” He offers, just as gently. His hand continues its long, slow strokes between your shoulders, and you feel yourself easing under it, comforted by the mere touch of another person.
“Do you have anyone to…?” He presses carefully, retaining space between you. Not advancing, not without your permission.
It takes you a moment to snap yourself out of the glow beginning to simmer across your senses to understand. He’s asking if you are seeing someone, if you have a partner to provide assistance with your drop. A bitter frown tugs your lips downwards, remembering the words of the man you met before he vanished. 
“He…he said he doesn’t do aftercare.” You confess, voice small.
Price freezes.
You hear him take in a deep breath to steady himself, releasing it just as long in an effort to measure his anger.
“He did not do right by you.” He tells you, and in his voice you hear the ire, the offense on your behalf that clenches his hand atop his knee. Yet he unfurls it, and reaches out gently between you to gingerly rest it on your hand perches in your lap.
“I don’t mean to overstep.” He begins. “However, I can offer some assistance with this. Entirely on your terms. If you need someone to help, I can act as a…stand-in, as it were.”
You blink, face falling open in surprise as you stare down at your lap where his hand is. Reassuring but respectful, not crowding into your space. Asking for permission.
“You mean that?” You ask, finally looking up at him, voice cracking in a whisper that speaks of hope.
Price’s eyes are steady, calm as he regards you, Unflinching, intent, an anchor from the storm of your emotions.
“I do.” He returns easily, voice firm.
You swallow, face pinching as you consider. “And…what about after? Will it…” You trail off, the unspoken thing hovering in the air between you.
Will it change anything?
“No.” He replies quickly. “This is strictly between us. If you want to pretend like it never happened after, that’s what we’ll do.”
You hold his gaze for another minute, finally able to bear the stare of his blue eyes. You look for doubt there, an inkling of hesitation. Yet all you find is resolve and open, offering hands.
“Take some time to consider it.” He tells you in the lapse of silence that follows. “If you decide you’d like some help, you can come to my quarters tonight. If you decide against it, let me know.”
You manage a nod at that, swallowing the thickness in your throat and adjusting your hand under his in a small squeeze of thanks. It seems to be enough for him, because Price offers a smile, one that feels like it eases the tension radiating from your form just a little more. It takes a moment, but you sniffle and return the smile shyly.
“Right.” He announces, and gently withdraws from you to stand, assisting you to your feet as well and gently escorting you to the door of his office. You lean into his touch eagerly, feeling the firm grip of his palm at the small of your back. His voice rumbles with a gentle authority as he guides you forward. “In the meantime I want you to take the rest of the afternoon off, and to visit the infirmary for a check-up. You’re sleep deprived and dehydrated. Let them sort you. Understood?”
“Understood.” You echo dutifully, and once more that hand returns to your shoulder in a familiar grip, offering a small squeeze before he opens the door for you, his voice soft in a parting farewell.
“Take care, love. Let me know what you decide.”
In the end, you come to him.
It’s not a hard decision, but it does take some thought. You know his offer was genuine, with no ulterior motives. Almost clinical, doing his duty as your superior, in a way. You don’t deny that it hurts, considering the beginning of your feelings for him, but the doubt there is pressed down by the need for the assistance he offers. You hesitate only because you’re terribly afraid that things will change despite his words.
Would he try and bench you during missions? Have you hang back, underestimate you because of your designation?
You trust him, and that much is clear to you. You know Price won’t take advantage of you while you’re down. He’s a good man. You’ve handed your life to him in the field any number of times, trusting him to keep you safe and whole. This shouldn’t be any different.
…Right?
You swallow thickly as you knock thrice on his door, and almost instantly you hear his voice beckon you inside.
It’s dim, you notice, warm. There’s several blankets folded at the foot of his bed, a small assortment of snacks and water bottles set out on his dresser. Yellow light from his bedside light paints the room in quiet shadows. There’s a distant scent of cigars that lingers in the air, as if he’s done his best to air out the room before your arrival. It’s comforting in a way, a reminder of his scent in the few instances you’ve gotten physically close to him.
Price himself sits on the edge of the bed, limbs relaxed as much as he’ll allow them. He’s staring at you as the door shuts behind you, and if anything the dim shadows seem to make his eyes glint all the more. 
“How are you feeling?” Is the first question he asks you, and something aches inside you at the purposefully slow, soft tenor of his voice, still accompanied with a hint of his gruff rasp. 
“Shaky.” You tell him honestly, holding your trembling hands before your back. 
Price makes a small, considering sound, examining your rigid, tense posture and letting silence hang heavy between you both for a few moments. You squirm under his gaze, eyes averting shyly at the fixation of his gaze on you. 
Then he stands, takes two steps towards you. He stands just outside your personal space, tilts his head down to examine you with an unwavering, focused gaze. You have to restrain yourself from pushing forward, wanting desperately to fold into his arms, to let him hold you. It pulses inside your chest, tethered to the uncomfortably, empty ache sitting below your ribs.
“Will you let me help you?” He asks, voice a soft lull to your ears. It takes effort to not let your eyes flutter. You can already feel it creeping on you, that floaty, comfortable haze that offers to drown your senses in pillowy softness. You give him a small nod, only for a finger to tip your chin up towards him. It startles a breathy little sound from you, and you bite down on it a moment too late, teeth grazing your bottom lip. 
“Need to use your words, love.” He rumbles, and damn if your knees don’t wobble at that alone, the deep tenor of his voice, the gentle but authoritative force of his words. You can see the shadows of his eyes as he falls easily into his role, a gentle, insistent domination that you can’t help but follow like a moth to a flame.
“Yes.” You manage, heat rising to your face. “Yes.”
He smiles then, and this time you have to use your strength to stay upright, already wanting to go down to the floor in front of him, feel the wood beneath your knees. 
“We’re going to take this slow.” He tells you, his thumb brushing over your chin with a purposeful graze. “Need to work you through it, put you down and then bring you back up again. Can you do that for me? …Words, darling.” He adds when you once again nod silently. 
“Yes, sir.” You offer, trusting, sincere. 
There’s a dark look in Price’s eyes then, a hunger so swift and sharp it steals your breath in the single moment before it’s gone once more. 
“Good girl. Can you tell me your safe word?”
You blink at him a little dopily, distracted by his thumb circling slow circles on your chin. You wonder what it would feel like pressed on your tongue.
“Just colors, please.” You tell him breathily.
Price nods at that, satisfied. 
“Kneeling? Physical touch? Praise? Commands?” He goes on, and you nod eagerly at all of them before remembering to tac on your vocal approval. It seems to amuse him, your distraction, because you hear a chuckle rumble deep in his chest. 
“Very good, darling. Going to keep this nice and slow, get you all sorted. Can you be good for me?”
That does it, and you shudder a little into his touch, tilting your head so your cheek brushes against his knuckles with a whispered little “Yes, sir.”
Maybe it’s the drop, maybe it’s him, but you already feel like you’re gently descending into total relaxation, a surrender and trust to be taken care of. 
“That’s it.” He coos, wrapping one strong arm around your waist and gently guiding you back with him until his knees hit the bed. He sits, keeps you standing, one hand still tucked around your waist, just observing you. After a moment he reaches for a pillow, drops it to the floor just at your feet.
“Go ahead and kneel for me, sweet thing.” 
You try to gracefully lower yourself down, but with your wobbly legs you fall more than you descend. A careful glance up at him proves Price is trying to hide his mild amusement, his hand snaking from your waist up to your shoulder as you sink to your knees. It takes a few moments to settle, and once you do Price’s hand once catches your chin, tilting you to his gaze.
Oh. This…this is nice. You think, eyelashes fluttering. Here, kneeling comfortably, safe in his room, the quiet lull of base a distant murmur in the backdrop. It’s cozy, serene, and you can feel the low, cloudy sensation of subspace slowly wash over your senses. 
“Look at you.” He purrs, tapping your chin once to indicate you remain tilted up to look at him. “So far down for me already. Doing so well.”
The part of you that’s yet to let go, that clings on to that remnant, persistent tension of you swallows down the whine that threatens your throat. He seems to notice, tilting his head a little and blinking slowly, considering. 
“What do you need, love?” He asks, and you shake your head mildly, trying to find your answer amidst the confusion of your clouded senses.
“Don’t know.” You tell him honestly, and begin to fidget. “I…”
“Shh, that’s alright.” he soothes easily, knuckles grazing your cheek. “Need you to listen to me, angel. Can you do that?”
You nod quickly, eager, willing to entrust yourself to him, to listen to whatever commands he has to offer. 
“Good girl.” He returns, pausing to watch the shiver that traces across your limbs. “Go ahead and wrap your arms around my legs…just like that. Put your head right there on my knees. There you go.”
He maneuvers you slowly, gently, shaping you to his command as your arms settle locked behind his calves, chin pressed in the dip between his closed knees. He’s warm, and like this you can drink in the scent of him- smoky, musky, a hint of cologne he’s used to try and smother the smell of cigars.
In the dim, warm light you can see his eyes- dark, focused, unblinking as they gaze down at you settled comfortably at his feet. There’s a hitch in his breathing- a shallow indication of his reaction to the sight of you, with your hazy eyes and parted lips, well on your way down into subspace. 
“Give me a color, darling.”
“Green.” You breathe almost instantaneously. 
“Very good. How are you feeling?”
Your brow pinches at that, feeling the remnant tug of tension still pull as a dull ache in your ribs. 
“...Better?” You offer after an uncertain pause. Price looks a little dismayed at that, with his furrowed brow and down turned lips that tug the corners of his beard. It sends a little bit of alarm pulsing through you, afraid of his disappointment, perhaps a reprimand, and he feels it instantly in the way you stiffen against him.
“Easy, relax.” He gentles, a hand reaching to cup your nape. “Just checking in, love. There’s nothing wrong. You’re safe.”
You ease at that, eyelashes fluttering, sinking back into him once more.
“Good girl.” He purrs, thumb stroking in lazy circles across your nape.
“Thank you, sir.” You reply, voice slurring a little as you sink down.
If his fingers pause on your nape, you don’t notice, too distracted by the warmth and smell of him in your comfortable position.
It’s nice. You can feel yourself unwinding bit by bit, head propped in between his knees as you look up at him in the dim, warm light. There’s the beginnings of a relaxed sort of glaze to his eyes as he stares down at you wordlessly, taking in the soft, sweet sight of your open face. He’s falling into domspace, you can tell, allowing himself to relax into the role of taking care of you.
“We’re going to try some breathing exercises, sweetheart.” He announces after the long silence. “Deep breathe-” He sucks in a long, heavy inhale, and you mirror him, holding as long as he does, before releasing. “And out. Very good. Doing so well for me. Again.”
You mirror him as he breathes, feeling the tension slowly relax from your shoulders. With each inhale you drop your chin further into the cradle of his knees, feeling a warm haze descend over you. Each exhale releases a little more of the stiffness in your limbs, like loosening a knot tied in your chest.
You don’t even notice it when your cheek lolls against one of his knees, eyes half lidded as you gaze up at him. Nor do you notice the purposefully slow, even breaths he forces himself to take at your loose, pliant form crowded so close to him.
“There we go, angel. All the way down. So sweet and soft for me. Tap twice on my leg if you can still hear me.”
A small tap twice to the inside of his knee, and when Price smiles you feel gooey warmth bleed down into your bones.
“Very good.” He coos, knuckles grazing over the cheek not pressed to his knee in a featherlight touch. “Going to let you float for a bit. You can go down as deep as you need. I’ll be right here. Tap on my knee when you’re ready to come up.”
You cast a lingering gaze at him, eyes vaguely worried, but his voice hushes you easily.
“You’re safe. I’m right here, not going to leave. I’ve got you.”
You blink at him, slow, trusting, before you finally allow your head to drape across his knee, arms relaxing but maintaining their hold on his legs. A deep, fulfilling sigh breezes past your lips, and you feel yourself go sweetly down into a blissful haze of warm, dewy softness. Your breaths slow to deep, even inhales and exhales, and you feel your heartbeat pulse low in your ribs, where the ache and emptiness of your drop slowly begins to alleviate.
“There we go.” Price murmurs above you, a hand petting gently at your hair in a tender touch. “Went down nice and easy for me, didn’t you, sweet girl?”
You make a little hum against his leg, too comfortable and floaty to do much more than that. It seems to amuse him, somehow, and when he chuckles the sound warms you right through.
God this is nice. Just sitting here at his feet, pressed up close to his legs, snuggled in as close as you can get. With your cheek pressed against his knee you can drink in the heavy, comforting scent of him, let it cloud your thoughts and drift you further into blissful tranquility.
You don’t need to speak, to think or make decisions. Duties, secrets, resilience, you don’t need any of it. All you need is to just be here, pressed against Price, pliant and sweet as he rumbles soothingly down at you. 
“Doing well, love. Take as much time as you need. You’re safe.”
Yes. You’re safe. You’ve always been safe with him. There’s nobody in the world you trust more than Price. He’s saved your life many times over, has dragged you to safety, has slung your arm across his shoulder as he helped carry you, has offered careful, firm murmurs as he’s wrapped bandages across your wounds. He’s always taken care of you, in his own way. Each debrief comes with a hand across your shoulder, a long, sideways glance that says more than he can. 
You’ve never let yourself get close to him, too afraid of him finding out what you are, too afraid of his prejudice and judgment. 
Now that you’re here, curled up at his feet and drifting serenely, you wonder why you ever worried at all.
You stay like that for a long while, simply breathing, thoughts empty as you hug his legs, absorbing his warmth. The room is quiet, and in the soft after hours of base the only sounds you can hear is the slow, steady thump of your heart and Price’s low, measured breathing. 
You wish you could stay here forever, just being sweet and good for him, but eventually your knees begin to cramp up and you shift uncomfortably with a little whine.
“Eyes up, love.” Price tells you, words belaying a hint of firm command, and instantly you prop your chin to look up at him with soft, dewey eyes. 
You’re too lost to notice the way his eyes glint, the unblinking fixation of him as he simply takes in the sight of you- lost in the dopey haze of subspace, lips parted as you stare at him with a glassy, lidded gaze. 
“Look at you.” He breathes with a soft sigh, raising a hand to cup your face. You lean into it with a blissful little sigh. “Gorgeous thing.”
You squirm a little at that, skin warming with the praise. As you move to hide your face in his knees, Price keeps a hold of your chin, forcing you to stare up at him. 
“Mm, eyes on me. Just like that. Good.”
You wonder, amidst the cottony softness of your thoughts, what the purpose of this is, with him taking his time to just drink you in like he’ll drown without the sight. You can see his eyes tinted with the same wayward longing he offers you when you catch his gaze after missions- when he aches for you, longs to make sure you’re safe.
The ache in your knees returns, and a little whine bubbles up your throat, brow pinching with discomfort. 
“Feeling sore?” Price inquiries gently, and you nod into his hand. “Alright angel, sit up for me. Slowly…good. Good girl.”
You raise up a little on your knees, and soon Price leans over you, securing his hands on you to drag you further up and onto the bed. You allow him to arrange your heavy, sluggish limbs so you’re braced with your back against the headboard, nestled in his pillows. You go willingly, easing into his touch, content at letting him maneuver you as he pleases. 
When he moves away from you, however, you startle a little at the sudden absence of his touch. 
Price notices instantly, and once more you feel his hand stroke across your face, thumb descending to press against the plush bed of your bottom lip. 
“Just getting some snacks and water, love. Count to ten for me, I’ll be right back.”
That eases you some, and you nod, slowly counting. You get to eight before Price returns, dropping a bottle and a snack bar on his bedside table. 
“Scoot forward for me.” He instructs, and you obey as best you can, allowing him to shuffle you a little forward  further down the bed. It takes some maneuvering, but soon you find Price sitting up behind you, dragging you back so you sit inside the nest of his legs, back pressed to his front.
If you thought kneeling at his feet was nice, this must be heaven.
He’s so big and warm, and when an arm wraps around your front to keep you from falling too far down the bed, you distantly wonder if you ever want to come up at all.
Price adjusts, and you hear the sound of a wrapper being put aside before the snack bar appears in your line of vision. 
“Just a few bites.” He tells you, but makes no motion indicating for you to take the bar from his hands. 
You lean forward obediently, taking small bites from his hand as he provides them to you, quiet and appreciative, until the entire thing is gone. 
“Very, very good.” He murmurs, chin braced atop your head, huffing a pleased little sound when you squirm a little in his lap at the praise. “Like being told you’re good, don’t you, angel?”
You want to hide your face in his chest, but unable to do so your instead let your head drop forward a little, avoiding his eyes. 
“Shy thing, aren’t you?” He rumbles, pleased, and it only makes a rush of warmth trace across your skin at the deep, purring tenor of his voice in your ear. 
You get the feeling he wants to tease you a little more, but opts instead to wrap a hand under your jaw in a careful grip, lifting you up so he can graze the water bottle across your lips. 
“Just a few sips.” He encourages. “Then we can lay down and take a little snooze. How’s that sound?”
You nod eagerly at that, and readily drink down the water when he offers it to you. You’re about halfway down when you finally tilt your head away, and Price wordlessly deposits the bottle on the table. 
“Tell me a color, love.”
You have to think about it, past the hazy softness of you, brow pinching as your brain turns over the question.
“Green.” You reply with a little sigh, one that Price mirrors behind you. 
“Good girl. You ready to come up yet?”
You shake your head at that, frowning. Honestly, a part of you knows you have to come up at some point, but if you had it your way you’d stay like this forever, caught in his arms, warm and fed and cared for as his chest rises deep with every inhale. 
Price chuckles at your pouting little expression. When he bends forward to reach for a blanket at the bottom of the bed, he’s forced to curl over you, pressing you down with his weight. It’s startling how quickly you have to stifle a moan at the sensation, with his larger frame bracketing you in, engulfing you with the firm line of his body against yours.
He pulls back all too soon, drapes a blanket across your lap and up to your shoulders. It’s soft, a little worn, but it smells like him, and that’s all you need. You snuggle happily into it with a little hum, leaning back against him a little more until you’re completely situated. 
“There we go, angel. How’s that feel?”
“ ‘S nice.” You slur, tucking your head a little further down to nestle into the blanket. “Comfy.”
Price hums a pleased little sound, one hand still wrapped around your front, and now the other resting easily on your thigh, pressing in soft, lazy circles. It’s instantly soothing, and once more you can feel yourself drifting a little further down into that wordless, worriless meditation. 
“Close your eyes for me, love.” Price murmurs gently. “Slow, deep breaths.”
You comply readily, and as you feel his chest rise slow and deep behind you you force yourself to match it, dragging in a warm inhale that’s heavy with his scent. You follow him as he exhales, and then repeats once more. 
“Just like that.” He murmurs as you grow completely limp in his arms. “All the way down. Perfect.”
You’re too far under to even acknowledge him, senses heavy and sated as he curls himself a little further around you, hand stroking lazy patterns along your thigh.
“Rest now, darling. I’ll be here when you come up.”
Regardless of the command, you find yourself drifting easily into stillness, a languid little sigh releasing all the tension in your body before sleep descends dusky and tender over your senses. 
It’s still dark when you finally wake up, sluggish and heavy. The room is still warm and dim, quiet with the low, steady thump of your heartbeat. It’s the first thing you notice aside from the contented weight of your limbs.
The second is the pair of arms wrapped around you, tucking you close into Price’s front as you both lay on your sides. 
“Awake?” He rumbles, and with the soft hoarse of his voice you can tell he’s been dozing as well, not fully asleep, still present for you to wake up and he told you he’d be.
“Mhm.” You mumble, ignoring the self conscious little flutter at being caught in his arms like this. 
“Feeling better?” Price asks, and makes no move to shift away or dislodge you from his hold. 
“Much.” Your eyes are level with his collarbone that peeks beneath his shirt, and there you see an old, silvery scar that snakes up towards his jugular. You wonder about the story there, about how this man has seen so much violence and yet somehow can still be so gentle.
“Thank you.” You whisper, feeling that warm haze now gently ease, and in its place a comfortable awareness free from the empty, clenching side effects of drop. “For all of this.”
Price is silent for a moment, and you wonder if perhaps you said the wrong thing. His voice is low, deep as he speaks.
“He shouldn’t have treated you like that” He rumbles, and there’s a hint of darkness there, one that melds with his hold on you tightening just a fraction, as if he’s too possessive to let you go. “If I-”
He stops himself then, words biting into nothingness. You hold your breath, waiting for more, but it doesn’t come. Instead, the silence envelops you both, soft and warm, a touch bitter with unspoken words. 
“I understand why you didn’t tell us, love.” He speaks at last. “And I trust you’ll understand when I say we will never judge you for anything but yourself.”
Emotion, hot and thick, rises up through your belly. It scrunches your face, warms your eyes as you sniffle against him.
This is what you wanted. The entire time, all of this hiding and secrecy and anxiousness. You wanted to be accepted, to be held, to be cherished, by him.
“I wish it was you.” You whisper, scarcely audible. “The entire time, I wished it was you.”
Price stiffens at that, and you’re certain he’s going to pull away, to declare this scene is over and gently escort you out. You wonder vaguely if you’ll hurtle straight back into drop with his rejection. 
“If I had known-” He murmurs in an echo of his previous words. “I would have offered myself much sooner.”
You look up at that, tilting your head so your eyes no longer look at his chest, but into his eyes. Soft, sincere, achingly tender in a way that plucks the defenseless heart strings inside you.
“You mean that.” You state then, voice scarcely containing your hope. 
Price makes a little rumbling hum down at you, his hand flexing at the small of your back. 
“Only if you’ll have me, angel.”
Angel.
Now, here, out of subspace, away from the cottony softness of him guiding you down. Instead he calls you this beloved endearment because it’s you, because he wants you.
It’s all you’ve ever wanted- to be here, to be in his arms, to entrust yourself to him so wholly and completely that he becomes the only thing for you with his gentle guiding hands and stern, smoke laden words. 
“I’m your captain.” He tells you, one hand grazing your cheek in a beloved touch. “But if you ever need more, all you need to do is ask.”
The words inside you seem to buzz soundlessly in the cavern of your thoughts. There’s so many things you want to say, to confess, to ask of him. Yet here, in this moment, the only thing you can offer him is the thing you’ve said from the beginning.
“Please.”
And- oh. Oh, his smile, the way it tugs at his beard and makes the smile lines crinkle at the corner of his eyes, pleased and soft even as his eyes glint in the darkness. A quiet, profound gratitude of which he speaks little, and yet feels so deeply. 
“Can I stay?” You ask, voice small but hopeful, and Price’s eyes twinkle with an amusement that swoops low in your stomach.
“Who said you were leaving?”
You smile at that, and if anything it makes the corners of his lips tug tighter, a low, pleased rumble vibrating through his chest pressed close to yours. 
“Rest, darling.” He encourages once more. “There will be time in the morning.”
There will be. There will be time come morning, and there will be time after. There will be time for the touches that follow, and the words that precede them. There will be time for his familiar control to settle comfortably over you, for you to slowly but fully surrender to him. There will be time for you to become his entirely, and for you to go willing into his guiding hands. 
Yet here, in his arms, safe and whole, you silently wish that dawn will never come.
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I already posted this over on AO3 but figured I would post this on here as well. Enjoy!
2K notes · View notes
wifeofasith · 6 months
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Warnings — SEX POLLEN, dub-con, Master x Padawan, power imbalance, intoxication, abuse of authority, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, unprotected sex, creampie, mentions of pain, brief nipple play, brief fingering, degrading if you squint, pet names, praise, swearing...
Word count — 3.3k
Notes — Thank you, Anon for the request! This is the first time I write a fic this length, I hope it's enjoyable! I truly hope I didn't miss any warnings; it's currently past 3am and my head is fried.
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“You know this is completely unnecessary; you are overexaggerating…” Anakin complains as you wrap a thick linen rope around his wrists, securing your master in place. “I swear, I’m fine. Look,” He leans forward, putting his face on display. So close, you could feel his soft breath on the tip of your nose.
You inspect his eyes, deep blue eyes with slightly dilated pupils; if it were somebody else, they wouldn’t have seen a difference, but you… Oh, you were different. You knew his eyes a little bit too well for just a Padawan, and you were certain: something was wrong. You could sense his heart pumping blood through his veins a little bit too fast, his irregular breathing, you spotted things he failed to notice about himself. Maybe all those stolen glances at his undeniably gorgeous face and broad body will pay off, giving you something else than just fantasy material for all the lonely nights.
“No.” You reply bluntly. “I’m sorry, master.” You tie a last knot around his wrists. You wanted to explain; tell him all the things you sensed were different: the way his gaze twisted when landing on your body, the way he squirmed just slightly as you bind his limbs together, the way he… Smelled. It wasn’t just a regular Anakin scent, no. It was sweeter, almost milky, and it made you want to burry your face into his skin, so naturally, you could never reveal your reasoning.
Anakin sighed, leaning his back against the remains of your spaceship, his tied hands resting on top of his lap, hiding the slowly-forming tightness you both failed to notice. He could swear everything was perfect. Well, aside from the fact that you both were left stranded on an unknown planet and after hours of wandering in search of life and help, you ended up back at the crash site. 
“You realize I would never hurt you, right?” He stares at you, visible annoyance present on his features. “There is nothing wrong with me, I didn’t even touch anything unknown.”
He was right; he touched nothing. He… Inhaled it. And (un)fortunately neither of you knew.
“I know….” You look into his eyes pleadingly, trying to convince him to stay put in case he goes on some kind of rampage that your whole body senses is coming. You wanted to deny your gut feeling, but the gleam in his eyes told you it was a bad idea. 
Time passes slowly, and Anakin is growing more and more impatient as he watches your failing attempts to fix the transmitter and possibly reach someone. 
“Give me that.”
You stare at him from a short distance, thinking whether it’s smart to approach him, but your doubts are quickly wiped away when that sweet scent reaches the inside of your lungs with the help of a soft breeze. You stand up and bring him the broken device.
Anakin grabs your hand instead and pulls you down to your knees in front of him. Your face meets his with a surprised stare, and before you can complain about the invasion of your space, he speaks. 
“When I tell you to do something, you do it. Fast.” His stare is intense, and he holds your hand tightly in his restricted grip. “Got it?”
“Yes, M-master.” You stutter, stunned by his sudden change of demeanor; you can’t even move. And the worst part is that he smells even better this close.
“Good girl.” He keeps staring into your eyes, grasping your hand as if he doesn’t intend to let it go. “Maker, you are such a pretty thing, I could tear you apart…” He contemplates out loud, his words surprising the last part of his sane mind as he’s becoming more and more vulnerable to foreign planet’s drugs.
“What?”
He slowly frees your hand, swallowing a lump in his throat. He’s starting to feel it —  pants failing to hide a very prominent arousal, mouth watering at the sight of your cleavage, you look fucking scrumptious; and he needs to devour you. He snaps his head to the side.
“Sorry.” Anakin mutters, seemingly regaining some of his senses. He shifts on the ground as you stare at him dumbfounded, not only because of his sudden vulgarity but also because the outline of his dick was now very visible and your eyes couldn’t help but glance. 
“Master?”
He groans. “Don’t say that.” He shamelessly palms himself in front of your eyes as if he were in pain from how tight his underwear was. “Don’t call me master. Not now, sweetheart.” His voice softens just for a moment.
“Master, are you okay?” You deny his request. Involuntary. Maybe because it was a habit, or maybe because some part of you really wanted him to get unbearably hard for you.
He yanks you towards himself with his sluggish grip. Tied hands wrap around your throat, and he hisses. “I fucking mean it. You call me that again. I’m going to bend you over this wreck of a spaceship and bruise your insides until someone finally comes and gets us off this forsaken planet.”
If you weren’t surprised before, you are now absolutely bewildered. You pushed him away, landing on your butt and quickly crawling reversely to create some space between yourself and the animal that possessed your master’s body.
Anakin stood up and leaned himself against the wreckage as if trying to fight something that’s been trying to claw its way out of his body. His back turned to you, shoulders rising up and down repeatedly as he struggled to speak.
“Go. Now.” He groans, trying to hold his panting in.
“Anakin?” You rise yourself from the ground and take a step towards him, hesitating to move or speak more.
“Fucking RUN.” A growl slips from his throat; you’ve never heard such an animalistic sound coming from him. It wasn’t an order; it was a warning, a head start for you. And if there was a perfect time to listen to his advice about doing everything he’s telling you — that was it.
So you do.
You feel the wind blowing through your ears and burning your throat as you try to get away as far from Anakin as possible. Your pulse is thudding rapidly, your limbs are shaking, and yet your insides are throbbing, aching to have relief from the extreme arousal created by your master’s primal behavior and the image of his hardening cock imprinted in your head. 
You turn your head slightly, glancing behind you, expecting to see Anakin making his way towards you, but instead you are greeted with the sight of nobody. Anakin’s nowhere to be seen. You look around, panting heavily, trying to spot movement somewhere between the trees. You fear him and what he could do to you, but the fact that he’s gone frightens you even more. Your master could never hurt you, right?
“Master?!” Your voice echoes through what seems to be an empty grove of an unrecognized planet. The only sound you can hear is your own breathing, and you realize how loud it is, how easy it is for any predator to hear you. Anakin's hunt was simple when his prey served herself on the plate before him.
A gust of wind passed through your ears at the same moment as Anakin’s hands gripped you from behind and harshly pushed your quivering body against a tree nearby. His wrists bruised red from the rope, which he seems to have torn apart. Your vision blurs for a moment from the force he’s grabbed you with. His lips press on your ear.
“I told you not to call me that, you stupid girl. Now look what you’ve done.” He whispers into your ear as his bulge presses against your ass. 
“A-Anakin-” You whimper, miserably trying to push him off you but instead just creating more friction on his already painful core.
His hand snakes into your robes, grasping your breast roughly, making your back arch. It’s hot and desperate to tear your flesh apart. And it feels so so good. So pathetically good that you almost feel like you’re the one taking advantage of him and not the other way around. He toys with your nipple, rubbing it between his fingers as his free hand grabs onto your thigh and presses your body onto his clothed cock.
“S’ alright, sweetheart… Your body’s so perfect…” He sinks his teeth into your neck and pulls on your delicate skin. “I’m so sorry—fuck—Sweetheart… I can’t stop-” His soft voice was a complete contrast to his forceful grip on your curves. His hands boldly groped you, kneading every bit of your body he could reach — all while grinding himself against you like an animal in heat.
“No- You can’t,” You whimper, trying to fight him and your own desire. “Anakin!” You gasp in pain when he presses your body into the tree, bruising your cheek.
“Shhhh… ‘s alright, just let me—” He pulls your robes, his hand making its way down your stomach, cupping your dripping heat. He inhales into your neck. “Don’t be scared.” He shushes your whines.
And it’s not like you’ve never imagined Anakin fucking you; you have. Way more than you should have, and yet you were shaking in fear, especially knowing that he was under the influence of something wicked.
“No, master-” You gasp as he inserts a finger inside you, wasting no time before fucking you with his hand. “S-stop-”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-” He whimpers into your shoulder as your walls clenches around his digit. He slips another in. “What a perfect cunt… I’ll fucking ruin it." It was almost as if Anakin’s alter ego was overtaking his normal self — the one who would never dare to touch his Padawan like that, to taint her precious body with his pathetic touch.
“Ah!” Your back arched into him involuntarily. It was wrong. So so wrong and yet deep inside you never wanted him to stop, not when your walls spasmed around him for a sweet release. 
“That’s it, good girl, come here.” He pulls his fingers out, making you pulse and whimper at the lack of pleasure. He quickly lands you both on the ground, spreading your thighs apart for himself. “Look at that,” He bites his lower lip. “And you say you don’t want it? You’re fucking soaked.”
“We can’t-” You whimper yet again. “You wouldn’t- Ah!”
He grins as he slaps his cock against your clit, rubbing it up and down your entrance as the wet, slippery sound reaches your ears.
“I’m going to fuck you one way or another, so you just might as well enjoy it, after all…” He leans on top of you, lining the crown of his cock with your hole. “…master knows best.”
He slides in with one swift movement, filling you to the brim as you claw his back with your nails. He’s big, way bigger than his fingers, forcing your walls to stretch wide open to welcome both his length and girth. He doesn’t wait for you to adjust much when he pulls almost all the way out and slams back in, earning a loud whimper from you.
“Pretty girl…” He coos, stroking your cheek as he repeats the movement more urgently. “Master’s cock feels good, hm?”
It did, Maker; it felt amazing. Every vein bruised your gushing hole just right as he thrusted into you, long and powerful strokes, head hitting your cervix at the perfect angle to make your toes curl. Each time his sack slapped against your ass, an electric sting flashed through your cunt, forcing a pathetic moan out of your mouth. Your vision is so blurry from how hard you are rolling your eyes back, you don’t even see how Anakin comes forward and presses his lips onto yours.
His kiss is starving, depraved of you. He tries to say something, but it’s pretty incoherent, muffled by your saliva mixing with his. He tugs on your lips, sticking his tongue far up your mouth, smearing spit over your chin. His teeth clash against yours every time he attempts to reach into you deeper, as if trying to devour you from the inside out.
“Fuck,”—thrust—”So…”—thrust—”Fucking…”—thrust—-”Tight-” He moans into your mouth, and you swear you can feel his whimpers inside your body.
Anakin props himself up on his forearms — each on the other side of your face. He snakes his fingers into your hair, making you look at him.
“Look at me, baby. Look at me, and tell me you love it. Beg me to fuck you, come on, baby…” 
He’s a mess, and he’s messing you up too; he wants you to plead, but there is no reason to; he’s already balls deep in you, abusing parts of your body nothing and nobody has ever reached before. 
“M-master…” A feeble whimper is all your body can muster when your whole lower half twitches from pleasure. “…Stop...” You claw on his chest, trying to push him off, maybe because you know how sick it is to allow him to turn you into a drooling cockslut, or maybe because you don’t want to cum so fucking soon.
“What’s the matter, angel? You wanna cum, yeah?” A wicked smile spreads across his face, as if he were listening to all of your thoughts while you laid there spread open. “Yeah? Your little cunt can’t take master’s cock at all, hmmm?” He mocks you, and you know you deserve it, for one reason or another.
His filthy words and a couple of powerful strokes are enough to have your juices coating his whole shaft as your back arches and hardened nipples rub against his chest. The orgasm he’s giving you blinds your mind; it drowns out every other noise that’s not his moans of pleasure or your wetness spurting around him.
“Thought so.” He laughs in your face, gripping the backs of your thighs and pushing them up — his cock still inside you, soaking up all you had to give it. “That’s alright, angel, it’ll hurt less now that you’re all stretched out and drenched.”
“N-no…” You cry when he adjusts your position to reach deeper into you, seemingly not even caring that your soaked walls are still aching from him fucking you over the edge just moments ago. “A-Ani…” It’s a bittersweet pleasure — the way he keeps going through your body desperately, trying to push him out and stop the ache inside of you.
“Look,” He releases his grip on your thigh and grabs your chin. “Look how perfect your little cunt is…” He slides all the way out and slowly pushes back in, his pubic hair tickling your skin. “As if it’s made to take me.” He forces your head to look down between your bodies and admire the mess he’s creating.
The more he sees you struggle to look without squirming, the more precise his movements are. He angles his painfully thick cock to scratch your spongy insides, your throbbing cunt squeezing him enough to force delicious grunts out of his mouth. 
Your eyes are blurry from the tears you didn’t know formed; you blink rapidly, attempting to catch a glimpse of Anakin’s face. You were self-evident about the desperate mess he’s turned you into, drenched in sweat and cum, your body sore and bruised, it was obvious, however, you didn’t expect Anakin to be as disheveled as well. His lips were apart, soaked in spit, the blue of his eyes barely visible from the expansion of the pupils, dirty locks sticking to his forehead, your master looked and, quite obviously, behaved like a brute beast devouring his prey. And yet, he was angelic.
Your idealization of Anakin was the root reason why you resisted digging his eyes out with your nails and putting up a violent fight against him for corrupting your body inside and out. Because, essentially, Anakin is still your master. The one who teaches you, the one who tends your wounds, the one who is now currently fucking you over your second orgasm with no mercy in his bloodshot orbs. And honestly, you are starting to genuinely enjoy it. 
“Just like that, pretty girl, keep squeezing me…” Anakin presses his lips against yours, forcing his tongue in and making you answer his desperate kiss. One of your legs is stretched up painfully, foot dangling over his shoulder, while the other almost involuntary wraps around him and makes sure he’s plunging deep into you with no chance of escaping. “Good girl, that’s it,” He moans into your mouth, “I’m going to cum, yeah, s’ like that, let me fill that tight cunt.”
“P-please…” You reach for his head, grabbing him by the roots of his hair to lock your lips back together. “Master- fuuuuuck!” There it is again — you are cumming all over his cock, slurping onto his tongue while milking him to his own orgasm. You can barely see or make sense of your surroundings; all you know is that he’s pounding you into oblivion, and you love every second of being stretched out for your master to use.
Anakin is grabbing your body, toying with your flesh. Even when his dick starts to fuck long threads of his thick cum into you, he can’t stop frantically abusing your body in every way possible; grabbing, biting, kissing, and fucking all come at the same time, sending your body into a sensory overload, and you can swear you are about to lose your mind and die right there and then.
But there is no time for dying, not when you realize Anakin has emptied himself deep inside you and yet is nowhere close to stopping. His cock, still hard, surrounded by the mix of your and his cum, is slamming into you with sensual yet forcible strokes, making it seem like you can taste the sourness of his release in your mouth. 
“So needy, going to make sure to fuck it deep in you, angel.” He whispers into your neck, you can’t help but whimper and dig your nails into his shoulder blades in hopes of him easing up on you, but he only pulls his face off your shoulder and greets you with a filthy grin. “If I knew how beautiful your fucked-out expressions and little whimpers were, I would have devoured this pretty pussy much earlier…”
“M-master…” You cry out for help, for pleasure, for him. Everything ceases to exist except Anakin. His expression softens just for a moment. He settles his cock inside of you and reaches out to wipe the mess of drool and tears from your cheek.
“It’s okay, my sweet Padawan." He whispers, his hands gently caresses your hipbones in a subconscious attempt to soothe your aching muscles. Anakin leans down to kiss your lips one more time. You can feel his whole length throbbing and begging for friction while the wetness of your releases seeps down your cunt. “I know you can take more, yeah? Just like when we train, alright? You want to stop…”—Thrust—”But I’m the Master…”
Your eyes roll back when your sex is rewarded with a glimpse of more pleasure, a little promise of what he can give you if you just enjoy it like he’s commanded you. So you buck your hips into him, seeking yet another release.
“There she is…” Anakin’s deranged expression makes its way back between his perfect features. To your surprise, he swiftly pulls himself out of you, which makes you whine from the lack of fullness and feeling of the mix of liquids trickling down your body. “Let’s see how useful your other holes are, mmm?”
And with that, you know — whatever he’s infested with still has yet to wear off.
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climatecalling · 7 months
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Brazil’s government has begun removing thousands of non-Indigenous people from two native territories in a move that will affect thousands who live in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. The Brazilian intelligence agency ABIN said in a statement that the goal was to return the Apyterewa and Trincheira Bacaja lands in Para state to the original peoples. ... “The presence of strangers on Indigenous land threatens the integrity of the Indigenous [people] and causes other damages, such as the destruction of forests,” the agency said in its statement. It added that about 1,600 families lived illegally in that region with some involved in illegal activities such as cattle raising and gold mining. “They also destroy native vegetation.” ... Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has begun rebuilding environment protection agencies and created eight protected areas for Indigenous people. Soon after the beginning of his administration, his government expelled thousands of goldminers from the massive Yanomami Indigenous territory in the northern state of Roraima. State and federal authorities this year also dislodged landgrabbers from the Alto Rio Guama territory. They threatened forcible expulsion of those settlers failing to leave, and pledged to eliminate access roads and irregular installations. Nearly all of the illegal residents departed voluntarily.
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