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cevansbrat0007 · 11 months ago

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The Anatomy of an Orgasm

Summary: You make the mistake of faking an orgasm while in bed with Ari...

Warnings: Light Angst, Mature Themes, Ari Being A Menace, Smut, Oral Sex (fem rec), Fake Orgasms, Stubborn Reader, Hurt Feelings, Cursing, Minors DNI

A/N: Prompt courtesy of @writer84. Takes place early in Ari and Bird's relationship. Part of my Sweet Renegade Series. Semi-proofread, not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. Likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!

When you think back to the early days of your relationship, one thing that always surprises you is just how perceptive this man could be sometimes – especially when it came to you. Even now, that man continues to watch you like a hawk, taking in your every movement.

And listening to your every word.

You know it’s because he’s trying to anticipate your needs. Every day he wakes up, Ari Levinson strives to be the man you need him to be. Your safety and security are of paramount importance to him. He’s the type of man to take on your worries as his own. The type of man to help you master your fears. Over time he’s become more than just your champion. He’s also your biggest cheerleader.

Which is why there’s this expectation that now exists between the two of you – one forged by trust, as well as honest and open communication. And while this is something that seems to come easy to your bounty hunter, sometimes it proves to be a little more challenging for you.

It’s hard not to bottle everything up. It’s natural for you to simply stuff things down and wait until everything exploded later.

Because up until this point, you’d never had someone with whom you could share the weight of your world – even though Ari continues to show you that nothing is too much for his broad shoulders to carry.

Tonight you’re lying in bed on your back, your legs draped over Ari’s muscled shoulders. His handsome face is currently buried between your thighs while he makes a meal out of your pussy. Your spine arches when you feel him suck your swollen clit between his lips, applying just pressure to have your eyes rolling back in your head.

Or at least it would…if you could get yourself to relax enough to actually enjoy it.

“Taste so good, baby.” Your man rasps once he releases you, taking a moment to press a hot, open-mouthed kiss along the curve of your inner thigh.

“Uh huh.” You mumble, throwing your arm over your eyes as he gets back to his dessert.

Ari nuzzles your dripping cunt with the tip of his nose, growling when he’s rewarded with a soft whine from you. And you can’t stop your hips from bucking when he slowly spears two thick fingers inside you, pumping them in and out in time with his wicked tongue.

Any other time you would’ve been well on your way to your second orgasm, if not coasting along to your third. But every time you try to give over the pleasure, your traitorous mind keeps deciding to wander...

Sales at the bookstore were down this month. And the latest series, featuring a brand new, up-and-coming author, hadn’t performed anywhere near as well as you’d initially thought it would. Which was surprising to say the least – especially since the woman had spent the last month being featured on virtually every single morning daytime talk show that promised her an audience.

And then there was all the shit you had on backorder. Items that were effectively stuck in limbo until the day they finally arrived on your doorstep. Hopefully sometime before next year.

You remind yourself to moan when Ari picks up his pace, your hips writhing beneath him as you try to hide the fact you’re becoming increasingly distracted. But try as you might, the disconnect between your mind and your body only continues to grow.

A sharp cry escapes your throat when you feel his fingers curl, delicately stroking that special place inside you that normally made sparks dance behind your eyes.

“That’s it, little Bird.” Ari grunts, his eager tongue lashing against your clit. “Be a good girl and cum for me. Wanna taste it.”

Yeah, there was no way you were gonna get there tonight. Not like this.

“Give it to me, baby.” He orders again. “Right fuckin’ now.”

At a loss for what else to do, you bear down, desperately clenching around him in what you hope is a believable performance. “Oh god, Beast!” You repeat the action again and again, making sure to accompany it with several breathy little sighs.

“Wow.” You breathe once Ari finally releases his grip on your hips. Now that you’re free, you quickly scoot away and begin searching for your discarded panties, which wasn’t typical behavior for you. You were more the type that preferred to bask in bliss.

But not tonight. Because you’d just faked an orgasm with this gorgeous man.

Right now you felt sweaty and awkward, and you needed space to breathe. You refuse to even look in Ari’s direction as you hastily begin to redress, lest he see right through you.

"That was great." You mumble lamely.

“What are you–where are you goin’?” A pang of guilt hits you when you note the confusion in his tone.

“Huh?” You slip his t-shirt over your head. He wouldn’t mind that you were leaving him half-naked, since he was wearing his boxer briefs. “I’m just gonna…go clean up. Maybe work off some of this excess energy.”

That last sentence has you inwardly face palming. What a stupid thing to say to a man like Ari Levinson.

“Hey, come back here a second…” You watch out of the corner of your eye as he sits up in bed. At times like this you were reminded that the man in your bed was also a detective, which meant he came equipped with a sixth sense for bullshit.

Mainly yours.

“Stay here and relax.” You tell him, making your way towards the door. “I just…know I won’t be able to sleep knowing I left behind a sink full of dirty dishes.”

“C’mere first.”

Shaking your head, you head for the stairs. At that moment, even the underlying authority in his voice wasn’t enough to make you obey. You always seemed to find a sense of calm when you cleaned. Fingers crossed that it worked tonight.

You’re gifted with a whopping ten minutes to yourself before you hear your man lumbering down the stairs. Rinsing a plate under hot water, you hope that he’s only stopping in for a glass of water and not because he wants to talk.

Grimacing, you move on to the next soiled piece of dishware, scrubbing vigorously. Your back remains turned, just as it had upstairs. Perhaps if you avoided eye contact he would simply grab his beverage and go on his merry way.

“Bird.”

Your beloved pet name rumbles from somewhere deep in his chest. However, you refuse to look at him, seemingly content to focus on the task at hand.

“Clean glasses are in the cupboard.”

“Hey.“ You startle when you feel two large, warm hands settle on your hips, followed by the soft skim of lips along the curve of your ear. “Stop.”

“But I’m not done.” You mumble, blinking back tears for some stupid reason you can’t quite name. “Everything needs to be dried and put away. I haven’t swept or wiped anything down. And it’s been a couple days since I mopped.”

“Baby, your kitchen is always spotless. Now I’m askin’ you to dry your hands and come talk to me.”

“I’m not sure we have anything to talk about.” You hedge, wishing he’d just leave you be – even as you dutifully move to do as he requests.

“Yeah?” Ari gives you a comforting squeeze, willing you to relax against his bare chest. “Well, you could start by explainin’ just what what the hell happened back in bed.”

“Nothing happened.”

“My entire goddamned point.” Comes his gruff response. “That wasn’t you back there, baby.”

“Not sure I know what you’re talking about.” Squirming out of his embrace, you attempt to put some distance between you and him using your kitchen island as a buffer.

Ari sighs, tipping back his head to briefly stare at the ceiling. His big body remains tense as he struggles to get you to open up and tell him the truth. “Was I too rough with you? Are you…are you sore?”

That familiar pang of guilt returns full-force now, because of course your sweet Beast would be the kind of man to blame himself for the issues you’d experienced in the bedroom. It was just who he was.

“No.” You swiftly respond before wrapping your arms around your middle. “I’m sorry I left so abruptly. I–I was focused on the kitchen. But I swear I’ll make it up to you.” And now you feel even worse for having abandoned him with a hard-on.

“Why are you fuckin’ lying to me?”

“I-I’m not.”

Your teeth begin to worry your bottom lip as you watch his demeanor change. His clouded blue eyes narrow as his nostrils flare, followed by that signature tick in his jaw.

“Tell me you didn’t just fake it with me earlier. Look my in the eyes and fuckin’ tell me you gave something real back in that bed and I’ll leave it alone.”

You immediately avert your gaze. Because you honestly didn’t have it in your heart to keep lying to this man. He deserved better. And frankly, so did you.

“Eyes on me, Bird.” He orders, demanding your full attention. “Open up that pretty mouth and start talkin’.” Sometimes this man had the patience of a saint.

“I’m sorry.” You finally admit, wincing as the words come pouring out. “You weren’t supposed to–” You clamp your mouth shut and force yourself to pivot. “I didn’t think you’d be able to tell.”

Ari is quiet for a moment as confusion and disappointment radiate from his much larger form.

“Why’d you do it?”

“I’m sorry.” Unsure of what to do with all your nervous energy, you remove the tie from your hair to run your fingers through your curls. “I–I’ve never done it before. And I shouldn’t have done it tonight. I…” You glance down at your bare toes, wishing that the ground would simply open up and swallow you whole where you stood.

“Eyes.” Ari demands, making you jump slightly. “Damn it, baby. We’re gonna have a hell of a time making this shit work if you go mute every time there’s an issue.”

“It has nothing to do with you!” You manage to stop yourself just short of screaming. “I already said I was sorry, okay? Like, what more do you want from me?”

“And I want you to tell me when you suddenly decided to fake your pleasure with me!” He snarls, his brawny arms crossing his chest. “You claim you’ve never done it before. So what the hell made tonight so special?”

Yeah, he was fucking pissed. And what’s worse is that he had every reason to be. Because you’d hurt him.

“Unless you’re lying to me. Again.” He continues when you refuse to answer.

“I’m not.” You sniffle, dragging a weary hand across your face. “What you and I have – swear to God, Beast – it’s amazing. Explosive. Sometimes it feels like it’s too much to handle.” When all you receive is a grunt for your trouble, you take that as permission to keep going.

“And tonight was no exception, it’s just…” You pause long enough to steady your breathing. “It felt like my body and my brain were totally disconnected. And no matter how hard I tried to relax and let myself feel good, I just couldn’t.”

Ari continues to stare you down as that tick in his jaw continues to work overtime.

“I’ve faked it before, with the others. Th–they didn’t know.” Neither Mason, nor the only other man you’d ever been with had seemed to notice whenever you’d been less than honest with them in bed.

“So you didn't think that I'd know. Jesus Christ.” He hisses, bracing himself on the edge of the counter. “Well, I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but I ain’t them.” He levels you with a hard look. “I know you, know your body. I’ve memorized what you look like when you cum, the little noises you make, the way your gorgeous body bends and your pretty toes curl.”

Your eyes flutter closed as he speaks, which is why you fail to notice when he begins to round the corner – like a predator stalking his prey.

“I know what you taste like on my tongue. Know what it feels like to have that greedy pussy gush around me while your heels dig into my back. Even when you tap out, you best be sure that she always wants more.”

When you open your eyes it’s to see Ari looming over you. But you’re not intimidated, because deep down you know he would never hurt you, even though you’d just hurt him. However, you’re surprised when he reaches up to cup your face with both hands.

“I know these things…” Your bounty hunter rasps, his voice sounding almost hoarse. “Because I know you. I know my woman.” A lone tear falls, slowly gliding its way down your check before Ari dashes it away with his thumb.

“It wasn’t you, Beast.” You rush to reassure him, even as you move to bury your face in the wall of his sculpted chest. “I’ve just been so worried about the store – it’s been a slow month. And I’m still waiting on an order from two months ago. And tonight it was like no matter how much I tried to forget and refocus…I just couldn’t.”

“Hmph.” He grunts, but not before pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head. “Why do you think I’m always on your stubborn little ass to talk to me?”

“I know.” Your words come out muffled.

“If you’re not in the mood, or there’s too much going on in the beautiful brain, I want you to fuckin’ talk to me about it.” Without warning, he lifts you with impressive ease to set you on the counter.

“I know.” Another tear escapes, but Ari is quick to wipe it away. “But I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Disappoint me how?” He scoffs, briefly resting his forehead against your own.

“If you want sex and I don’t or I can’t, then –”

“Then I’ll handle that shit like a man.” Ari swiftly interrupts. “Baby, it’s like you breathe in my general direction and I’m fuckin’ hard. But if the moment’s not working for you, either because you’re tired or you got worries, I want you to fuckin’ talk to me. Don’t fake an orgasm to try and soothe my ego.”

Wordlessly you nod as you go to wrap your arms around his neck, drawing him closer. You feel yourself relax when he pulls you into his warm embrace. It was the first time you’d been able to do so all evening.

“It won’t happen again. Just…please don’t leave tonight.” Your voice sounds so small and fragile it takes you by surprise.

“Aw, I ain’t goin’ anywhere, pretty Bird.” One of his hands begins to rub soothing circles along your lower back. Later, you would learn that that thought had never even crossed his mind. “Consider this water under a fuckin’ bridge.”

You continue holding each other for a while longer, content to bask in the comforting silence. If there was never any doubt as to why you were coming to care so deeply for this man, those thoughts had all been dashed tonight.

In fact, if you weren’t careful, you just might be tempted to fall in love with this man.

“C’mon back upstairs.” Ari murmurs a little while later, but not before capturing your lips with a gentle kiss. “Let’s get you into a shower, I’ll even help you wash your hair.”

At his urging, you'd shown him how to do a quick co-wash a couple weeks ago, and now he was hooked. Not that you were complaining.

“Okay.” You nod, unable to stop yourself from melting.

“Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the shop. Maybe brainstorm some ideas about how to fix things, or at least cushion the blow.” Again you nod, feeling more at peace with the world than you had the last several days.

Reaching for your hand, you lace your fingers through his and allow yourself to be led back up the stairs, leaving the dishes and the rest of your chores undone. You had more important things to see to, right now.

And, perhaps, a little more apologizing to do.

END

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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How lock-in hurts design

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

If you've ever read about design, you've probably encountered the idea of "paving the desire path." A "desire path" is an erosion path created by people departing from the official walkway and taking their own route. The story goes that smart campus planners don't fight the desire paths laid down by students; they pave them, formalizing the route that their constituents have voted for with their feet.

Desire paths aren't always great (Wikipedia notes that "desire paths sometimes cut through sensitive habitats and exclusion zones, threatening wildlife and park security"), but in the context of design, a desire path is a way that users communicate with designers, creating a feedback loop between those two groups. The designers make a product, the users use it in ways that surprise the designer, and the designer integrates all that into a new revision of the product.

This method is widely heralded as a means of "co-innovating" between users and companies. Designers who practice the method are lauded for their humility, their willingness to learn from their users. Tech history is strewn with examples of successful paved desire-paths.

Take John Deere. While today the company is notorious for its war on its customers (via its opposition to right to repair), Deere was once a leader in co-innovation, dispatching roving field engineers to visit farms and learn how farmers had modified their tractors. The best of these modifications would then be worked into the next round of tractor designs, in a virtuous cycle:

https://securityledger.com/2019/03/opinion-my-grandfathers-john-deere-would-support-our-right-to-repair/

But this pattern is even more pronounced in the digital world, because it's much easier to update a digital service than it is to update all the tractors in the field, especially if that service is cloud-based, meaning you can modify the back-end everyone is instantly updated. The most celebrated example of this co-creation is Twitter, whose users created a host of its core features.

Retweets, for example, were a user creation. Users who saw something they liked on the service would type "RT" and paste the text and the link into a new tweet composition window. Same for quote-tweets: users copied the URL for a tweet and pasted it in below their own commentary. Twitter designers observed this user innovation and formalized it, turning it into part of Twitter's core feature-set.

Companies are obsessed with discovering digital desire paths. They pay fortunes for analytics software to produce maps of how their users interact with their services, run focus groups, even embed sneaky screen-recording software into their web-pages:

https://www.wired.com/story/the-dark-side-of-replay-sessions-that-record-your-every-move-online/

This relentless surveillance of users is pursued in the name of making things better for them: let us spy on you and we'll figure out where your pain-points and friction are coming from, and remove those. We all win!

But this impulse is a world apart from the humility and respect implied by co-innovation. The constant, nonconsensual observation of users has more to do with controlling users than learning from them.

That is, after all, the ethos of modern technology: the more control a company can exert over its users ,the more value it can transfer from those users to its shareholders. That's the key to enshittification, the ubiquitous platform decay that has degraded virtually all the technology we use, making it worse every day:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

When you are seeking to control users, the desire paths they create are all too frequently a means to wrestling control back from you. Take advertising: every time a service makes its ads more obnoxious and invasive, it creates an incentive for its users to search for "how do I install an ad-blocker":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

More than half of all web-users have installed ad-blockers. It's the largest consumer boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But zero app users have installed ad-blockers, because reverse-engineering an app requires that you bypass its encryption, triggering liability under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This law provides for a $500,000 fine and a 5-year prison sentence for "circumvention" of access controls:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Beyond that, modifying an app creates liability under copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrets, noncompete, nondisclosure and so on. It's what Jay Freeman calls "felony contempt of business model":

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

This is why services are so horny to drive you to install their app rather using their websites: they are trying to get you to do something that, given your druthers, you would prefer not to do. They want to force you to exit through the gift shop, you want to carve a desire path straight to the parking lot. Apps let them mobilize the law to literally criminalize those desire paths.

An app is just a web-page wrapped in enough IP to make it a felony to block ads in it (or do anything else that wrestles value back from a company). Apps are web-pages where everything not forbidden is mandatory.

Seen in this light, an app is a way to wage war on desire paths, to abandon the cooperative model for co-innovation in favor of the adversarial model of user control and extraction.

Corporate apologists like to claim that the proliferation of apps proves that users like them. Neoliberal economists love the idea that business as usual represents a "revealed preference." This is an intellectually unserious tautology: "you do this, so you must like it":

https://boingboing.net/2024/01/22/hp-ceo-says-customers-are-a-bad-investment-unless-they-can-be-made-to-buy-companys-drm-ink-cartridges.html

Calling an action where no alternatives are permissible a "preference" or a "choice" is a cheap trick – especially when considered against the "preferences" that reveal themselves when a real choice is possible. Take commercial surveillance: when Apple gave Ios users a choice about being spied on – a one-click opt of of app-based surveillance – 96% of users choice no spying:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/96-of-us-users-opt-out-of-app-tracking-in-ios-14-5-analytics-find/

But then Apple started spying on those very same users that had opted out of spying by Facebook and other Apple competitors:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Neoclassical economists aren't just obsessed with revealed preferences – they also love to bandy about the idea of "moral hazard": economic arrangements that tempt people to be dishonest. This is typically applied to the public ("consumers" in the contemptuous parlance of econospeak). But apps are pure moral hazard – for corporations. The ability to prohibit desire paths – and literally imprison rivals who help your users thwart those prohibitions – is too tempting for companies to resist.

The fact that the majority of web users block ads reveals a strong preference for not being spied on ("users just want relevant ads" is such an obvious lie that doesn't merit any serious discussion):

https://www.iccl.ie/news/82-of-the-irish-public-wants-big-techs-toxic-algorithms-switched-off/

Giant companies attained their scale by learning from their users, not by thwarting them. The person using technology always knows something about what they need to do and how they want to do it that the designers can never anticipate. This is especially true of people who are unlike those designers – people who live on the other side of the world, or the other side of the economic divide, or whose bodies don't work the way that the designers' bodies do:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/20/benevolent-dictators/#felony-contempt-of-business-model

Apps – and other technologies that are locked down so their users can be locked in – are the height of technological arrogance. They embody a belief that users are to be told, not heard. If a user wants to do something that the designer didn't anticipate, that's the user's fault:

https://www.wired.com/2010/06/iphone-4-holding-it-wrong/

Corporate enthusiasm for prohibiting you from reconfiguring the tools you use to suit your needs is a declaration of the end of history. "Sure," John Deere execs say, "we once learned from farmers by observing how they modified their tractors. But today's farmers are so much stupider and we are so much smarter that we have nothing to learn from them anymore."

Spying on your users to control them is a poor substitute asking your users their permission to learn from them. Without technological self-determination, preferences can't be revealed. Without the right to seize the means of computation, the desire paths never emerge, leaving designers in the dark about what users really want.

Our policymakers swear loyalty to "innovation" but when corporations ask for the right to decide who can innovate and how, they fall all over themselves to create laws that let companies punish users for the crime of contempt of business-model.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/24/everything-not-mandatory/#is-prohibited

Image: Belem (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desire_path_%2819811581366%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #desire paths #design #drm #everything not mandatory is prohibited #apps #ip #innovation #user innovation #technological self-determination #john deere #twitter #felony contempt of business model

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pucksandpower · 1 year ago

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Help, My Cat Drank My Red Bull!

Max Verstappen x veterinarian!Reader

Summary: in which Sassy gets into an open can of Max’s energy drink and inadvertently leads Max to the love of his life

Max sighs as he exits the sim-rig, stretching his arms over his head. After a few intense hours of virtual racing, he could use a pick-me-up.

He wanders into the kitchen, spotting the full can of Red Bull he had left on the counter earlier.

Perfect.

But as Max reaches for the energy drink, something catches his eye — a sticky puddle on the granite countertop where the can should be. He leans in, sniffing cautiously. The unmistakable sweet scent of Red Bull wafts up.

“What the ...” His voice trails off as a blur of tan fur darts past the corner of his vision.

Sassy skids into view. Her pupils are dilated to the size of marbles and she’s practically vibrating with excess energy. Max’s jaw drops as the realization hits.

“No, no, you didn’t ...”

But the evidence is irrefutable. Sassy must have knocked over the can and lapped up every sugary drop.

Max runs a hand through his curls, panic rising. Too much caffeine could be incredibly dangerous for a cat her size. He needs to get her to a vet right away, but at — he checks his watch — 2:14 in the morning, his usual clinic will be closed.

“Come here, Sassy!” He calls, slowly advancing on the hyper feline.

But Sassy just stares at him, unblinking, before bolting in the opposite direction with a manic burst of speed. Max gives chase, cursing under his breath as she darts around furniture and ricochets off walls. After several frantic minutes of pursuit, he finally manages to corner the cat and scoop her into a carrier.

Sassy yowls in protest as Max secures the door, but he has no choice. He grabs his keys and races down to the parking garage, carefully settling the carrier into the passenger seat of his bright red Ferrari before peeling out toward the nearest emergency vet clinic.

The drive seems to take an eternity with Sassy howling the whole way. Max’s knuckles are white on the steering wheel as he haphazardly parks outside the clinic and jumps out, slamming the door behind him.

Only to stop dead a few steps later, the realization crashing over him like a wave. In his haste, he left the cat in the car.

“Shit!” Max spins on his heel, cheeks burning as he hurries back and grabs the carrier, cradling it awkwardly against his chest.

He strides through the front doors of the clinic, the receptionist looking up in surprise at his abrupt entrance.

“Please,” Max gasps out, eyes wide. “My cat, she drank a whole can of Red Bull. What do I do?”

The receptionist’s brows knit together briefly before her features smooth into a professional mask. “Okay sir, please have a seat in exam room three. The doctor will be right with you.”

Max nods frantically, hurrying down the hallway as directed and gently depositing the carrier on the exam table. He resumes his pacing, running anxious hands through his hair.

After what feels like an eternity, the door finally opens. But the person who walks in absolutely takes Max’s breath away.

You are, without a doubt, the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen. From your cascading locks to your warm eyes, Max can’t tear his gaze away. Your figure is highlighted by pale blue scrubs as you cross the room, a soft smile playing at the corners of your mouth.

“Good morning, I’m Dr. Y/N Y/L/N. What seems to be the trouble?”

Max’s throat is suddenly, inexplicably dry. He clears it harshly. “U-uh, hi. I’m Max. Max Verstappen. My cat, Sassy, she — well, I had a can of Red Bull out and she must have knocked it over because when I came back, it was empty but the counter was sticky and then she was just … super hyper and crazy ...”

His words stumble to a halt as you lean over, gently pulling the still-feisty Sassy from her carrier and depositing her on the table. You murmur soothingly, stroking her soft fur as you examine her dilated pupils and elevated pulse.

“Hmm, yes, it does sound like she’s had a bit too much caffeine.” You shoot Max a reassuring smile that makes his heart skip a beat. “Not to worry though, we’ll get her taken care of.”

As you deftly slip a mild sedative into the crook of Sassy’s leg, Max can’t help but watch in awe at how gentle and caring you are. He’s never seen someone so compassionate and loving toward an animal before.

Within minutes, the sedative takes effect and Sassy transforms from a blur of frantic energy to a lazy puddle of fur, watching the room with heavy-lidded eyes. You scratch between her ears, lips quirked.

“There we go, that’s better. She’ll be feeling pretty groggy for the next little while as the caffeine works its way out of her system.”

Max nods dumbly, completely mesmerized as you deftly check Sassy’s vitals again.

“Her temperature and heart rate are looking good. I’d just recommend keeping her awake and hydrated until the effects have fully worn off in six to eight hours, then she should be back to normal.”

“Okay, yeah. Thank you so much, really,” Max gushes, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I was so worried when I realized what happened.”

You shrug with an easy smile. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. Better to get these things checked out, just to be safe.” A teasing glint enters your expressive eyes. “Although, I have to ask — how exactly does a Red Bull can get knocked over and lapped up by a cat?”

Max feels his cheeks flush again as your gaze meets his, warm and friendly and so incredibly beautiful up close.

He clears his throat. “Uh, well, you see I was sim racing for a while and just left it out, which was dumb of me ...”

As he rambles through the explanation, Max can’t tear his eyes away from the crinkles that form around your eyes when you smile or the melodic lilt of your laughter. By the time he’s finished, he’s even more smitten than before.

An awkward silence falls as you finish up examining Sassy. You turn back to Max, expression soft.

“Well, it seems like your girl is going to be just fine. I’ll get the discharge paperwork ready for you.”

Your footsteps retreat toward the door and panic seizes Max’s chest. He can’t just let you walk away, not without at least trying ...

“Hey, uh, Dr. Y/N?” He calls out before he can overthink it.

You pause, eyebrows raised expectantly as you turn back.

Max suddenly can’t remember what he was going to say. His mind goes blank, palms growing sweaty, as he shuffles his feet. The words completely escape him as he’s overwhelmed by your warmth and beauty.

“I, uh … thanks again. For helping Sassy,” he stammers out instead, mentally kicking himself.

You smile patiently. “Of course, I’m just glad she’s going to be okay.”

An awkward silence stretches between you as Max wars internally, desperately trying to muster the courage to ask you out properly. But the moment slips away as you begin to turn back toward the door.

“Well, I’ll get those discharge papers ready for you.”

“Right, yeah, okay. Thanks ...” Max’s words trail off lamely as you exit the room.

He squeezes his eyes shut, smacking his forehead in frustration. He just completely blew his chance with the most incredible woman he’s ever met, all because he’s a bumbling idiot who can’t even form a simple sentence around someone that effortlessly beautiful and caring.

Max blows out a long breath, trying to refocus on the fact that Sassy is going to be alright, at least. As he carefully gathers her sleepy form back into her carrier, he can’t help the pang of regret that settles in his chest.

Maybe your paths will cross again someday under better circumstances. A guy can dream, right?

***

The next week drags by for Max in a blur of monotony. He finds his thoughts drifting constantly back to the emergency vet clinic, replaying his disastrous non-attempt at asking you out on a date. Just the memory of your radiant smile and warm eyes is enough to make his heart stutter.

But as the days pass with no sign of you around Monaco, Max’s hope slowly fades. Of course someone as incredibly kind, caring, and beautiful as you would never go for an awkward guy like him. He’s an idiot for thinking he even had a chance.

Exactly one week after the Red Bull incident with Sassy, Max is moping on his couch, idly stroking Jimmy as he channel surfs. He pauses on a cheesy romcom, watching with mild disdain as the bumbling male lead performs increasingly ridiculous stunts all for a chance to see his love interest again.

It’s utterly ridiculous. And yet … Max feels a strange sense of kinship with the hapless romantic on screen.

Because as he stares at the TV, a crazy idea begins to take shape. If he wants to see you again so badly, why not take a page from the movie’s playbook? With a jolt of determination, Max scoops up a disgruntled Jimmy and tucks him into his carrier.

“Looks like you’re coming with me on an adventure, buddy,” Max murmurs, grinning slightly at Jimmy’s unmistakable look of disdain. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it worth your while. I just need you to play along so I can see Y/N again. You’re going to help me make her yours and Sassy’s new mom.”

Jimmy yawns pointedly, seemingly unimpressed with Max’s romantic scheming. Max just chuckles, scratching the cat between the ears before grabbing his keys and heading for the garage.

He settles Jimmy’s carrier into the passenger seat of his Ferrari, the engine roaring to life under his expert control. As he navigates Monaco’s winding streets, Max keeps up a steady stream of conversation with his distinctly unreceptive feline audience.

“You’re going to love Y/N, I just know it,” he insists, pulling up to a red light. “She’s the kindest, most compassionate person I’ve ever met. The way she took care of Sassy with such patience and gentleness ...” Max shakes his head in wonder. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jimmy blinks slowly at him, conveying an impressive blend of judgment and displeasure at being awake, much less participating in this ridiculous plan. Max just barrels onward.

“Look, I know this seems crazy. But Y/N … she’s just special, you know? And if this is what it takes to get to know her better, then I’m all in.”

He pulls up to the familiar sight of the clinic, parking much more calmly this time before grabbing Jimmy’s carrier and heading inside. The same receptionist from before looks up in surprise as he approaches.

“You again? Is everything okay with Sassy?”

Panic grips Max’s chest as he realizes he didn’t actually come up with an excuse for bringing Jimmy in beforehand. He scrambles for something, anything, to say.

“Uh, well, actually it’s Jimmy here who needs to be seen,” he rushes out, nodding toward the disgruntled cat. “You see, I was just, uh … brushing him earlier and he seemed great. But then I went to pick him up and it was like … bam!” Max mimes an explosion gesture. “Total f-fur explosion, just hair going everywhere! It was like he was … moulting, but not in the normal way, you know?”

By the time Max finishes, the receptionist is staring at him in bewilderment. He can feel the flush creeping up the back of his neck as she blinks slowly.

“A … fur explosion,” she repeats flatly.

“Exactly!” Max insists with a vigorous nod. “Just an absolute furpocalypse, you would not believe it. So I figured I’d better bring him in to get checked out, just in case?”

A beat passes as the receptionist seems to silently debate arguing with him further. Finally, she just shakes her head.

“Okay, well … go ahead and take Jimmy back to exam room three again. Dr. Y/L/N will be right with you.”

Max’s heart leaps into his throat at the mention of your name as he forces a polite smile and heads back down the hallway to the familiar room. He carefully lets Jimmy out to explore as they wait, praying fervently that you’ll actually be the one to walk through that door.

The minutes drag by in tense silence, Max gnawing nervously at his thumbnail. Just as he’s starting to think this was all a terrible idea, the door swings open and you step inside.

It’s like the world stops spinning for a moment. You are … breathtaking, even more gorgeous than Max remembered. From your tumbling locks of hair to the gentle curve of your smile, he’s completely mesmerized all over again.

You glance up from the chart in your hands, doing a slight double-take as you recognize Max.

“Well, hello again you!” Your voice is bright and melodic. “I can’t say I was expecting to see you back so soon. What happened?”

Your inquisitive gaze meets Max’s and he very nearly blurts out the entire truth right then and there — that he absolutely made up an excuse just for the chance to see you again. Somehow, he bites back the words at the last moment.

“Oh, uh, it was the weirdest thing,” he stammers instead, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I was brushing Jimmy, my other cat, earlier and all of a sudden his fur just started … exploding everywhere! Like, full-on furmageddon. It was insane.”

He cringes inwardly at how stupid he sounds, watching as a crease forms between your brows in contemplation. After a moment, though, your features smooth out into an easy smile and you move closer to gently stroke Jimmy’s silky fur.

“Well, let’s take a look, shall we?”

For the next several minutes, Max watches in rapt fascination as you thoroughly examine Jimmy from ears to tail, gentle hands ghosting over his fur as you murmur soothing reassurances. Just being in your presence is intoxicating.

You’re so caring and patient, even with the obviously fabricated reason Max invented to see you again. It only makes his growing infatuation burn all the brighter.

Finally, you straighten back up and turn to Max with a warm smile.

“Well, I can definitively say there was no fur explosion or moulting crisis with Mr. Jimmy here,” you tease lightly, arching one perfect eyebrow. “He seems perfectly healthy to me. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

Your knowing look pins Max in place, cheeks flushing guiltily. He rubs at the back of his neck again, trying to decide if he should just come clean or stubbornly dig himself deeper into this ridiculous invented scenario.

But as he opens his mouth, ready to try and bumble through another excuse, something stops him. Maybe it’s the patient understanding in your warm gaze or the gentle amusement playing at the corners of your mouth. Or maybe it’s just Dutch stubbornness rearing its head.

Either way, Max’s words grind to a halt as he takes a deep, fortifying breath.

“You know what? I’m just going to put it all out there,” he blurts before he can second guess himself further. “The truth is … I made up this whole thing as an excuse to come see you again.”

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but Max presses onward, suddenly unable to stem the flow of words.

“I tried to ask you out last week after you helped Sassy but I completely chickened out like an idiot. And I just … I couldn’t stop thinking about you, about how caring and amazing you were.”

Max’s heart thunders in his ears as he runs an anxious hand through his hair.

“So, I don’t know, I got this stupid idea to bring Jimmy in so I could see you again. Which is insane, I know, and you probably think I’m some total weirdo stalker creep now but-”

“Max.” Your soft voice cuts through his panicked rambling like a lighthouse beam in the fog. “Breathe.”

He sucks in a shuddery breath, feeling his cheeks flush scarlet under your gaze. This is it, the moment you shut him down for being a complete crazy person and he has to slink out of here in shame. Maybe he can move to Timbuktu and become a goat herder to escape his humiliation-

“I have to admit, this is a new one for me,” you continue, a teasing lilt to your words. “Most guys don’t go to such elaborate lengths just to see me again.”

You take a step closer, eyes sparking with a hint of mischief that has Max’s breath catching in his throat.

“Though I have to say, faking a pet illness is definitely an … original move. Do you go to such dramatic extremes for all your romantic pursuits?”

Max can’t help but huff out a surprised laugh at that, some of the tightly-wound tension easing from his shoulders.

“No, I uh … you’re pretty definitively the first person I’ve literally made my cat an accomplice just to spend more time with.”

The laughter that bubbles up from you at that is bright and infectious, warmth blooming in Max’s chest as he drinks in the delighted crinkles at the corners of your eyes.

“Well, as harebrained schemes go, I suppose I’ve encountered worse,” you tease warmly. “Though in the future, you’re welcome to just ask me out like a normal person.”

A weighted pause hangs between you as realization dawns in Max’s thundering heart. Is this … is this your way of giving him that very opening?

He clears his throat roughly, feeling oddly like he’s standing at the edge of a precipice, every molecule vibrating with anticipation and hope and sheer, pounding need.

“Does that mean … I mean, would you want to?” The words stick in his suddenly dry throat. “Go out with me, that is? On like … a date?”

The breath rushes from Max’s lungs in a dizzying whoosh as he finally gets the words out. He watches you intently, hands clenched into nervous fists as he waits for your response with bated breath.

For a moment, you’re quiet, considering him with an inscrutable expression. The silence seems to stretch into eternity, suffocating Max as a thousand worst-case scenarios start to race through his mind.

This is it, he’s blown it forever. You’re going to turn him down, probably with a gentle let-down about having to be professional or not dating clients or something. He’ll be crushed, forced to slink away and change his name and flee to the farthest reaches of Nepal to become a hermit and-

And then, finally, you smile. It’s soft and warm and sends relief crashing through Max in a blissful wave.

“You know what, Max? I would really like that.”

He blinks, feeling a little dizzy as the words bounce around his head. “You … you would?”

You laugh again, low and melodic, taking another step toward him. “I would. In fact, I’d love nothing more.”

A giddy grin splits Max’s face before he can rein it in. You actually said yes! To him! After his utterly insane made-up pet emergency, you still somehow agreed to go out with him.

The absurd wave of giddy elation and disbelief must show on his face, because you shake your head fondly.

“What am I going to do with you, Max Verstappen?” You say, voice warm with wry amusement. “Anyone else might have turned and ran after that nonsense, but I have to admit … there’s something terribly endearing about your attempts at romance.”

You brush past him then, headed for the door with a coquettish glance over your shoulder.

“I’ll get those discharge papers ready. And maybe once the completely fabricated fur crisis is dealt with, you can take me out for that date one of these days?”

Max can only nod dumbly, wide smile still firmly in place as the exam room door swings shut behind you. He glances down at a disgruntled Jimmy, scratching his cat’s ears with a breathy chuckle.

“Looks like your little acting gig paid off after all, buddy. Your new mom’s gonna take me out on a date!”

***

A few months later, Max can barely contain his excitement as he weaves through the familiar organized chaos of the Monaco paddock. This race holds a special thrill every year as one of the marquee events on the calendar. But today, there’s an extra level of anticipation thrumming through his veins.

Because for the first time ever, you’re here with him.

After months of gentle coaxing and meticulously planned days off, he’s finally convinced you to spend an entire race weekend as his guest. The chance to show you his world, the intoxicating intensity of a Grand Prix up close, fills Max with a buzz of elation.

He can’t wait for you to experience it all — the roar of finely-tuned engines, the crunch of data analysis, and even the mundane periods of hurry-up-and-wait that are all just part of the hectic lifestyle he loves. Just having you by his side makes everything seem that much more vibrant and alive.

Max throws you a brilliant grin as he catches your eye, unable to resist drinking in how gorgeous you look, face glowing with curiosity and excitement at taking it all in. His breath catches a little at the warmth in your returned smile. Even after months together, he’s still constantly amazed that this funny, caring, wonderful woman actually agreed to be his.

A gentle hand on his arm breaks through Max’s reverie. He glances over to find his trainer indicating they should move on for the next pre-race commitment. Max nods easily, squeezing your hand as he slows.

“Why don’t you wait here? I’ll just be a couple minutes with Rupert going over some details, then we can grab some food, yeah?”

“Sounds perfect.” You lean in to press a lingering kiss to his cheek that makes his head swim. “I’ll be here.”

Max’s grin is so wide it borders on goofy as he tears himself away to follow Rupert toward the motorhome, throwing one last look over his shoulder. You’ve settled onto a stack of tires just around the corner, radiant smile still in place as you watch the surrounding action unfold.

His trainer’s voice pulls Max back to the present as they walk, and he does his best to shelf his heartsick infatuation for a few minutes to focus. This is it, the most famous race of the year. The track with no room for error during qualifying. He should be mentally locking in, triple checking every detail and sensor read-out.

Instead, his mind keeps drifting back to how soft your lips felt against his cheek, how undeniably right it feels to share this with you.

By the time their brief walk-through wraps up, Max is practically shaking with anticipation to rejoin you. Only as he turns back toward where he left you, jacket slung over his arm … you’re nowhere to be seen.

A crease forms between Max’s brows as he scans the scattered tires and tool chests, looking for your familiar figure. You couldn’t have gone far in such a short span.

Then a flash of movement from the Mercedes garage entrance catches his eye and Max feels his heart plummet. There you are, crouched down animatedly in front of the German team’s pit … with none other than Lewis Hamilton and his bloody bulldog Roscoe.

Of course. Of course Lewis-freaking-Hamilton would zoom in the second Max’s back was turned to try and work his charms on you. Even bringing that dumb dog out like the world’s most obnoxious prop to appeal to your soft heart for animals.

Max sees red, an irrational wave of protective jealousy surging through his veins as he watches you laugh at something Lewis says, completely charmed. Your hand strokes Roscoe’s broad head idly, pure affection written across your features.

And just like that, Max is moving before his brain can catch up, feet carrying him hastily across the pavement as if drawn by an invisible cord.

You glance up as he approaches, smile stretching even wider. “Max! Lewis was just-”

But Max pays your words no mind, slipping an arm around your waist and tugging you snugly against his side as he sizes up Lewis with narrowed eyes.

“Everything okay over here?” His gaze pointedly avoids the dog panting at their feet.

He sees confusion flicker across your features, but Lewis just chuckles good-naturedly.

“Just making a new friend is all! Your girl here is an absolute natural with Roscoe.” He shoots you a warm grin and motions to his dog, who thumps his stubby tail happily against the pavement.

Max feels his jaw tighten, irrational possessiveness flaring hot and bright as Lewis’ approving gaze lingers a little too long for his liking.

“Oh, the pup’s adorable!” You enthuse, dropping into a crouch again to ruffle Roscoe’s velvety ears. “You’re being such a good boy, aren’t you?”

Max scowls down at the dog, annoyed by his besotted panting and frantically wagging tail as you dole out affectionate pats. Like the mangy thing has any inkling how lucky he is.

Leave it to Lewis to trot out something irresistibly cute like that just to try and win you over.

Seeming to sense his silent brooding, you straighten back up and loop your arm through Max’s, squeezing his bicep gently. “I’m getting a little thirsty, actually. Do you mind if I run to the hospitality tent for a drink quickly?”

Lewis perks up instantly. “I can show you whe-”

“She knows the way,” Max cuts him off, perhaps a bit too sharply judging by your surprised blink. He softens his tone with an effort. “To Red Bull hospitality, I mean. I’ll walk you over.”

He turns on his heel, tugging you along in the wake of his hasty dismissal. Your brows knit together and you open your mouth, no doubt to question his odd behavior.

But Max stubbornly presses on, only slowing once you’ve turned past a row of transport trucks and the Mercedes garage is out of sight. He releases a long, slow breath, some of the weird, clawing tension ebbing away now that you’re back by his side.

“Everything alright?” You ask carefully, mouth curved into a bemused half-smile. “That was … a bit of an abrupt exit back there.”

Max snorts, shaking his head ruefully as you fall into step together. How is he supposed to put this in a way that doesn’t make him sound like a completely irrational, jealous idiot?

“Yeah, everything’s great. Just felt like it was time to move on before Lewis could really get going, you know?” He shoots you a sidelong look, arching one brow meaningfully. “Dude loves to hear himself talk.”

You huff out an amused breath, lips twitching like you’re struggling not to grin wider. “I’m not sure I’d go that far. He seems perfectly lovely from what I could tell.”

Max shrugs one shoulder, brushing off the statement and its implicit critique of his attitude. Lewis is a fine enough guy … he just also happens to be a chronic flirt who clearly recognizes a beautiful, charming woman when he sees one. And that activates Max’s protective instincts on a level he didn’t quite anticipate until he saw Lewis zeroing in on you like that.

You drift closer as you walk, bumping his shoulder with yours playfully.

“You know, it was kind of sweet, actually — him bringing Roscoe out to meet me. I think he knew I’m a sucker for a cute dog.”

Sweet. Right. Because Lewis was just doing it all out of the goodness of his bleeding heart.

“Don’t you mean Roscoe is the real competition here?” Max tries for a teasing tone, only half-joking. “Pretty sure that mutt was the one working overtime to charm you.”

He tosses you an exaggerated leer, stoking the banter to cover his lingering irrational annoyance at the entire situation. If you noticed his blatant brush-off of Lewis, you’re being mercifully subtle about calling it out.

Sure enough, you lift one delicately arched brow, lips curved into an indulgent smile. “Is that so? And here I thought it was just Lewis trying to get on my good side. My, what a dilemma!”

Max chuckles despite himself at your playful tone, some of the weird tension ebbing further from his shoulders. Of course you’re not fazed by all this nonsense — you never are. Not only are you unfailingly kind and patient, but you clearly know him well enough by now to recognize when his protective instincts are causing the occasional bout of unreasonable jealousy.

Even though he swears up and down he isn’t actually jealous, not really. Just … being cautious after finally finding someone as incredible as you.

Red Bull hospitality comes into view up ahead, its distinctive energy drink logos splashed across the entrance. You start to slow as you approach, hand trailing lightly down Max’s arm until your fingers brush his.

“I wasn’t gone that long, you know,” you point out, regarding him with those warm, knowing eyes. “I wouldn’t just run off and leave you behind on your big weekend.”

Something in your tone, soft yet insistent, assures Max that you see right through his childishly competitive display. He doesn’t even have the decency to look sheepish as you continue.

“Max, you don’t have to worry about anyone trying to steal me away or whatever it is that’s going through that handsome head of yours. I’m yours, remember?”

Your fingers tangle through his and your free hand comes up to cup his cheek, grounding him fully in the moment. He nods slowly, leaning into your touch as the last wisps of stupid, needless jealousy evaporate under the warmth of your fond gaze.

“You’re right, I know. I do remember.” He turns his head slightly, brushing his lips across your palm. “And I’m yours.”

“Exactly.” You raise up on your tiptoes to dust a feather-light kiss across his mouth that leaves Max’s head spinning delightfully. “Now, what do you say we get something to drink so we can enjoy the rest of the weekend together?”

Max grins, feeling lighter than he has all day as he catches your hand and tugs you toward the tent entrance.

“Lead the way, liefje. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

And he absolutely would, too — past Lewis and Roscoe and any irrational jealousy that rears its head. Because having you by his side through all the whirlwind of Formula 1, getting to share this wild life with the woman he loves more and more every day?

It’s the only competition Max has any interest in winning.

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damlahayal · 7 months ago

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amaryllis-3 · 5 months ago

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Pairing: Stalker! König × Fem Reader

WARNINGS: MDNI, 18+, dark content, stalking, dubcon, noncon (both are hinted, non vividly described)

No matter how much you might have wanted to believe otherwise, you weren't alone. You were aware of that.

The windows were shuttered, heavy curtains drawn to shroud the glass, and yet you could still feel his eyes staring at you, following your every movement without missing a single one.

It almost made you suspect he was stuck inside with you.

As if fate was trying to mock you, a dull noise echoed behind you. Loud enough to be heard in the complete silence of your flat, loud enough to inform you of his presence.

Ah, he considered you so incapable of escaping him that he didn't really worry about blowing his cover. After all the weeks he'd spent observing you, he knew deep down that you wouldn't stand a chance anyway. Not against someone like him.

Your body petrified in its position, heart racing and lump trapped in your throat. Your face hardly turned, just the right amount to spot the man standing near the door that separated the kitchen from the living room.

There was no doubt whatsoever regarding his identity, even though that was the first time he'd let himself be completely seen. You'd glimpsed his shadow on different occasions, nothing he hadn't chosen to show you, however.

He was enormous, more imposing than anyone you'd ever met. His squared shoulders virtually succeeded in blocking any trail of light coming from the adjacent room, and that veil... That black veil which masked every possible detail of his features, except for the piercing blue irises, sent your anxiety sky-high.

He was on you before you could think of doing anything. Absurd how someone so big could move so fast. His arm closed around your waist, lifting you off the ground as if you weighed nothing and making your back crash into his broad chest. Despite the material in between, you could sense his hot breath branding your neck, his lips parting to whisper in your ear: "I caught you, Mäuschen."

Your eyes began to sting, salty tears soon to be shed as his other hand travelled down, resting on your belly. His gloved fingers barely shifted the fabric of your top to caress your heated skin.

"You did so well... ignoring all the signs." His voice wasn't what you'd expect from a mountain of a man such as him: it wasn't deep, rough, or gruff, but it came out somewhat high-pitched, in an accented, sickeningly sweet flow that managed to give you goosebumps. "That's why you can't be left alone. Anyone could sneak in here, and you wouldn't even notice."

The "just like me" wasn't uttered. It wasn't really necessary, not with the way the implication had settled in the air around you. He'd already done it. He'd violated the security of your home who knows how many times prior to that. He'd invaded your privacy, and you'd made no effort to stop him, nothing sufficient at least.

On top of all the paranoia and fear he'd planted in you, he also had the audacity to toy with you. Playing with his prey before snatching it, not unlike a cat with mice. Had you perhaps become that? A mouse about to be devoured?

"Don't be afraid." If his aim was to reassure you, he was doing a terrible job. His hand descended lower until it cupped your mound, thick fingertips tentatively rubbing the area where your clothed clit should have been. A choked sob escaped your mouth when you felt the outline of his cock pressing against your ass, the reality of what was to happen shortly thereafter starting to grow painfully clear.

"I'll take care of you from now on."

➮ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

#call of duty x reader #call of duty x you #cod x reader #cod x you #könig x reader #könig x you #konig x reader #konig x you #x reader #cod fanfic #call of duty #cod #könig call of duty #könig cod #call of duty fanfic

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sexymemecoin · 1 year ago

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The Metaverse: A New Frontier in Digital Interaction

The concept of the metaverse has captivated the imagination of technologists, futurists, and businesses alike. Envisioned as a collective virtual shared space, the metaverse merges physical and digital realities, offering immersive experiences and unprecedented opportunities for interaction, commerce, and creativity. This article delves into the metaverse, its potential impact on various sectors, the technologies driving its development, and notable projects shaping this emerging landscape.

What is the Metaverse?

The metaverse is a digital universe that encompasses virtual and augmented reality, providing a persistent, shared, and interactive online environment. In the metaverse, users can create avatars, interact with others, attend virtual events, own virtual property, and engage in economic activities. Unlike traditional online experiences, the metaverse aims to replicate and enhance the real world, offering seamless integration of the physical and digital realms.

Key Components of the Metaverse

Virtual Worlds: Virtual worlds are digital environments where users can explore, interact, and create. Platforms like Decentraland, Sandbox, and VRChat offer expansive virtual spaces where users can build, socialize, and participate in various activities.

Augmented Reality (AR): AR overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing user experiences through devices like smartphones and AR glasses. Examples include Pokémon GO and AR navigation apps that blend digital content with physical surroundings.

Virtual Reality (VR): VR provides immersive experiences through headsets that transport users to fully digital environments. Companies like Oculus, HTC Vive, and Sony PlayStation VR are leading the way in developing advanced VR hardware and software.

Blockchain Technology: Blockchain plays a crucial role in the metaverse by enabling decentralized ownership, digital scarcity, and secure transactions. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and cryptocurrencies are integral to the metaverse economy, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade virtual assets.

Digital Economy: The metaverse features a robust digital economy where users can earn, spend, and invest in virtual goods and services. Virtual real estate, digital art, and in-game items are examples of assets that hold real-world value within the metaverse.

Potential Impact of the Metaverse

Social Interaction: The metaverse offers new ways for people to connect and interact, transcending geographical boundaries. Virtual events, social spaces, and collaborative environments provide opportunities for meaningful engagement and community building.

Entertainment and Gaming: The entertainment and gaming industries are poised to benefit significantly from the metaverse. Immersive games, virtual concerts, and interactive storytelling experiences offer new dimensions of engagement and creativity.

Education and Training: The metaverse has the potential to revolutionize education and training by providing immersive, interactive learning environments. Virtual classrooms, simulations, and collaborative projects can enhance educational outcomes and accessibility.

Commerce and Retail: Virtual shopping experiences and digital marketplaces enable businesses to reach global audiences in innovative ways. Brands can create virtual storefronts, offer unique digital products, and engage customers through immersive experiences.

Work and Collaboration: The metaverse can transform the future of work by providing virtual offices, meeting spaces, and collaborative tools. Remote work and global collaboration become more seamless and engaging in a fully digital environment.

Technologies Driving the Metaverse

5G Connectivity: High-speed, low-latency 5G networks are essential for delivering seamless and responsive metaverse experiences. Enhanced connectivity enables real-time interactions and high-quality streaming of immersive content.

Advanced Graphics and Computing: Powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) and cloud computing resources are crucial for rendering detailed virtual environments and supporting large-scale metaverse platforms.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI enhances the metaverse by enabling realistic avatars, intelligent virtual assistants, and dynamic content generation. AI-driven algorithms can personalize experiences and optimize virtual interactions.

Wearable Technology: Wearable devices, such as VR headsets, AR glasses, and haptic feedback suits, provide users with immersive and interactive experiences. Advancements in wearable technology are critical for enhancing the metaverse experience.

Notable Metaverse Projects

Decentraland: Decentraland is a decentralized virtual world where users can buy, sell, and develop virtual real estate as NFTs. The platform offers a wide range of experiences, from gaming and socializing to virtual commerce and education.

Sandbox: Sandbox is a virtual world that allows users to create, own, and monetize their gaming experiences using blockchain technology. The platform's user-generated content and virtual real estate model have attracted a vibrant community of creators and players.

Facebook's Meta: Facebook's rebranding to Meta underscores its commitment to building the metaverse. Meta aims to create interconnected virtual spaces for social interaction, work, and entertainment, leveraging its existing social media infrastructure.

Roblox: Roblox is an online platform that enables users to create and play games developed by other users. With its extensive user-generated content and virtual economy, Roblox exemplifies the potential of the metaverse in gaming and social interaction.

Sexy Meme Coin (SEXXXY): Sexy Meme Coin integrates metaverse elements by offering a decentralized marketplace for buying, selling, and trading memes as NFTs. This unique approach combines humor, creativity, and digital ownership, adding a distinct flavor to the metaverse landscape. Learn more about Sexy Meme Coin at Sexy Meme Coin.

The Future of the Metaverse

The metaverse is still in its early stages, but its potential to reshape digital interaction is immense. As technology advances and more industries explore its possibilities, the metaverse is likely to become an integral part of our daily lives. Collaboration between technology providers, content creators, and businesses will drive the development of the metaverse, creating new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Conclusion

The metaverse represents a new frontier in digital interaction, offering immersive and interconnected experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds. With its potential to transform social interaction, entertainment, education, commerce, and work, the metaverse is poised to revolutionize various aspects of our lives. Notable projects like Decentraland, Sandbox, Meta, Roblox, and Sexy Meme Coin are at the forefront of this transformation, showcasing the diverse possibilities within this emerging digital universe.

For those interested in the playful and innovative side of the metaverse, Sexy Meme Coin offers a unique and entertaining platform. Visit Sexy Meme Coin to explore this exciting project and join the community.

#crypto #blockchain #defi #digitalcurrency #ethereum #digitalassets #Sexy Meme Coin #bitcoin

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errorid-mt7lt7k7unfr9ttfua5 · 2 years ago

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me when companies try to force you to use their proprietary software

anyway

Layperson resources:

firefox is an open source browser by Mozilla that makes privacy and software independence much easier. it is very easy to transfer all your chrome data to Firefox

ublock origin is The highest quality adblock atm. it is a free browser extension, and though last i checked it is available on Chrome google is trying very hard to crack down on its use

Thunderbird mail is an open source email client also by mozilla and shares many of the same advantages as firefox (it has some other cool features as well)

libreOffice is an open source office suite similar to microsoft office or Google Suite, simple enough

Risky:

VPNs (virtual private networks) essentially do a number of things, but most commonly they are used to prevent people from tracking your IP address. i would suggest doing more research. i use proton vpn, as it has a decent free version, and the paid version is powerful

note: some applications, websites, and other entities do not tolerate the use of VPNs. you may not be able to access certain secure sites while using a VPN, and logging into your personal account with some services while using a vpn *may* get you PERMANENTLY BLACKLISTED from the service on that account, ymmv

IF YOU HAVE A DECENT VPN, ANTIVIRUS, AND ADBLOCK, you can start learning about piracy, though i will not be providing any resources, as Loose Lips Sink Ships. if you want to be very safe, start with streaming sites and never download any files, though you Can learn how to discern between safe, unsafe, and risky content.

note: DO NOT SHARE LINKS TO OR NAMES OF PIRACY SITES IN PUBLIC PLACES, ESPECIALLY SOCAL MEDIA

the only time you should share these things are either in person or in (preferably peer-to-peer encrypted) PRIVATE messages

when pirated media becomes well-known and circulated on the wider, public internet, it gets taken down, because it is illegal to distribute pirated media and software

if you need an antivirus i like bitdefender. it has a free version, and is very good, though if youre using windows, windows defender is also very good and it comes with the OS

Advanced:

linux is great if you REALLY know what you're doing. you have to know a decent amount of computer science and be comfortable using the Terminal/Command Prompt to get/use linux. "Linux" refers to a large array of related open source Operating Systems. do research and pick one that suits your needs. im still experimenting with various dispos, but im leaning towards either Ubuntu Cinnamon or Debian.

#capitalism #open source #firefox #thunderbird #mozilla #ublock origin #libreoffice #vpn #antivirus #piracy #linux

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booboo-keyz · 5 months ago

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Daredevil

Yandere Sukuna x Fem Reader

Summary: With the King of Curses confined within Yuji’s body, you grew bold enough to provoke him time and time again, clinging to the naive hope that your actions would bear no consequences.

Warnings: Yandere, gore, cannibalism, allusion to future noncon

WC: ≈3900

"…One more word, and I’ll tear your garrulous tongue out with my claws."

Yuji’s brows furrowed, concern and discomfort contorting his bright features into a grimace as he listened to the mouth that had manifested on his cheek hurl the threat my way. In spite of the thick tension swirling in the air, I was currently experiencing an exhilarating high from the adrenaline pumping through my system. I felt virtually hysterical as I giggled like a madwoman, making Sukuna’s scowl deepen in indignation.

Not even five minutes had passed since I entered the classroom under the pretense of "accidentally" stumbling upon the boisterous first-year, and I have already managed to make the formidable King of Curses lose his temper. I considered this a record, one I would later jot down in my personal journal once I’ve had my fill of antagonizing the ensnared curse.

Despite Yuji’s apparent disapproval of this small habit of mine, I simply couldn’t contain myself. After all, it wasn’t often that Ryomen Sukuna made an appearance—normally choosing to stay dormant and uncooperative, content to lurk in the shadows of his host’s body.

Taunting him had become a fun little pastime of mine, a dangerous one, something that had initially started as a way to coax him out and gain information on his motives and plans.

It had been an idea concocted by the higher-ups to determine whether or not reasoning with him was in the cards, an idea that had went just as well as expected.

Sukuna was utterly unresponsive to any polite or formal attempts at securing an audience—even when those requests came from Gojo Satoru himself. It was only in character. After all, he was a being that considered himself superior to all other life forms. Whether they were curses or humans, it made no difference to him.

Admittedly, I had never intended to resort to insults. It had been somewhat of a last-ditch effort to get him to speak, one born out of sheer frustration.

The incident had occurred a few months back, when the very first gibe managed to slip from my mouth after countless failed attempts to coax Sukuna out politely. I can’t recall what exactly was said that day, but it had been a long, drawn-out tirade about how insufferably conceited and immature he was behaving.

I could still remember the way the words seemed to effortlessly pour out of my mouth, one insult after another as Itadori stood frozen, his eyes wide and mouth agape in shock.

But it wasn’t until I had the gall to question whether the great and powerful Sukuna was afraid of Gojo Satoru that I had finally gotten a reaction. His presence manifested the instant the accusation was made, the skin around Itadori’s cheek pulsing unnervingly as that crimson eye glared at me, blazing with fury at my audacious assumption.

I was stunned for a moment, but subsequently felt incredibly pleased with myself. Anyone would’ve been, really, if they managed to induce a being as obstinate and proud as Ryomen Sukuna to speak when no other sorcerer could.

Most believed that such an incident would never happen again. My little spiel had simply been viewed as an instance of me losing control. A one-time occurrence.

Well, as it turned out, that day would come to be the spark that ignited my new lifestyle as an adrenaline junkie, because nowadays, I messed with the fucker just for the hell of it. Specifically, for the overpowering thrill of enraging someone so powerful and dangerous, knowing there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. This was something that Sukuna was well aware of, the knowledge only serving to stroke the flames of his fury with every brazen word I dared to throw his way.

If Gojo Satoru was aware of what I was doing, I’m sure he would’ve knocked some sense into me by now, but Itadori had miraculously kept quiet about my misconduct…most likely for this very reason.

I steadied myself as my fit of giggles slowly died down, sighing softly as I placed a finger to my chin in faux thought.

"Hm…that’s not your most creative threat, Sukuna-chan! And how do you even plan on doing that?" I asked with a smirk, causing Yuji to glance at me nervously as the mouth on his cheek bared its sharp fangs menacingly.

"Do not underestimate me, you foolish girl," he spat hatefully. "I may be trapped in this weakling’s body, but rest assured, your insolence will not go unpunished. Sooner or later, you will face the consequences of your idiocy, and I will ensure your suffering is as protracted as it is excruciating," he drawled, his scowl stretching into a sharp, predatory grin.

A blood red eye materialized above the mouth on Yuji’s cheek, honing in on me with an intensity that made an uneasy shiver run down my spine.

I had laughed his words off, just as I always did. This was one of his tamer threats, unusually vague for someone who typically relished in fantasizing about my gruesome demise in explicit detail.

One of his most reoccurring desires involved stripping me bare and eating me alive; savoring each bite as my vision swam from blood loss, his razor sharp teeth tearing into my delicate flesh. That one, in particular, always stuck with me, replaying in my head whenever I lay awake at night.

After every encounter with him when I was finally alone and my mind had stabilized again, I was left with nothing but a gnawing discomfort and unease—and from time to time, even a little fear. Yet, despite all of this, I continued to push his buttons further.

The rush of fear and adrenaline was simply too intoxicating for me to resist, it made me feel more alive than anything else ever could. Perhaps it was an attempt to assert some power and control over my chaotic life as a sorcerer. Or maybe I was just a fucking idiot, acting on impulse without any real reason behind it. Whatever the case, I knew I was playing a dangerous game, but that only made it more enticing.

It was reckless, idiotic even, to continuously insult the most powerful being in history so carelessly. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was like Icarus, daring to fly too close to the sun. The nagging thought that my wings could eventually melt lingered at the back of my mind, but it still wasn’t enough to stop me.

Little did I know, disregarding my worries would soon come back to bite me in the ass.

I had been deployed to Shibuya after an unprecedented number of curses—or as it was later uncovered, disfigured humans—had suddenly broke out, the civilians unable to escape due to a large curtain that had been lowered over the area, keeping everybody contained inside.

It turned out, that it had all been part of an elaborate ruse to seal Gojo Satoru, and now the most powerful living weapon to jujutsu society was trapped within the inescapable prison realm, guarded by an ancient curse user wearing the skin of his deceased friend.

To make matters worse, I had gotten separated from the other sorcerers while we were trying to push back against the chaos ravaging the city.

Unsurprisingly, I had screwed up royally, somehow finding myself in a dead end alley with multiple disfigured humans closing in on me.

My thigh pulsed painfully, slick with blood from one of the beast’s jagged claws. I tried to get into a defensive stance, even though the rational part of my mind knew that it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

My cursed technique, Serpent Lasso, wasn’t very optimal for dealing with this many enemies at once. Regardless, I activated the ability with a swift hand gesture, and a snake-like lasso materialized out of thin air. It hissed menacingly as one of the warped figures approached me, its scales and eyes glowing brightly in the night and bathing my surroundings in a toxic green color.

My hands clenched the snake head as I spun the lasso, ready to cast it as one of the grotesque creatures lunged at me, only to pause as I watched it burst before my eyes. The others soon followed—almost like it had triggered a chain reaction—exploding like crimson fireworks. The blood and flying debris made up of small chunks of meat painted the area around me in red, making me grimace as I shielded my face.

I heard the sound of some of the blood dripping down my uniform, hitting the concrete ground steadily like the soft ticking of a clock.

I blinked for a moment as I uncovered my face, standing stunned as I surveyed the mess. The figures were now unrecognizable, appearing as though they had been sliced into thousands of microscopic pieces. I wasn’t given the time to fully process what had occurred, and like a cricket growing silent when sensing lurking danger, my body went completely still.

I felt him, before I saw him, in more than just the physical sense. I had no clue how the hell he managed to get behind me when there was nothing but a dead end, but I knew he was there. The skin-crawling sensation of his cool breath fanning my neck gave a good enough indication.

I didn’t even have to turn to verify it was him—his presence was unmistakable. The overwhelmingly malevolence radiating from behind me could only belong to one being—the very monster I had spent months deliberately provoking, foolishly clinging to the hope that I could escape the consequences.

My mind raced as my panic started to grow. The already narrow walls of the alley seemed to close in on me even further, making the space around me feel tight and enclosed. I tried to focus on my breathing to alleviate my increasing anxiety as beads of cold sweat formed on my temples.

I never thought it would come to this, that all my worst fears would come true and I would actually have to face him by myself, or at all for that matter.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, my inner voice cackled, the same one I would often brush off whenever it reminded me of the danger of my prevailing stupidity.

"My, you are awfully silent right now," spoke a dark crooning voice from behind me, filled with twisted amusement. I flinched violently at the sound, but had enough sense not to attempt running, not only due to the injury to my thigh, but also because fleeing in the face of a predator never ended well.

I felt him lean down, a little too close for comfort.

"How strange," he continued, his voice low. "I took you as the talkative kind when I was still confined within that brat."

He circled around slowly until he was standing directly in front of me, and my eyes miraculously managed to lock with his.

His stance was disquieting—too casual, with his hands tucked into his pockets. In the dim light, I could almost pretend it was Yuji, but the pale moonlight shining down on his features showed the telltale markings on his face and extra set of eyes. Even with minimal lighting, his blazing red irises were unmistakably inhuman.

I didn’t know how he had managed to take control of Yuji, but the state of his torn and battered clothing left me with a few possibilities.

Perhaps Yuji had been overpowered by one or more of the enemies, leaving him vulnerable enough for Sukuna to exploit that fleeting moment of weakness. Or maybe Yuji had encountered more finger bearers and consumed too many of Sukuna’s fingers at once for his body to handle.

Whatever the case may be, I knew I had to find a way to stall him, to buy enough time for Yuji to regain control.

My throat tightened as I swallowed hard, biting my tongue to steel myself for what was to come.

"Sukuna, I see you’ve…managed to take control," I began, forcing the words out through a nervous laugh. My voice trembled, and I hated how weak it made me sound. "I suppose this is the first time we’ve met face to face, that is if you don’t count the other times, though I’d wager I didn’t leave the best impression…" I added hesitantly, deciding not to beat around the bush.

He tilted his head slightly, his smirk curling into something more sinister.

"You could put it that way, girl," he drawled, his tone dripping with condescension. The air around us grew heavier, darker, as he recalled my offenses.

"It would be hard to forget your witless remarks," he continued venomously, his eyes burning into mine so hard I had to look away. "Claiming the only thing ‘cursed’ about me was my ‘outdated fashion sense.’ Or when you so creatively rendered me on a chalkboard—looking like some ridiculous arachnid," he spat, his words laced with contempt. The ire in his eyes deepened as he stepped closer, his towering presence casting an oppressive shadow over me. He leaned in, his lips grazing my ear as he spoke in a low, menacing whisper.

"Or how about when you asked me if I had tattoo rings on my cock?"

My skin crawled as he pulled away, my face draining of color. I had completely forgotten I asked that…

Oh, he was angry—I was aware of that. But beneath the fury in his voice, I could also make out the faintest hint of humor. It was as though something like that even occurring in the first place was so bizarre that it couldn’t have not been hysterically comical, leaving him teetering between outrage and incredulity. After all, it was highly unlikely that anyone but me has ever been idiotic enough to mock the King of Curses so boldly, so directly. I supposed even he was still partially in disbelief.

My mind raced frantically, searching for an answer that wouldn’t provoke his anger or make the situation worse.

"I didn’t mean most of what I’ve said and done. I just… didn’t know what else to do in my free time," I blurted out, nearly facepalming myself the next second. Sure, admitting I messed with him for entertainment must be so flattering! He definitely won’t kill me now that I cleared that up!

I gritted my teeth, looking over him cautiously. He was silent, making no effort to acknowledge my words. His expression turned distant, as though his mind was elsewhere. I waited, clenching and unclenching my hands in dreadful anticipation until the sudden sound of his voice broke the tense silence.

"You know," he spoke, his tone unnervingly calm, almost contemplative, "I’ve thought about you often. Even on days you wouldn’t bother pestering me with your imbecilic remarks. I’ve wondered…what would your flesh taste like? Would you scream or cry as I devoured you? Would you beg for forgiveness in your final moments as I tore into you with my claws?"

…

Now this—this was familiar territory. The only difference was that I couldn’t just laugh and brush off his threats this time, so I instead stood silent—save for my heart violently thumping in my chest.

The conversation had taken a dangerous turn, one I could not afford to follow. Since I couldn’t stall him, I would have to fight.

I jumped back as far as the narrow space would allow to create some distance between us, ignoring the bolt of pain that shot through my injured thigh. My palms felt clammy as I mustered up all the courage I could and summoned Serpent Lasso into my hands again. Sukuna stood motionless, his gaze turning sharp as I spun it in the air and launched it towards him.

He grinned maniacally, seizing the noose midair and yanking it taut with terrifying force.

A startled cry slipped from my lips as I was sent hurtling towards him at breakneck speed. He sidestepped effortlessly, making me crash into the brick wall.

Pain radiated through my body, stealing my breath as I struggled to regain my footing, only to sink to the ground, dazed and trembling. I groaned, my surroundings melting into a blurry mess as my head throbbed painfully. Warm blood dribbled down my chin, the metallic taste sharp on my tongue. A persistent ache spread through my jaw, prompting me to shakily run my fingers over my teeth. Relief washed over me when I felt no gaps. Everything was still intact.

I weakly lifted my head when Sukuna hummed, the sound cutting through the relentless ringing in my ears.

"I hadn’t anticipated that causing such damage," he mused thoughtfully, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he watched me try to regain my bearings on the ground.

"But that’s alright, you’re still in one piece…"

He paused, letting the tension linger ominously before cheerily adding, "…for now, that is."

My breath hitched as he began stalking towards me, each step slow and deliberate.

Despite being aware of the futility of my efforts, I desperately attempted to scramble away. I was quickly reminded of the fact that I was only pushing myself further into a dead end when my back came in contact with the brick wall, trapping me with no way out.

Sukuna continued to advance until he stood right before me, crouching down so we were eye level. My survival instincts kicked in, and I weakly tried to summon my technique again, but he had grabbed my wrists before I could, squeezing painfully as he pinned them to the wall.

His other hand clasped my chin, forcing me to look into his searing eyes.

"Sometimes I forget just how fragile and pathetic you humans are," he murmured, his voice cold and cruel. His thumb brushed against my chin, wiping away the smear of blood that marred my skin.

"I’m sorry," I choked out desperately, not caring how pathetic I sounded. My voice cracked, tears threatening to spill from my eyes as I looked at him pleadingly.

He blinked, the surprise in his gaze lasting for only a fleeting second before his lips stretched into that terrible grin I was starting to get accustomed to.

"I’ll be the judge of that," he sneered, his laughter low and menacing.

He withdrew the hand holding my chin, and it instead traveled down to the buttons of my uniform. I felt confusion cloud my mind as he started unbuttoning my blouse, before the instinctual panic finally set in and I started to thrash.

He ignored my confused cries, pausing when he had unbuttoned the first two. He moved the fabric down slightly to expose my right shoulder. Much to my humiliation, a part of my bra was also on full display, but that was the least of my concerns at the moment.

I watched him lick his lips hungrily as he eyed my skin with a feral look. Alarm bells rung in my head as his eyes briefly moved to meet mine in sadistic glee. He leaned down so his lips grazed my shoulder, giving no other warning as he bit down hard.

I screamed in agony, thrashing against the wall. I tried pushing him away, but realized he still had my hands pinned. His eyes bore into mine as he continued to apply more pressure, watching as fat tears of pain started streaming down my cheeks.

It hurt. My god, it hurt so badly. And the worst part was, that I knew he was taking his time on purpose, making sure I feel every agonizing second of it. I briefly wondered if all of my transgressions were playing through his mind as his teeth dug into my skin, if the feeling gave him the same high tormenting him had given me.

After what felt like an eternity of hell, red-hot pain far greater than before erupted through my shoulder. For a moment, all my senses were overwhelmed, making me barely register the sickening sound of tearing flesh.

I wasn’t even sure if I had a voice anymore as my mouth opened into a silent scream. Black dots swarmed my vision, the nausea settling in my stomach.

Above me, the moon hung cold and indifferent in the night sky, the sole witness of my suffering as my body went limp from the exertion of staying conscious.

After a moment of surreal silence, he released my hands, and my gaze instinctively dropped to the place his teeth had torn into me. Another wave of nausea churned in my stomach, my face paling as my eyes met the gory avulsion. The skin was gone, exposing a mandorla of glistening muscle from which thick and sickeningly warm blood relentlessly continued to spill. If I were to look close enough, I would also be able to see parts of white bone peeking through all the red.

My eyes weakly moved over to him, just in time to see his throat bob as he swallowed the chunk of flesh he had ripped off. The thought of him consuming a part of me sent bile surging up my throat, and I wrenched my gaze away, forcing myself to hold back the growing urge to retch.

I was a sorcerer. I was supposed to be stronger than this. If the others would see me right now-

He leaned in again, making me whimper loudly in fear. His tongue lapped over the blood, and a shiver of disgust ran down my spine at the slimy sensation, one I wasn’t brave enough to voice—even if I could. He mercifully moved away a moment later, running his tongue over his bloody fangs.

"Doesn’t taste as good as I had hoped. But I suppose I shouldn't be so critical when the meat is raw and unseasoned," he said as he patronizingly smiled down at me.

My teeth chattered from pain, but I stayed put, avoiding his gaze as though it might shatter the last of my composure.

I waited for something to happen, though I wasn’t sure what. Perhaps he would kill or devour me now, although I doubted someone as arrogant as Sukuna would consume someone he considered below his palate.

Without warning, he rose to his full height, looming above me like a sleep paralysis demon.

"This isn’t the end," he said suddenly, speaking the foreboding promise like a threat.

"Next time I take control…" his tone turned playful as a smirk tugged at his lips, "I’d like to taste you in a different way." His words dripped with malice and something much darker, making my stomach drop. He leaned back slightly, tucking his hands into his pockets as though he was savoring the alarm on my face before delivering his final parting words.

"I’ll see you again soon."

As soon as he finished the sentence, his body went completely rigid. The marks on his face disappeared, the extra set of eyes receding into skin.

The very next moment, it wasn’t Sukuna who stood before me, but his host—Itadori Yuji. He blinked for a moment, processing everything that had occurred. His wide bloodshot eyes slowly looked down at me in terror, brimming with tears as they settled on my mangled shoulder, now throbbing in sync with my heartbeat, sharper and more unbearable under his guilty gaze.

He spoke my name, his voice cracking as he tried reaching for me with trembling hands.

The last of my composure shattered the moment he collapsed to his knees and pulled me into a tight embrace, and I broke into raw, unrestrained sobs that echoed off the walls of the alley.

#yandere sukuna #sukuna x reader #sukuna #jjk x reader #yandere jjk x reader #ryomen sukuna

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luigiblood · 3 months ago

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Virtual Game Cards, a detailed explainer, and other thoughts

As of this writing, we're a few days after the March 2025 Nintendo Direct, and a few days before the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct of April 2025, and in the last Direct, Nintendo announced a new optional feature that will apply to Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 systems starting late April 2025.

This feature is the Virtual Game Cards. Many people got confused about it, and to be honest, so was I initially. The video is not really well thought out, though, after watching more than one time, you might get it, but still, it's not a very good explainer from Nintendo, so first of all, we need to set things straight for anyone who doesn't get it and reads this blog somehow.

I also want to talk about what it means for the future, and my personal impressions of it.

The Current System

For explaining what this is about, we need to dispel one notion that I saw a few times: This new system has NOTHING to do with your physical game cards, and ONLY has to do with digital games and nothing else. And no, this is not evidence of Nintendo putting physical game cards away. Stop.

Now we need to talk about the current system that we've been using for playing digital games to this day, because many people can take quite a few things for granted. This system is also in place for PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

All digital games are owned by an account, and for the sake of explaning things, I will refer to that about your account and your games from there on.

There is a concept called the primary console, and it basically means the main console linked directly to your account. It has several benefits:

Your digital games can be played without an Internet connection to boot them.

Other accounts on that console can play your digital games.

If you buy a digital game from Nintendo's webpage, your primary console would automatically start the download.

Meaning, if you have a second, third or however many consoles you own with your account in them, that it doesn't have those benefits, you would require an internet connection anytime you want to boot your digital games, and other accounts on those consoles cannot play them.

That's the old system.

Virtual Game Cards

Now that we got the old system out of the way, we need to explain the new one. Now forget the old system entirely, this new system is a completely optional replacement, with its own completely different logic with different pros and cons compared to the old one.

The goal of this system is for accounts to use more than one console at a time, without a huge dependency on an Internet connection at all times, and I really wish Nintendo pushed these benefits in their video.

With this new system of digital game access, all of them would be considered as Virtual Game Cards that can only be inserted in one console at a time. Your account can only have up to two consoles linked this time around where you can access your digital games.

Because Nintendo insists on this system to not be abused: You would need to link both consoles locally (+ online for security), only the first time though. After that you can just freely manage what digital games you want access for on each console, and you can even use a website for that, so an internet connection is required to transfer games around both.

When you have access to a digital game in this system (as in, the Virtual Game Card was inserted), an Internet connection is only required the first time you boot it up. It won't be required in subsequent plays.

And all accounts on that console can also play it freely. This means it gives basically the same advantages as a primary console, but per digital game instead.

And then, on top of that, you can lend one of your digital games to another account in your family group (this is not just a Nintendo Switch Online thing, it's a free feature of your Nintendo Account).

Pros & Cons

To sum it up, here's the pros & cons of the old system:

Pro: You can have as many consoles linked to your account as you want, and access your digital games on all of them.

Pro: (Unintended?) You can share your account to another person to let them access your games.

Con: Only one console (primary console) can let other accounts have free access to your digital games.

Con: Playing a digital game outside of your primary console requires an Internet connection no matter what.

Now, the pros & cons of the new Virtual Game Card system:

Pro: On any console where the Virtual Game Card is inserted, the digital game can be played without an Internet connection.

Pro: Likewise, the digital game can also be played by anyone else's account on that console freely.

Pro: You can lend your digital game to another account from your family group...

Con: ...for 14 days, only locally, you cannot lend to anyone in your family online.

Con: You can only link up to two consoles (only locally) with access to your Virtual Game Cards.

Con: Extra Steps? You would need to virtually eject and insert digital games everytime you wanna use a different console to play the same game, and an Internet connection is required for these actions.

Con: (Intended?) You cannot share your account to anybody else to share your games without changing linked consoles.

As a reminder, you can choose between both systems, but they're really completely different systems.

The catch?

As you can kind of tell, it would look like the Virtual Game Card system has more pros than before, but that's kind of the catch here.

For me, this new system actually solves some problems I currently have, but this would bother other people with different needs. That said, I believe Nintendo is still right in assuming one person doesn't need more than two Switch consoles. I don't personally see the use of having even more, unless...

Unless, that is, you're sharing your account with friends to share your digital games. This system is totally made against this use, and I'm sorry to tell you: Nintendo completely forbids this. And maybe, this is happening too much for Nintendo's liking. So instead of banning people, they devised a system that punishes this use, without making everyone have an entirely worse system, solving other problems that the old system had in the process.

So let's be clear here: this kind of system proves how much Nintendo doesn't really trust their userbase to not abuse the system. But do I really blame them for that?

At this point I just have two questions:

Is the Switch 2 forced to have this Virtual Game Card system?

And how long until this new system is no longer optional?

If you're having a home console, and then a console to play on the go, this can solve the problem of the overreliance on Internet when you're outside of your home. The difficulty of doing a portable console is that you have to deal with the possibility of not always having an Internet connection, and this is clearly a response to that.

What this new system implies can also be the complete removal of the concept of "secondary" consoles. I feel like there would be only one primary console for an account, and linked locally to a secondary console, which, obviously, is supposed to punish those who does account sharing.

The good?

I spent a lot of time talking about the catch, but there is still I think good things about this.

On a personal level, I have two Switch consoles: One of them is purely for myself, the other one is for my mother/father. I could have made the other console my primary console and solve this problem, but for convenience, I would rather want my personal console to be my primary console. Also in this home, it happens that I get power outages or/and Internet outages (sometimes no mobile network in the slightest), so I'd like a solution that doesn't really punish anyone when it happens.

So this new system actually have some convenience for me. I could just switch games between both of them. And on top of that, I can lend my games (and viceversa) with my brother who has his own console. For family users, I think this is nice stuff.

Many people have compared this with Steam. I had to look up the new Steam Families system which replaces the old system I knew:

Nintendo's system is clearly worse than Steam's. Steam just lets everyone in the family freely share their digital library with everyone in the family, and now, there's even less Internet dependency. There's still the idea of only lending one digital copy at a time (meaning if two people in the family owns the same game, two copies can be shared across the family to play together), and it doesn't seem to have a limitation of how many PCs can be used. Steam probably trusts their userbase way too much but it sure is the most consumer friendly of the options.

On consoles, this kind of system doesn't really exist. Sony and Microsoft definitely doesn't, and Nintendo is essentially doing a small dabble, which is still nice, let's be fair here.

Conclusion

It's really hard to say if this system is better or worse to me, overall. It depends on your needs, but I think this is a clear attempt to prevent account sharing, first and foremost, while attempting to give a concept of digital game access in a sort of tangible way, while not requiring a permanent Internet connection.

This is already the beginning of a new Nintendo that will represent the Nintendo Switch 2, and I don't believe this is the only big "change."

#nintendo switch #nintendo switch 2 #virtual game cards #digital games #DRM

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justinspoliticalcorner · 2 months ago

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Sherrilyn Ifill at Substack:

Over the past three weeks Trump’s monstrous reign has shaken this country to its core. He has upended every fairy story Americans have ever told themselves, every myth we have indulged about who we are, about merit, the rule of law, about the unshakeable strength of our Constitution, and about American exceptionalism. He has smashed through every norm, every basis for deference and good faith, every presumption of good will, and every rational approach to policy. He has identified and taken advantage of our every weakness. And in so doing he has revealed America to itself. Brutal as it has been, we are left now to see our strengths and to confront our weaknesses with clear eyes. The coming weeks will challenge us like never before, as Trump prepares plans to move U.S. citizen prisoners to El Salvador. This plan will involve either engaging in the mass denaturalization of naturalized American prisoners,[i] or the purchase property in El Salvador[ii] (I’m also hearing about other countries) with the intention of declaring that property U.S. territory with the consent of the government of those foreign nations. It is a brazen effort to turn U.S. prisoners into virtually stateless persons, to disappear them, and put them beyond the reach of our view. Why? This is the ultimate intimidation move by Trump. As he prepares to have his Attorney General to investigate those who disagree with him and as Trump seeks ways to undermine the potential for mass protest, holding the threat of not only arrest and potential incarceration, but disappearance to a foreign gulag is a monstrous, yet effective means of stifling dissent.

According to reports this week, it may also be a scheme that allows military contractors like the notorious villain Erik Prince, to step up once again to feed at the public trough.[iii] What does this have to do with confronting our weaknesses? Trump’s plan to disappear people began quite deliberately with his removal of 250 migrants who he called Venezuelan gang members after activating the Alien Enemies Act. It matters that the AEA has only been activated three times in our history and the last time to conduct the horrifying internment of Japanese Americans – a stain that will never be erased from the annals of our history. And so Trump began by targeting a group whose demonization has been a feature of his xenophobic rhetoric: migrants. Playing to the fear of migrant crime - a fear he has stoked and disseminated - and to racial discrimination is a deliberate predicate to Trump’s AEA proclamation. Trump has regularly described migrants as criminals, as killers, and as gang members. It is not as though there are not actual gang members among some migrant groups. It is that in Trump world, all migrants are violent gang members. Actual evidence of gang membership is beside the point for Trump’s Department of Homeland Security – as we have seen as we learn more about the initial 250 migrants taken to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. A tattoo of the Spanish football club Real Madrid may have been sufficient to deem a Venezuelan soccer player a member of the gang Tren de Aragua.[iv] Tattoos honoring his parents may have resulted in the deportation to CECOT of a gay, make-up artist. Fortunately the ACLU was immediately on top of this horrifying move, but it remains unclear whether any of these migrants will ever be returned to U.S. soil. But Trump’s next move – in fact the primary focus of his thinking – has been how to remove American citizens to foreign prisons. And the group upon which he will workshop the next stage of his plan is another population that most Americans – long before Trump’s rise – have despised and dismissed: incarcerated citizens. It is now well-known that U.S. prisons and jails house almost 2 million people.[v] In fact many states in the U.S. have a prison rate higher than most countries.[vi] Ironically, El Salvador has the highest rate. A disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black and Latino.[vii] America has long abandoned the concept of rehabilitation in prison and instead has fully embraced the retributive rationale for holding people in prison. The conditions of incarceration throughout our country are unconscionable. Alabama prisons are among the most horrifying,[viii] despite having been sued repeatedly by the Department of Justice.[ix] Just in the last 10 years the Department of Justice found unconstitutional conditions of confinement in Georgia prisons,[x] in Louisiana prisons,[xi] in Mississippi prisons and in jails in Texas, Baltimore, California, Harris County, Oklahoma County, and many others.[xii]

[...] Now Trump plans to turn U.S. citizen prisoners over to this facility - those Trump insists are “the worst of the worst.” But we cannot forget that the U.S. justice system is notoriously riddled with racial discrimination in policing, prosecution, conviction and sentencing. And as Bryan Stevenson has said, “it is often better to be guilty and rich, than innocent and poor,” in our criminal justice system. If it were up to President Trump, the five teenagers convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989 would still be in prison, or worse executed, despite their innocence, and those who criticize decisions by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court should be put in jail. We know that every month – sometimes multiple times a month – we learn about a man, most often a Black man, who has been released from prison after serving 20, 30, 40 years for a crime he didn’t commit.[xxi] Some spent decades on death row before being exonerated.[xxii] But even those who are guilty of the crimes for which they are convicted - those who did commit robbery, assault or even murder - are still human beings. For millions of Americans, the incarcerated are brothers, uncles, fathers, mothers. Their lives have meaning and value to their families. And even those who have committed the worst crimes have the possibility of redemption – even if their lives will be lived behind bars. It matters where prisoners are incarcerated in ways great and small. The best evidence demonstrates that family visits and contacts reduce recidivism among prisoners,[xxiii] with some evidence even showing that face-to-face visits are more effective than video visits.[xxiv] And the children of incarcerated parents often benefit tremendously from the ability to visit with their absent parents.[xxv] But this is all beside the central point. American prisoners are American citizens. Their citizenship is not shed at the jailhouse door. They are not pawns to be shuffled about the world to far-flung prisons as part of Stephen Miller’s latest fever dream. They have rights under our Constitution – rights that cannot be stripped away at the whim of an authoritarian president. And we should remember that how a nation treats its prisoners is as powerful an indicator of its democratic health as any election.

Sherrilyn Ifill wrote a solid piece on why Americans must fight for the rights of prisoner with US Citizenship, with reports emerging that Donald Trump is seeking to ship off some US citizens to El Salvador unlawfully.

#Prisoner Rights #Prison #CECOT #Donald Trump #Trump Administration II #Mass Incarceration

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natalievoncatte · 2 years ago

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This was a rare novelty: Lena was not the most famous person in a pubic place. In fact, dressed down in jeans, a tank top, and a ball cap, Lena was downright unremarkable. Or at least, it seemed that way.

All of the attention was heaped on Kara. Or rather-

“Supergirl!”

A gaggle of girls of versions ages charged over to them in a virtual mob, and Lena felt almost snubbed. Kara, herself in shorts and a Sentinels jersey, briefly seemed confused at the attention, even though she’d been out as Supergirl for almost six months now.

She quickly settled into meeting and greeting, asking the girls their names and signing various bits and bobs for them while the rest of the group, Alex and Kelly and Nia and Brainy, hung back, just behind Lena.

Finally, Kara managed to disentangle herself when security started breathing down their necks.

Lena had gotten everyone box seats directly behind the home dugout, and the group made their way down.

“This is pretty far from the rent-controlled section,” Kara said, grinning as she gestured at the nosebleed seats, a high above them on the top deck.

Brainy immediately settled in to study the game program and books on baseball he’d brought with him, amiably explaining (mansplaining? Coulansplaining?) baseball to Nia. For her part, his girlfriend seemed content to listen to his excited chatter, so Lena wasn’t bothered.

Alex had apparently appointed herself to keep Kara fed, and had already acquired enough snacks for a small army, and Kara was happy to dig in and take a chili dog in either hand.

Lena didn’t much care for the game, so she was pleased when Alex handed her a beer with a sardonic “things we do for love” look. Kelly was apparently more the fan of the two, and the Sentinels were playing the Metropolis Knights in this game, prompting an intra-Superfriend rivalry.

As for Lena? She was there for Kara.

The afternoon light seemed to caress her features, bringing out the soft glow in her honeyed skin and golden hair, and there were depths in her eyes that no one in the world could ever equal. Lena could stare at her forever and never get bored.

The spell wasn’t even broken when she polished off the first two hot dogs and let out a wild, rumbling belch that made her giggle and Alex roll her eyes.

She already knew that she was in love with Kara, but every time it seemed like her heart was full to bursting, it grew even fuller.

Lena has meant this for them. Lena had offered her the seats, hoping to feel out Kara about the potential for a date-date, to finally get an answer about the maddening tension between them over the last two months. Kara spent more time at Lena’s new house over the last two months than she had in her own apartment, and yet that line had never been crossed.

The line remained unbroken, but they were right up against it. Kara gave Lena’s thigh a squeeze without seeming to realize what she was doing, then yanked her hand back as if she’d touched something hot, and just played it off when Lena looked at her, and kept looking at her.

The start of the game spared her from the awkward conversation.

Kara was eager to explain to her, leaning over to over-explain the nuances of every move and play.

Exactly like Brainy and Kelly were doing with their girlfriends.

Lena paid her more attention than the game, so Lena didn’t even notice when one of the Knights hit the ball oddly and, instead of flying out over the field, rocketed almost straight up. Lena was, in fact, so focused on Kara that she didn’t realize where the ball was going until it was cutting lazily through the air and headed straight at her head.

A yelp jumped from her throat and she jerked back, but of course there was nothing to fear. A moment later there was a hearty slap of cowhide on skin. Kara plucked the ball from the air two inches from Lena’s nose, dramatically holding it in place for a moment.

When she moved her hand, and the ball, Lena followed Alex’s eye-line. Kara’s sister was groaning.

They were all on the Jumbotron, the huge screen over the left field stands, and the crowd was pointing and cheering as the announcer’s voices boomed out about the great catch by Supergirl.

Lena wanted to sink through her seat.

Then Kara said, “Here.”

She held out the ball in both hands, turning in her seat. The way she held it, cupped gently in her palms with great reverence, giving Lena a weird and silky flash of her doing the same thing with a velvet box. Lena took it, grinning like an idiot in spite of herself and clutching it to her chest.

Lena pointed at the giant screen, and Kara looked, waving to the crowd as if she’d suddenly remembered that they were there. Lena gave a half-hearted wave, then turned back to Kara to say something.

Whatever it was, it was utterly scrubbed from Lena’s brain by impossibly soft lips gently brushing her own, then locking with them. Some distant part of Lena’s brain tried to explain, to rationalize. It was a mistake. Kara would get flustered and play it off with something about what friends are for and the moment would slide away, a taste of a dream that would leave Lena starving for another morsel.

No. Kara was full on kissing her. The heat that surged through Lena’s body was all consuming, and she barely registered the thunderous cheers from the crowd. She let herself fall into Kara, hiding against her shoulder as Kara wrapped an arm around her and settled them both lower in their seats, tugging her ball cap down.

The camera finally turned its attention elsewhere.

Alex turned to Kelly and said, “fucking finally.”

“Hey,” said Kara, her voice soft and only for her. “Want to head home after the stretch?”

Home. Not your house. Home.

“I’m not totally sure what that means, but yes,” Lena whispered back, then popped a bit of popcorn in Kara’s mouth.

#supercorp #supergirl fanfiction #supergirl #supercorp fanfic #lena luthor #kara danvers #kara x lena #karlena #supergirl fanfic #ficlet #Jumbotron kiss #idiots in love #fluff #total fluff #there is no plot here only warm fuzzies

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