#Data Mining for Beginners

[perpetualconfluxecho]

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[a-curious-studyblr]

Just found a p good coding app! I've tried codeacademy and udemy but idk just struggle to stay focused on PC at the moment. Thought I'd try a random app called Programming Hub and it's actually really decent for a beginner and good at explaining the absolute basics !!

[cloudestoreshop-blog]

5 أسباب جيدة لتعلم علوم البيانات في عام 2023

في السنوات الأخيرة ، برز علم البيانات كواحد من أكثر التخصصات المرغوبة ، ومن المرجح أن تتوسع أهميته فقط في عام 2023. مع تزايد الرقمنة للمؤسسات وتوافر كميات كبيرة من البيانات ، لم يكن هناك طلب أكبر على الأشخاص الذين يمكنهم فهم هذه البيانات واستخلاص رؤى مهمة. لاستخراج معلومات مفيدة من البيانات ودفع عملية صنع القرار المستندة إلى البيانات ، يجمع علم البيانات بين تخصصات متعددة مثل الإحصاء والرياضيات…

[kangnoeulsdoll]

Behind Closed Screens.

OF user!Se-mi x fem!reader

𐙚₊˚🪷⊹ ᰔ

synopsis: When you discover Se-mi’s secret OnlyFans account, your world shifts.

word count: 836

a/n: my next fic is definitely gonna be either Nana Osaki or Kang No-Eul :3

warning(s): suggestive

Your first clue was the late nights. Se-mi used to disappear into her office, shut the door for her job, and would not be heard from for hours. You'd imagined she was working on something important—a project at the office or one of her endlessly creative side interests she didn't actually share so often.

But now, as you "picked up" after her, you found out the truth.

Her laptop was on, the screen buzzing with a soft glow, displaying a website that made your heart skip a beat. OnlyFans.

It wasn’t just any profile—it was hers.

Sleek promotional photos of her in a bra and panties, soft videos with her voice topping the captions, and tens of thousands of likes and comments thanking her.

You felt your cheeks burn as you realized just how many people had watched her this way while leaving enormous amounts of tips and pleading for more.

"Enjoying the show?"

Her voice sent a jolt through you. You turned quickly, finding her leaning casually against the doorframe, her arms crossed, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. She wasn't ashamed—in fact, she seemed to have been looking forward to this moment.

"Se-mi," you stammered, stepping away from the desk. "I—this isn’t what it looks like."

Her giggle was soft mumble as she approached you. "It’s exactly what it looks like," she teased. "You found my page."

"Y-you’re on OnlyFans?" You held it together, absorbing all flood of data.

She pressed back into the desk, out arched her finger across the laptop computer monitor and shut it down. "It’s a little hobby of mine," she admitted. "Something to keep life interesting."

You blinked, your heart pounding. "And you didn’t think to tell me?"

"I was waiting to see if you’d figure it out," she said, her smile widening. "You’re clever. I knew it was only a matter of time."

You weren’t sure whether to feel shocked or impressed. "How long has this been going on?"

"A few months," she said. "It started as a curiosity—something fun. But people really seem to like me." Tilting her head, she fixed her eyes in the darkness of her gaze. "You’re not mad, are you?"

Mad? No. Flustered? Absolutely.

"I don’t know," you admitted. "I just… I didn’t expect this."

Her hand found yours, her touch warm and grounding. "It’s not a big deal," she said softly. "It’s just me having fun, expressing myself."

"Expressing yourself?" you echoed, glancing toward the closed laptop.

She giggled and her other hand continued to hold it firmly on the arm, and so on. "You’ve always said I’m good at being confident," she murmured. "Turns out, other people think so too."

You choked, and your heart raced as it hit the sweet spot. "And what exactly do you… do on there?"

Her smile widened and she edged in, her breath warm under your ear. "Why don’t I show you?"

Her cheeks flushed as she flinched, the stare glittering with dark whimsy. "Unless, of course, you’re too shy."

I'm not shy", you blurted, to which a cute laugh escaped from the girl.

"Good," she murmured. "Because I’ve been thinking about involving you."

Your breath caught in your throat. "Involving me?"

She nodded and, using fingertips, lightly stroke over your chin to lift the head upwards to meet hers. "You’ve always been my biggest supporter," she said. "Why not let everyone else see what I see?"

You couldn't help but be drawn to her, the strength of her voice, which began to run down your back. But, it was a beginner's trip, a somewhat exhilarating and a somewhat overwhelming journey.

"I don’t know if I’m ready for that," you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper.

"That’s okay," she said, her tone softening. "There’s no rush. But maybe… you’d like to see how I work?"

You blinked, your pulse quickening as she grabbed her laptop, flipped to the next page of her notebook and logged in. She managed the page without difficulty, retrieving her drafts.

"Here," she said, tilting the screen toward you.

The video was simple but captivating: Lying in bed in a silk robe. She wasn't making much progress—just fiddling with the hem of the robe, letting it fall off of one shoulder, her voice a bit of whisper every now and then, something you couldn't quite make out.

"People pay for this?" you asked, incredulous.

"Of course they do," she said with a grin. "It’s not just the visuals—it’s the attitude. The confidence. That’s what they’re here for."

"Still think it’s weird?" she asked, her voice low.

"No," you admitted, glancing at her. "I think it’s… incredible."

Her expression softened and she took your hand. "I’m glad you think so," she said. "Because I’ve got plenty of ideas—and you’d be perfect for them."

with Se-mi, life would never be boring.

[astro-nerd]

Day two: Lies

Fandom: original characters/Lancer

Characters involved: Olly

TW: mentions of medical procedures (nothing graphic)

Olly’s PoV

Log 1435

They took more blood samples today. Still no indication of what they’re using them for. They should know by now that my lifespan has been extended, I mean I’ve been alive for fifteen years and yet everyone keeps telling me I’m nine. They think I believe them but nobody can keep their story straight and when you’ve got a face this cute well no one ever thinks you’re listening. That and SSC can’t keep their mouth shut about how innovative their age slowing technology is. Whatever. The other indication is clearly my advanced nature for my ‘age’ and while I have no problem with being a prodigy it’s pretty boring when all I get to do is sit in my room all day and talk to the ceiling. I’d say I’m joking but I’m only admitting it to myself. Right yeah, blood tests. Six vials this time, from my right arm because my left hasn’t recovered yet and they decided to double check just how well my implants were responding. Totally didn’t kick Steve in the leg on purpose but he shouldn’t have taken my crayons. Mother says she has a surprise for my birthday that’s just gone past but it’s late. I hope it’s something interesting or at the very least entertaining. I tell you any longer looking at this ceiling and it’s going to imprint on my eyes.

Log 1442

It was a data pad! Real technology. Father seemed displeased when I opened it but I couldn’t be happier. I’ve seen all sorts of technology while receiving treatment but this is mine. Mother and father were discussing something about ‘parental controls’ but I don’t think I have to worry about that. All locks can be broken as they say. I’m going to have to start encrypting these logs soon and transferring them onto the data pad. Oh yeah and Steve ‘congratulated’ me on the beginner's tech, he better hope he’s not testing my limb enhancements next time or else my aim’s about to get a whole lot better. I have to be extra covert now with everything I do on this data pad knowing my parents will be attempting to watch me on it every second they can but even they get busy and I just so happen to have a lot of free time on my hands. How much can a few secrets hurt?

Log 3587

The murmurs keep getting louder recently. The stares longer. The nurses are extra kind and even Steve’s given it a rest. It doesn’t take a ‘prodigy’ to know something’s wrong. Father’s started making me sit through his meetings more and more often. It’s hard to tell if I’m being prepared for something when it feels like I know less and less by the day. The hours in my room somehow get longer too, I never thought the absence of my parents would be so chilling. I swear the procedures are more common, nothing drastic but they’re making sure everything is perfect. Presentable. I swear I’ve heard that word repeatedly. I’ve never been presentable enough for anything. I’m not sure I want to be. My old data pad works better than ever though, I’ve managed to upgrade it when any spare parts I’ve ‘found’ lying around. It’s been changing recently though. Green code showing up at random and Lancer mechs I’ve never seen before. They look incredible. I’m going to go looking deeper. I’m starting to think I have to.

Log 4583

Horus. The more I find about it the more that gets erased. They’re a ‘company’ but they don’t hire anyone and they don’t sell any mechs. But they exist I’m sure of it. The mechs they possess: Baylor, Pegasus, Gorgan, Goblin. They aren’t like anything I’ve ever seen. I would argue that with a Goblin I wouldn’t need the implants. I could walk, run. I could be free. Father stopped bringing me to his meetings two months ago. There’s a lock on my door now. Someone comes to get me at meal times and that’s when they search my room. I wouldn’t even know about it without the recording feature I’d added to this. I’m not sure what they’re looking for but if I had to guess it’s likely the data pad that’s giving them so much trouble. I gave it a cloaking feature and it sits in a case on my ceiling when I hear footsteps down the corridor. Even with every procedure it feels like I can hardly move when I wake up. The doctors are concerned. My parents are not. There’s no usual doting but they watch me intently every time I eat my meals. If I wasn’t under a magnifying glass I’d likely follow through on the urges screaming at me not to eat it. It’s ridiculous right? My parents would never do anything, they did everything to make me healthy. They’re doing everything, right?

Log 4767

I got a message on the data pad last night. I was delving deeper into Horus when the little chat bot appeared on my screen. My parents have always warned me about strangers and yet it feels like the people on my side drop by the day. My doctors are constantly changing, I don’t recognise the nurses anymore but they give me small smiles and tell me that everyone misses me. At my age that shouldn’t have made me so emotional. The message was short and I hardly saw it before it was deleted.

YOU NEED TO LEAVE

I didn’t sleep that night. Whatever’s going on I’m not sure whether I’m going to make it out alive.

Log 4782

I turned ‘fourteen’ today. During my celebratory dinner with my parents Steve accidentally tipped his glass on me and my food. Or I thought it was an accident. He’d offered to help me to get cleaned up and had basically dragged me from the room. He’d asked me what I was still doing here frantically but in a whisper. I’d tried to play dumb but mostly I was just in shock. This was my first time properly seeing him in weeks given the rotation of my medical staff. He’d shushed me and continued whispering about the data pad message, that he was serious and this isn’t a joke this time. He told me to eat as little food as possible but smile and pretend everything was normal. He’d pulled me close and told me a secret I’d only dare to write here. My implant has a tracker. Steve said I would’ve figured it out eventually cause I’m a ‘smart kid’ but he wanted to give me every advantage he could. We finished the meal with cake I mushed and pretended to eat. Steve’s words ringing in my head about how I should get better at listening. Maybe he’s right.

Log 4783

Steve’s gone. Something has to change.

Log 4813

I got better at listening. It’s all been a lie. I have to leave soon. I don’t want to know what will happen if I don’t. They’ve presented me with the perfect opportunity however, tomorrow there will be a meeting I'm not to attend. It will last five hours. I don’t know what I’ll do but I know that the tools I have are sharp enough to get this implant out of my leg. I just need to choose the perfect moment.

To anyone who finds this. They can’t be trusted. They never could. We were never the picture perfect family they made us out to be. I am not crazy. Hopefully by the time someone reads this I will be long gone, this data pad will stay in its case concealed on the ceiling. I will leave it recording for as long as its battery can stand. If you find this and I didn’t make it just know you should run. If I can’t save myself then maybe I can save somebody else. Let us both just hope that it’s both.

Signing off.

Olivander Hazelwood

[auroraescritora]

Serviço Mandatório (Mandatory Service) [bi-lingual] #Dom!Nico #Sub!Percy #role reversal

Hi, how are you? Yes, here I am with another story. The problem is that a little accident happened and I deleted about 100 gb of data from my computer, exactly where my stories were. The good news is that I had my most recent stories saved on google drive. Did I lose some things? A lot. I've been through the anger and frustration stage and now I'm at acceptance. And since I wanted to take my mind off it, I decided to review this story. Well… it doesn't have a very elaborate plot and it's super fetishized, but it's fun. I hope you enjoy it. From now on my posts will be bi-lingual, ok? The Portuguese version is in the second part of the text.

I don't have a cover for the English version yet, but I do have a summary!

“In a world where people are divided between submissives and dominants, Nico is forced to fulfill the mandatory service, unless he wants to be arrested and collared like the thousands of submissives he sees around the city.

#Nicercy #Pernico #Percico #Dom!Nico #Sub!Percy #role reversal”

PS: I was able to make the cover. Something very simple

Soooo.... this fanfic will be very smutt, ok? Just to let you know.

Part I

"That's right." One of the girls said to me.

"Like this?" I said and went back to sucking the man's cock, who was lying against the couch. I didn't think I was doing a good job, because all I had done so far was suck the fat head and lick whenever more pre-cum came out. It wasn't as bitter as I thought it would be and even less was a hard sore. But since the guy hadn't stopped moaning until now, I must have been doing it right.

"Now, you have to press your lips more together."

"Hmmm?" I murmured, looking for approval. I did as they asked and sealed my lips around the limb, going down just a little more so I could suck the entire head.

The guy practically threw himself off the couch, groaning as if he was in pain.

"Very good. Don't forget to hold on to the base, okay? Always be in control if you don't want them to take it away from you. Because they will take advantage of the opportunity."

I lifted my head for air and looked at them, staying true to my role as an innocent beginner.

"What's the easiest way to make them cum?"

"The testicles." Both girls said, looking at each other as they laughed." They're very sensitive, you know? A little tug can mean a lot of pain or a lot of pleasure."

"How?" I wanted to know, even though I already knew.

"Like this."

One of them, I think it was Roberta, said. She took one of her well-manicured hands to the large balls of the man in front of us, who was serving as a guinea pig, and touched him gently. She gave a slight tug and the man opened his legs wider and threw his head back, his member twitching all over, more precum slowly running down his length.

"Now, if you do that…" That's when she grabbed his balls with determination, holding them down and pulling them. The man screamed so loudly that it seemed like he was being murdered. Even so, he remained erect and excited, all obedient, panting, as if he was in a marathon.

"See? Now it's your turn."

"I don't think I can." It wasn't what a dominant should be doing, none of it was. After all, I hadn't even talked to this submissive, it wasn't right to touch something that didn't belong to me.

"Yes, you can."

"Why don't you try… kissing them?" One of them suggested.

"Kiss? Can I?" I looked at the submissive, all sprawled out in the chair looking out of breath. He was all rapid breathing and squinting, trying to keep still.

"You can do whatever you want, as long as you make it clear who's in charge."

"I'm not sure." Or maybe, I didn't want to.

"Come on, just this once. We won't make you do it again."

I looked at the man who seemed about to explode, his expression somewhere between extreme pleasure and extreme pain, making me even more uncomfortable. Because, again, this submissive wasn't mine; it was almost disrespectful. And I still didn't know if I wanted to have another sub after so long.

"Can I make him cum, then?" To get it over with? I thought annoyed.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged, Karla speaking this time:

"I think it's okay. He hasn't cum in over three months and we promised we'd let him."

"Three months?" I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not because it was hard to believe, but because… it seemed like things hadn’t changed at all.

"Yes, Nico. He's a masochistic submissive. He likes it and agreed to be here. Percy knew perfectly well what would happen."

"Do you think we force them to kneel at our feet? They do it of their own free will." Roberta said.

"Then, make it count. He won't cum for a lot longer than that."

"Are you sure about that? I guess I'm not the most indi--"

"Percy, tell him."

"I�� please, ma'am… sir… I… I need it."

"Yes, good boy. I love to see you begging." Roberta stood up and walked towards Percy, massaging his hair like a loving mother would.

Percy, more than six feet tall and with well-build muscles, sighed and rubbed himself against the offered hand, as if it were the best gift in the world.

To me, this sounded like neediness and an abandonment complex.

"See. It's your choice, Nico. After all, you'll be taking care of him for as long as you're here. Percy is very good at following orders and adapts quickly to different people. Whether he comes today or in two months' time is your decision."

"Mine? So soon? You can't--"

"I thought you wanted to do that. And what better way to learn than by doing?"

I looked at Percy and saw that all this time he had kept his hands behind the chair, completely naked and submissive, without making a peep other than to give a moan or a plea, and without looking directly at us unless explicitly ordered. Now, Percy was looking at me with his head lowered, in a position of respect, but he was still looking at me through his eyelashes.

Was I really supposed to be there? Was I good enough to keep anyone satisfied after all this time?

"So, how is it going to be? Will he cum or not?" Was Roberta's last warning.

I took a deep breath and reached out my hands. Slowly, as slowly as I could, I touched Percy's large, swollen testicles, and began rolling them between my fingers.

I gasped in amazement and watched Percy shudder and then relax against the couch, letting out a soft moan. It had been a long time since I had approached another person for this purpose, and not even when I had a sub had I allowed myself to do this. Never. It would not be seen with good eyes if a dominant tried to please a submissive. A dominant's duty was to control and be pleased, while a submissive's was to obey and satisfy his master, without any deviation or anything in between. Now, no one had explained to me why things were like this, I only knew that for a submissive, pain was part of the package, while pleasure rarely was. At least, that was according to what I had been taught.

Just to test it out, I held his balls in one hand and pulled them down slowly, watching the expression on Percy's face change from pleasure to something… empty. I swore, instead of seeing pain there, all I saw was Percy's pure surrender.

Percy stretched out and gasped, curling his toes, but when I massaged him again as gently as before, loosening them, the most extraordinary thing happened. Percy groaned softly and long, arching his spine, his member twitching for the last time, while string after string of thick, yellowish liquid came out of the fat, reddish head, running down his toned thighs and defined abdomen.

It was so sudden that I snatched my hands away from him, jumping back. I watched Percy writhe around, grunting and sniffling, tears welling in his swollen eyes until finally the member in question stilled and fell still, still fully erect, against Percy's abdomen.

"Oh, magnificent!" Roberta exclaimed, satisfied, clapping her hands. "You just ruined an orgasm. How do you feel?"

The strange thing was that Roberta asked me this and not Percy, who was still moaning softly, his member throbbing again, right in front of us.

"How do I feel? Shouldn't it be Percy--"

"Don't worry about it." Roberta said, smiling sweetly.

"But he's still hard!"

"Oh, it's just a small detail." Roberta said and Carla agreed."Now that he's had his orgasm, back to the cage."

"Cage? You mean…" That torture instrument? I meant to say to her.

"Chas-ti-ty." Carla said, spelling it out. "He’s the most obedient when he’s denied. You won’t have any problems with him. Unless you want to have some fun. Just don’t let him cum too often."

I crossed my arms and looked at them. Roberta and Carla were watching Percy with affectionate looks. Then I looked at Percy who had his eyes closed, already calming down, looking tired and… satisfied? No, the best description was content. Yes, frustratingly content.

"Thank you, ladies, sir."

“Good boy,” Roberta said. She walked around the room and stopped next to Percy again, stroking his hair as she turned to me. “You know, he’s a very lonely man. Most of the time, all he needs is some affection and a little attention. When things start to get too frustrating, a spanking or a scene will do the trick. Once or twice a month, a good fuck is essential.”

"How? And why?" I had to ask.

"Percy comes to us to… release this aggression he has. It's cathartic for him. Sometimes you're going to have to be firm and strict. The more he fights, the firmer you're going to have to be. But that's only going to happen if you don't give him what he needs."

"How could I know that? It's ridiculous!"

"He is a vocal person. If he needs something, he will ask you. It can be with gestures or words, it is very difficult not to understand. If you have any questions, you can come to us."

"Are you sure I'm the best person for this?"

"Yes. You are gentle, but firm when necessary. The authority Percy needs."

"And why not one of you two?"

"We already have our toys. We were just teaching him until we found the perfect one."

"Am I that person?"

"We didn't choose you, although we think you're a good match."

"Percy chose." Carla finished Roberta's speech.

"Percy choose?"

I had to look at Percy slouching against the chair after that. He was now flushing all over, looking anywhere but at me.

"Hmm." I murmured, maybe starting to get interested. "I guess that's okay. I just…"

"You…?"

"I don't promise anything. I'll try, but if it doesn't work out… don't blame me."

"No one will do that. Here, we are a family. It may not seem like it, but we are."

"I know. I didn't mean to offend you."

"You don't offend." Carla said.

"Well, then. Welcome to our family. This is the key to your house. Make yourself comfortable and then tell us what you think. Percy is already settled in, so if there are any problems, contact us, okay?"

Tired of arguing, I nodded and accepted the leash that was attached to Percy's leash. It was made of leather, a thin, black strip that connected to the collar Percy wore, an equally heavy black leather collar, that wrapped around Percy's neck just like hands would, keeping him in place like a dog with a muzzle.

So we both stood up, me from the super soft cushion, and Percy from the leather couch. But when I stood up, I wasn't prepared for what happened. Percy, the one who was supposed to be the soft and vulnerable submissive, stood up with me, easily over four inches taller than me. The funny thing is, I didn't feel smaller than him, and if I wasn't seeing myself, Percy could have been the smallest of them all judging by his attitude. Percy was hunched over a little, had his hands behind his back and kept his head down, looking straight ahead like he wanted to hide, even though hunching over the way he was doing, Percy stull was easily the tallest person in the room.

"Thanks, I guess."

I tried to smile and tugged lightly on Percy's leash. He was, of course, always a step behind me, but close enough, almost burying his face in my neck and leaning over me. I didn't know why, but I had the feeling that all this closeness wasn't necessary. I sighed and looked back, catching Percy staring at me.

I stopped in my tracks and continued to stare at him until he realized what he was doing and lowered his head, looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Master."

"Sure.

I looked at him for a few more seconds and turned around, continuing on our way. If I wanted to get out of this without having to serve some sentence or become a submissive myself, I would have to make it work. It was all the fault of those ridiculous laws that said that either I was a dom or I was a sub, and that if by the age of twenty-one I didn't decide for myself, the government would decide for me.

That's what happens when you have no interest in sex. Now I would have to make up for all the lost time. If I completed at least one year of "Mandatory Services", I would be free to live as I pleased. Because I fought until I could no longer, I would have to live monitored and always watched until all this was over.

Part II

I wasn't sure what to do, so I grabbed my things from the administration building and followed the guard who led us to house number 43. The guard saluted and walked away, quickly moving away from us. Strange. I looked at the door, and remembered the key that had been given to me. I took it out of my pocket and inserted it into the electronic lock. It was actually a card. All I had to do was tap the card and give my fingerprint, and voila! A low beep sounded, the door unlocked and opened automatically for us.

I still couldn't believe it, everything was so strange and so tidy… I put my head inside the house and wanted to leave. This wasn't my house, it wasn't my home--

"Sir?"

Me? Was I the Sir?

I looked at Percy and saw that the giant man was still waiting with me outside the house, two steps away from me.

At least he learned quickly.

"Why didn't you come in?" I felt the need to ask.

"Because… you didn’t come in either."

What? Did that mean I had to go in first? It reminded me of Maria and Hades… memories that were better left in the past.

"Come in, Percy." I said instead.

And only when I said that did Percy sigh in relief and come in, carrying my bags with him.

Strange.

I went into the house with him and walked to the living room, making him stop with me. Percy kept looking at me, still holding the bags and waiting for something, and only then did I realize that I was still holding his leash, that in fact I was holding it tightly, forcing him to stay close.

"Could you please put my things in the bedroom?" I let go of his leash and watched it fall from my hand, it seeming to move in slow motion until it hit Percy's bare chest and the tip rested on his abdomen, contrasting beautifully with his tanned skin, without a single mark on his entire sculpted body.

My gaze stayed there for a moment, taking in the perfection that he was when I heard a throat clear.

"Is that an order or a question?" I heard Percy say.

I looked at Percy, feeling a smile trying to appear for the first time since I got here, but Percy didn't look well at all. He had gone pale and was staring at the ground, trying to shrink himself.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Nothing to be sorry. And don't call me sir."

"What should I call you?"

"Nico or Niccolas. Whatever you want."

"I shouldn't. It's not appropriate."

I thought about it and started walking around the room, forcing myself to get used to the idea of living there and having a submissive again.

"How about you call me Nico when it's just the two of us? And call me whatever's appropriate when we're in public?"

"Yes, sir." When I frowned, Percy finished."Yes, Nico."

Then, Percy turned around, walked out of the room and when he reappeared, he had an object in one hand and a pot in the other.

"Si-- Nico, I… I brought this."

Percy placed the things on the coffee table and I approached, analyzing the objects.

Was that…? No! But it was! A chastity belt, the cage Roberta had told me about. When the girls mentioned it I thought they were joking, it wouldn't be the first time they had done that to me. But there it was, a solid iron object in a light and silver color, looking quite heavy.

I walked over to Percy and touched his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"You don't have to do this. I won't tell them." I said in the gentlest tone I could.

"I… I want to. Could you…"

I blinked, trying to make sure what I saw was real and, yes, Percy spread his legs wide, offered the object to me and lowered his head, obedient and submissive, practically begging. I still remembered what they had said, Percy would ask for what he needed and it was up to me to grant his wishes.

"Is that what you want?"

Percy nodded, but I still didn't know how to do it. I didn't even know if I wanted to.

"Should I…?"

"Yes."

"How will it fit?"

Because, in fact, the cage was very small, at most two to three centimeters of space. I don't know how that was possible. Or comfortable.

"Do you want to show me?" And when Percy made a face, I added: "Just this time."

You see, things were complicated. Percy was still half-erect and all that stuff certainly wouldn't fit in such a narrow space. Like, it was really big, bigger than mine, I could tell.

I watched Percy sit on the couch, spread his legs wide and fit the first part of the object over his testicles. He fastened them properly, took the second part of the iron, fitted it over the head of his member and pushed it down. I could only suffer in silence watching Percy shift uncomfortably, trying to make something so big fit into something so small.

"Nico, could you get it for me?"

Percy pointed to the pot and when I got closer I saw that it was ice. A lot of ice, some already melted and others quite whole. I took the pot to Percy, already fearing the worst, when I heard:

"Can you pass it on to me?

Yes, he didn't say "pass to me" but rather "pass on me".

Gods, I was going straight to hell. But trying to be a good dom, I crouched down between his spread legs and picked up a piece of ice. I brought it to the base of Percy's cock and began to gently slide the ice around there.

"Like this?"

"Harder… oh!… harder… please?" Percy moaned, begging, panting fast.

I did it, grabbed more ice and pressed harder, going up to where the cage wouldn't reach when I heard a little stinging moan. The cage fit in and went all the way down, Percy's cock softening, now confined within those measly three inches. It was indeed more than a tight fit.

"Are you okay, darling?" I couldn't help myself, stroking his legs, trying to calm him down.

“Yes,” Percy replied quietly, his cheeks flushed. “I need to put the padlock on the lock.”

I looked around and saw that there was indeed a tiny padlock on the table next to a key. I reached over and picked it up, walking back to Percy, fitting the padlock into the lock and securing it.

"Like this?" I asked again.

"Yes. Yes." Percy repeated breathlessly, slumped against the couch, still completely exposed, feeling like not to care that I kept looking at him.

"And the key?"

"I want you to hold it for me."

"What do you need? You know I'm new to this, don't you? You have to tell me, no matter what it is."

But as I said this, my hands went to Percy's cage. I felt like I was in an amusement park, wanting to try out all the toys at once. And I was definitely starting to understand what the girls meant by "having your own toys." I didn't remember having a submissive being this much fun.

I slid my hands down Percy's legs, watching his soft gasp and his muscles tremble, and touched those still swollen balls, looking very needy. I massaged them carefully and heard a high-pitched moan coming from Percy.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Hmmhm." Percy shook his head, even though his expression was somewhere in between pain and pleasure, even though he tried to hide his face.

"Percy, do you want me to stop? With words, please."

"No, ah! No, Sir."

The funny thing was that I couldn't understand how someone of that stature and strength could enjoy something like that, so… constricting, or should I say, liberating? Because as I continued my exploration of his balls, playing with them and moving them, Percy spread his legs wider and threw his head back as if he was cumming; I squeezed a little more and a liquid began to come out of the reddish head, through the metal.

Was Percy cumming? And how was that possible? No, that should be the only way to show he was aroused and since there was no way to get an erection, his fluids just… overflowed, right?

I definitely didn't remember doing that with my old submissive.

"Are you okay?" I asked when Percy moved his waist, moaning softly.

"Yes, Sir."

Just to test it out, I got tired of crouching down and knelt between his legs. I looked at Percy's almost closed eyes and opened my mouth, bringing my head between his legs. I held onto his legs and licked the swollen tip along the cage, slowly and deliciously, without worrying about anything other than his moans. I must say it wasn't much skin to touch, but it was enough to taste Percy and make him scream. I decided it was enough when Percy arched his spine and grabbed his hair, gasping. Not that I wasn't having fun, but it was getting late and I was responsible enough to understand when I saw someone reaching their limit. Or maybe it was me who was reaching mine.

I stood up, watching Percy sprawled against the couch, but I only moved when I saw that he was breathing normally. I stroked Percy's hair, since that seemed to calm him down, and picked up the bowl of ice that now only had melted water in it. I left the room and started walking around the house. I saw a bathroom, some empty rooms until at the end of the hallway I found the kitchen. I poured the water in the sink, got a glass of water, and went back the way I had come.

When I entered the room again, Percy was still there. His eyes were closed, his legs on the couch as he gripped them, the anxiety in Percy's movements quite obvious. I saw no other choice, I placed the glass on the coffee table, sat down next to Percy on the couch and touched his shoulders, making Percy jump, startled.

"It's okay. What happened?"

"Nico?"

Of course."

"Oh." Percy said, looking even more surprised, taking his face off his legs and looking at me closely, his face lighting up when he saw me.

"You thought I was gone? Where would I go?"

"To give me back. It wouldn't be the first time."

Wow… something was very wrong here. Who would give Percy back? He was so handsome and strong and hot… prejudiced people, that's what they were.

"It's okay. Let's go to the bedroom. Show me the way?

Percy nodded and stood up.

With his legs still wobbly, Percy leaned on me and we both went upstairs to the our room.

"How do you feel? Does it hurt a lot?" I thought I had asked for the tenth time.

I couldn't help it. I knew Percy was fine, now warmly dressed and covered up to his neck, but still, I couldn't help it. It must have been my guilt for treating him like that, like a… like an object. There, I said it. I just wished Percy would say something more than "yes, sir" and "more", like now, for example.

"Words, please."

Percy settled himself more comfortably in the bed, on the side he was lying on, and turned to me, his eyes almost closed, content. He pulled the covers up higher and continued to look at me without saying a word.

"Percy."

"Yes, Nico."

See? “Yes.” That was all he would say to me.

With his eyes blinking slowly and hands under the blankets, Percy just let himself be lulled into tranquility as he stared at me.

"Aren't you going to talk to me?"

When Percy didn't say anything, I sighed. I gave up trying and turned to take off my shoes and dirty clothes.

"Hearing your voice makes me feel better. Safe."

I felt hands on the middle of my back and turned to see what was happening. It was Percy, of course, hugging me from behind.

"I already said I'm not going anywhere."

"Then…"

"I need to take off my clothes."

Percy let go of me like he was being burned and I missed him immediately.

"I don't care. You can touch me. I just need…"

I got up before another accident happened. I took off all my clothes, got under the covers and opened my arms:

"Do you mind? I like sleeping like this."

Percy shook his head and practically threw himself into my arms, wrapping his long, muscular arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder, in the hollow of my neck.

"Thank you, Nico."

"The pleasure is all mine." I said, relaxing against the bed frame.

Part III

That day had been very long indeed. First, I was late for work, and then two officers from the Human Affairs Bureau showed up. They were even prepared with handcuffs and everything, in case I decided to resist. The most shocking thing was when they asked for my address and told me that I needed to pack my bags.

“Take whatever you can,” one of them said.

“Your boss already knows you’ll be away for a week.” The other one added.

That was all they told me until we got to the government facility that managed the younger, more troubled couples. In the past, the excuse they had given was that because of the internet, people had stopped socializing and this was a necessary measure for those who had trouble finding a partner. It was true that the birth rate and lasting marriages had gone up and everything, and the death and aggression rate, both in men and women, had gone down, but deep down, everyone knew that this was just another way to control and make sure everyone did their part to keep the species going.

As soon as I got out of the car, a very large sign in capital letters could be seen: “Institute of Human Affairs”. It looked more like a brothel, a very sterile and fancy one, but that’s what it was.

Right at the door, two women greeted me with smiles and hurried gestures, asking me to follow them. For the first time in my life, I did what they asked, hoping that if I obeyed, everything would end as quickly as possible.

We went through the administration of the place and then they took me through a hall so long I thought it would never end.

They stopped in front of a door and turned to me.

"I'm sorry for the rush. Right now, we have a lot of residents and we have to figure this out really quickly. We'll explain everything later, but for now, we need you to choose someone, the person who catches your attention the most, okay? Don't worry if it doesn't work out, we have time to change if necessary."

"Exchange what?" Was all I could say before one of them dragged me into the room, while the other stayed outside, waiting.

I entered the room and saw that there were five people inside. Three women and two men, all naked, sitting in comfortable chairs while some of them talked among themselves.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a visitor."

As soon as they heard what the woman said, they stood up and stood tall with their spines straight, chests puffed out and hands behind their backs, keeping their feet apart.

"Very well." The woman said, clapping her hands. "What are you waiting for, inspect your submissives."

"Me?" I said, pointing to myself.

“You expect me to choose for you?” She giggled and began to pace the room. “How about Katt, here? She can make your wildest fantasies come true.”

I crossed my arms and turned my head to the wall, refusing to participate in this.

"No? Then one of the boys. Luke is a good choice. You'll never get bored with him."

I turned towards her to tell her that this was ridiculous when I saw who she was referring to, the man was as tall as me and his eyes sparkled, which meant that the woman was right in her predictions.

"I don't want anyone. Why don't you send me home and sort this all out with someone else, okay?"

"Unfortunately, that's not possible. Either you choose one of them and follow our orders, or something worse could happen. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"Do I really need it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Okay. Then…" I turned to the available options and analyzed each one of them. I wouldn't go near a woman even if they paid me, that simply wasn't my thing, and what was left were the two men; one was Luke, who smiled at me, promising nights of intense pleasure. Then, I turned to the other man, who was practically hiding on the far side of the room, looking like he wanted to disappear from there.

I walked down the row of people and stopped in front of him. The man was looking down and had such a sad expression that I felt the urge to hug him. And when I say man, I mean it. While the other people in the room couldn't have been more than twenty or twenty-two years old, this one must have been at least thirty. I felt like I shouldn't be so impulsive, but when I least expected it, I grabbed his chin, trying to make him look at me. There, I discovered the most beautiful and deep blue-green eyes I had ever seen.

"I want him." I said, without thinking. The man just blinked slowly and frowned, not saying a word or struggling against my grip.

"Very good, a great choice. Percy will fit you perfectly." The woman then turned to the room and announced:" You are all free. Sorry, guys."

People murmured in annoyance, but obeyed. They left one by one until only she, Percy and I were left. The rest, you already know, I “learned” the basics about sex, contraceptives and other things. And in fact, I never thought that being responsible for someone could be so… interesting. It wasn’t a burden, as I thought it would be, and it wasn’t tiring and annoying, as I thought it would feel; it was like opening my eyes to a new world, a world that I thought I had forgotten the rules of, but that I was willing to rediscover.

"What do you want to know?" I heard Percy speaking softly, against the skin of my neck, when I thought Percy had already fallen asleep.

"Hmm… I want to know everything.

"That's not a question."

"Okay then, smarty pants. Your favorite color?"

“Favorite color?” Percy asked, his voice taking on a cheerful tone.

"Yes, what's the problem?"

“Blue,” he said, sighing. “All shades of blue.”

"Just blue?"

"Just blue."

"Favorite food?"

"I don't have one."

"Come on, tell me something."

"I… when I was little, on my birthday… my mother used to make everything blue. Sweets, pie, cake. Even the soda was blue."

“So your favorite food is blue?” I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. But it was cute and sweet, just like Percy."

"Favorite band?"

"I don't know, I like a lot of them. I just… collect music."

"Who do you admire most?"

“My mother.” This time, Percy didn’t hesitate to admit it. “She was the strongest person in the whole world. When my father disappeared, she did the best she could.”

"Was it difficult?"

"Hmmhm." Percy murmured, snuggling closer to him. "For a while it was, I did what I could to help her."

"What happened?"

"She died before I could give her what she should have had."

"And now?"

"Now? I have my own business, I am the CEO of a company that provides investment services. J&C association and administration."

And I'm still trying to get out of college!

I stroked Percy's hair and kissed his cheek.

"That's very good. She must be proud, no matter where she is."

"I just wish she were here."

“Me too.” I replied when Percy fell silent, reminding me of my mother, who was still very much alive. I would like to say that my story was as traumatic as Percy’s, but that would be a big lie. I decided to keep quiet too and continue playing with Percy’s hair until sleep came to both of us.

"Can you pass me the flour?" I heard Percy say in his low, husky voice.

We were in the kitchen, baking chocolate chip cookies, while the food was spread out on the table. Percy stirred the mixture and I watched his firm, determined movements, occasionally throwing an ingredient into the dough. I was sitting and he was standing, practically ignoring me, and yet, I couldn't tell which was sweeter—the cookies, aromatic and sweet, or him, looking so competent and handsome in his dark blue apron.

“Beautiful,” was what I wanted to say to Percy when I found him in the kitchen that morning.

For a moment when I woke up, I opened my eyes and didn't recognize where I was. I looked around, looking for my bedside clock, only finding my cell phone, which was dead. I investigated the rest of the room and remembered, I wasn't at home, I was in a government institution serving a type of non-punitive sentence. However, what really made me get out of bed was the smell of food. Of coffee and something sweet, something that reminded me of better days, of childhood, of my sisters and our home in Italy.

When I came downstairs, I was treated to the best of sights. Percy was shirtless and barefoot, standing in front of the stove, stirring something in a giant frying pan while humming to himself. Percy tasted the food with a small spoon and turned off the heat, then turned to the counter, already mixing something in a large transparent dish.

"Hmm… what a nice smell." I came up behind him and put my hands on his waist, resting my head under his neck, giving him a little kiss there. Well, maybe more than one.

Percy groaned, tensing, and stopped what he was doing until I released him and I walked around the counter, stopping in front of him.

There it was, that lovely blush on his face, Percy's eyes fixed on the platter.

"Do you want cookies? They shouldn't be long."

"I didn't mean to invade your space."

"You didn't."

"So, why don't you look me in the eyes?"

Percy stopped stirring the dough and lifted his head, looking at me, looking embarrassed.

"I'm not used to this."

"To what?" I wanted to know.

"That, someone's approaching me of their own free will. That… unpretentious affection."

How was I supposed to understand this? That Percy didn't let other people get close, or that other people didn't want to get close to him?

"What does that mean?

“When people look at me,” Percy said, turning his attention back to the cookies. “…they expect me to act a certain way.”

"How?"

Percy shrugs and pours some milk into the mixture.

"How do they expect you to act, Percy?"

"Well… I'm tall and muscular, I know. They expect me to want to have sex with them, when in reality I want them to have sex with me."

Hmmm… that wouldn't be a problem with me. But that's not what I said.

"I am really sorry."

“It’s okay.” Percy shrugged again. “I understand why they think that.”

However, Percy had such a sad look in his eyes… his spine was also hunched, as if he was trying to protect himself, which told me that this had happened more often than Percy let on.

"I think we should talk." I said, changing the subject.

"Talk?"

"Yes."

Percy seemed to deflate even more. Anyway, he nodded, poured the cookie dough onto a baking sheet, put it in the oven, and followed me out of the kitchen.

"Sit down, Percy. I don't bite." I laughed at my own joke, even though Percy trailed behind me, discouraged.

I watched Percy sit on a couch across from me, about ten feet away, and sighed. I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. So I got up, walked around the living room, and sat down next to him, holding his shaking hands.

"Relax, no one is leaving here. I want to talk about limits."

“Limits?” Percy exclaimed in surprise, as if the notion of such a word had never crossed his mind.

"Yes, limits. What is allowed and what is not. Your tastes and how you want to be treated. How you don't want to be treated."

“How do I want to be treated?” I saw Percy cross his arms over his chest and lean back, as if the question offended him.

"Yes." I said. "Do you know the concept of consensuality?"

"Who doesn't know? What does this have to do with us?"

I almost smiled. It was nice to know that Percy could do more than just follow orders. Because, I had to admit, I didn't know if I could live with someone who couldn't have a shred of self-respect or understand the difference between right and wrong.

"I want you to tell me what you like."

“You’re not supposed to know about th-” Percy stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening. “I… I didn’t mean it like that.”

"Yes, you did." I smiled at him, feeling the guilt lift from my shoulders with each word. "How do you like it? Like this?"

I held his hands and stroked them slowly, watching his reaction. A small gasp escaped his lips.

"Or like this?" I approached and grabbed him by the neck, holding onto his collar. I pulled his hair back and kissed him, making him lean all the way towards me.

When I released him, Percy let out such a delicious little moan, panting so sweetly, that I couldn't resist and kissed him again, biting his lower lip and sticking my tongue in his mouth until he melted completely.

"Do you really like pain?"

Percy didn't respond and I pulled his hair again, eliciting a broken moan from him: "Ye-es!"

"Humiliation? Being dominated?"

"Yes!"

This time, I didn't even need to get an answer out of him. Percy was breathing so fast and rubbing his thighs together so impatiently that it was hard not to understand.

"Active or passive?"

"Passive? Active? Both?" Percy said, panting, all confused, holding onto my shoulders, his eyes wide open, looking at me head on for the first time, even though there was no intention of confrontation.

"You'll have to be patient with me."

"Patient?" He tilted his head to the side, trying to understand.

"I'm a virgin."

Well, that was almost it.

It wasn't true, but I wanted to see the reaction on his face. Well… it had been so long since I done it that I felt like one. And Percy didn't disappoint me, the expression of surprise came first, then curiosity. Percy looked down, towards my waist, and bit his lip, looking very interested.

"Will you teach me, Percy? How do you like to be touched? How do you want to touch me?"

Percy just nodded, looking uncertain.

"Let's learn together, okay? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

That seemed to reassure Percy. I kissed him once more on the lips and slowly released him.

"Why don't you finish the cookies while we eat? Roberta is waiting for us."

Percy waved excitedly and stood up, but before he walked away, he planted a wet kiss on my cheek and fled to the kitchen. I followed in his shadow, and sat down in the same place as before. He served us and after a few minutes, the cookies were ready. With both of us already dressed and ready for another session with Roberta and Carla, I held Percy's hand and smiled at him. I just needed to remember to ask them for some tips and, if possible, read Percy's profile. I knew they would have all the information we would need if I wanted this to work.

So, what did you think? I was thinking of turning this one into an original too, but… despite the theme, it gives me such a feeling of immaturity! It also seems a bit rushed. Yet, besides the fact that it makes me feel a bit ashamed because of the fetishization, I like it. It's different from what I would write nowadays. It was written in 2020! I feel older and older by the minute. As always, it's incomplete, but it's around 80,000 words long. Maybe I'll finish it at some point. For now, I'll put it up here. It's also on AO3 and SpiritFanfic.

You would like to see more of this story? Please go to page's bottom and a answer quick question, ok?

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Oii, como vai? Sim, aqui estou eu vindo com mais uma história. O problema é que aconteceu um pequeno acidente, sem querer excluí uns 100 giga de informação do meu computador, exatamente onde minhas histórias estavam. A boa noticia é que eu tinha minhas histórias mais atuais salvas no google drive. Eu perdi algumas coisas? Muitasss. Já passei pelo estagio da raiva e frustração e agora estou na aceitação. E como eu queria tirar minha mente disso, decidi rever essa história. Bem… ela não tem um plot bem elaborado e é super fetichizada, mas é divertida. Espero que vocês gostem. A partir de agora meus posts serão bi lingues, ok? A primeira parte desse texto contem a versão em inglês.

Sumário!

"Em um mundo onde pessoas são dividas entre submissos e dominadores, Nico é obrigado a cumprir o serviço mandatório, a não ser que ele queira ser preso e encoleirado feito os milhares de submissos que ele vê pela cidade.

#Nicercy #Pernico #Percico #Dom!Nico #Sub!Percy #reversão de papéis."

Parte I - O início

— Assim mesmo. — Uma das garotas disse para mim.

— Assim? — Eu disse e voltei chupar o membro do homem deitado contra o sofá. Eu não achava que estivesse fazendo um bom trabalho, porque tudo o que fiz até agora foi chupar a cabeça gorda e lamber sempre que mais pré-gozo saia. Não era tão amargo como eu pensava que seria e muito menos tão difícil assim. Mas como o cara não tinha parado de gemer até agora, eu deveria estar fazendo certo.

— Agora, você tem que apertar mais os lábios.

— Hmmm? — Murmurei, procurando por aprovação. Fiz o que elas me pediam e selei meus lábios em volta do membro, descendo só um pouco mais para poder chupar a cabeça inteira.

O cara praticamente se jogou para fora do sofá, gemendo como se doesse.

— Muito bom. Não se esqueça de segurar na base, ok? Sempre esteja no controle se não quiser que eles o tirem de você. Porque eles vão aproveitar a oportunidade.

Levantei minha cabeça para tomar ar e olhei para elas, me mantendo fiel ao meu papel de principiante inocente.

— Qual a forma mais fácil de fazer eles gozarem?

— Os testículos. — Ambas as garotas disseram, se entreolhando enquanto riam. — Eles são muito sensíveis, sabe? Um pequeno puxão pode significar muita dor ou muito prazer.

— Como? — Eu quis saber, mesmo que eu já soubesse.

— Assim.

Uma delas, acho que Roberta, disse. Ela levou uma de suas mãos bem feitas até as grandes bolas do homem à nossa frente servindo de cobaia, e o tocou suavemente. Ela deu uma leve puxadinha e o homem abriu mais as pernas e jogou a cabeça para trás, seu membro se contorcendo todo, mais pregozo escorrendo lentamente pela extensão.

— Agora, se você fizer isso… — Foi quando ela segurou nas bolas com vontade, as prendendo para baixo e as puxou. O homem gritou tão alto que parecia que ele estava sendo assassinado. Mesmo assim, ele continuou ereto e excitado, todo obediente, arfando, como se estivesse em uma maratona.

— Viu? Agora é sua vez.

— Não acho que eu possa. — Não era o que um dominador devia estar fazendo, nada daquilo era. Afinal, eu nem tinha conversado com esse submisso, não era certo tocar em algo que não me pertencia.

— Você pode, sim.

— Porque você não tenta... beijá-las? — Uma delas sugeriu.

— Beijar? Eu posso? — Olhei para o submisso, todo estatelado na cadeira parecendo estar fora do ar. Ele era todo respiração rápida e olhos bem apertados, tentando se manter quieto. 

— Você pode fazer o que quiser, contanto que você deixe claro quem é que manda.

— Eu não tenho certeza. — Ou talvez, eu não quisesse.

— Vamos, só dessa vez. Não vamos te obrigar de novo.

Olhei para o homem que parecia a ponto de explodir, sua expressão entre o extremo prazer e a extrema dor, me deixando ainda mais incomodado. Porque, de novo, esse submisso não era meu; era quase uma falta de respeito. E eu ainda não sabia se queria ter outro submisso depois de tanto tempo.

— Eu posso fazer ele gozar, então? — Para acabar logo com isso? Pensei irritado.

As garotas se entreolharam e deram de ombros, Karla falando dessa vez:

— Acho que tudo bem. Ele não goza há mais de três meses e nós prometemos que deixaríamos.

— Três meses? — Eu não podia acreditar no que ouvia. Não porque fosse difícil acreditar e sim porque… parecia que as coisas não tinham mudado nada.

— Sim, Nico. Ele é um submisso masoquista. Ele gosta e concordou em estar aqui. Percy sabia perfeitamente o que iria acontecer.

— Você acha que obrigamos eles a se ajoelhar a nossos pés? Eles fazem por vontade própria. — Roberta falou.

— Então, capriche. Ele não vai gozar durante um tempo bem mais longo do que isso.

— Você tem certeza disso? Acho que eu não sou o mais indi--

— Percy, diga a ele.

— Eu... por favor, senhora... senhor... eu... eu preciso.

— Sim, bom garoto. Adoro te ver implorando. — Roberta se levantou e foi em direção a Percy, massageando seus cabelos como uma mãe amorosa faria.

Percy, com quase dois metros de altura e músculos bem trabalhados, suspirou e se esfregou na mão oferecida, como se fosse o melhor presente do mundo.

Para mim, isso parecia carência e complexo de abandono. 

— Viu. É sua escolha, Nico. Afinal, você vai cuidar dele pelo tempo em que estiver aqui. Percy lida muito bem em seguir ordens e se adequá rápido a pessoas diferentes. Se ele goza hoje ou daqui a dois meses, é sua decisão.

— Minha? Tão cedo? Você não pode--

— Eu pensei que você quisesse fazer isso. E qual o melhor jeito de aprender do que a prática?

Olho para Percy e vejo que durante todo esse tempo ele manteve as próprias mãos atrás da cadeira, completamente pelado e submisso, sem dar um piu que não fosse para dar um gemido ou uma súplica, e sem olhar diretamente para nós se não fosse explicitamente ordenado. Agora, Percy olhava para mim de cabeça baixa, numa posição de respeito, mas ainda olhava para mim entre os cílios.

Será mesmo que eu devia estar ali? Será que eu era bom o suficiente para manter alguém satisfeito depois de tanto tempo?

— Então, como vai ser? Ele goza ou não? — Foi o último aviso de Roberta.

Respirei fundo e estendi as mãos. Devagar, o mais devagar que pude, toquei nos grandes e inchados testículos de Percy, e comecei a rolá-los entre os dedos.

Arfei, maravilhado, e observei Percy estremecer todo e depois relaxar contra o sofá, soltando um gemidinho manhoso. Fazia muito tempo que eu não me aproximava de outra pessoa com essa finalidade, sendo que nem quando tive um submisso me permitia esse tipo de gesto. Nunca. Não seria visto com bons olhos se um dominador tentasse dar prazer a um submisso. O dever de um dominador era controlar e ser agradado, enquanto o de um submisso era de obedecer e satisfazer seu mestre, sem nenhum desvio ou nada no meio. Agora, porque as coisas eram assim, ninguém tinha me explicado, eu só sabia que para um submisso, a dor fazia parte do pacote, já o prazer, raramente. Pelo menos, era de acordo com o que tinham me ensinado.  

Só para testar, segurei as bolas em uma mão e as puxei para baixo, devagar, vendo a expressão no rosto de Percy mudar de prazer para algo… vazio. Eu jurava, ao invés de ver dor ali, tudo o que vi foi a pura entrega de Percy. 

Percy se esticou todo e arfou, curvando os dedos do pé, entretanto, quando voltei a massageá-lo tão suavemente quanto antes, as afrouxando, a coisa mais extraordinária aconteceu. Percy gemeu baixinho e longamente, curvando a coluna, seu membro estremeceu pela última vez, enquanto que fio atrás de fio de um líquido grosso e amarelado saiu da cabeça gorda e avermelhada, escorrendo pelas coxas torneadas e abdômen definido.

Foi tão repentino que tirei minhas mãos dele, dando um pulo para trás. Observei Percy se remexer todo, grunhindo e fungando, lágrimas saindo de seus olhos inchados até que finalmente o membro em questão se acalmou e caiu ainda completamente ereto contra o abdômen de Percy.

— Oh, magnífico! — Roberta exclamou, satisfeita, batendo palmas. — Você acaba de arruinar um orgasmo. Como você se sente?

O estranho era que Roberta perguntava isso para mim e não para Percy que ainda gemia baixinho, seu membro voltando a pulsar, bem na nossa frente.

— Como eu me sinto? Não deveria ser Percy--

— Não se preocupe com isso. — Roberta disse, sorrindo docemente.

— Mas ele ainda está duro!

— Ah, é só um pequeno detalhe. — Roberta disse e Carla concordou. — Agora que ele teve seu orgasmo, de volta para a gaiola.

— Gaiola? Você quer dizer… — Aquele instrumento de tortura? Eu quis dizer a ela.

— Cas-ti-da-de. — Carla disse, soletrando. — Ele é o mais obediente quando é negado. Você não terá nenhum problema com ele. A não ser que você queira ter alguma diversão. É só não deixar ele gozar com muita frequência.

Cruzei os braços e olhei para elas. Roberta e Carla observavam Percy com olhares afetuosos. Depois olhei para Percy que tinha os olhos fechados, já se acalmando, parecendo cansado e... satisfeito? Não, o que melhor o descrevia era contente. Isso, frustrantemente contente.

— Obrigado, senhoras, senhor.

— Bom garoto. — Roberta disse. Ela deu a volta na sala e parou mais uma vez ao lado de Percy, acariciando os cabelos dele, enquanto se virava para mim. — Sabe, ele é um homem muito solitário. Na maior parte do tempo tudo o que ele precisa é de um carinho e um pouco de atenção. Quando as coisas começarem a ficar muito frustrantes, uma palmatória ou uma cena já dá contra. Uma ou duas vezes por mês, uma boa transada é essencial.

— Como? E porquê? — Tive que perguntar.

— Percy vem até nós para... descarregar essa agressividade que ele tem. É catártico para ele. Às vezes, você vai precisar ser firme e rígido. Quanto mais ele lutar, mais firme você vai ter que ser. Mas isso só vai acontecer se você não der o que ele precisa.

— Como eu poderia saber disso? É ridículo!

— Ele é uma pessoa vocal. Se ele precisar de alguma coisa, ele vai te pedir. Pode ser com gestos ou palavras, é bem difícil não entender. Qualquer dúvida você pode vir até nós.

— Você tem certeza que sou a pessoa mais indicada para isso?

— Sim. Você é suave, mas firme quando necessário. A autoridade que Percy precisa.

— E porquê não uma de vocês duas?

— Nós já temos nossos brinquedinhos. Só estávamos ensinando ele até que achássemos a pessoa perfeita.

— Eu sou essa pessoa?

— Não fomos nós que escolhemos, apesar de acharmos que vocês são um bom par.

— Percy escolheu. — Carla terminou a fala de Roberta.

— Percy escolheu?

Tive que olhar para Percy relaxado contra a poltrona depois disso. Ele agora tinha o rosto todo corado, olhando para qualquer lugar que não fosse para mim.

— Hmm. — Murmurei, talvez começando a me interessar. — Acho que tudo bem. Eu só...

— Você…?

— Não prometo nada. Vou tentar, mas se não der certo… não me culpem.

— Ninguém vai fazer isso. Aqui, nós somos uma família. Pode não parecer, mas nós somos.

— Eu sei. Não quis ofender.

— Você não ofende. — Carla disse.

— Pois, bem. Seja bem-vindo oficialmente a nossa família. A chave da sua casa é essa. Se acomode e depois nos diga o que você achou. Percy já está instalado, então se houver algum problema nos contate, ok?

Cansado de discutir, concordei e aceitei a guia que era ligada à correia de Percy. Ela era feita de couro, uma tira fina e negra que se ligava a coleira que Percy usava, uma igualmente de couro preto e pesada, agarrado ao redor do pescoço de Percy exatamente como mãos fariam, o prendendo feito um cachorro em uma focinheira. 

Assim, ambos nos levantamos, eu da almofada super macia, e Percy, do sofá de couro. Porém, quando eu fiquei em pé, não estava preparado para ver o que aconteceu. Percy, aquele que deveria ser o submisso suave e vulnerável, se levantou junto, tendo facilmente mais de dez centímetros a mais que eu. O engraçado é que eu não me sentia menor do que ele, e se duvidasse, Percy poderia ser o menor de todos se dependesse da atitude dele. Ele se curvava um pouco, tinha as mãos atrás das costas e mantinha a cabeça abaixada, olhando para a frente como se quisesse se esconder, mesmo que até se curvando fosse facilmente a pessoa mais alta na sala.

— Obrigado, eu acho.

Tentei sorrir e puxei levemente a correia de Percy. Ele foi, é claro, sempre um passo atrás de mim, mas perto o suficiente, quase enfiando o rosto no meu pescoço e se curvando sobre mim. Eu não sabia porque, mas tinha a impressão que não era necessária toda essa aproximação. Suspirei e olhei para trás, pegando Percy me olhando fixamente. 

Eu parei no meio do caminho e continuei o encarando até que ele se deu conta do que fazia e abaixou a cabeça, parecendo encabulado.

— Me desculpe, Mestre.

— Sei. 

Olhei mais alguns segundos para ele e me virei, continuando nosso caminho. Se eu quisesse sair dessa sem ter que cumprir alguma pena ou me tornar um submisso, eu teria que fazer isso dar certo. Tudo culpa dessas leis ridículas que diziam que, ou eu era um dom, ou eu era sub, e que se até meus vinte e um anos eu não decidisse por conta própria, o governo decidiria por mim. 

Isso que dá não ter interesse por sexo, agora eu teria que recuperar todo o tempo perdido. Se eu cumprisse no mínimo um ano de “serviços prestados”, estaria livre para viver como bem entendesse, como lutei até não poder mais, teria que viver monitorado e sempre vigiado até que tudo isso acabasse.

Parte II

Eu não sabia muito bem o que fazer, então peguei minhas coisas no prédio da administração e segui o guarda que nos guiou até a casa de número 43. O guarda bateu continência e se afastou, andando apressado para longe da gente. Estranho. Olhei para a porta, e me lembrei da chave que tinha sido entregue a mim. Eu a peguei do bolso e a coloquei na fechadura eletrônica. Na verdade, era um cartão. Tudo o que eu precisava fazer era encostar o cartão e dar minha digital, e voilá! Um apito baixo soou, a porta destrancou e se abriu automaticamente para nós.

Eu ainda não podia acreditar, tudo era tão estranho e tão arrumadinho… coloquei a cabeça para dentro da casa e já quis sair dali. Essa não era minha casa, não era meu lar--

— Senhor?

Eu? Eu era o senhor?

Olhei para Percy e vi que o homem gigante ainda esperava comigo do lado de fora da casa, a dois passos de dist��ncia de mim. 

Pelo menos ele aprendia rápido.

— Porque você não entrou? — Tive a necessidade de perguntar.

— Porque… o senhor não entrou também.

O quê? Significava que eu tinha que entrar primeiro? Isso fazia eu me lembrar de Maria e Hades… lembranças que era melhor ficar no passado.

— Entre, Percy. — Eu disse ao invés.

E somente quando eu disse isso foi que Percy suspirou aliviado e entrou, carregando minhas malas com ele.

Estranho.

Entrei na casa junto a ele e caminhei até a sala de estar, o fazendo parar comigo. Percy continuou olhando para mim, ainda segurando as malas e esperando por alguma coisa, e só então percebi que eu ainda segurava a guia dele, que na verdade eu a segurava com força, o forçando a permanecer perto.

— Será que você poderia colocar minhas coisas no quarto? — Soltei sua guia e a vi cair da minha mão, ela parecendo se mover em câmera lenta até bater no peito nu Percy e a ponta repousar em seu abdômen, contrastando lindamente com sua pele bronzeada, sem nem uma marquinha em todo seu corpo esculpido. 

Meu olhar ficou ali por um momento, observando a perfeição que ele era quando ouvi um pigarro.

— Isso é uma ordem ou pergunta? — escutei Percy dizer.

Olhei para Percy, sentindo um sorriso querer aparecer pela primeira vez desde que cheguei aqui, mas Percy não parecia nada bem. Ele tinha empalidecido e olhava para o chão, tentando se encolher.

— Me desculpe, senhor.

— Nada disso. E não me chame de senhor.

— Do que devo chamá-lo?

— Nico ou Niccolas. O que você quiser.

— Eu não devo. Não é apropriado.

Pensei sobre isso e comecei a andar pelo cômodo, me forçando a me acostumar com a ideia de morar ali e de ter um submisso novamente.

— Que tal você me chamar de Nico quando somos só nós dois? E me chamar do apropriado quando estivermos em público?

— Sim, senhor. — Quando fiz uma careta, Percy concluiu. — Sim, Nico.

Então, Percy se virou, andou para fora da sala e quando voltou a aparecer, ele tinha um objeto na mão e um pote na outra.

— Sen-- Nico, eu… eu trouxe isso.

Percy colocou as coisas em cima da mesa de centro e eu me aproximei, analisando os objetos. 

Aquilo era…? Não! Mas era! Um cinto de castidade, a gaiola que Roberta tinha citado. Quando as garotas mencionaram isso pensei que fosse brincadeira, não seria a primeira vez que elas fariam isso comigo. Mas ali estava, um objeto de ferro maciço de cor clara e prata, parecendo bem pesada.

Eu me aproximei de Percy e toquei em seu ombro, tentando confortá-lo.

— Você não precisa fazer isso. Não vou contar a elas. — Eu disse no tom mais manso que pude. 

— Eu… eu quero. O senhor poderia…

Pisquei, tentando ter certeza se o que eu via era real e, sim, Percy abriu bem as pernas, ofereceu o objeto a mim e abaixou a cabeça, obediente e submisso, praticamente implorando. Eu ainda me lembrava o que elas tinham dito, Percy pediria o que ele precisasse e cabia a mim conceder seus desejos.

— É o que você quer?

Percy acenou que sim, mas eu ainda não sabia como fazer isso. Nem sabia se queria.

— Eu devo…?

— Sim.

— Como vai caber?

Porque, de fato, a gaiola era bemmm pequena, no máximo dois a três centímetros de espaço. Eu não sei como isso era possível. Ou confortável.

— Você quer me mostrar? — E quando Percy fez uma careta, eu completei: — Só dessa vez.

Vocês veem, o negócio era complicado. Percy ainda estava meio ereto e tudo aquilo com toda a certeza não caberia em um lugar tão estreito. Tipo, era muito grande, mais do que meu, isso eu podia afirmar. 

Observei Percy sentar no sofá, abrir bem as pernas e encaixar a primeira parte do objeto em seus testículos. Ele as prendeu direitinho, pegou a segunda parte do ferro, encaixou sobre a cabeça do membro e a empurrou para baixo. Eu só podia sofrer em silêncio vendo Percy se remexer desconfortável, tentando fazer algo tão grande caber em algo tão pequeno.

— Nico, você poderia pegar para mim?

Percy indicou o pote e quando me aproximei vi que era gelo. Muito gelo, alguns já derretidos e outros bem inteiros. Levei o pote até Percy, já temendo pelo pior, quando ouvi:

— Você pode passar em mim?

Sim, ele não disse “passar para mim” e sim “passar em mim”. 

Deuses, eu iria direto para o inferno. Mas tentando ser um bom dom, me agachei entre suas pernas abertas e peguei um pedaço de gelo. Eu o levei até a base do membro de Percy e comecei a deslizar o gelo suavemente por ali.

— Assim?

— Mais… ah!... mais forte… por favor? — Percy gemeu, implorando, arfando rápido.

Eu fiz, peguei mais gelo e pressionei com mais força, subindo até onde a gaiola não alcançava quando ouvi um gemidinho ardido. A gaiola entrou e foi até o fim, o membro de Percy amolecendo, agora confinado dentro daqueles míseros três centímetros. Era de fato um encaixe mais do que apertado.

— Você está bem, querido? — eu não pude me conter, acariciando as pernas dele, tentando o acalmar.

— Sim. — Percy respondeu baixinho, suas maçãs do rosto coradas. — Eu preciso colocar o cadeado na tranca.

Olhei em volta e vi que de fato havia um cadeado minúsculo em cima da mesa junto a uma chave. Me estiquei e o peguei, voltando para perto de Percy, encaixando o cadeado na tranca e o prendendo.

— Assim? — Voltei a perguntar.

— Sim. Sim. — Percy repetiu sem ar, jogado contra o sofá, ainda todo exposto, parecendo não se importar que eu continuasse o olhando.

— E a chave?

— Quero que fique com o senhor.

— Do que você precisa? Você sabe que sou novo nisso, não sabe? Você tem que me dizer, não importa o que seja.

Mas enquanto eu dizia isso, minhas mãos foram em direção a cinta de Percy. Eu me sentia em um parque de diversão, querendo experimentar todos os brinquedos de uma só vez. E definitivamente, começava a entender o que as garotas diziam com “ter seus próprios brinquedos”. Eu não lembrava ser tão divertido ter um submisso.

Deslizei minhas mãos pelas pernas de Percy vendo seu suave arfar e seus músculos tremerem, e toquei naquelas bolas ainda inchadas, parecendo muito necessitadas. Eu as massageie cuidadosamente e ouvi um gemidinho agudo vindo de Percy.

— Doí muito?

— Hmmhm. — Percy negou com a cabeça, mesmo que a expressão dele ficasse entre o meio-termo entre prazer e dor, mesmo que ele tentasse esconder o rosto.

— Percy, você quer que eu pare? Com palavras, por favor.

— Não, ah! Não, senhor.

O engraçado era que eu não conseguia entender como alguém daquela estatura e força poderia gostar de algo assim, tão… constritivo, ou eu deveria falar, libertador? Porque enquanto eu continuava minha exploração por suas bolas, brincando com elas e as movendo, Percy abriu mais as pernas e jogou a cabeça para trás como se estivesse gozando; eu apertei mais um pouco e um líquido começou a sair da cabeça avermelhada, através do metal.

Percy estava gozando? E como isso era possível? Não, esse deveria ser o único jeito de demonstrar estar excitado e como não havia como ter uma ereção, seus fluidos apenas… se manifestavam, certo? 

Eu definitivamente não lembrava de ter feito isso com meu antigo submisso.

— Tudo bem? — Perguntei quando Percy moveu a cintura, gemendo baixinho.

— Sim, senhor.

Só para testar, cansei de ficar agachado e me ajoelhei entre suas pernas. Olhei para os olhos quase fechados de Percy e abri a boca, levando minha cabeça para o meio de suas pernas. Segurei nas pernas dele e lambi a pontinha, devagar e gostoso, sem me preocupar com nada além de seus gemidos. Devo dizer que não era muito, porém era o suficiente para sentir o gosto de Percy e fazê-lo gritar. Decidi que era o suficiente quando Percy curvou a coluna e agarrou os próprios cabelos, arfando. Não que eu não estivesse me divertindo, mas estava ficando tarde e eu era responsável o bastante para entender quando eu via alguém chegar ao seu limite. Ou vai ver, era eu quem estava chegando no meu limite.

Eu me levantei, observando Percy todo estatelado contra o sofá, mas só me movi quando vi que ele respirava normalmente. Acariciei os cabelos de Percy, já que isso parecia acalmá-lo e peguei o pote com gelo que agora só tinha água derretida. Saí do cômodo e comecei a andar pela casa. Vi um banheiro, alguns quartos vazios até que no fim do corredor encontrei a cozinha. Despejei a água na pia, peguei um copo de água e voltei por onde tinha vindo.

Quando entrei na sala novamente, Percy ainda estava lá. Ele tinha os olhos fechados, as pernas em cima do sofá, enquanto ele as agarrava, a ansiedade nos movimentos de Percy bem óbvia. Eu não vi outra escolha, coloquei o copo na mesa de centro, me sentei junto a Percy no sofá e toquei em seus ombros, fazendo Percy pular, assustado.

— Está tudo bem. O que aconteceu?

— Nico?

— É claro.

— Oh. — Percy disse, parecendo mais surpreso ainda, tirando o rosto das pernas e me olhando de perto, seu rosto se iluminando ao me ver.

— Você pensou que eu tinha ido embora? Para onde eu iria?

— Me devolver. Não seria a primeira vez.

O-ou… alguma coisa estava muito errada ali. Quem devolveria Percy? Ele era tão bonito e forte e gostoso… pessoas preconceituosas, era isso o que elas eram.

— Está tudo bem. Vamos para o quarto, sim? Me mostra o caminho?

Percy acenou e se levantou. Com as pernas ainda bambas, Percy se apoiou em mim e ambos subimos para o andar superior da casa.  

***

— Como você se sente? Dói muito? — Eu achava que já tinha perguntado pela décima vez.

Eu não conseguia evitar. Sabia que Percy estava bem, agora com uma roupa quente e cobertas até o pescoço, mas ainda sim, eu não pude evitar. Devia ser a culpa de ter o tratado daquela forma, como um… como um objeto. Pronto, falei. Eu só gostaria que Percy falasse algo mais do que “sim, senhor” e “mais”, como agora, por exemplo.

— Palavras, por favor.

Percy se acomodou melhor na cama, no lado em que se deitava, e se virou para mim, seu olhar quase se fechando, contente. Ele puxou as cobertas mais para cima e continuou me olhando sem dizer uma palavra.

— Percy.

— Sim, Nico.

Viu? “Sim”. Era tudo o que ele me falava. 

Com seus olhos piscando devagar e mãos debaixo dos cobertores, Percy apenas se deixou ser ninado na tranquilidade, enquanto me encarava.

— Você não vai falar comigo?

Quando Percy não disse nada, suspirei. Desisti de tentar e me virei para tirar meus sapatos e roupas sujas.

— Ouvir sua voz faz eu me sentir melhor. Seguro. 

Senti mãos no meio das minhas costas e me virei para ver o acontecia. Era Percy, é claro, me abraçando por trás.

— Eu já disse que não vou a lugar nenhum.

— Então…

— Preciso tirar a roupa.

Percy me soltou como se estivesse sendo queimado e eu senti sua falta imediatamente.

— Eu não me importo. Você pode me tocar. Eu só preciso…

Me levantei antes que acontecesse outro acidente. Tirei toda roupa, me enfiei debaixo das cobertas e abri os braços:

— Você se importa? Gosto de dormir assim.

Percy negou com a cabeça e praticamente se jogou em meus braços, rodeando minha cintura com seus longos e musculosos braços e encostou sua cabeça sobre meu ombro, entre o vão do meu pescoço.

— Obrigado, Nico.

— O prazer é todo meu. — Falei, relaxando contra o batente da cama.

Parte III

Aquele dia tinha sido, de fato, muito longo. Primeiro, cheguei atrasado no trabalho, depois, dois oficiais do Gabinete de Assuntos Humanos apareceram. Eles até foram preparados com algemas e tudo, caso eu decidisse resistir. O mais chocante foi quando eles me falaram para eu dizer meu endereço e que eu precisava fazer as malas. 

“Leve tudo o que você puder” — Um deles falou.

“Seu chefe já sabe que você se ausentará por uma semana.” — O outro completou.

Foi tudo o que me disseram até chegarmos às instalações governamentais que gerenciavam os casais mais novos e problemáticos. No passado, a desculpa que tinham dado é que devido à internet as pessoas tinham parado de socializar e essa era uma medida necessária para aqueles que tivessem problemas em achar um par. É verdade que a taxa de natalidade e casamentos duradouros tinha crescido e tudo, e a taxa de mortes e agressividade, tanto em homens quanto em mulheres, baixado, mas, no fundo, todos sabiam que essa era apenas mais uma forma de controlar e ter certeza que todos fariam sua parte para a continuação da propagação da espécie.

Assim que desci do carro, um letreiro bem grande em letras garrafais podia ser visto: “Instituto de Assuntos Humanos”. Estava mais para bordel, um bem esterilizado e chique, mas era o que era.

Logo na porta, duas mulheres me receberam com sorrisos e gestos apressados, pedindo que eu as seguisse. Pela primeira vez na vida, fiz o que me pediam, na esperança que se eu obedecesse tudo aquilo terminaria o mais rápido possível.

Passamos pela administração do lugar e depois elas me levaram por um corretor tão longo que pensei que ele nunca teria fim. 

Elas pararam em frente a uma porta e se viraram para mim.

— Sinto muito pela pressa. No momento, estamos com muitos internos e temos que dar um jeito nisso rapidíssimo. Vamos explicar tudo depois, agora, precisamos que você escolha alguém, a pessoa que mais te chamar atenção, ok? Não se preocupe se não der certo, temos tempo para trocar se for necessário.

— Trocar o quê? — Foi tudo o que consegui dizer antes de uma delas me arrastar para dentro da sala, enquanto que a outra ficou do lado de fora, esperando.

Entrei na sala e vi que lá dentro havia cinco pessoas. Três mulheres e dois homens, todos pelados, sentados em cadeiras confortáveis enquanto alguns falavam entre si.

— Senhoras e senhores, temos um visitante.

Assim que ouviram o que a mulher disse, eles se levantaram e se ergueram com suas colunas eretas, peito estufado e mãos atrás das costas, mantendo os pés afastados.

— Muito bem. — A mulher disse, batendo palmas. — O que você está esperando, inspecione seus submissos.

— Eu? — Eu disse, apontando para minha pessoa.

— Você espera que eu escolha por você? — Ela deu uma risadinha e começou a andar pela sala. — Que tal Katt, aqui? Ela pode realizar suas fantasias mais loucas.

Cruzei os braços e virei a cabeça para a parede, me negando a participar disso.

— Não? Então, um dos rapazes. Luke é uma boa escolha. Você nunca se sentirá entediado com ele.

Eu me virei em direção a ela para dizer que aquilo era ridículo quando vi a quem ela se referia, o homem era tão alto quanto eu e seus olhos faiscavam, o que significava que a mulher estava certa em suas previsões.

— Eu não quero ninguém. Porque você não me manda para casa e resolve tudo isso com outra pessoa, sim?

— Infelizmente, isso não é possível. Ou você escolhe um deles e acata nossas ordens, ou algo pior pode acontecer. Você não quer que isso aconteça, quer?

— Eu preciso mesmo?

— Sim, eu sinto que sim.

— Tá bom. Então… — Eu me virei para as opções disponíveis e analisei cada uma delas. Eu não chegaria perto de uma mulher mesmo que me pagassem, aquilo simplesmente não era minha praia, e o que restou foram os dois homens; um era o tal de Luke, que sorria para mim, prometendo noites de intenso prazer. Então, me virei para o outro homem, que praticamente se escondia no lado mais distante da sala, parecendo querer sumir dali.

Andei pela fileira de pessoas e parei em frente a ele. O homem olhava para baixo e tinha uma expressão tão triste que senti o impulso de abraçá-lo. E quando digo homem, é exatamente isso. Enquanto que as outras pessoas na sala não deviam passar de vinte ou vinte e dois anos, esse deveria ter no mínimo uns trinta. Eu sentia que não deveria ser tão impulsivo, entretanto quando menos vi, segurei no queixo dele, tentando fazê-lo me encarar. Ali, descobri os olhos verde-azulados mais bonitos e profundos que eu já tinha encontrado.

— Eu quero ele. — Eu disse, sem pensar. O homem apenas piscou, lento, e franziu as sobrancelhas, sem dar uma palavra ou lutar contra meu agarre.

— Muito bom, uma ótima escolha. Percy irá se encaixar a você perfeitamente. — A mulher, então, se voltou à sala e anunciou: — Vocês estão liberados. Desculpe, gente.

As pessoas murmuraram chateadas, mas obedeceram. Elas saíram uma a uma até que só restou ela, Percy e eu. O resto, vocês já sabem, “aprendi” o básico sobre sexo, conceptivos e outras coisas a mais. E de fato, nunca pensei que ser responsável por alguém pudesse ser tão… interessante. Não era um fardo, como pensei que seria, e não era cansativo e irritante, como pensei que me sentiria; era como abrir os olhos para um mundo novo, um mundo que eu pensei que tinha esquecido as regras, mas que estava disposto a redescobrir.

— O que você quer saber? — Ouvi Percy falando baixinho, contra a pele de meu pescoço, quando eu pensava que Percy já tinha caído no sono.

— Hmm… quero saber tudo.

— Isso não é uma pergunta.

— Então, tudo bem, espertinho. Sua cor favorita?

— Cor favorita? — Percy questionou, sua voz tomando um tom alegre.

— Sim, qual o problema?

— Azul. — Ele disse, suspirando. — Todos os tons de azul.

— Só azul?

— Só azul.

— Comida favorita?

— Eu não tenho uma.

— Vamos, me diga alguma coisa.

— Eu… quando eu era pequeno, no meu aniversário… minha mãe costumava fazer tudo azul. Docinhos, torta, bolo. Até o refrigerante era azul.

— Então sua comida favorita é azul? — Eu queria rir do absurdo disso. Mas era fofo e doce, igual a Percy.

— Banda favorita?

— Eu não sei, gosto de várias. Eu só… coleciono música.

— Quem você mais admira?

— Minha mãe. — Dessa vez, Percy não hesitou em admitir. — Ela era a pessoa mais forte do mundo. Quando meu pai desapareceu, ela fez o melhor que pôde.

— Foi difícil?

— Hmmhm. — Percy murmurou, se aconchegando melhor a ele. — Durante um tempo foi, fiz o que pude para ajudar ela.

— O que aconteceu?

— Ela morreu antes que eu pudesse dar o que ela devia ter tido.

— E agora?

— Agora? Tenho meu próprio negócio, sou CEO de uma empresa que presta serviços de investimentos. A J&C associação e administração.

E eu ainda tentando sair da faculdade! 

Acariciei os cabelos de Percy e beijei seu rosto.

— Isso é muito bom. Ela deve estar orgulhosa, não importa onde ela esteja.

— Eu só gostaria que ela estivesse aqui.

— Eu também. — Respondi quando Percy se calou, me fazendo lembrar da minha mãe, que ainda estava bem viva. Eu gostaria de dizer que minha história era tão traumática quanto a de Percy, mas isso seria uma grande mentira. Decidi também me calar e continuar brincando com os cabelos de Percy até que o sono chegasse a nós dois.

***

— Você pode me passar a farinha? — Ouvi Percy falar em seu tom de voz baixo e rouco.

Estávamos na cozinha, assando biscoitos de chocolate, enquanto que a comida nos esperava espalhada pela mesa. Percy mexia a mistura e eu observava seus movimentos firmes e decididos, vez ou outra, jogando algum ingrediente na massa. Eu sentado e ele de pé, praticamente me ignorando, e ainda assim, eu não sabia o que era mais doce — os biscoitos, aromáticos e adocicados, ou ele, parecendo tão competente e bonito com seu avental azul-escuro. 

“Lindo”, foi o que eu quis dizer a Percy quando o encontrei na cozinha naquela manhã. 

Por um momento ao acordar, abri os olhos e não reconheci onde estava. Olhei para os lados, em busca do meu relógio de cabeceira, apenas encontrando meu celular, descarregado. Investiguei o resto do quarto e me lembrei, eu não estava em casa, estava em uma instituição do governo cumprindo um tipo de pena não-punitiva. Entretanto, o que realmente me fez sair da cama foi o cheiro de comida. De café e algo doce, algo que me fazia lembrar de dias melhores, da infância, de minhas irmãs e da nossa casa na Itália.

Quando desci as escadas, fui presenteado com a melhor das visões. Percy estava sem camisa e descalço, em frente ao fogão, mexendo algo em uma frigideira gigante, enquanto cantarolava. Percy provou a comida com uma colher pequena e desligou o fogo, logo em seguida se virou para a bancada, já misturando algo em uma grande travessa transparente.

— Hmm… que cheiro bom. — Cheguei por trás dele e coloquei minhas mãos em sua cintura, encostando minha cabeça sob seu pescoço, dando um beijinho ali. Bem, talvez mais de um.

Percy gemeu, ficando tenso, e parou o que fazia até que eu o soltei e dei a volta na bancada, parando em frente a ele.

Ali estava, aquele adorável tom avermelhado em seu rosto, seus olhos fixados na travessa.

— Você quer biscoitos? Eles não devem demorar.

— Não quis invadir seu espaço.

— Você não invadiu.

— Então, porque você não me olha nos olhos?

Percy parou de mexer a massa e levantou a cabeça, me encarando, parecendo encabulado.

— Não estou acostumado com isso.

— Com o quê? — Eu quis saber.

— Isso, alguém se aproximando de mim por vontade própria. Esse… afeto sem pretensões.

Como eu deveria entender isso? Que Percy não deixava outras pessoas se aproximarem ou era as outras pessoas que não se aproximavam?

— O que isso quer dizer? 

— Quando as pessoas olham para mim… — Percy disse, voltando sua atenção para os biscoitos. — … elas esperam que eu aja de certa forma.

— Como?

Percy dá de ombros e derrama um pouco de leite na mistura.

— Como eles esperam que você aja, Percy?

— Bem… sou alto e musculoso, eu sei. Elas esperam que eu vá querer transar com elas, quando, na verdade, quero que elas transem comigo.

Hmmm… isso não seria um problema comigo. Mas não foi o que eu disse.

— Sinto muito.

— Está tudo bem. — Percy deu de ombros mais uma vez. — Entendo porque eles pensam assim.

Porém, Percy tinha um olhar tão triste… sua coluna também estava curvada, como se ele tentasse se proteger, o que me dizia que isso tinha acontecido mais vezes do que Percy deixava transparecer.

— Acho que a gente devia conversar. — falei, mudando de assunto.

— Conversar?

— Sim.

Percy pareceu murchar ainda mais. De qualquer forma, ele acenou, botou a massa dos biscoitos em uma assadeira, a colocou no forno, e me seguiu para fora da cozinha.

***

— Se sente, Percy. Eu não mordo. — Ri da minha própria piadinha, ainda que Percy se arrastasse atrás de mim, desanimado.

Observei Percy se sentar em um sofá à minha frente, há quase dez metros de mim, e suspirei. Eu não entendia o motivo para tanto drama. Por isso, me levantei, dei a volta na sala de estar e me sentei do lado dele, segurando em suas mãos que tremiam.

— Relaxe, ninguém vai embora aqui. Quero falar sobre limites.

— Limites? — Percy exclamou surpreso, como se a noção de tal palavra nunca tivesse passado por sua mente.

— Sim, limites. O que é permitido e o que não é. Seus gostos e como você quer ser tratado. Como você não quer ser tratado.

— Como eu quero ser tratado? — Vi Percy cruzar os braços em frente ao peito e se inclinar para trás, como se a pergunta o ofendesse.

— Sim. — Eu disse. — Você conhece a concepção de consensualidade?

— Quem não conhece? O que isso tem a ver com a gente?

Eu quase sorri. Era bom saber que Percy poderia fazer mais do que somente obedecer ordens. Porque, eu tinha que admitir, não sei se conseguiria viver com alguém que não seria capaz de ter o mínimo de auto-estima ou entender a diferença entre o certo e o errado.

— Quero que você me diga o que você gosta.

— Você não deveria saber dessas c-- Percy parou no meio da frase, arregalando seus olhos. — Eu… eu não quis dizer isso.

— Sim, você quis. — Sorri para ele, sentindo a culpa sair de meus ombros a cada palavra. — Como você gosta? Desse jeito?

Segurei em suas mãos e as acariciei devagar, vendo a reação dele. Um pequeno arfar saiu de seus lábios.

— Ou desse jeito? — Me aproximei e o peguei pelo pescoço, segurando na coleira dele. Puxei seus cabelos para trás e o beijei, o fazendo se curvar todo em minha direção.

Quando o soltei, Percy deixou escapar um gemidinho tão gostoso, arfando tão docemente, que não resisti e o beijei novamente, mordendo seu lábio inferior e enfiando minha língua em sua boca até que ele se derretesse completamente.

— Você gosta mesmo de dor?

Percy não respondeu e eu puxei seus cabelos novamente, arrancando um gemido entrecortado dele: — Si-im!

— Humilhação? Ser dominado?

— Sim! 

Dessa vez, nem precisei arrancar a resposta dele. Percy respirava tão rápido e esfregava as coxas uma na outra tão impaciente, que era difícil não entender.

— Ativo ou passivo?

— Passivo? Ativo? Os dois? — Percy disse, arfando e confuso, se segurando em meus ombros, seus olhos bem abertos, me encarando de frente pela primeira vez, mesmo que não houvesse nenhuma intenção de enfrentamento. 

— Você terá que ser paciente comigo. 

— Paciente? — Ele entortou a cabeça para o lado, tentando entender.

— Sou virgem. 

Bem, era quase isso.

Não era verdade, mas eu queria ver a reação no rosto dele. Bem que… fazia tanto tempo que eu me sentia como se fosse um. E Percy não me decepcionou, a expressão de surpresa veio primeiro, depois a de curiosidade. Percy olhou para baixo, na direção da minha cintura, e mordeu os lábios, parecendo muito interessado.

— Você vai me ensinar, Percy? Como você gosta de ser tocado? Como você quer me tocar?

Percy apenas acenou, parecendo incerto.

— Vamos aprender juntos, tudo bem? Não quero que você se sinta desconfortável.

Isso pareceu tranquilizar Percy. Eu o beijei mais uma vez nos lábios e o soltei devagar.

— Porque você não termina os biscoitos enquanto comemos? Roberta nos espera.

Percy acenou animado e se levantou, mas antes de se afastar, plantou um beijo molhado em meu rosto e fugiu para a cozinha. Fui atrás, seguindo em sua sombra, e me sentei no mesmo lugar de antes. Ele nos serviu e depois de alguns minutos, os biscoitos estavam prontos. Com nós dois, já vestidos, e preparados para mais uma sessão com Roberta e Carla, segurei na mão de Percy e sorri para ele. Eu apenas precisava me lembrar de pedir algumas dicas a elas e se possível, ler o perfil de Percy. Eu sabia que elas teriam todas as informações que iriamos precisar se eu quisesse que isso desse certo.

Então, o que vocês acharam? Eu estava pensando em transformar essa em original também, mas... apesar do tema, ela me passa uma sensação de imaturidade tão grande! E também me parece um pouco apressada. Apesar dessas coisas, e além de me dar um pouco de vergonha por causa da fetichização, eu gosto dela. É diferente do que eu escreveria hoje em dia. Foi escrita em 2020! Cada vez me sinto mais velha. Como sempre, está incompleta, mas tem por volta 80 mil palavras. Talvez eu termine ela em algum ponto. Por enquanto, vou colocá-la. Ela também está no AO3 e no SpiritFanfic.

Agora, eu gostaria de saber quem tem interesse continuar lendo essa história.

[kurorenji]

Beginner Tips : Wuthering Waves

I want to compile informations that I thought useful or I have missed the first time I play WuWa and only realized after my friend mentioned it to me.

1. Shilang is a shop owner in Tiger's Maw mine that sell a lot of useful things including a 4* weapon selector (the currency : Lampylument ore)

2. When you mine in other player's world, both you and the other player received the ore. No matter how far apart you guys were. That's why I used to mine together with my friend, I went to pick lampylument and he would pick the red ore. So it get done quicker. (This doesn't work for any other resources tho, as far as I know)

3. Idk since when, but you actually can create weapon exp and echo exp in synthesizer. Just for a small amount, but better than nothing I guess.

4. Uncle Wei, in front of craft station, sell some material for weapon/forte upgrade. Sadly, it didn't reset.

5. For faster mining, I used Calcharo to mine. He need only 1 hit to break the ore. Jiyan need 2. Basically use broadblade user to mine faster. BUT, Changli also just need 1 hit (her BA1 slash multiple times).

5.1. After version 1.2 , we have a new utility Hoverdroid, you can use it to mining faster as well. Just need one shoot per ore, much more like using broadblade user but better since now you can even mining from afar.

6. Don't build too many character. Resources are pretty limited here. If you ended up with all half assed teams, it's going to be hard going forward. I stick with 2 teams until UL 55 I guess? Before building my 3rd team (after getting Changli) and now this 3rd team sucked me dry fr, I'm UL 61 now, with 40k shell credit and no other resources lol.

7. Do illusive realms. No matter how suck you're at it. You can get a lot of materials upgrade there. Just do it slowly, since you can save your progress anyway (you need to quit properly tho, tap door icon > save progress. If you just quit or disconnected the progress won't be saved and you won't get any score).

8. You can skip Scar's story telling if you insist on attacking him. Attack him, attack him, attack him. Be aggressive. Beat his ass immediately. Lol.

9. Animals have a much lower def than Tacet discord. And Goat have lower def than Cow. You want to showcase your burst damage to your friends? Go find a goat...and use your ult. You will see big number. BUT I'M NOT PROMOTING ANIMAL ABUSE OKAY, don't be cruel towards animals irl guys, don't. That's horrible. We do this in game because we need the meats to cook. Yes, definitely that.

10. Talking about Cook, every recipes have a certain level of proficiency. Each time you make the recipe it will increase the number until it doesn't lol.

After reaching the maxed proficiency, the recipe you cook won't increase your chef level anymore. Go cook another recipe.

11. The same with Research point in Synthesizer as well.

12. Let's talk about echo. If you're a new player, save all the echo you got until you reach data base lv 15. Then you can combine it for a chance to get 5* echo. Or if you patient enough, wait until you reach data bank 21. The chance getting 5* become 100%. But fighting mobs without equipping any echo is quite tiring, so... just do it if you think you can.

12.1. If you finish hunting all 5* echoes but somehow haven't enough experience to reach 21, go check your guide book and see Milestone, one of the rewards is actually data bank experience.

Hmm, I don't know what to add anymore, maybe i'll add it later when I remember something. See ya.

[salemsimsrender]

Beginner Blender Tutorial Basic Render: Part One (Importing a Sim and Adjusting Textures)

To learn the basics, we'll begin with a super simple render: one sim, one pose, one background.

But first, the anatomy of blender.

(image & list courtesy of Blender's online manual)

Yellow - 3D viewport (workspace) The 3D Viewport is used to interact with the 3D scene for a variety of purposes, such as modeling, animating, texture painting, etc.

Green - Outliner The Outliner is a list that organizes data in the blend-file, i.e. the scene data, Video Sequencer data, or anything that gets stored in a blend-file.

Blue - Properties The Properties shows and allows editing of many active data, including the active scene and object.

Red - Timeline The Timeline editor, identified by a clock icon, is used for manipulating keyframes and scrubbing the Playhead.

The tools I use most I've highlighted below:

I won't outline their uses just now, but we'll be going over them as we use them.

Different creators like to split their blender window up in different ways, but this is my preferred setup when I'm working:

I use the yellow half of the screen as a render preview/3D workspace

I use the blue half for shader editing, posing, etc.

You can set yours up like mine or find what's comfortable for you.

When you first open blender, you'll be greeted by the default cube, lamp, and camera.

Delete them! You can do this two ways:

Click and drag your mouse over all 3 and delete or Select all 3 in the side menu and hit x on your keyboard

Step 1: Importing our Sim

After deleting the default items, we'll import our sim. This tutorial assumes you've already ripped your sim (if you haven't, check here for how to do so!)

Now, let's import.

Click file -> import -> collada (dae) Select your DAE and click "import"

Your sim will look a little... off (thick eyelashes and a weird shine), but that's okay we're going to fix it! Your sim might also look solid white. If that's the case, make sure you're in the right mode. You can adjust modes by clicking on one of the four circles in the top right of the screen.

These are your viewport modes.

Wireframe (far left) - good for mesh editing Solid (middle left) - good for posing Material Preview (middle right) - what we work in most, shows everything with textures (color) Rendered (far right) - this shows your render preview We'll be working mostly in Material Preview

You can also switch between modes by hitting z on your keyboard then selecting which one you want I'll be using mostly keyboard shortcuts but I'll show you how to do both as we go along

Step 2: Adjusting Our Sim's Textures

Let's fix our sim's textures.

First. set up your workspace. Separate your workspace into two windows (as shown in the picture above with a yellow half and a blue half) and select "shader editor" in your right-side window. Like this:

Next, navigate to your Outliner and click the little dropdown beside "rig"

Under "rig" you'll see your sim's body parts listed. We're going to select "Body" When we click "Body", these colored blocks will appear in our shader editor window.

These are called Nodes. We use Nodes to adjust textures for various items in blender (sims, walls, furniture, etc). To add a new Node, you can select "add" in the top bar, or hit Shift+A on your keyboard and add in the node you need.

We're going to add in a Mix Shader and a Transparent Shader (both found under the Shader tab) and adjust our nodes this way:

Snug the Mix Shader between the Principled BSDF and the Material Output. Now we have to connect our Nodes and adjust our Principled BSDF. For the sake of this tutorial, I'll show the basic Node & Shader adjustments, but we'll go into each of them in a later tutorial.

Adjust your Principled BSDF like this, then connect your Node lines exactly like this:

You'll see that our SIm's body looks a bit different from her head, hair and shoes. That's good! Now we need to duplicate that texture to the rest of our sim.

Navigate to your Outliner again, and use Shift+Click to select the rest of the body parts in the list Don't select pose or rig.001 and make sure the Body is selected first EDIT: You'll only see "body" if your sim has a full body outfit on! If they have a shirt and pants, you'll have "Bottom" and "Top" instead! In this case, select "bottom"!

Now, hover your cursor over your sim/the 3D viewport window, and press Ctrl+L on your keyboard. This brings up the Link/Transfer data window. Select "Link Materials"

Our sim is looking better, but her eyelashes are still dark, let's fix that now.

In your Properties area, navigate to Material Properties (the little red ball)

Change your Blend Mode to Alpha Hashed We will always set Blend Mode to Alpha Hashed

Now our sim looks right!

In Part Two, we'll pose her, set up the scene, and run the render!

[hirocimacruiser]

K12 Nissan March from the 2003 Nissan March Cup

NISSAN MARCH CUP

East Japan Series/West Japan Series/Champion Cup

●Nissan March Cup

The 2003 March Cup was switched to the current model K12 and refurbished. Two series were held, EAST JAPAN and WEST JAPAN, and Kaoru Ijiri won the title with an overwhelming performance in both races. Furthermore, he dominated the championship match held in Suzuka, making the new March Cup truly a solo stage for Ijiri.

Despite being in its first year since being renamed K12, the March Cup has had over 30 entries in every race. The reason for this is that it targets not only beginners, but also drivers who are no longer satisfied with the number-free racing that is popular these days. A race-ready kit car was sold at a value price of less than 1.6 million yen. As a result, drivers who had driven K11 until 2002 were able to make a smooth transition, and it became extremely popular.

The EAST JAPAN series, which takes place in Motegi, Tsukuba, and Fuji, and the WEST JAPAN series, which take place in TI and MINE, will each hold five races. In addition, the championship race, which used to be held during the series, has now been changed to the end of the series, and the driver with the most total points earned in this race and each series will be awarded the Fairlady Z. Needless to say, this was one of the attractions.

The memorable first race of the new March Cup was held at TI. The winner here was Ijiri Kao. The driver, who had extensive experience not only in touring cars but also in formula racing, continued to dominate. At Fuji, the opening race of the EAST JAPAN series, he remained in 5th place due to contact on the final lap, but this was the only race in which he lost. From the second round onwards, it was all pole-to-win. He was originally scheduled to only appear in the opening round, but he re-entered the WEST JAPAN Series from the third round.

He won three consecutive games and won two titles. Ijiri categorically stated that the reason for such a fast advance was ``I was able to finish the car faster than anyone else.'' However, at the same time, he also acknowledges his own growth. ``Perhaps because I was able to win the March Cup, I am able to race while keeping an eye on the big picture. Before, I was only thinking about the short term. Now, I can run with a lot of leeway, and I am able to set the time on the lap I aimed for in qualifying.

Now I can do it.'' There is no way that Ijiri would be weak even in the championship match. Although there was a fierce battle for second place between Masaki Nishihata, Shingo Kanaya, and former motorcycle racer Kazuto Sakata, he managed to come out on top and completely dominate the 2010 March Cup. Of course, you can also hold Fairlady Z in your hands. It's been 10 years since March's one-make race, and it's just the 20th anniversary.

At this juncture in history, even more fierce battles are expected.

PIC CAPTIONS.

The new March Cup has gained popularity not only from participants but also from spectators due to its cute appearance. However, the exhaust sound is loud and the movement is sharp. Attractive and impressive that sets it apart from numbered races

The March Cup is an easy and inexpensive introductory race, but it also uses a data logger, making it perfect for serious skill development. There were 36 entries at Fuji at the start of EAST JAPAN SERES.

From the opening round, Ijiri's speed was outstanding, and his rivals were lagging behind throughout the year. He is currently winning the special award Z for his performance worthy of leaving his name as the first-year champion.

[blazehedgehog]

If one decides to start a creative project about their favorite thing, be it fanart, fanfic, fangame etc. , which approach do you prefer, the creatives involved fully dedicating themselves to recreating and recapturing what made the original works...work, or make an active choice to be derivative (this doesn't mean artists are ignorant about the original material, not necessarily) How do you feel about either, and are there any other approach you can think of?

There's this guy who used to post at SFGHQ named Sam Beddoes who now runs Freakzone Games. He's made the official Manos: The Hands of Fate game, he did both AVGN Adventures, he's the project lead on that Toxic Crusaders beat'em'up, etc.

But he's an old guard Sonic head and I've heard him turn up on a couple of Sonic podcasts, specifically to talk fangames, and by his account he got really fed up with the Sonic fangaming scene when everybody became obsessed with perfectly replicating the Genesis games, because to him, all the creativity and magic went away.

I remember hearing that and both agreeing and disagreeing with him. And I have enough thoughts about it that I've actually considered doing a video about it, and about fangaming overall.

I think there is a stigma to replicating something perfectly that's very adjacent to people who are concerned about young artists who start out by tracing pictures other people have drawn. Plagiarism is a real, legitimate problem. But it's only a problem if you lie about tracing.

I'm of the mind that if you're starting out drawing, half the problem is just learning control. Tracing can be a valuable tool in helping you to understand hand motions and give you a perspective on the construction of an image. For the earliest beginners, I don't think there's any shame in starting out by tracing. It's building muscle memory. Just don't say you drew it.

Similarly, my game development skills went way, way, way up about the time I started to analyze and perfectly replicate existing games. Like, the long canceled Sonic Forever project used an early enough version of the Sonic Worlds codebase that I had to read the Sonic Retro Physics Guide and use their data on how to add Knuckles in from scratch. My code matched how he worked in the Genesis games almost 1:1, because it was largely me just interpreting the values into something Clickteam Fusion could understand.

Something similar happened when, in 2012, I started (and never finished) a remake of my famous Mario Blue Twilight DX fangame. That's when I started really paying attention to how the source games worked so I could get a better sense of how a Mario game needed to "feel" in order to be correct.

And that trend continued with every fangame project I worked on following that, like when I figured I could make my own version of Sonic 2's Hidden Palace Zone, since I wasn't happy with the Retro Engine version. The idea was to be accurate above all else. In some cases, I'd even watch recordings of official gameplay in slow motion just so I could see exactly how the game was created, and in some cases, count frame by frame the duration of certain actions.

And all of this just makes me think of when I showed a friend my game jam game, OverBite. He complimented me on how nice the controls felt, in that kind of backhanded way where he said "When did you learn to make games feel so nice?"

Because if you go back to those really early games of mine, they all feel like garbage to control. And I attribute it to putting in a lot of time pulling apart the nuts and bolts of real retro games and putting a microscope up to why they work the way they do. Deconstructing all of their little nuances and sub-states and then trying to put it all back together again in a different programming language.

You learn a lot when you're forced to stop and understand why a piece of code exists in the way it does. Why there are all these little edge cases that you never notice but still exist to make a game feel just a little better.

At the end of the day, yes, Sam was right. Games need to have creativity and seeking out the perfect replication of the Sega Genesis Sonic games can feel somewhat futile. Every SAGE for the last ten years, there will be at least three games that instantly vanish from my memory because they are basic, plain Sonic Worlds Delta fangames with no style of their own. They just want to make Sonic 4 and we've had a lot of different Sonic 4s by now.

But the thing about learning is, you gotta learn the rules before you learn why and where to break them, because breaking (or at least bending) all of those boring, standardized rules is where your personal style starts to emerge, and that personal style is ultimately what people are going to be interested in at the end of the day.

So I think it is vitally important to start at 1:1 exact recreation and once you've made a comfortable replica, only then should you start asking yourself what you'd change and why. Make sure you understand the material before venturing further. You gotta learn to do it right first.

[ghost4ghosts]

another list. for morale:

highlights:

dino show season 3 was sooooooo good!1!! it's funny as hell that imo the jurassic park franchise has become a shambling corpse of what it used to be, but as long as it's animated i'm down.

i found out that trying to teach a skill to a beginner is the hardest fucking thing to do EVER. good luck bestie i hope you can find suitable resources for yourself o7

i'm making some progress on my current knitting wip. i'm more excited to finish it so i can make something new tbh. i have just enough yarn to maybe try bullshitting a sweater vest. maybe i'll even learn cables :>

quilted tablerunner update: triangles and squares sitting in a corner where things go to die. i'll get to it eventually.

i rewatched now you see me (2013) and now you see me 2 (2016) and they certainly were movies (positive). they both scratch the itch of "Something Happens And It's Explained Afterward" like in murder mysteries.

i'm organizing this large playlist of mine that has songs ranging from the 70s to now. it's so fun!!! the children (me, mentally ill, unemployed) yearn for tables and charts! i wish i could share the entire document here bc the raw data is so organized AND color coded. back in school i would've cried if i had to sort out 200+ data points but this time there's no deadline or grade hinging on its completion. okay okay maybe when i'm done i will post it here bc i'm halfway done with sorting and just looking at the table key gets me excited.

speaking of making graphs and charts, i think once i'm done with the Playlist Sorting i'll do that with my albums, too. lore drop: i have a list of every single cd album i own in chronological order. so far it's nearing 50. do i have the space for them? no. does it matter? no.

current song rotation (links go to youtube):

sister by tennis - everything about this song makes me nostalgic. the melody+structure of the song feels so familiar and cozy and soft etc etc. it's so sad this will be their last album as a band😭😭 i'm glad i found them when i did.

sugar free venom ft. kesha by f5ve - AAHHHHHH IT'S SOOOOO GOOD. flash warning for the mv.

o baby by siouxsie and the banshees - HEAVY rotation. it's stuck in my head as we speak.

[amparol12]

Mastering the Dig: Your Roadmap to the Top 10 Data Mining Courses

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"Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp with R and Python" by Udemy Led by industry experts, this Udemy bootcamp provides a broad overview of data science and machine learning, making it an ideal choice for individuals seeking a holistic understanding of these fields.

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[hatterinev]

Well, let's talk a little about an oc called Kiolet aka Hat kitty👊

Which is a fusion of a girl named Violet and a stuffed cat which can now be considered a furry, Kitty. They are beginner travelers who carry mind lamps that are Powerful objects (that is, apart from being powerful, how to hypnotize people or even reach _Wash the memory_, the lamp also acts like the typical ones that can grant wishes but only when it is a wish enough longed for by the person, even if that is going to come against him)

For now it is what I can say because believe it or not there is something more lore that is still in the process of being written (Thanks to a friend of mine) and I can tell you that I went too far with the girl alv

Here some data:

Kitty is a living stuffed animal because she has a soul, but over time she begins to adapt her body to be more human, although she is still a dwarf and has no organs.

Kitty and Violet are relatives, the soul of the person who died was the aunt and sister of Violet's father, (Even for that same reason her niece is called that, since Kitty in her previous life was called Violetha)

Violet is currently adopted by another family, but until now she had no recollection of her past life.

_Kitty has to do with that last_

Do not think that the cat with a bow can be considered the only dead person revived, eh

(Also actual version)

[estirose]

Some quick notes about MTaS Multiplayer

Don't have any pics yet, but here's what I've noticed:

Mi-an's area is mostly empty of equipment. Mason is still there (unable to be befriended still) but we have his workshop area and I have not found where he's supposedly building things.

Missing places: Eufala Salvage (fixed in an early co-op mission), the barn on the Wandering Y Ranch, the entire train station and about half the tracks, the bridge over to the Gecko Ruins area (for some reason our character is able to get to Sandrock from there, have no clue why), the apartments where a bunch of characters live, part of the outside of the Blue Moon Saloon (also another early mission), Construction Junction, the barber shop, By The Stairs, Amirah's pottery shop, the museum, the Golden Goose, Fang's place, the bridge between town and the tracks, the water tower, and the shooting range outside the Civil Corps.

The stage outside the Blue Moon exists but currently Matilda is holding her Tuesday-Thursday sermons at the steps of City Hall for some reason.

Missing characters so far: All of Rocky's staff (Pebbles exist so I presume Krystal does too - I just haven't seen her), Amirah, Arvio, Grace, Jensen, Pablo, Pen (admittedly I could have just missed him), and Ernest. On the other hand, Trudy is there from the beginning, as is Banjo and Meerkat. From one of the missions, it looks like we get Nia permanently in Multiplayer (as opposed to single/solo player where she only shows up for 3 days currently).

Main missions take a backseat to co-op missions (I've seen 2, not counting the beginner missions - one where Elsie straight out gives you a fish trap, and one where Trudy hires you on as essentially assistant mayor). You can't take a solo commission until you're level 15. You gain knowledge points the same time at level 5.

I was a bit off on that last one. The missions with the orange label that the singleplayer game uses are solo missions in multiplayer. You get a few solo missions but everything else is co-op until you're player level 15 where you can take solo commissions.

The tutorial is, interestingly, the same stuff more or less as the Portia tutorial - a pickhammer, an axe, and a furnace, interrupted with a tutorial on how to use the commissions board.

The abandoned ruins for Multiplayer is The Breach (just like it was in the previous open multiplayer). You do have to dig it out before you use it. It's possible to enter the Breach with multiple characters or solo, but apparently if you enter the multiplayer version you get tin two levels higher up in the mines than solo, where you get tin at the same level (3) as the solo game. The Breach uses a lot of the same structure as the Eufala Salvage Abandoned Ruins, but mixed up a bit so don't depend on your knowledge of that place for this version.

You can build things buildings without having Construction Junction up and going. (See note below about controllers.)

You gain rep points for talking to people as well as building things. This makes sense. You're also very far behind in the rankings so you'll want to balance talking out with building.

Your ranking for what you can do is based on your workshop level, not your personal level.

You gain access to some things by leveling up your workshop, but for others you'll still need to visit Qi's machine.

I was a bit vague on the above - as you gain workshop levels, you gain the ability to research certain things - so for example, you don't immediately have access to the dew collector blueprint. You still have to use data discs to have Qi research the devices.

Buying blueprints costs workshop points, not gols, at the Commerce Guild. And those blueprints include bronze bars, for some reason. (Interestingly enough, not the feather duster, which is either available from the beginning or just shows up at some point at your workstation.)

Hugo sells the bronze axe and pickaxe, simple weapons, blueprints for weapons (I think they cost gols rather than the workshop points), and for all of us who hate that stupid bronze blade, yes, he sells those.

You can get these neat things that allow you to get NPCs to cooperate on... something. Trudy gives you one free, and the rest can be bought with reputation points at City Hall. ETA: You use these coupons to get these NPCs to give you something related to your specialty for a certain period of time.

Knowledge points are like single player, but you're not restricted to whatever skill you were using. So no matter if you've been fighting monsters, carving out ruins, or doing co-op missions, you can apply the point to anything - you can gain combat skill, for example, for just being good at digging things out. ETA: In the multiplayer version, you gain knowledge points like you did in Portia - 1 per level.

Note to Steam Deck users/controller users: While most of the game works just fine on controller (I've been running it with no problem on Steam Deck), the building placement gives you an error message if you try to use a controller. So instead of trying to place a building on Steam Deck extremely clumsily, you cannot place it at all.

Pathea is aware of the popularity of Sandrock on Steam Deck and is working on controller support for the multiplayer. (Hopefully it'll get fixed on singleplayer too, I have custom controls for this kind of thing but it's still annoying.)

[materialogy]

It’s December 31, 2021. I’m sitting in the parking lot of the only business that will be open until midnight in a tiny ghost town outside of Big Bend National park. I saw a balloon trellis with “2022” decorating it earlier so I figured I might find some people to Hollar in the new year with here.

My service is full bars, 3G – much better than I thought it would be! So no data transfer. I have tried video chatting, posting, and sending people pictures but alas, the service only works for text and phone calls. I figured I would sit here and think about my year, where has it gone? We say that every year, as if we blink and memories of the past revolution around the sun flash before our eyes. I feel compelled to share how my year has gone. Call it loneliness? The lack of human beings I have seen that I care about, that care about me? That’s not to discredit the 100s of strangers I’ve had lovely (and not so lovely lol) interactions with in the past month and a half.

I started my year in Massachusetts, my home town, in my childhood yard with my oldest friend and my family, burning Christmas trees as is tradition on New Year’s Eve – but at a much smaller scale due to a certain pandemic. I got some ski runs in at the slopes of Loon mountain the next day, in another state that I absolutely adore (♥️New Hampshire♥️)

I drove back to my actual home of 5 years, Lima Ohio, to go back to work and begin construction of the $5,000 PC my employer trusted me to build (how did I get here lol, if you asked me what I thought my future career would be before college, I would have said “as far away from the IT field as possible”)

I took and passed a test to become a certified drone pilot by the FAA. Since passing, I have flown my drone over various scenery and cities in 14 states and counting.

I spun fire for the first time in a rock garden that is like nothing you’ve ever seen before with a dear friend. What a wonderful, powerful experience! This garden is in the back yard of a sweet, eccentric man in the hometown of Neil Armstrong, Wapakoneta. My Ohio people know 😏 I went on to spend every Thursday evening this summer jamming out vocally and on my mandolin with a group of 10-20 older musicians who I might categorize as the original hippies? Lol

I danced with great friends in the back room of a vape shop that I met from a video gig I had at the beginning of the pandemic. I picked up the bass guitar, an instrument that literally makes me feel like the most badass lady on the planet even though I am at a below beginner level haha.

I took pictures with my first film camera, and had a friend come over and teach me how to develop it myself in my dark bathroom. Definitely gave me an admiration for the blind! The film strip hung to dry on my shower curtain rod until I was able to invert the negative and see my extreme inexperience with the original medium of photography LOL.

I flew to Florida in March with two people, I now consider family after years of friendship in Ohio. We had a great time sitting by the pool and laying on the beach until we got back to the car to see the $120 ticket because we were so excited to run to the beach that we forgot to pay for parking! That was fun. NOT

Later in the year, I went on to participate in the marriage of these too amazing people shortly after buying their first home in the poppin’ town of Columbus, Ohio. Love you guys big time.

I got inked for the first time since I was 18! One cute and impulsive tattoo of a little bee, and one tattoo I’ve been talking about getting since I was 17 with my non blood sister ♥️. I’m blessed by the people in my life! And guess who the artist was? Another stunning soul I have gotten to know in the past two years, who has just finished building her schoolie to live and travel in!

That same artist friend of mine went on to give me the honor of tattooing her! A little brasil philodendron now resides on her shin by my hand. Love you Caroline ♥️

This year I bought new rollerblades and have traveled the country putting 100s of miles on them in various cities: San Francisco, Boston, Charlotte, Savannah, Tampa, New Orleans etc etc.

I took an exhilarating pre-travel flight to San Francisco with my covid raincheck ticket and visited with my aunt and uncle for nearly 2 weeks. Exploring the city, hiking the Bay Area elevation, singing in karaoke bars in Japantown, painting in an iconic art studio, flying the drone over their neighborhood. The memories are warm in my heart.

This year I parted ways with my partner of 5 years.

This year I packed up my entire life and the home I had spent 4 years in. (That’s a long time for a 23 year old!) I sold many earthly possessions, I packed my cats, I packed my piano, I packed my memories.

I moved my things to my parents house. &&& let me just take a moment to thank them for how wonderful and understanding they’ve been.

When I told them, hey, I know this sounds crazy, but I NEED to blow my savings traveling the country living in my car, they were not totally on board lol. But they ultimately understood that this was what I needed before the next job, and there’s no words that I could say to thank them enough for supporting me and for watching my cats and my greenhouse volume of plants while I go through my existential crisis that has lead me over 5,000 miles around the American continent.

I have been on the road for nearly a month and a half. I have hiked mountains, danced with strangers, kayaked with manatees, flown in a 2-person plane that is triple my age, explored museums and walked through historical locations. I have been sun kissed and sunburnt. I have spent all night changing the alternator in my car in the Walmart parking lot of a small Louisiana town. I have made coffee under many skies and on many beaches. I have superglued homemade window covers to the glass of my car because I’m tired of them falling on me in my sleep. I have cooked Mac and cheese in the top level of a parking garage at 2am cause what else am I gonna do when I’m hungry on bourbon street?

And now here I am, in a rural (understatement) town about a rocks throw from the Mexico border. I’m about halfway through my trip and if I was looking for answers to what I should do next or what my purpose is, I don’t think I’m gonna find that on the road.

What I have found is one hell of a life changing experience.

Reader, if you’re still there, here are a few excerpts from my travel journal entries:

“Slept in my first Walmart parking lot last night among a fleet of RVs, felt safer that way. Minutes from Folly Beach, SC, but I will drive inland soon to see an old friend. I’ll come back here tonight”

“Skated 4 miles on the Tampa riverwalk today and got a nice shower.”

“I am drawing some mutant palms among the yellow umbrellas & blue chairs on Treasure island. The Cabana boy told me yesterday that if I came back today, I could have a free cabana for the day.

& so I sit on the blue chairs under the yellow cabana, wondering how I found myself in such a beautiful moment.

Another day at the beach on Treasure island.”

“My skin is burnt from Florida’s hot rays. I thought it was kissed but my northern complexion was unprepared for the beating sun.

My eyes are crusted from dried tears.

A vagabond life I live.”

“Parked on the wharf, 2:00am, my eyes open to the sound of cooing owls. I decide to head out

To the beach I go, away from the little key that has a population of 700.

Tires screech to a stop on the bridge over the water leaving the town. The sky is stunning.

I have lost track of the amount of shooting stars my eyes have absorbed. It’s 3:20 am.”

“Overcast commanded the sky when I arrived in Panama City this morning. It seemed to swallow the high that was brought on by the clear night sky. I had a frustrating time with my stove as I lugged it through the sand. Complete with coffee supplies and complications, but I was determined to make my morning cup of Joe by the water.”

“Shards from massive sand dollars cover the white sand that is clustered into drifts like that of snow. It’s funny how I’m down where the weather is temperate, yet my mind goes to the cruel and icy landscape that is New England.”

“Skated around and fell with my coffee. I smell like coffee”

“I stayed in a parking garage and it was terrible. People were honking at every corner of the windy, multilevel structure. The sounds bounced off the concrete walls all night.”

“Hah my Friday night did not go as planned. I ended up staying up all night replacing the alternator in my car in a town I drove to to DoorDash. I woke up in that town and now I hit the road. Houston here I come.”

“Fire twirls before my eyes on the rooftop of a warehouse littered by art and junk at every level. Who knew this could be found on Houston’s Main Street.”

“Today I left the ground.

Today I soared the skies.

Today I coasted above the land that I have spent most of my life walking, driving, skating, swimming, climbing on.

It took me sideways.

It took my breath away.”

“The crumbly trail twists and turns as I follow it. I twist and turn like the water once did.”

[dhivyakrishnan107667]

Unleashing the Power of Big Data Analytics: Mastering the Course of Success

In today's digital age, data has become the lifeblood of successful organizations. The ability to collect, analyze, and interpret vast amounts of data has revolutionized business operations and decision-making processes. Here is where big data analytics could truly excel. By harnessing the potential of data analytics, businesses can gain valuable insights that can guide them on a path to success. However, to truly unleash this power, it is essential to have a solid understanding of data analytics and its various types of courses. In this article, we will explore the different types of data analytics courses available and how they can help individuals and businesses navigate the complex world of big data.

Education: The Gateway to Becoming a Data Analytics Expert

Before delving into the different types of data analytics courses, it is crucial to highlight the significance of education in this field. Data analytics is an intricate discipline that requires a solid foundation of knowledge and skills. While practical experience is valuable, formal education in data analytics serves as the gateway to becoming an expert in the field. By enrolling in relevant courses, individuals can gain a comprehensive understanding of the theories, methodologies, and tools used in data analytics.

Data Analytics Courses Types: Navigating the Expansive Landscape

When it comes to data analytics courses, there is a wide range of options available, catering to individuals with varying levels of expertise and interests. Let's explore some of the most popular types of data analytics courses:

1. Introduction to Data Analytics

This course serves as a perfect starting point for beginners who want to dip their toes into the world of data analytics. The course covers the fundamental concepts, techniques, and tools used in data analytics. It provides a comprehensive overview of data collection, cleansing, and visualization techniques, along with an introduction to statistical analysis. By mastering the basics, individuals can lay a solid foundation for further exploration in the field of data analytics.

2. Advanced Data Analytics Techniques

For those looking to deepen their knowledge and skills in data analytics, advanced courses offer a treasure trove of insights. These courses delve into complex data analysis techniques, such as predictive modeling, machine learning algorithms, and data mining. Individuals will learn how to discover hidden patterns, make accurate predictions, and extract valuable insights from large datasets. Advanced data analytics courses equip individuals with the tools and techniques necessary to tackle real-world data analysis challenges.

3. Specialized Data Analytics Courses

As the field of data analytics continues to thrive, specialized courses have emerged to cater to specific industry needs and interests. Whether it's healthcare analytics, financial analytics, or social media analytics, individuals can choose courses tailored to their desired area of expertise. These specialized courses delve into industry-specific data analytics techniques and explore case studies to provide practical insights into real-world applications. By honing their skills in specialized areas, individuals can unlock new opportunities and make a significant impact in their chosen field.

4. Big Data Analytics Certification Programs

In the era of big data, the ability to navigate and derive meaningful insights from massive datasets is in high demand. Big data analytics certification programs offer individuals the chance to gain comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience in handling big data. These programs cover topics such as Hadoop, Apache Spark, and other big data frameworks. By earning a certification, individuals can demonstrate their proficiency in handling big data and position themselves as experts in this rapidly growing field.

Education and the mastery of data analytics courses at ACTE Institute is essential in unleashing the power of big data analytics. With the right educational foundation like the ACTE institute, individuals can navigate the complex landscape of data analytics with confidence and efficiency. Whether starting with an introduction course or diving into advanced techniques, the world of data analytics offers endless opportunities for personal and professional growth. By staying ahead of the curve and continuously expanding their knowledge, individuals can become true masters of the course, leading businesses towards success in the era of big data.