domesticity

[duke_of_illusions]

Al had stayed over last night... and hasn't quite left this morning, either. The day is stretching on, and Barma is still beautifully comfortable, now immersed in a book, as his fingers trail through Al's hair.

Comments

[al_truism]

Al has been sleeping, finally. His world has been a little rough on him lately, though he's all too happy to forget. He's currently dozing in and out against Rufus.

"Read to me?" he asks, without opening his eyes.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

He hums, slowly, and starts murmuring;

""Some people teach that choking can be safely done if pressure on the windpipe is avoided. Their belief is that pressing on the arteries leading to the brain while avoiding pressure on the windpipe can safely cause unconsciousness. The reality, unfortunately, is that pressing on the carotid arteries, _exactly_ as they recommend, presses on baroreceptors known as the carotid sinus bodies. These bodies then cause vasodilation in the brain, thus there is not enough blood to perfuse the brain and the recipient loses consciousness. However, that's not the whole story.

Unfortunately, a message is also sent to the main pacemaker of the heart, via the vagus nerve, to decrease the rate and force of the heartbeat. Most of the time, under strong vagal influence, the rate and force of the heartbeat decreases by one third. However, every now and then, the rate and force decreases to zero and the bottom "flatlines" into asystole -- another, and more difficult to treat, form of cardiac arrest. There is no way to tell whether or not this will happen in any particular instance, or how quickly. There are many documented cases of as little as five seconds of choking causing a vagal-outflow-induced cardiac arrest."

[al_truism]

"Oh." Al frowns a little, as he listens. That's cause for a little bit of concern.

Most of it is a blur, but several bits of it stand out to him.

"That's a pity..."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"For the reason cited above, many police departments have now either entirely banned the use of choke holds or have reclassified them as a form of deadly force. Indeed, a local CHP officer recently had a $250,000 judgment brought against him after a nonviolent suspect died while being choked by him."

Barma sounds mildly concerned himself.

"Finally, as a CPR instructor myself, I want to caution that knowing CPR does little to make the risk of death from breath control play significantly smaller. While CPR can and should be done, understand that the probability of success is likely to be less than 10%.

I'm not going to state that breath control is something that nobody should ever do under any circumstances. I have no problem with informed, freely consenting people taking any degree of risk they wish. I am going to state that there is a great deal of ignorance regarding what actually happens to a body when it's suffocated or strangled, and that the actual degree of risk associated with these practices is far greater than most people believe."

[al_truism]

Al strokes Barma's hair thoughtfully, playing with it, threading it through his fingers.

"I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt you," he murmurs.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"No, you never would. We used illusory water, remember?"

He smiles, and leans down to kiss his forehead.

"But it pays to be aware of the risks."

[al_truism]

"It makes me feel safer that you research these things," he admits, thinking back with Break, in the tub. It could have been so bad, but he'd loved it.

He has to smile at the kiss.

"Even just the pressure, without actually cutting off any air or blood, feels good. It's the dominance of the hold."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"This is talking about hard enough to seriously cut off blood flow. We can continue to experiment with a more gentle pressure, if you consent to the risk."

[al_truism]

Al nods, thoughtful, and stretches out against him with a low groan.

"Yes, I would. I trust you, and gentle pressure shouldn't be nearly as dangerous."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Absolutely."

He nods.

"I'll be careful."

[al_truism]

"What did you like about me pushing your face under the water?"

He asks quietly, settling.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"It's a terrifying feeling."

He admits.

"Hot water on your face."

[al_truism]

"The heat, or not being able to breathe?"

Al reaches up and strokes a finger firmly down the back of Barma's neck, finding the spots that tense up when someone reads.

[al_truism]

It's a day or two after seeing Break that he seeks out Barma. He feels stable enough for it now.

The knock is a little hesitant.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

He opens the door for him.

"Alphonse."

Smiling.

[al_truism]

Al smiles back. His hand is still bandaged, though he lifts his arms up for a hug.

"Missed you," he murmurs.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"You too."

Holding him tight.

"Are you hurt? What are the bandages from?"

[al_truism]

Al lingers a little in the hug, still favoring his hand and arm a bit.

"... I'll tell you once we're inside?" he promises.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Come in."

Not letting go of him, he lifts him up a touch and walks them backwards.

[al_truism]

Al laughs a little, hugging closer. Rufus has his moments of utter sweetness. He nudges the door closed with a foot.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Are you all right? What do you need from me?"

Soft.

[al_truism]

"Say I can stay with you tonight?"

Softly.

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Absolutely."

He tells him, seriously.

[al_truism]

Al lets his breath out.

"Someone tried to hurt me a few days ago. He had chloroform, and he snuck up behind me in the piano room."

[info-barma.livejournal.com]

"Good God."

Soft.