#i triple checked to make sure i spelled this right

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

Meow

this u ?????

[james-p-sullivan]

had autocorrect gotten especially horrendous for anyone these past few weeks? its correcting words nearly an entire sentence after i write them and its never right

edit: I WROTE HAS FOR THE FIRST WORD THATS A PERFECT EXAMPLE WHY DID YOU CHANGE IT 😭

[f1goat]

more than friends + lando norris x part four

In which your best friend wants to help you so you get more sexual experience, but he discovers quickly that he never wants to share you and your new sexual experience with others.

masterlist - playlist

warnings: smut with a plot or a plot with smut? :) minors dni! i never proofread so probably grammar or spelling errors

requested: yes, based on: something with a driver sister that’s still a virgin & lando (her bestfriend) suggests to teach her things (ofc pretending for it to bot mean anything), while he’s actually in love with her

part one / part two / part three

“Lan,” you start you sentence a bit shy, “when uh, when are we going to have sex?” You continue to ask. You feel your cheeks reddening while asking him the question. Lando looks confused at your sudden question. 

“What’s with the hurry?” He asks you a bit confused.

You let out a nervous laugh. “This is going to sound stupid,” you say nervous, “but there’s this guy who asked me on a date.”

“So?” Lando asks. He already feels jealousy coming up. Someone asked you onto a date? He wonders who asked you. Fuck. 

“I uh, I wanted to wait with the date for when I’m not a virgin anymore,” you confess, “I think it’s uh, it’s better for my confidence.” Is it bad that you don’t tell Lando that you want him, specifically him, to take your virginity? 

“How long can you stall him?” Lando asks you, “because I don’t think it’s a good idea to rush this.”

“Uh now I already told him I would go away with you for the triple header,” you explain, “so at least three weeks.”

Lando feels a bit more relieved now. In three weeks a lot can change right? Maybe he will finally find the confidence to tell you about his crush. Maybe not. Since he has a crush on you for multiple years and all those years weren’t enough to gather the confidence to tell you… 

“That’ll work,” Lando eventually says. 

“So what’s next?” You ask Lando, “I feel like there’s so much you still have to teach me.”

“Relax babygirl,” Lando says, “I think we need to focus on how I’m going to pack my suitcase with stuff for three weeks in an hour..”

“You didn’t pack yet?” You ask Lando confused, “We’re leaving in an hour!”

“Oops?” Lando laughs.

You let out a soft sigh. “You never change,” you tell Lando eventually with a small smile. Then you stand up to help Lando pack his stuff. As you almost always do. It doesn’t take the two of you long. Like a couple times earlier, you secretly put some shirts into Lando his luggage. The boy is way too stubborn to pack something else then hoodies, but he never checks the weather. Something you of course already did while packing your own stuff, so you know for sure he needs some normal shirts.

“Thanks babygirl,” Lando says after he closes the zippers. He moves closer to you and presses a kiss against your forehead. You don’t know what has gotten into you, but without giving it a second thought you press a kiss onto Lando his lips. Lando smiles during the kiss. He pulls you closer to himself and wraps his arms around your body. The kiss was meant as a simple, innocent one. But Lando is quick to make it turn into a make out session. His hands are roaming over your body. Quickly he finds your ass. Softly he squeezes it a couple times. You let out a soft moan while your lips are still pressed on Lando’s. 

Lando his ringtone distracts the both of you from what you were doing. You watch him pick up and say a simple ‘okay’ after a couple seconds. “The driver is here,” he informs you, you show him a small nod. He grabs his luggage and takes a couple of your backs with him as well. 

“You know,” Lando tells you, “you’re a great kisser.” In the mean time the two of you walk towards the driver who’s there to bring you to the airport. 

“I learned from the best,” you tell Lando with a small innocent smile.

Lando lets out a soft laugh. “Imagine how great you will be on all the other things with such a good teacher,” he tells you with the same laugh. 

“We will see,” you reply.

+++

Lando sighs when he sits down in his drivers room. You don’t know what to say. He just lost a great lap time due to track limits. He would be placed second tomorrow if he didn’t lose his time. You know he’s probably mad at himself right now. Lando mutters softly. You can’t hear him properly, but you guess he’s calling himself an idiot. It hurts you to see him like this. You have been here for all his highs in formula one, but also for all of his lows. You have seen him this upset with himself many times before. It never hurts less. 

“Lan,” you softly say. He doesn’t even look at you while responding, “Don’t say it isn’t my fault, I’m the one who got track limits,” he states. 

“Maybe I can cheer you up?” You eventually suggest.

“Cheer me up?” Lando asks you confused.

“Distract you a bit,” you continue.

“How babygirl?” Lando asks you even more confused.

“What about another lesson?” You ask Lando, “You could teach me how to give you a blowjob.”

“But I didn’t even went down on you,” Lando quickly brings in, “you don’t have to do this.”

“What if I want to? You look like you can use something that cheers you up,” you state. 

“Sure?” Lando asks you. You show him a nod. “Words,” Lando states, reminding you about his need for you to say everything. “Yes Lando,” you say, “I want to give you a blowjob.” Lando’s facial expression is quick to bright up. He’s already smiling about the idea of your lips around his dick. It even causes him to get a boner.

“But you need to tell me what to do,” you tell Lando a bit nervous. Lando is quick to nod, he grabs one of your hands and moves it slowly to his boner. You don’t wait for a new instruction, slowly you palm his already hard bulge through his race suit. Lando stays silent for a bit, he enjoys your movements in peace. You apply a bit more pressure while palming him. In the mean time you press a kiss against Lando his neck. 

After a few minutes of moving slowly on his bulge, you try to grab his dick through his race suit. Lando groans when you take him inside your hand. He pulls down the zipper of his race suit. While he unzips his suit, you take a good look at him. It feels almost unfair how hot he is. His fireproof is doing all kind of things to you. 

“Can I take it off?” Lando asks you. “Yes,” you reply quickly. You move your hands away from him, giving him the space to pull of his race suit. Lando grins. He kicks off his shoes and then pulls off the suit to step out of it. You keep looking at him. It feels so bare to see him in only his briefs, but then you remind yourself that he will remove those too in a bit.

Before Lando can pull his briefs off himself, you move your lips to his chest. You press multiple kisses against it, slowly moving down towards his dick. In the mean time you hold his boner in your hand, slowly stroking it. When you reach the edge of his boxers, you stop stroking his member. Slowly you pull his briefs a bit down. His hard member is quick to pop out of his briefs. Lando continues your movements and takes off his boxer. 

You take your time to look at his dick. You have seen some porn movies before, so you already had an imagine from how it would look. But in a weird way, it seems more appealing to you now. Lando his member is pretty. You never thought you would think that about a dick. He watches you while you stare at his member. You notice the thick vein that is laying onto his dick, now that you think about it. His whole member seems thick. Maybe not as long as those in the porn movies, but you already guessed that those were a bit fake. You wonder how this will ever fit inside of your mouth and one day inside of your vagina. 

“If you’re not sure, you don’t have to do this,” Lando softly tells you. 

“No,” you quickly state, “I want to do this. Just tell me what to do.”

Lando grins happily. He’s glad you still want to blow him. He isn’t sure if a cold shower would have helped this time. In the mean time you move your hands onto his dick again. Lando feels himself hardening even more. Has he ever been this hard? You explore his dick slowly with your hands. You trace the thick vein on top of it with one of your fingers while waiting for Lando to say something. 

“You uh, you can lick it a bit if you want?” Lando asks you, “Make it a bit wet.”

You are quick to take his words into action. Without giving it a second thought, you move your head closer to his member. Carefully you place your tongue onto it, even more careful you give him a couple licks. Lando lets out a soft moan. You continue your movements. You let your tongue slide over his dick. Exploring the way it feels on your tongue. 

“Put it in your mouth,” Lando says after a while.

You do what he says. With a careful movement you take the top of his dick inside your mouth. You try to go as deep as you can, but you’re quick to feel some tears popping up in the corners of your eyes.

“Slowly babygirl,” Lando says, “you don’t have to take everything inside. The top is the most sensitive part.”

You remove your mouth shortly to take a deep breath. When you place his dick back into your mouth, you try to remember his words. You make sure the top of his boner is inside your mouth, there’s room for a bit more but you act carefully. You remind yourself to take your time. Slowly you lick around his tip with your tongue. It earns you another moan from Lando. Something that makes you feel good on the inside. Giddy even. 

“Move your head a bit down and up,” Lando instructs you, “Try to make the same stroking movements from before, but now with your mouth.”

Again you take Lando his words into action. Slowly you move your head up and down. You let your mouth slide over his dick a couple times. Lando moans again. You feel proud that you are the reason of those moans. Without thinking about it, you take the part of his member that isn’t in your mouth into your hand. You start to stroke it, alining the movements with the bobbing you do with your mouth. 

“Fuck,” Lando groans, “You’re good at this.”

His words make you feel even better. It causes you to fasten your movements. You try to lick his tip as well in the mean time. Lando is quick to start to become a moaning mess underneath your touch. You feel his dick pulse in your mouth. 

“If you don’t want a taste, you should finish with your hands,” Lando grunts. You don’t act on his words, you continue your earlier movements. Maybe you do want a taste? 

Lando looks at you while feeling himself getting close to his orgasm. He looks at the way you stare at his dick while making the movements that make him feel like this. He had a couple blowjobs before from different girls, but none of them felt as good as from you. How can someone like you - with no sexual experience - be so much better then others? It’s insane. While looking at you he feels his orgasm getting really close.

“Last warning babygirl,” he tells you softly. You still don’t remove your mouth from his dick. Because of his words you know that he’s close, his moans are also giving that part away. You try to take his dick a bit deeper inside your mouth. Before you know it, you notice a salty taste inside your mouth. You quick to find the reason. Lando just came.

Slowly you continue your movements from before, but you decrease your pace more and more. A couple more drops of Lando his cum are finding it’s way inside your mouth. When you think he’s completely empty you remove your mouth. While looking at Lando you swallow his cum. 

“Fuck,” Lando grunts, “I could come again by looking at you doing that.”

You show Lando a shy smile. He pulls you close onto himself. Lando presses a small kiss onto your forehead before moving his lips to yours. He presses another kiss onto your lips. 

“Will you believe me if I tell you that you just gave me the blowjob of my life?” Lando asks you. You are quick to shake your head, “No,” you say. 

“You just did babygirl,” Lando tells you honestly, “I have never been blowed this good before.”

You laugh softly. “Maybe this says something about those others girls,” you say. 

“No,” Lando quickly states, “It says everything about you. You’re really good at this babe. And you did find a really good way to distract me.”

You laugh, “I’ll remember that for the next time. Don’t beat yourself up because of it Lan, tomorrow you will fight for a lot of points. I bet you’re even on the podium.”

“If I get a podium I want to celebrate if with eating you out,” Lando states.

You laugh again. “That’s not a celebration.”

“It is for me.”

Fuck. Why is your stomach tightening because of Lando his words? This can’t be good.

part five

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[mc-lukanette]

Marinette didn't particularly get the idea of music translating into words. To her, music was music and words were words; you could mix the two in a song to evoke more emotion, but that wasn’t the same as one becoming the other.

That was the reason she was there, she supposed. Luka had intrigued her with his offer, and if anyone could make her believe it or learn something new about music, it was him. Sure, he was also kind of handsome, had soft blue eyes, and a dazzling smile, but she was there for a potential new understanding of the creative process, nothing more.

Not that there would've been anything wrong with going for both, of course.

She looked at the note once more to make sure she was at the right park. Luka's handwriting was unique and identifiable as his: not wild, but not "standard" either, while still being totally readable. It made sense for someone who had to write a lot.

After triple-checking to be certain, she stepped out onto the smooth walkway leading in, looking around for the fluffy black-and-blue hair she'd met only a week ago. There were some couples with little picnics set out that she couldn't help feeling jealous of, but she tried to ignore them.

She heard Luka before she actually saw him, which was a weird thought. A quick set of notes from a guitar had made her turn, spotting him sitting on a bench in the pleasant shade of some trees and waving at her.

She smiled, waving back and walking over to him. "Hey, Luka! How—" She stopped in place, catching herself before she could properly ask him. She raised the cellophane bag in her hands to her mouth, biting into the side to both free her hands and keep herself quiet, then made a flurry of hand movements to ask how he was doing.

He blinked rapidly in surprise, then gently rested the neck of his guitar on the bench so he could sign in return. His gestures were more natural than hers - had she been signing to herself, it might as well have been the language of aliens - so she could easily tell what he was asking.

"Yff—" She brought her hand back up to pull the bag out from her mouth, then answered proudly, "Yes, I learned a little bit over the weekend!" She waved her free hand from side-to-side like she was casting a spell, despite the sheepish look on her face. "I might've forgotten how to sign 'yes', but I knew what you were signing! That's something, right?"

The dazzling smile that she remembered, showing just a little bit of teeth but not too much, had returned. Luka nodded at her, pulling out a notepad and pencil from his pocket to write while she got herself settled in. He'd already left enough room on the bench for her to sit, so she took up the empty space and got comfortable.

He went to hand her his notepad, but she lifted up the cellophane bag first, giving it a shake to show off the assortment of macarons, cookies, and candies inside. "Here! Trade me."

He visibly perked at the offer, their fingers brushing as he took it from her.

She only realized what she'd done when his notepad was already in her hand, hurrying to say, "Oh! I put that in my mouth without thinking, didn't I? You don't have to—"

He'd already loosened the string so he could open it, grabbing one of the candies and unwrapping it before popping it into his mouth. He'd clearly heard her, but it was quickest to eat one to prove his point rather than tell her it was fine.

Plus, she had one of his forms of communications in her hands, so that had been out. She looked down to read what he'd written.

You didn't have to dress up for this, but you look nice. I hope this is enough shade for you.

She blushed at the first line. It was one thing to be complimented verbally, but in writing, she could read it over and over again. She checked Luka's reaction to see if he had any regrets about it, but he was cool as a cucumber, chewing on the candy she'd given him whilst getting the guitar back in his hands.

The second line was more confusing to where she had to actively dig through her memories to think of what it could be referring to. She did recall sitting down with him after the chaos had settled down, having some juice together, and her rambling unnecessarily long about everything from her job to—

"Wait—" she began in realization, "was this all because I complained about how hot it was that day?! That was one thing in all the nonsense I was talking about!"

He shrugged, smiling innocently and holding his hand out for his notepad. She pouted, feeling like he was being unfair with how sweet he was to someone he'd barely just met, but relented and gave it up to him. She just couldn't quite believe it, having felt so bad for how chatty she'd been with him, but he'd apparently paid attention to every word of it.

She wasn't sure if that was more or less embarrassing than being ignored the whole time.

"O-okay, so..." She looked down sheepishly at his guitar, trying to change the topic as casually as possible. "How are we going to do this? You showing me how you talk with music?"

One hand still holding the guitar's neck, he flipped through the pages of his notepad with the other. He showed her a pre-prepared page with his answer, which stated:

I'll play something for you. You don't have to do anything but listen and imagine a story in your mind.

A story? What kind of story? She wanted to ask, but knew that she wouldn't get a response.

Squinting at him, still skeptical, she gave into the request and closed her eyes. "Alright. Ready when you are."

There were a few small, short notes at first - either Luka warming up or being genuinely nervous to start - but then an actual melody began to develop. She shut her eyes tighter, like it might ruin everything if she looked, and her nose scrunched up as she tried to focus on what he was playing and the instructions he'd given.

It sounded... regal? No, adventurous? Maybe both? It reminded her of movies that she would watch as a child, where a knight would go off somewhere for the sake of a princess. The music would get more dramatic as the knight was surrounded by dangers, then victorious as he triumphed. She caught herself smiling over this imaginary character she'd literally made up in her head, returning to the princess and receiving a favor from her for his efforts. It really was like a film, but shortened to a few minutes long and somehow familiar to her.

Her eyelids popped back open when the music ended, then blinked to readjust to her surroundings. Luka was staring at her curiously, the hand that'd been strumming resting more casually on his guitar as he waited.

"Erm..." She trapped her chin, slightly anxious and feeling like she was being quizzed. There weren't any real stakes involved, but what if she failed? "I... thought about a knight? He met and saved a princess, and she gave him her thanks? Maybe she even offered him something for it?"

The actual image in her head was more vivid than she let on, but it was difficult describing it when she figured that it could've been her overactive imagination.

Not missing a beat, Luka shot her a smile and flipped a page in his notepad to present to her. No way.

That's us, on the day we met.

Her mouth dropped open. She got it right? But then... "Uh—! So I'm the knight?! You're joking!"

Not that Luka wouldn't have made a pretty princess though. If he had just the right dress that accentuated—

She shook her head, trying to focus on the matter at hand. He, meanwhile, was unphased by the mental struggle she was having and flipped another page.

You were so cool. I've been trying to figure out how to say it all week.

"It wasn't a big deal!" she insisted, flushing pink. "They were judging you because of your looks and how 'quiet' you were, so I—you know—"

She made a few wild gestures that in no way resembled sign language but she hoped would convey the full dismissal of whatever he'd apparently been imagining their first meeting to be like. Worse still was that what he'd written implied that he'd been working on that melody all week in order to have it ready for her, and she knew what it was like to pour one's creativity into something.

He meant it and she'd heard as much.

Dropping her hands into her lap shyly, she had to relent, "But... I guess I get what you mean now, about saying things with music instead of words, even if I feel like your notepad should be confiscated."

Amused, he smirked, purposefully holding the notepad to the side furthest from her, out of her reach as she teasingly swiped at it. Using only the tilt of his head and look in his eyes, he asked her a playful 'why?'

"Why? I—" she began, then stopped when she needed to actually think about it. One disadvantage to not being mute like him was that she wasn't required to think before saying anything, such as how Luka needed to take the time to write out a full thought and read it before showing her.

Clearing her throat, she started over, "I can't believe you had fun last week? I mean, I guess it made sense if you invited me here, but I thought it was just from me helping you a little! Since we were there for a whole hour and I felt so bad because—" She realized what she was about to say, but it was too late to stop it. "—I was doing all the talking!"

Luka laughed outright at that, and the only thing keeping her from crawling under the bench and wishing for death was that it was actually pretty cute. He had a breathy sort of laugh, making it more quiet than a typical one but somehow incredibly charming.

Marinette leaned forward and rested her elbows on her lap, clasping her hands together in front of her mouth as her lips tried to both smile at him and grimace at herself at the same time. The fact that he hadn't fled at her flubs was a relief but also utterly perplexing.

She dared a peek over at Luka, who'd finished laughing and was trying to write something. It was taking him longer than usual and she noticed a little twitch in his brow, a contrast to what had otherwise been him being totally calm the whole time. Eventually, he tore the page out, scrunched it up, and stuffed it in his pocket, opting to put his hands on his guitar instead.

Marinette grew curious when his fingers twitched without playing any actual melody. He did start, but stopped, then started and stopped again, biting his lower lip in contemplation. Hand motions were also useless without a full understanding of sign language on her part.

He ended up settling on the notepad again, this time being unexpectedly quick in writing something. She hadn't realized how much suspense she was in until he presented it to her, her hands practically snatching it from him to read it.

You make me feel speechless, Marinette.

She blushed all the way up to her ears, speechless herself. She could excuse being told that she looked nice as some casual remark or pleasantry, the music as his only way of teaching her what she'd asked about, and not being put off by her constant talking as him being extremely polite, but this—

Was he flirting with her? There was a mild possibility of it being a joke at his own muteness, but when she checked his expression, he was watching her with a half-lidded gaze without any sense of playfulness. If anything, she could've sworn she saw a hint of shyness. Had he never put himself out there for someone before?

"You—" She looked at the notepad again, forcing herself to relax her grip before she wrinkled the pages. "You make me feel... um, speechful? I've never talked so much to someone I just met." She ducked her head. "You look nice too, by the way."

That was all she could really manage without feeling silly. Her experience with relationships was laughably limited and she didn't know how to flirt back or assure him that his flirting wasn't unwelcome. She just knew that he was thoughtful, adorable, and sweet, and that every time she glanced at his mouth a little too long, she'd catch herself thinking about other things it must have time for if he couldn't use it to talk.

She became alert as she felt a tug on the notepad - Luka having reached over to take it back - but she impulsively resisted, blurting out, "C-can I have this? The note I mean, not the notepad!"

He grinned, any of the previous nerves she thought she'd seen before gone as he nodded. The notepad slipped easily out of her hands this time, him far more careful tearing the note off than the other paper he'd scrunched up, and he wrote something extra before handing it off to her.

You can have more than that.

Underneath the line he'd written was his phone number, a rush of heat and relief going through Marinette at the confirmation that she wasn't the only one who wanted to meet up more. Whether Luka's directness was from the inability to speak or simply part of his character, she wanted someone like that; no misunderstandings, just his honest feelings.

She wasn't quite sure what she'd gotten herself into in the long term but, going off the matching pink on Luka's cheeks, she was sure that it was a good thing.

[differenteagletragedy]

if you're up to it could you write that camping HC you had with derek 🥺

Derek was always prepared -- it was one of his many, many charm points. If he hadn't dedicated all of his free time as a child to being sports, he would have made an excellent boy scout. In his home, he had multiple fire extinguishers and first aid kits, and kept a small stock of protein bars and water bottles in his car, just in case. He was the definition of dependable.

That's precisely why he was beating himself up so much for forgetting to triple check the weather forecast before your camping trip.

It was supposed to be a nice little getaway for the two of you. You'd planned on flying back home over the summer to visit him, but the plans fell through at the last minute, and this was the rescheduled trip. It was fall now, and in Prism Vista it was still warm and comfortable, but out here on the mountain, with the sun tucking itself behind the horizon, things were getting chilly.

"It's fine," you told him after you both came into the tent after a quick dinner by the fire. "It's not even that cold, really."

"Is that why you're shivering?" he asked, trying to mask his disappointment in himself with a teasing smirk.

After a pause, you came up with the brilliant retort of "Shut up, you're shivering."

"You're clearly sh--"

"Your mom's shivering, Derek, get off my back."

Derek laughed freely, feeling a little bit of tension leave his shoulders. If you were willing to joke around with him, maybe you weren't mad that he'd been so thoughtless to miss the cold spell you now had to deal with overnight.

He had feelings for you -- well, they were more than feelings at this point, as the decade-long crush had long since developed into a deep aching love -- but he was keeping them to himself until the moment felt right, if it ever did. Until then, your friendship was certainly enough for him.

He told himself that as he turned his back so that you could both change into your pajamas with the semblance of privacy in the cozy tent, trying not to picture what was happening behind him as he heard the soft sounds of your clothes slipping off your body.

When you told him you were done changing, he turned, ready to hit you with a brilliant smile, but his mouth turned downwards into a frown when he saw that you were wearing shorts and a tank top.

"It's all I brought," you told him, correctly interpreting the look he was giving you. "It's no big deal, it's just one night, right? And the sleeping bag will be plenty cozy."

To drive your point home, you unzipped your bag and climbed in. You put on a show for him, snuggling down, zipping yourself in as much as you could and then burrowing down and letting out a content sigh.

"See?" you said. "Snug as a bug in a rug."

He shook his head, but the little act did bring his smile back. He got into his own sleeping bag, placed just a few feet away from yours, and turned to face you.

"But you'll tell me if you get too cold, right?"

"What would you do if I did?"

He didn't know how to answer that, and while he thought, you smiled and reached over to turn off the lantern he'd brought into the tent with you.

"Goodnight, Derek," you told him.

"Goodnight."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Some time had passed -- Derek wasn't sure how much, but he thought he'd dozed off once or twice. He was disoriented, but a strange noise jolted him awake. He sat up partially, darting his eyes around, using the dim moonlight to try to see what was making the sound.

As he became more aware, he realized that the sound was coming from you. He squinted and leaned closer, and he felt a pang of guilt when he realized that the noise he was hearing was your teeth chattering together.

"Hey," he said softly. "You awake?"

"No, I'm dead," you replied, your voice a little jerky because of the shivering. "I died of hyperthermia and you are now speaking to my ghost."

"Actually it's hypothermia," he corrected softly, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's good you know, alert the coroner."

He laughed, then sighed. He felt guilty for not being prepared for the cold, for bringing you on the trip at all when there was the possibility of it being this cold, and then he felt guilty that his guilt was at the forefront of his mind instead of a solution for the problem. He weighed his options in his head, trying to figure out what would be best, when you made a new sound, a sort of moaning sputter accompanied by a somewhat violent shake.

"All right, come here."

He sat up all the way and unzipped his sleeping bag, his mind made up.

"Huh?" you asked.

"Get in here with me," he said, thankful that it was too dark for you to see what he knew would be a deep blush on his cheeks. "I think my bag is a little warmer, and I'm not cold."

"Would be sort of a tight fit, don't you think?"

Derek was used to making himself small, to shove aside his wants and needs to fit into the perfect mold he'd made up of himself -- he wanted you, desperately, but he'd never be so forward as to get you in such close quarters like this. But as much as he'd trained himself to keep away from what he wanted, being a gentleman was more important. And it wouldn't be very gentlemanly to let you freeze to death on a mountain.

So he reached over, his eyes having adjusted to the dark enough to make out your sleeping bag. He grabbed the side of it with both hands and scooted the whole thing close to him, then unzipped it.

"Come on," he told you quietly, backing up against the side of his bag as far as he could and holding it open for you to climb in. He thought he saw you hesitate for just a moment, but then you were moving. He felt your legs knock against his as you situated yourself down beside him.

You were close -- close enough that different parts of your bodies were touching and your smell was invading his senses. He gulped, but halfway through he realized that would be kind of an obvious gesture, so he turned it into a cough, which honestly did end up much better.

"You all right?" you asked.

At this distance, you were close enough that he could see your expression. It was smug, but there was a shy tenderness underneath it.

"I'm gonna zip us in," he said, ignoring you, even as you laughed.

He reached over you, trying politely not to touch you, but it was a tight fit. As he struggled to get the zipper pulled up, you kept sliding closer to him to make the job easier. By the time he was done, your legs were tangled together and your chest was pressed lightly against his. He did notice that you had pulled your hips back when he was done with the zipper, and he couldn't tell if he was grateful or disappointed not to have that closeness too.

"Well, this is cozy," you said, just above a whisper. He felt your breath, hot on his face, and hummed in agreement.

He felt your arm, which had been firmly placed on your side, move, then stop. He cocked an eyebrow at you.

"I mean ... is it ok?" you asked.

"Is what ok?"

"If we, you know ... cuddle. Just for tonight." When he didn't answer straight away, you added, "It's cold."

"Yeah," he said finally. "Of course. That's fine."

Derek tried to keep his breathing steady as you used jerky little movements to slide even closer next to him. He could feel the hesitation, but eventually you ended up with your leg nestled between his, your arms wrapped around each other and your head tucked under his chin. He slid his hands over your bare arms, feeling the goosebumps there that he was sure was because of the temperature and not because you could possibly be as excited as he was to be this close to you.

"Can you sleep like this?" you asked, and he almost whimpered at the feeling of your lips moving lightly against his neck as you spoke.

"Sure, yeah," he answered. "I was just about to doze off."

He didn't like to lie to you, not at all. But sometimes, every once in a while, it was easier that way. Derek knew, as he felt you adjust your leg between his thighs, that sleep wouldn't come easy.

[olderthannetfic]

Take this as a confession: I changed several of my characters names from being very obviously poc, because I just couldn't deal with the commentary about me overstepping as a white author, and some other comments very much just focusing on me instead of my effort as a writer. In my head they're still the ethnicity I gave them in the beginning, but constantly having people being rude about me writing what I wanted, even in "safe space" writing groups just really didn't pair well with my anxiety and other issues. So it's just easier to not even try and make it obvious I wanna write "outside" of who/what I am. It's a fantasy setting, and I try to build a lot from the ground up, but always try to do my research for the things that are inspired by real things. The names are/were also actual names, triple checked and made sure I got the spelling right and even a note with the right pronounciation. I hate it. I don't write to publish, I write for myself, my friends, and those who just like my writing, but very negative comments just really takes the fun out off writing outside my own experiences.

--

What unhelpful writing groups!

[allwaswell16]

Incredibly unimportant fic request, but do you know of any merlin/Arthur focused ones? Alternatively I'd just take medieval fantasyish

Hi, anon...so since there aren't tons of these I'll just give you what I found here on your ask, and also I'll link you to my Medieval fic rec in case you want to check that out as well <3

🌸 Medieval Fics

Truth Behind Golden Eyes by MyEnglishRose / @lwtisloved

Louis is a royal servant born with magic in a kingdom where his sole existence is outlawed with a war he has no idea he has a part in upon him. Harry is the prince on whom the burden of mending a broken kingdom falls upon and he might be willing to risk it all for a simple servant if only he admitted it to himself.

Or. A Fantasy AU loosely inspired by Merlin BBC where one relationship has the power to define the destiny of the whole land.

I've Seen How You Sparkle by orphan_account

Their eyes locked again and Harry blushed, suddenly feeling shy. Louis just smiled at him, tilting his head a little as his eyes ran over the younger boy. Harry self-consciously placed his arm over his stomach, afraid that Louis would somehow see through his clothes and notice the druid mark on his right hip. It was a triple spiral, a triskele. Although it wasn’t that big and fairly easy to hide, Harry was always paranoid that he would maybe stretch too much and reveal the mark.

It wasn’t that he actually believed Louis would have him executed, but he knew Louis was fiercely loyal to his father. If it came to choosing between Harry and his father, Harry was honestly not sure what Louis would do.

Or Louis is the Crown Prince of Camelot and Harry is a druid hiding his magic. It would have been a lot easier if he didn't also have to deal with a forbidden love, a dangerous quest and a whole lot of trouble.

Up On The Shore by wordsnnotes / @quelsentiment

Magic has been outlawed on Eroda ever since President Cowell came into power, and all the magic people had to go live on the island of Stonell. Things are not looking good for Harry when he finds out he's a magician and his abilities seem more and more out of control. Thankfully, his best friend Niall's mother has the idea to put him in touch with Louis, a magician boy living on Stonell. They begin a secret correspondence and drama ensues.

Or: Louis hides his feelings under sarcasm, Harry is too sweet for his own sake, everyone is a rebel, the mums are amazing, Harry's dad is a jerk, and I'm struggling to make it understandable without using normal narration.

Had Enough of Silly Love Spells by learnthemusic

“Why would you give him a potion?”

The more Harry received the question, the more he wondered what his intentions had truly been. He knew—had done from the moment he got embroiled in that first romantic saga of Kidan the blacksmith—that tampering with the heart was dangerous. It was too fickle to contain with a spell, no matter how arduous or simple.

Yet he’d gone against his own intuition, and now he was sat in the kitchens with Niall, whose latest conquest was Lottie’s newest maid and who never had any decent advice to offer him when it came to Louis. How was he getting out of this one?

A Merlin AU in which Harry, Court Sorcerer, slips a love potion into King Louis' sleeping draught in hopes of awakening his true feelings for Harry. It goes wrong and Harry puzzles over how to get things back to how they used to be.

you're a king by orphan_account

“and god, this is how louis is going to die. they'll write stories about him. the prince who died because harry styles is an idiot.”

[yandere-romanticaa]

I want to ask an opinopn if you don't mind, you see i've tried to write a fanfic with an original idea and i kinda use ai (like chatgpt) to make sure the grammar is correct (since i'm not a native speaker) but only for that, and what do you think ? Is that bad ?

The reason why people give AI so much crap is because people are starting to use it in order to cheat the arts, basically. You can just give the AI a prompt and it'll churn out a soulless product but hey, a story is still a story, right?

In your specific case though I think it's fine. Writing is an excellent way to learn a new language and wanting to spell check is nothing you should be ashamed about. While Chat Gpt can be good with that, I recommend you use websites made for spell checking specifically because from my personal experience, Chat Gpt messes up! There were times when I would not just double, but TRIPLE check with the thing and it would still give me the wrong answer! Personally, I really like this specific website to check my spelling.

[yellowkitkieran]

Home (Kieran Tierney)

Masterlist

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: Kieran surprises you by coming home early from his loan spell in Spain.

“When do you come home?”

Kieran smiles because you're both aware you've had the answer to that question memorized for months. But he indulges you anyway, “Friday. So only a few more days my love, and then I'll be home with you again.”

You sigh and begin typing your next email. You've become adept at multitasking while on the phone with Kieran; he'd be in the gym, airpods in while you chatted, and you would be settled in at the desk in Kieran's guest room working away on your laptop. Stolen moments like these have become the norm since Kieran went on loan in Spain. To make the most of a bad situation, you both came to the silent agreement that you would spend as much time on the phone together as possible. As a result, you now often find it hard to concentrate without Kieran on the other line. 

“Right, Friday. In the afternoon right? I'm gonna try and get the house cleaned up before then, I don't need you seeing how messy I keep it when you're away!” 

Kieran’s quiet laugh sends a slight shiver down your spine. “We both know it's not that bad. I'm sure you keep it plenty tidy. Don't worry about keeping it spotless, cause I'm just gonna mess it up as soon as I'm home.”

“Still. When you get here, I just want to focus on you. You kept Saturday open for sure yeah?” 

“Mmhhm. Everyone else thinks I'm coming home on Sunday, so I'm all yours.” 

You smile to yourself, sitting back in your chair. You have a full day planned for the two of you that mostly involves making up for lost time. Assuming your Friday night will be spent wrapped up in each other completely, you've mentally blocked off a few hours on Saturday morning to recover and wind down. After that, you'll help Kieran unpack his suitcases, do whatever washing needs done, and finally end off the day with dinner at his favorite place in Central London. 

“Good! It'll be… fun… oh fucks sake…” you trail off as you read the email that's just arrived in your inbox. “Seriously- why! Can people not read?!”

“What's wrong babe? Someone mess up the catering order again?” You can almost hear Kieran's smile through the phone. “You'll fix it in time, you always do.”

“Yeah of course I will,” you grumble, now zeroed in on pulling up receipts and time stamps to triple check the order you placed versus the order that you were quoted for. “Just means more work for me is all. And just when I thought I was done for the day!”

“Shame that, I was hoping to get some time with you today.” You swear Kieran's voice is echoing. “You sure you can't put that off until the morning?”

“No, I can't, I have to do it now. Ugh, this wouldn't happen if people paid more attention!” 

“I think you should close your laptop.” 

Frustrated, you rub your temples and close your eyes. “Babe I can't. This is for tomorrow's lunch so-” 

“So that means that you'll have time if you wake up early to get it fixed up. I think you should come downstairs.” 

Okay, either you're hearing things or there really is an echo. You frown, setting your phone aside and listening closely for any sounds in the house, but you only hear Shadow, Kieran's dog, pacing downstairs on the wood floors. 

“Did you send another delivery or something babe? Because Shadow always gets anxious when people come up to the door, I wish you'd give me a heads up.” Unfurling to your feet with a heavy sigh, you pad downstairs with your phone tucked between your ear and your shoulder. “One of these days you're gonna give that poor dog a heart attack-”

“Hi baby,” Kieran says, tucking his phone in his pocket. Shadow sits at your boyfriend's side, his tail thumping merrily whilst you stand perfectly still. Your brain goes into overdrive, mentally counting days and confirming that today was not Friday, and therefore Kieran should not be home yet… but here he stands before you, flesh and blood and just as handsome as the last time you saw him.

A delighted, high pitch squeal bubbles out of your chest. Kieran laughs and opens his arms, which you promptly take as an invitation to leap into them and latch onto him like a koala. “Oh my god, oh my god! You're home already?!” 

“I am,” Kieran murmurs into your hair after kissing the top of your head. “I packed up early and decided I couldn't wait another second before I saw you.” The urge to squeeze Kieran until he wheezes is nearly overwhelming. Instead of acting on impulse and earning yourself a lecture, you pry your face out of Kieran's neck- his aftershave tickles your nose- and pepper kisses across his face. 

“I- missed- you- so- much- you- pretty- boy-” Kieran's cheeks become hotter with each peck you press to his skin. Shadow barks to indicate he's keen to join in on the action. Soon Kieran is supporting your weight with a hand under your bum and scratching behind Shadow's ears when the big pup jumps on his hip to demand his attention, too. Kieran is happy to balance you both, eventually crouching down to sit on the floor with you still wrapped around him.

Once Shadow calms down and rests his big head on Kieran’s knee, the room quiets. Kieran draws shapes on the small of your back, letting you gaze upon him for as long as you desire. He is content with your fingertips brushing over his cheekbones, along his stubbled jaw and down the side of his neck. You smile at his contented sigh, the breathy sound distracting you from your reverence. 

“You're actually tan. Took you long enough to stop burning like a tomato.” Your eyes flick to Kieran's smile and you do not stop yourself from stealing a kiss. You'll never take those lips for granted, not after being forced to cope without them for so long. 

Kieran rolls up the sleeve of his white tshirt to show you his tan line. Halfway up his bicep, his golden, tanned skin gives way to his natural pale shade. You trace the line with a finger as Kieran defends himself, “Spanish sun cannae fully fix Scottish skin, my love. But I know you like when I'm not so pale, so I figured I'd soak up as much as I could before I came home.” 

Muscles flex under your finger when Kieran wraps his arms around your middle once more. You lay your palm flat to soak up his warmth and smile to yourself.

“I love you just as much when you're ghostly white. Doesn't matter to me. But the sun makes your little bitty freckles come out, so I do enjoy those.” 

Kieran's nose scrunches up when you lean forward to kiss it. You could sit like this until the end of days and be perfectly happy. With Kieran sat beneath you, soft, idle touches and whispered words would be more than enough to pass the time.

At some point Kieran coaxes both you and Shadow to your feet and leads you to the sofa. A happy sigh falls from his lips when you tumble into him and hook one leg over his hips. Shadow curls up in his normal spot at Kieran's feet like not a day has passed without his dad there. 

“What should we do tonight?” Kieran's words are a rumble beneath the hand you have laid on his chest. When you don't immediately answer, Kieran’s hand lands on the back of your thigh and coaxes you to find your words with a soft squeeze. 

“Dunno. Nothing? I don't plan on moving.” You assume Shadow's moody huff is a sound of agreement and grin. “See? Even the dog doesn't want to move. We want to stay right here and spend some quality time with you.”

The hand that drifts to the hem of your shorts is at odds with Kieran's words. “I guess I can't object to that. Just cuddle? I can at least have a couple kisses, right?” 

Lifting your head just enough to meet his tawny brown eyes, you ponder his request. You drag out the suspense and drum your fingers on his chest despite both of you knowing you would never refuse a kiss. “I'm sure something can be arranged. Put something on the telly to entertain Shadow then, he doesn't need to be scarred for life, mister ‘I can't keep my hands to myself’.”

Kieran lifts a shoulder in a what are ya gonna do kind of gesture before putting on a random nature show that immediately captures Shadow's attention. One of Kieran's hands remains on your thigh whilst the other comes up to cup your cheek and pull your lips to his. 

Stubble scratches your chin, but you don't mind. Right then, all that matters is giving Kieran the kiss he deserves. He expertly pulls soft, breathless sounds from you as his tongue glides against yours. The kiss feels familiar and brand new at the same time, like dejavu in the best possible way.

Breaking away for a chance to breathe allows Kieran to drop kisses like dewdrops across your jaw. You smile when he nibbles softly at the skin of your neck, already unable to contain himself. 

“I said cuddles only tonight my darling,” you remind him. “You're pushing your luck. Behave or I'll make you stay in the spare room tonight.” 

Kieran's laugh is full and throaty. You've missed the true sound of his laughter, without it being distorted by a speaker. “That's an empty threat if I ever heard one. If I was a betting man, my money would be on us falling asleep right here on this sofa.” 

In the end, Kieran turns out to be correct. Neither of you moves an inch as the sun sets, your urgent emails suspended in time while you're safely wrapped up in your boyfriend's loving, tanned arms. 

[sweetcocopowder]

Destiel | Playing Couple Pt.4

Synopsis: After the party, Dean is freaking out because Sam can't reach them until the coming weak. And so he's stuck in the house with the angel.

Word Count: 1.1K

Genre: Supernatural Fluff

Pairing: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Warnings: Still internalized homophobia

Extra notes: Stuck to my promise :]

Pt.3 | Pt.5

The very next day, Castiel calls Sam to come by. That this is bigger than any of them could have ever imagined. But from where the bunker is and how far they’re out, Sam won’t be here until later this week. The younger Winchester is currently out on another hunt with Eileen. It’s sweet to hear, but Dean only wishes for Sam to be here.

Because it’s too long for Dean to be sitting around doing nothing. Waiting for someone to make the move. Because for sure that little scene at the party had only raised questions within the neighbourhood and whatever spell that witch had cast. She’s got her answers. Cas reacted, Dean did not. And Dean’s got his best bet on that she was seeing if they were creatures or not.

Dean wishes he had Sam’s laptop right now so he could up what that symbol the witch cast meant. It’s been itching at his brain the entire day and he can’t stop pacing. Last thing he wants to do his ask Rowena for help.

“Dean. Stop,” Castiel snaps from where he is on the couch, finally having enough of the hunter’s wondering and pacing about.

“What else am I meant to do?” Dean throws his hands in a fit.

“Sit,” is all the angel says.

Dean grumbles to himself before he sits himself down on the far end of the couch from Cas. His foot fidgets and bounces up and down. He hates waiting around and isn’t too good at it when the entire neighbourhood is filled with different creatures.

A firm hand on his thigh stops his bounding foot.

“We’re fine, Dean,” Cas assures him.

Castiel’s hand is warm and that’s all Dean can think of before he pushes himself off the couch, out of the angel’s reach.

“What can we do!?” Dean exclaims as he begins pacing again.

“Unless you want to go headfirst into a bunch of witches, werewolves and other creatures, then I suggest sitting down and waiting for Sam,” Castiel speaks firmly but calmly.

He knows how jittery Dean can become in these types of situations. Shoot first, ask questions later. Even if it means he’s vastly outnumbered. Which is something that only jitters Castiel’s nerves each time he thinks about it. He watches Dean pace back and forth, then into the kitchen to grab himself a beer and chug half the bottle in one go. Cas can only sigh as Dean tries to calm his nerves. The last time he saw him like this, it was quite awhile ago now.

Instead of pacing, Dean comes back to the couch and sits where he originally was with a grunt and a huff. He takes another long drag from his beer before turning to the angel.

“How are you so calm?” Dean asks.

“Because we’re protected and if we both freak out then it won’t do us any favours in the long run,” the angel chides, hoping the message gets through.

In human terms, he needs to calm the fuck down.

“I am calm!” Dean snaps back.

Cas only raises a single brow at that before he leans back into the couch with his hands in his lap. He keeps his eyes on Dean though as the hunter rolls his eyes and downs the rest of his beer.

The rest of the day went by like this. Dean wanted to head outside and ask questions around the neighbourhood. But Castiel stopped him, saying it would only raise more suspicion and they can’t afford that now.

Instead, Castiel burrowed Dean’s phone and rang Gabriella to say thanks for inviting them. She was more than delighted to hear from them and to hear that Cas was fine. She even mentioned that both of them should come by again soon for a little cup of tea.

Dean wanted to say it’s a trap, but Cas wasn’t getting that type of unease with Gabriella. Not even with Dante.

-

That night, after double and triple checking the wards and the salt lines, Dean had put on a movie to ease his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about what the witch had done to Cas. Yes, it was an easy fix. But with how helpless he felt surrounded by so many people, it made him shiver. An uneasiness coming over him. He’s seen the angel in pain before and he wished, prayed even that he never have to hear those noises again.

But here he was, having fresh memories in his head of Castiel crying out in agony. He sips on his fifth beer for the day with a little less enthusiasm than the last.

Cas, having left his trench coat and suit jacket behind, sits down on the other end of the couch with him to join him for the movie. They sit in silence for a while, but Dean can feel that the angel wants to say something.

“Spit it out, Cas,” Dean suddenly says. “You’re making me feel itchy.”

“I want to say we can’t faulter in our disguise now,” Cas inquires. “Especially not now.”

“I know that, Cas,” the hunter says as if it’s obvious.

But the angel only raises a single brow as he frowns slightly. Dean scoffs at this and looks to back to the movie before back at Castiel.

“Do you? Because every time I try and play this role, you’re the one pushing away,” Cas says firmly.

This strikes a nerve in Dean. He wants to snap out, lash out, bite. But he knows why he’s like this. And it all has to do with these weird feelings he has rocking around in him that he can’t make heads or tails of. So he does the only thing he knows and reverts to anger and biting, which doesn’t get him anywhere.

Dean keeps his mouth shut for a few seconds before letting out the air from his lungs he didn’t realize he was holding in. He huffs somewhat to a child and adverts his eyes.

“Then what would you suggest I do?” Dean asks, more or so grumbles.

At this, Castiel shuffles a little closer to the hunter on the couch. By instinct, Dean stiffens up.

“Come here,” and with, Dean is being pulled into the angel’s warm arms.

Dean can’t help but stare at the space in front of him. It’s all pretend. This isn’t real. There’s no need to panic. He shuffles a bit so he can get comfy in Cas’s hold, but the angel makes it clear he isn’t letting go. Not until he relaxes.

They watch the movie in silence but all Dean can think about how… safe he feels. The jumble of emotions running circles in his gut feel like a thousand butterflies. He’s never felt like this flirting with woman. Not even when he knows he’s nervous.

The movie passes by but Dean is very aware of how warm the angel is against him. It’s… nice. And something deep down in Dean, something he will never admit.

He wishes this all wasn’t pretend.

[adventuresasmrsfindley]

Nothing annoys me more than when someone spells my name wrong in an email or Teams chat. It is RIGHT THERE for your reference. 😤 I triple check to make sure I spell names right and everyone else needs to do the same.

[heroiclegendyt]

Master Duel Rookie Guide!

When you're first start Yugioh Master Duel, the temptation is high to just spend all your free gems on anything that the shop promotes at the time. I'm here to advise you that maybe instead of jumping right into such, we instead try to be a little more optimal... then jump right into buying whatever you want.

First Step - What to Buy

There are many Archetypes within Yugioh and some of them do work better than others. Do some studying on what's meta, though if none of that interests you, you're free to try your hand at a Rogue Deck or something out there. While you may not win every match, you'll still have a strong sense of pride and victory when you do come out on top. However, a strong deck starts with a strong base, and these eight cards might just be what you need. The first on your shopping list should be one of the following (Listed by Most Value to Least in my own personal Opinion) :

Infinite Impermanence Set

Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring Set

Lighting Storm Set

Solemn Judgment Set

Triple Tactics Talent Set

Forbidden Droplet Set

Effect Veiler Set

Nibiru, the Primal Being Set

All these bundles provide you with 10 Master Packs with which you can get any number of random, but potentially powerful cards, and even if you strike out with pulls, you are guaranteed at least One SR Rarity Card (10 SR Dust if you don't care with a chance to be 30 if Royal Glossy). On top of that, you have a chance to find Secret Packs for cards you may already want which would eliminate having to craft one first. If anything, you should buy at least ONE of the bundles to help you get started. Once that's done, look at how many gems are left and get started on pulling from a secret pack.

New Packs are also always coming out so be sure to check them. They can have a combination of new and old cards and tend to be more geared towards updating an existing archetype while introducing a new one. They also might just be releasing good generic cards that can help to shape up a deck.

On top of that, if you feel like you'll enjoy using a structure deck more, then I recommend purchases three copies of the deck, looking what it has, removing what you don't care for to add in the extra copies, and crafting/Secret Pack pulling the rest of what you need. It might be cheaper than you know! Remember, a structure deck is 500 gems and you can get three for 1500 gems to get three copies of a card from it (or more from the older ones) and with that you can have a better chance to build the deck that works for you, on top of that, if you get lucky with pulls from a secret pack containing cards from the deck (or the archetype) you may even be able to construct a better deck than ever for much cheaper. Also, as a lil bonus, here are the numbers for ya.

All Eight Sets - 6000 Gems One Copy of Each Structure Deck - 6500 Gems Three Copies of Each Structure Deck - 19500 Gems The Feeling of Victory - Priceless (ImsorryIhadto)

Second Step - Deck Building

Deck construction in any TCG/OCG is important, it determines how often you'll have the chance of drawing what you need to win or what you'll need to survive. Your opening hand could spell victory or defeat, and knowing how your deck can handle things is just as important as knowing what your cards do. On that topic: READ. YOUR. CARDS.

Many a match is lost when someone notices they read the card wrong and have ended up in a situation where they are forced into an action they cannot reverse. There is no 'Oh I didn't mean to do that, can I take it back?' in Master Duel, and you have ample time to read and understand what a card does. When you've constructed a deck you like be it from having pulled cards from a secret pack, a structure deck brought it's bits used to make a deck in tandem with secret pack cards, Normal AND Secret packs used to make your deck, or even the complete insanity of just using Master Packs, take your deck into Solo Mode or Free Duel (if your brave) to see how well it does. Take the time to learn your combos, understand how your cards chain and such, and if you need to, look up guides and videos to better help your deck and deck-building skills.

One other thing you can do, if you need, is going through the Practice Tutorials that Master Duel has for you. Though a lot of it is REALLY BASIC, you might still enjoy a little,

Third Step - Ranked

So, you've brought what you needed, you built your deck, you tried it out and learned it, all that's left is to Duel. Take your deck into Ranked and do your best to climb. Find out what the Meta looks like and make adjustments to your deck to help you fight against it or turn it completely on it's head. If you start to suffer a loss-streak, maybe try building a new deck and see if you might have more luck with that, but the moment it stops being fun, it's time to put down the controller, mouse, or whatever else, and take a break. Tilting can lead to misplays, forgetting about the timing of your cards, or just plain exhaustion. If you're genuinely trying to play so you can participate on a Tournament Level, find ways to help de-stress and de-tilt so you can keep climbing, learning, and trying for the top. Don't compare yourselves to others either, you're going at YOUR pace and at YOUR time.

If you find, during a ranked match, you've already lost and see no point in continuing, don't. Surrender. No points are lost in Ranked, a loss would've been a loss anyway, no need to suffer through it. Though Surrendering forfeits your claims to any bonuses you might've gotten after the duel, you may wish to sit there an just let it happen. Dealer's choice. In my personal opinion, I don't enjoy wasting an extra two-minutes of my life to let my opponent Ego Stroke, so I'll just scope and go next. If you want to stick it out and get your rewards for your plays, go right ahead, you complete your missions even if you lose. It's all up to you to decide how you handle it.

Final Step - Post-Match (Ranked and Casual)

The Match is over! You've either won and are celebrating, or you lost and are trying to figure out what went wrong. There are a few things Master Duel allows you to do Post-Match.

For a limited time, you can grab the gameplay of your match and save it. Simply go to Duel ----> Then go to either Ranked Duel or Casual Match ---> Go to Match History ---> Click on the match you either just did or did a while ago ---> Click Play Replay or Save Replay if you wish to watch over the match or save it for future videos of your own, submission clips to those who upload such, or if you just wanna review things on your own. Your other options are to view the profile of your opponent, confirm their deck or Report (Max is 3 times per Day/Maybe per-opponent?). Confirming a deck is something you can do to see if you were just an unfortunate victim of Konami Favoritism (Not salt(alilsalt)) or if your opponent just had a really well constructed deck. You might also get inspired to try something similar or even take the deck and see if you can improve upon it. Viewing the Profile allows you to see the person you've faced and potentially 'Follow' them. You may find you enjoyed the match and want to follow them or maybe you'd like a rematch and you follow them and try to invite them for a round two. Just don't harass or spam them. Reporting should be reversed for the people who actually did something worthy that you can prove or at least have strong evidence of some wrong-doing.

I thank you for reading this whole thing if ya did and do certainly hope that I was able to help out in some form. Obliviously, this is for new players to Master Duel and potentially Yugioh as a whole. I'm no expert and alot of what I do here is casual play and opinion, granted my casual play is just Ranked cause... rewards, but yeah. I still do hope this was able to help, enhance, or simply just give ya little smirk or smile, even if it's at my expense ;u ;

[the-panmixxia]

Pound of Prevention (and an ounce of cure) Chapter 3

"Greetings. Welcome to Compendium Library for References and National Research. Might I assist in any way, or point you in the direction of the correct section for your needs?" 

The person in front of them was undoubtedly a vampire, more apparent than Remy could ever be. Pale white skin, pristine black hair, and sharp red eyes - all sitting on an angled face, and donning a rather teacher-esque outfit. The name 'Logan' was clipped to their breast pocket. 

Remy perked up, dramatically throwing an arm around Virgil and smiling. "Hey babes, we're here to look at curses and such. You got like, 'Warlocks for Dummies' or something?" 

Logan blinked, looking vaguely suspicious. "Neither of you are warlocks or witches. You do realize you are incapable of casting spells?" 

"Uh-huh, yeah babes, totally. We're just like, trying to be supportive! Our roommate is totally a spell caster and we just wanna look into it, make sure we don't uhh, ruin any spells?" 

"While I have the distinct impression you are deceiving me on this front, all information is free to be accessed by all members of the public so I have no true reason to withhold it. So, follow me, I will lead you to a selection of books that I feel will assist you in whatever concealed agenda you have. Right this way. "

The trio made their way through an impressive array of shelves, stacked high with ladders on a track to reach taller levels. There were hardly any other people within the library, mainly stereotypical professor-type people hobbling around to create their next thesis. The back of the building seemed to be a lot colder, shelves no longer having plaques or markings, making the whole area feel out of bounds. But the guide abruptly turned heel, with a perfectly inoffensive four-finger point down an aisle. 

"I believe these books will most pertain you your queries. Please note that as a reference library you may not take these books and scriptures home, you are permitted to read on the desks in the center or come to the front where I will gladly photocopy pages for you. The first five pages may be photocopied free of charge, then each page will be five cents for black and white, seven cents for color. You are not permitted to eat or drink, or have any potentially staining products in this area. Any damage to the books that is evidently intentional or grossly severe can face punishment of a permanent ban from the premises. Now, we ask you to stay quiet and respectful of others as they expand their knowledge. Bathrooms are on the third floor, accessible via the elevator or stairs. We are open twenty four hours, seven days a week, so you are welcome to spend as much time as you like."

Remy smirked, throwing a cocky salute to their fellow vampire. "Sir, yes sir!" 

Seemingly unaware of the sarcasm, Logan nodded back 

"Thank you, nestling. Enjoy your stay." 

Logan was swift to leave, making his way back to the desk at a brisk - yet not supernatural - speed, while Remy gawked at the perceived slight. 

"Girl! Do not call me that! Virge, Virgey, did you hear that bitch? Ugh, yelp is gonna hear about this one-" 

"Remy, shut up and help me look at the books." 

The two worked in unison, searching shelves and carefully thumbing through old journals to find any shreds of information that could help them. Most entries were non descriptive, or cautionary tales about not pissing off powerful magic users which was, you know, a bit too late for Virgil. 

-

"Oh! This might be the one, the curse is really similar to mine, but this girl turns into an owl each night… Much cooler to be honest. C'mon, where's the reverse, she has to get better-" 

"Babes? That's a novel, not a first hand account."

"Ah, fuck." 

-

"Oohh, babes, for realsies, I think I've found it! Super old, check, written by an actual warlock, check, an itemized anthology of hexes, curses, and spells? Triple check!" 

Virgil metaphorically pounced, the two roommates ending up practically cuddled up on the floor as they observed the book. The first few pages had an English translation next to the traditional script, but after the introduction, it was entirely foreign. Crap. 

Virgil stared at the text, willing the pages to make any semblance of sense. Spook sighed, slamming it shut while rubbing spooks eyes. 

"Well, we need to find someone that can help us with spells, or whatever this is classed as."

Remy was quiet for a moment, biting their lip and shrugging a feigned nonchalance, "I know my sire can read this shit. It's like, old timey language that all the magical ghoulies used to read and write in so they could have their own super secret club." They tapped a symbol while pouting. "I could probably find some way to contact her?" 

Virgil frowned in distaste, watching Remy's expressions close. Admittedly, Virgil didn't know the intricacies of vampire society, but what spook did know was that, typically, sires were very protective of their fledglings even after the rearing. 

Nestlings were kept in the 'nest', a broad term for the main residence of the sire but there was often an actual nest of blankets involved, for fifty or so years, at least. After that time slot, the nestling, now considered a fledgling, is allowed to wander round at night so long as they're tucked under the sire's arm the whole time. Somewhere around a hundred and twenty years a vampire would be fully formed with all the dlc that came with it. 

Remy wasn't a decade turned yet. 

Remy's so-called sire was sheepishly handing Remy a set of keys to this very apartment, telling them to find a roommate for company (this is where Virgil came in. Essentially the baby vampire's emotional support puppy.) and she'll sort the rent, and then booking it across the world for who knows what. Virgil hasn't met this woman, but from Remy's accounts, she shows up every few months to bombard him with love, drink from each other to strengthen the sire-fledgling bond, promises to be more present, then inevitably leaves. 

It hurt Virgil most that Remy still spoke so fondly of this woman, despite the hurt. Spook gently held their cold hand, half smirking. 

"I'd rather stay a cat forever than meet that woman. We'll find someone else, there's probably a lot of people that can still read this language."

"Pfft, you're right. Wouldn't want to call her back from a very important vacation. I'm sure we can find another fossil to read this crap." 

"What about Logan? He seems, uh, academic. Surely he's an old enough vampire to see the use in learning this." 

"What? No way, I'm not asking for that nerd's help, he insulted me to my face." 

"I'm sure it wasn't an insult, Remy-" 

"It was, we're not asking!" 

"Remy!" 

"Nope." 

"Remy…" 

"Ugh, fine. Let's just clean this up first."

Virgil took one pile, while Remy took the other, working in conjunction to tidy the area up. It was rather relaxing to potter away and organize the endless shelves. Remy was a little less meticulous and was only concerned with getting the books back on the shelf, not breaking their brain trying to remember their exact placement like Virgil. 

When the two finally approached the front desk, Virgil holding the opened book like a damned caroler, Logan was working away at an ancient looking computer (who on earth would willingly use a Macintosh Classic? Not even the color model?) The older vampire gave no indication of noticing the two, but before either could speak up, Logan had saved whatever document he was working on and was standing up to address them.

"Salutations. I see you have selected a book to help with your endeavors, would you like to utilize the photocopying machine, or search up a cited reference on the database?" 

"Oh, no thank you," Virgil gave a hesitant smile. "We need someone to, um, help us read this?" 

"You can't read the book?" Logan asked with slightly raised brows. 

"Uh, no, we can't, we were hoping you'd read it to us if you aren't busy?" 

The librarian softened his gaze, leaning closer to lower his voice. "I see. In twenty minutes I finish my shift and would be happy to help you two comprehend. For the future, I do assist certain charities to offer these free lessons…"

Remy grabbed the pamphlet, frowning at the 'adult literacy lessons' and sliding it back over. 

"No, babes, we can fucking read." 

"Remy, he's being nice, stop being a grumpy bitch. Sorry about that, what we mean is we can't read this. It's written like, minecraft enchantments or something." 

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Logan interjected, fiddling with his tie and looking unbearably bashful. "Is this a mockery?" 

"No! No, I'm sorry, Remy's a little unbearable right now cause he's not slept for thirty hours and it's manifesting in almighty bitchiness. Uh, we were hoping with how knowledgeable you are that you could help us translate it to English, cause the book is like all these weird letters."

"Oh. Certainly, may I see the text in question? Let us sit at this table and I will see what I can do." 

Virgil, Remy, and Logan all rounded the study table, moving the educational pamphlets to sit the ancient book in front of the equally ancient vampire (Virgil was assuming Logan was ancient, Remy was normally only this crabby with the old ones, mainly because most stared them out for being an unattended newly turned) 

"Ah. This book is entitled Puttuhk, an attempted encyclopedia of known spells to be cast by Warlocks and possible variations and uses for the spells. The reverse of each page enlists the reverse for the spell to negate the effects. It was written by 'Üswa the Untold, a powerful Warlock from 1422. She lived in Danzig, the capital of the Teutonic Order which is close to modern day Gdsank, Poland. The script you're intending to decipher is Mettan, considered a dead language akin to Latin, but used predominantly by magic users." Logan's gaze looked up to Remy, tilting his head inquisitively. "I assume your sire has scripture in this language, you seem somewhat familiar despite being unable to read it."

Virgil squeezed Remy's knee gently, trying to convey a message of "please don't, we need him" the vampire physically swallowed his words. 

"That's… probably perfect, thank you. We're looking for a reversal in particular, it's quite strong." 

Logan nodded and switched to the index while Virgil rattled off the specifications of the curse Janus had cast. In turn Logan would ask questions, often long winded and seemingly unimportant - was the caster left or right handed? Did the recipient experience unconsciousness after the curse had been cast? What day of the week did it occur? All of these Virgil answered, while also trying to not make it obvious that spook was the one that turned into an animal at night. 

"The machinations of this curse are truly complex, likely deliberate, has the recipient visited a clinical witch doctor to help alleviate the curse?" 

"Um, apparently when they went the doctor just uh, said there wasn't much they could do without having the perpetrator." 

"Ah, and did the two not know each other? Was there no way to contact the perpetrator?" 

"No." Virgil simply responded. "They aren't on good terms, it isn't an option." 

"I see. Well, I am obligated to inform you that despite being a very well informed individual I do not have formal education on this subject. Despite this, I feel I have the correct reversal highlighted here. Would you like to write down my translation?" 

There was a plain notebook on the desk, which the librarian nodded towards as a prompt to begin writing. Truthfully, Virgil was just planning to record Logan speaking on spooks phone but decided it probably seemed rude considering how much effort Logan seemed to be putting into this. Spook hadn't written in a while, but hopefully it will still be legible. 

"Right, to begin, this reversal is technically an entirely new spell. This time it is a ward that will deflect the previous hexx from afflicting you by working to protect the physical body from transformations. I'm just confirming that this can only be done on Humans, Elves, Centaur, Manticore, Satyr, Gorgons, Naga, Gnomes, and Ogres. This is because these creatures are not able to naturally shift their form, which if they could, would cause major conflict with this ward." Logan waited for both parties to confirm before continuing. "To begin this ritual, the one with the curse, hence described as the "subject" must be at a point of elevation no less than thirty meters - this would've traditionally been achieved on a cliff top, but any tall building should suffice - and most prepare a blue flame with these harvested ingredients; the venom of a vampire, the pelt of a were, blood of a fae, scale of serpentine, and lastly on offering of their own-"

"How the heck do we get a were pelt? Ask a wolf if we can pretty please skin it?" Remy asked, swishing a can of cold brew that he'd had stored in his bag. To be fair, it had been over an hour, that was a long time for Remy to be without coffee. Logan looked slightly peeved but made no comments towards. 

"Well. The pelt is referring most to the fur of the Were, so receiving it can be entirely consensual. Once the blue flame has been successfully fed, it should turn a vivid purple and gravitate towards the subject. The flame will chase the subject at that point until they digest it. The process will burn, and likely leave the subject unwell for a long while after as they heal. Hospitals are equipped to handle these types of recoveries though if the subject is struggling to heal or simply needs somewhere to rest."

Huh. Aside from the strange array of items the process seemed rather straightforward. Virgil was expecting the full shebang with cloaks and ritual daggers. Maybe even a goat or something. 

"It seems…easy enough?" Spook hummed after a moment's thought, sitting up a little with slight confidence. "I mean uh, I'll let them know and we can, you know, help this person reverse the hexx. Yeah!" 

"Magic has a reputation of being complex and dangerous, partly because of humans fearing the unknown and partly due to Warlocks guarding their practices from outside communities."

"We stan a gatekeeping queen. Work it!" The younger vampire chirped, curling their lip in a smug smile to show off some fang. From what little Virgil knew about vampire culture, the gesture would be considered quite rude and overconfident. Like putting your feet on someone's coffee table when you've just met. Logan didn't seem to care, though, so perhaps not all senior vampires were sticklers for etiquette. 

"I have no understanding of your rhetoric, one of my coven mates uses the term 'stan' to show admiration for an individual but I fail to see why you'd use it on a porter. Is it metaphorical?" 

"...No."

"Right, we need to go." Virgil sent spooks roommate a sharp elbow jab, smiling at Logan just enough to be polite. "Thank you very much for your help. We'll, uh, pass this information on to the uh, person. Yeah. Thanks, again."

"It is no problem, I am always happy to provide knowledge where needed. I hope your acquaintance is able to purge the hexx ailing them." 

"Yep. Yup. Bye, babes. C'mon Virgey," the young vampire wrapped an arm around their roommate, lowering their voice despite almost definitely knowing that the other vampire could hear it. "It's time for an epic, not at all tedious, fetch quest!"

"Oh, brother. This is gonna be a whole thing, huh? At least step one and five is covered between us. That's slightly less overwhelming."

"Yup. Just gotta pluck a Naga, shave a wolf, and stab a fairy. Average Wednesday evening, to be honest." 

Virgil sighed and flicked hair out of spooks face, clambering back into Remy's shitty little car. 

At least Remy seemed somewhat optimistic. 

[keeplearninbud]

Day 5 (10-12-23)

Today was a bit frustrating, but not because of coding.

I finished the accessibility lesson. I'm not sure how much I retained, despite taking some notes. For some reason my browser is using a ridiculous amount of memory, whichmade it run really slow and interrupted my natural workflow. I'm not really sure how to fix it. I wanted to figure it out today, but I think I'm a little too tired. Hopefully I can figure out how to make it run more smoothly before it's time to code tomorrow.

Unfortunately my ADHD is trying its best to kick my ass right now. I felt like I was being pulled in a million directions by my brain. There were so many things I wanted to do, and none of them could satisfy me because One Thing cannot be All The Things. It's an almost manic state, bouncing from activity to activity, constantly distracted by my phone or thoughts or anything at all, barely able to make myself do things like eat and pee. I'm much better now at not neglecting my body during these times but it's not easy. I'm so frustrated that I don't have my meds right now because of a spelling error. My insurance misspelled my last name on my card and I have to wait for it to be fixed. Whoever entered my name wrong should have been triple checking their work. Especially because it was an account reactivation and they had to change my name from the correct spelling, not just enter a name from scratch. I've done data entry and I triple checked everything. It's even more important when you're dealing with healthcare info.

I've done all I can about that, though. Overall, I am happy I was able to stay consistent despite all the obstacles.

[kookies2000]

I haven't been diagnosed with autism but there's memories I look back at and realize that maybe I should get diagnosed.

One time in 5th grade, my class was doing a group project. We had to draw the states and the capitals of the US. Along with oceans, lakes, and rivers. My group wanted me to tell them where everything went and what the names were. While they drew it out. The thing is, they got annoyed with me whenever I ran to the map on the classes wall to make sure I had it down perfect. I would keep double checking, triple checking, quadruple checking the list of states we had to make sure it was all right. I would repeatedly tell them the names and how to spell them, but I would say it wrong sometimes, and I would panic when I made a mistake. They got so annoyed with me that I ended up hiding underneath the desk and cried for almost the rest of the class time.

They felt bad and tried to get me out. They only got me out when they offered me a candy bar, apologized, let me do the drawing, and told me where everything went. We did finish the project, by the way.

[igglemouse]

My Tuesday starts off in the most surreal way possible, with Niklas pacing around myself and performing some kind of magic around my house. He claims it is a it is a ward against 'dark magic' which makes me wonder if he knows what I did last night. I watched him for a little while before having to go off to work but I wonder if what he's doing is strong enough to protect me? It's the thought that counts I guess. I'm always just happy to have him around.

When I get home you can probably guess what I do. That's right, hop into my bath, but this time instead of lemon and lime slices or rose petals I fill it with mud and just relax. It was actually my first day with the paper delivery thing and I'm not sure if I'll stick with it but I did want to bring in more simoleons so I had to do something.

I will admit something to you though. It's hard to relax with what happened last night. It still swirls in my mind, images of it, pieces of the conversation, the chanting...it now feels like some strange dream but that's not the worst part. The worst part is the ball. There was something about it and now that I think about it I feel weaker for having seen it. It's hard to explain but...

I could just be imagining things. I'm delusional, as you know, and maybe it is nothing in the end.

Let's not dwell on magic and focus on something more tangible right now like my writing. Which, actually, kind of sucks. I do enjoy doing it though and it lets me plays with ideas and words and it really is its own kind of magic when you think of it. With my fingers and my mind I can create entire worlds! Crappy ones with inconsistent characters and so many plot holes that a story of mines might give you trypophobia but its mine!

Can you believe this? He's cooking now! Just mac and cheese, basic, yes, very basic. Anyone can make that but it really is the thought that matters. This guy is cleaning, creating wards, cooking, and just checking every box he possibly could. To be honest if he started to get down on one knee I'd say yes before he presented the ring. Well, maybe, but the fact that I have to think about it means something right?

By the way, the mac and cheese was okay. Nothing special, but, it's the thought that...I've said that like fives times now huh? Well it is true!

In the middle of my meal VVV calls and so I slip into the other room to take it. Nik doesn't know about the Matlock Society cult thingy. I'm not sure if I should tell him and since I'm not sure right now I've decided to not. I'm sure eventually he'll find out or maybe he'll find out if he has some spell for eaves dropping? I imagine that's a thing?

As for what I talk about with Triple V, I most ask her WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK DID I WITNESS!? Sorry, excuse me, but it is a fair question, isn't it? She claims it was nothing, just 'magic' and something 'amazing' as if that is supposed to be enough of an explanation.

I feel like there was something more going on because I realize it's left me feeling a little weaker? I can't quite put my finger on it, but something inside of me is a little off? I don't bring it up to Vee. Why do that? She's just going to say it's nothing I fear...

I come back to find him finished with his mid mac and cheese and sitting happily on the couch watching my crappy little TV. The guy seems completely content and I'm not sure why because you can barely make out shapes on that thing. I settle down on the couch next to him and I wonder out loud; "Do you even have a place?"

He gives me a chuckle and raises a brow. "Do you think I'm homeless?"

"That doesn't answer the question now does it?" I shoot back playfully and give him a small smile. "I guess magic doesn't pay well especially when you can't use it."

He shakes his head and laughs. "Yeah, that's true. I make exactly zero simoleons off of my spellcasting but I'm not exactly a powerhouse in that department, you know? Even if I were you also know the Realm would not allow it." He says all this with so much indifference that it reminds me that his stance when it comes to magic is sincere. He doesn't care for it. Is it because he's so weak magically that he knows it'll never really matter to him or is there some other deeper meaning?

"Yeah..." and I shouldn't dwell on it but Alana, the robed figure, her words hold some truth. The Realm rules are so strict that they've made magic...useless. "Have you ever thought that maybe they go too far? The Realm I mean?"

He shrugs as it truly doesn't matter to him? "I guess they have their reasons yeah? There was a time when we were burned and drowned and all sorts of terrible things. Imagine how angry people would be if they knew there were others out to manipulate them with magical abilities?"

My head nods as I try to see it from his point of view. Magic comes with risks and there is so much I don't know about it. Yet still I feel like there is more that can be done? "I guess I just don't get the purpose? What is the purpose of having that power if you can't even use it?"

"Grace? Remember?" his voice is firm and serious, his eyes meet mines so that I know he's not joking around. "Vampires? Shifters? Evil Spirits? VAMPIRES?"

"Umm, you said that last one twice!" I say with a laugh and hoping to ease the tension that I feel coming from him but he doesn't laugh back. There is something there in his eyes, the hint of some past tragedy? Grief? I don't know but I'm guessing the threat isn't theoretical for him. It's happened.

"Yeah, if you'd ever met one you wouldn't find it funny either," he says in a lower tone. A somber one. I'm curious what his experience might be with one of our favorite midnight drinkers but I know better than to pry.

"Yeah..." is really all I can say because saying too much might reveal that I have met one and honestly? Honestly she seemed pretty nice? Strange, sure sure sure, and a little intimidating, sure sure sure, but she was pretty polite? Her maker, not so much, but I had a ward protecting me against that sooooo...

"Any ways," he starts before I can say anything else. "Don't think too much about it. Honestly, if I could, I'd move far far away and just try to live a normal life."

I guess that is easy for him to say huh? I guess the one issue I have with Niklas is that he has all this power at his finger tips and he seems so content to ignore it. He could be right, this could all be more trouble than its worth but...for now, I'll jump into a game and just see what tomorrow might bring...

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