#Executor tips

[dc-probate-attorney]

How Personal Representatives Can Avoid Hot Water in Estate Administration

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[reve-de-sang]

i love this a lot. i wanted to do a series of oneshots with lestat v florence. i wanted shade that would darken the earth. it was going to be fucking hilarious.

but first my brain forced me to get him in the house somehow.

getting this man in the door again, let alone living there? for my brain it takes Paul making a different choice and Lestat going all in. and Louis, with no tragedy to torch his life, facing his own misery. and a little more sex.

--

“You still doing business with that man Lestat?”

“Nah. Didn’t work out.”

“That’s good. ‘Cause he the devil.”

“You think everyone’s the devil.”

“He’s here to take souls. He told me so. He spoke to me without moving his lips.”

“He got tricks is all.”

“Mortal sins must be confessed, Louis.”

“Ain’t never gonna see him again, Paul.”

Paul nodded thoughtfully.

“You think Levi loves her enough? You know, Grace needs a lot of love.”

“I do.”

“Do you think he’s givin’ her everything he’s got inside him?”

Louis nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

Paul sighed, and stood up from his perch on the rooftop adjacent to Louis. “Mother made a good party for Grace.”

“Mm-hmm. Yeah, they gon’ talk about this one for years,” Louis grinned. 

Paul considered Louis. Louis’s face was bathed in the gold of the rising sun as he studied the sky.

“I love you, Louis.”

“And I love you too, baby brother.”

Paul made his way over and sat down on the peak of the roof next to Louis. “I ate too much chocolate cake,” Paul sighed. 

They watched the sunrise blossom from pink to lemon.

—

“I don’t take kindly to being avoided,” a voice at his elbow growled. 

Louis tipped back the last of his sazerac and met Lestat’s eyes in the mirror behind the bar. “Most people would pick up on the message in that. You all more direct in France? Tell each other to fuck off?” 

Louis had perhaps had too much to drink tonight. He felt worn thin. Things were supposed to have gotten back to normal after Grace’s wedding. He was back to being the dutiful son, the flawless executor of his family’s estate, the benevolent brother and caretaker, the generous parishioner, the upstanding community member, the ruthless proprietor, the deferential fellow businessman to the white power players who kept him in the orbit of their social circle—but never any closer. Every hour was accounted for, every movement beyond reproach. 

But “normal” didn’t work anymore. It was like having his head shoved back under water. He hadn’t had a breath in weeks, and Lestat looked like the surface of the ocean above him.

Even now he felt his heart pound at Lestat’s mere proximity. Damn him. 

Lestat waited for the bartender to pass them by. They had a miraculous bubble around them from the crowd at the moment, but nowhere would’ve been private enough for the conversation Louis was trying to avoid.

“You send mixed messages,” Lestat said, looking away from the mirror to address Louis’s profile. “Before your absence you made an excellent case for our…continued business dealings.”

“My schedule is full, Lestat. I don’t have time for what you’re proposing. Or interest, either, for that matter.” Louis signaled the bartender for another drink.

“A drowning man pouring even more fluids down his throat,” Lestat mused.

“What do you know about it.” He needed to tell him to fuck off. He was going to find the strength any moment now.

“Quite a lot, actually. By my own experiences.”

A tipsy man and woman bumped gently against Louis’s elbow as they settled at the bar, and apologized. Louis ignored them, and also tried to ignore the weight of Lestat’s gaze on him. 

“Before I came to America, I, too, ran my family’s estate. A town of people looked to me to fulfill a role. There was no escaping it, despite my attempts. It became my identity. I know what it means to suffocate, Louis.”

Louis scoffed. “Yet here you are.” The bartender slid his new glass to him, removed the empty.

“I met someone. We fell in love. My mother financed our escape.”

Louis rolled his eyes over to Lestat with sharp scorn. “So you abandoned your family.”

“Yes. Save for my mother, I despised them. And this person I loved showed me what it was to live.” Lestat laid his hand on the bar near Louis’s elbow, conversationally, not touching, but tantalizingly close. “However, you do not need to abandon your family, or your beautiful city, to live, Louis.”

“I’m doing just fine.”

 <<You are several fathoms deep, I wonder that you have endured so long. Perhaps it is practice. But now that you have had a taste of air, you will not survive like this. You know what it is to breathe, now.>>

Louis was humiliated to find sudden tears burning at his eyes and looked away, trying furiously to stifle them. Knocking most of his drink back. “Cut it out.”

<<Oh, Louis.>>

The woman next to him bumped Louis again as she burst into a gale of laughter, and Lestat steadied Louis’s elbow as he stumbled. Startled at the electric contact, they locked eyes.

“It is too crowded in here, and hot,” Lestat said. “Let’s get a breath of fresh air.”

—

Louis leaned into his intoxication on the walk back to Lestat’s place, inevitably Lestat’s place. He was too drunk to do the right thing, too drunk to remember his obligations, too drunk not to sin. 

He wasn’t drunk enough.

He was far too lucid as he pounced on Lestat the second the front door clicked closed, and was the one to drag them, guide them up the stairs as they feverishly slipped their tongues and lips together, pushing each others’ clothes away from their bodies. If it was inevitable tonight, Louis didn’t want to fuck around with music boxes and glass tumblers of expensive whiskey and talk.

Lestat took him apart in his bed once more, yet Louis felt power in being the one to cause Lestat’s hands to tremble, to inspire Lestat’s worshipful kisses down his body, settling between Louis’s legs like a supplicant. 

Louis couldn’t deny his own hand in this, how powerfully he needed it to happen. As they merged together, Lestat at his throat and buried in his body, Louis coaxed Lestat to greater heights—harder thrusts, stronger pulls from his neck—chasing the exquisite joining and obliteration of isolation in his own body.

Louis’s lungs were heaving like a racehorse as he came down in the aftermath. Like before, Louis had the sensation they were of one mind as they stared, dazed, into each others’ eyes. Louis’s skin was a continuation of Lestat’s, and Lestat trailed a palm over his hip, an extension of himself. Lestat’s still-hard cock was Louis’s, sheathed deep within him; they shivered in unison as Louis squeezed down to stoke the pleasure again.

<<We should live like this forever,>> someone thought, and they agreed. 

—

And then it was morning.

The windows glowed lilac before sunrise. Louis stirred; he’d maybe had an hour of sleep, but he felt more alive than he had in years.

Reality hit him like a blow. 

He needed to learn how to cut all of this out of himself all over again.

“No,” Lestat rasped, coming awake with Louis's thoughts. <<Louis. Choose us. Choose us,>> he pleaded.

Louis curled away. They both groaned in pain, and Louis dug the heels of his hands into his eyes.

“Can’t.”

Lestat shifted to press his forehead to Louis’s shoulder blade. <<Then take me into your world. Don’t leave me here.>>

Louis froze. “What?”

“Louis. My dowry would eclipse your family’s fortune several times over.” He pressed a kiss to Louis’s spine, skated his knuckles down Louis’s ribs. “Give your mother one more son to keep her in the life to which she is accustomed. A stronger safety net for Paul. And you…the companion heart you have been longing for.”

Louis reached back to still Lestat’s hand, clasp it. “That’s not going to work here. I don’t know what you get up to in France? But you have to know that’s insane.”

Something about the sunrise felt urgent to Louis, but he pushed it from his mind. He turned in the bedsheets to face Lestat. He forgot what he was going to say as they cupped each other’s faces. 

“Say yes.”

“I— I don’t— The world doesn’t work like that.”

“You make me want to try.”

“What?”

“Louis,” Lestat murmured. “You know that money opens most doors. And you must know the things I can do—” a frisson of power washed over them, “—has depths unfamiliar to you. But more than those things, if we are for each other, we can have a life we neither of us could have dreamed of.

“I want to tell you a story, Louis. I was sworn to secrecy, and the man who demanded my oath would kill you if he learned of this. But I swear to protect you with my life. You see—I have witnessed the kind of life we want. It was on an island, far from here. I will tell you how we can have something like it and make a home.” He stroked his thumb over Louis’s cheekbone. “There is danger in this knowledge. The choice is yours.” Lestat hesitated, looking uncertain, hopeful. Desperate. “Do you want to know?”

“Lestat. I— What the fuck is wrong with your head.” 

—

Louis’s distantly related cousin was overjoyed to find a family relation in New Orleans. They regaled their usual fellow card players at the Fair Play of their chance discussion of their ancestors, and their excitement at discovering kin in front of them all along.

“To have a likeminded ancestor travel from Auvergne to the new world—no wonder the journey called to me,” Lestat reflected as he lost a round of poker lavishly. Tom knew he was being buttered up with the winnings, but was off-balance as to how to treat the burgeoning union before him. 

Tom didn’t care what kind of money this ridiculous fucking foreigner threw around, there wasn’t room at the societal table for du Lac to move up in the ranks. Fenwick, when he sobered up, was going to throw a shitfit, but for now he seemly dimly ambivalent.

<<I would rather have your support than your ambivalence, Tom,>> Lestat’s voice rang in his head. Tom felt a sense of vertigo as he noticed the sudden stillness of the other players, frozen in their movements. Du Lac and Lioncourt alone were animated, smoking their respective cigar and cigarette, regarding Tom the way he himself was used to appraising those who worked for him. How drunk was he?

<<We’re so glad that you know a good opportunity when you see it. And that you’ve decided to take us under your wing as we expand our interests in the city,>> Lestat’s voice continued, everywhere and nowhere at once. He ashed his cigarette and studied Tom with his eerie cold eyes. <<Your generous offer to sell us the Fair Play at such a bargain—well. It feels like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.>>

“Uh, yes,” Tom stuttered, knuckling an eye. He felt like he was in a dream. He’d always liked Lioncourt, and du Lac was a decent fellow. Seemed a shame not to cultivate a strong relationship there. “Happy to, happy to. I know a good opportunity when I see it. I’ve decided to take y’all under my wing as you expand your interests in the city.” Tom sniffed, absently felt for his tumbler of whiskey. 

“Feels like—well. To the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Tom said, giving them a jaunty toast and draining his glass.

—

Louis absolutely refused for Lestat to use his tricks on his family. Anyone outside the house: fine. But not on his family.

“You’re doing what?” Florence’s polite voice could have frozen over hell. 

“Lestat will be moving in with us, Mama.” Louis perched on the edge of the sofa in the parlor. Lestat’s posture next to him was more relaxed, but Louis sensed his tension. Florence sat across from them. In Louis and Lestat’s planning for this, Lestat had insisted Louis was not truly asking for permission, and Louis agreed. They both knew they were lying to themselves. 

“We’re going to be working closely on a large business proposition over the next several years. Developments in the city,” Louis continued. He glanced to Lestat. “Lestat will be merging his fortune into ours.”

“Madam,” Lestat began, plucking an envelope from his inside suit pocket. “I have had my attorney make an accounting of my assets that will soon be at the du Lac family’s disposal. However, we would like your blessing.” Lestat offered her the envelope. “Does this meet with your approval?” 

Florence received the envelope as if she had been handed someone’s soiled handkerchief. And it smelled.

She delicately lifted up the flap and extracted the fine parchment. Florence tucked the envelope behind the document as she unfolded it and regarded the accounts.

Louis cut his eyes to Lestat. Narrowed them. No tricks, he willed Lestat to understand. Lestat gave him a tense smile in return. No tricks.

The silence was very long. Florence’s face was stone. Lestat imagined he saw a journey in her eyes as she made massive shifts to her priorities and sensibilities and tolerances. It was a breathtaking fortune after all.

“Well, then,” Florence intoned in her melodic voice as she returned the document to its envelope. “I’m sure Louis will make adequate accommodations for you in the carriage house. It’s been recently remodeled.” She tilted the envelope back to Lestat, and he took it. “Welcome to our home.”

“Oh, he won’t need the carriage house, Mama,” Louis smiled firmly. “We’ll be sharing my quarters. We’ll be working on a lot of business propositions. Wouldn’t want to disturb the household.”

Florence’s tight smile could have frozen over hell.

Paul glared at them from the hallway as if they’d just dipped communion wafers in dogshit. Louis gave him a hopeful smile. Lestat gave him a wink.

[konigsblog]

heyy can you please 😭 write a story about princess reader and Konig but he's someone very dangerous in old times like 1458 (whatever) and she's like not allowed to even look at him, ykwim 🥴 (maybe an executor?)

if you actually do this I just love you, thank you ❤️❤️

fallen for your love - villian!könig x f!princess!reader

warnings; smut, of course. nothing more than that really. maybe corruption kink?

you'd been forbidden to even look at him, you wouldn't dare spare him your loving gaze, atleast that's what your parents thought. you were the princess of the village, kind and adoring, affection and giving. always helping around, smiling at those who showed you respect. but you'd never expected to see that man, him. his name was könig, he was called a villain, described as heartless and evil, terrifying. those who heard of him were told he was a disgusting killer; going around villages, entering innocent homes and leaving them soaked in their blood, his scarred hands stained with the crimson liquid.

his gaze lingered, it never broke from you. you worried you'd become a target, people ushering you into their cozy, welcoming homes for support and safety, yet instead you turned you heel, dashing off into the distance.

the castle's doors slammed shut, a desperate attempt to block out the screams of bloody murder echoing from the village. you could feel as tears brimmed in your eyes, guilt stinging in your chest as you sobbed and weeped by the door, covered by your royal gown. it was overhead by the maids running around your house, dusting off any grey fuz that landed atop of objects, wiping down the kings crown as well as the table. you caught the attention from a few maids - but you were too distraught by the misery filling your ears, and they knew what happened.

the next morning was supposed dreadful, horrible. you expected to wake up in your bed; fluffy bedsheets wrapped around your body, your delicate head rested on a perfectly fluffed pillow. but instead, you turned your head to the side, revealing a monster infront of you. you gasped, trembling under his tight grip, a whimper flowing from your lips, eyes widened with shock and terror. his touches were soft, nothing like the murderer everyone made him out to be. they became lustful, groping your plump tits, hands running under your laced, precious night gown, fingers playing with your slit, kissing and biting at your neck.

you quickly became addicted to the feeling of his hands; your father demanding men to never lay a hand on you, still desperately protecting his little girl. he'd be pissed to know you let a man touch you sexually, let alone the villain of the village. his thumb teased your clit, coating his hand in your juices, slick coating the skin around your thighs. the sound of belt clicking amd rustling could be heard from outside the room, hoping to not wake up your motionless parents, asleep.

his length slowly entered your stretched out hole, mewling at the pain, eventually drowning in pleasure as he bottomed out inside you. your legs twitched, as well as his thick, girthy cock, bottom lip quivering in fear and bliss. könig wanted you to expect delicacy, but the sounds of skin slapping; his heavy, full balls slapping against your tight ass, mesmerized with the tightness. his tip grew red and angry, slamming into you with such force it knocked the wind from your lungs, silencing you with his palm, bumping you forward with each hard thrust. veins dragged out your walls, slamming back instead, cunt growing raw with his aggressiveness.

he adored the suprised, fucked-out expression you wore. grunting and growling as your walls continued to pulse around him, clenching and squeezing him, pulling him in closer. drawing his hips back, rutting back in your cunny, your nipples hardened with pleasure, bucking your hips skywards as your orgasm rapidly built up. rubbing at your clit slowly, teasing you and dragging your orgasm out, your needy, muffled moans attempting to escape, blocked by his hand. he tilted his head, his eyes crinkled behind the mask as he smirked down at you, furrowing his eyebrows, rapidly thrusting into you. it all quickly became too much, intoxicating.

your first time spent with the terrifying figure, looming over your smaller figure, grinding his bare length into you. you squirted against his abdomen, uncovering your mouth as you let out a loud, high and pornographic moan, awakening your parents. he stayed inside you, spurting his potent, thick and hot seed, filling your tight pussy with his sex and cum, scent rubbed off onto you. he leaned down, pressing a kiss to your clit before moving to your lips, making out with your sloppily and slowly, it was affectionate, you could taste his love on your lips.

before you could speak, he ran off. opening the doors to your balcony, jumping out with a swift movement, leaving you naked and full. you covered your body in an instant as your parents grasped the door handle, turning it and swinging it open, worried for your wellbeing and safety. watching your lone, limp form, covered in your soft bed covers.

[weixuldo]

Allow me// ch 13

Vader x Reader

a/n: so this one is kinda short but is necessary for the plot!! we’ll have some vader and reader interactions in the next chapter!!! :) ty for the support!!!

Vader has been gone longer than anticipated…

warnings: cursing, angst, harm, body horror?, cannon typical violence

_____________________

You walked down the brightly lit corridor with a small transport droid behind you; it carried your tool bag and some parts that had to be specially ordered to fix one of the hyper speed engines. 

Once you reached your destination you swiped your security badge and the deep belly of the ship opened its maw to you. The machinery and technology that allowed the vessel to operate was all at the tip of your fingers. 

You had always wanted to come down here and surprisingly you hadn’t ever had a reason to, but before Vader left to meet with his master he noticed the engines had been running at lower parsecs than usual and asked you to take a look. 

The Executor had been docked on Hoth so that you could inspect and repair the engines (otherwise you would be vaporized if you attempted to inspect them while they ran).

You had actually never been to the icy planet and were excited to see a few sights before going back into space. Vader told you that he would take you on a stroll when he got back- he knew how much you loved exploring new systems and biomes (a conversation of one of your many late night talks). 

Hopefully the meeting between Vader and the Emperor went well and you could debrief with V later today.

Earlier you had seen Palpatine’s ship go off to another system, so that seemed to be a good sign.

Though, you hadn’t heard from Vader yet- but it was common for you not to hear from him until later in the day- especially when you had a demanding task; so you didn’t think much of it.

___________________________

Vader’s mind was consumed with painful memories and the anguish his body was currently feeling as he laid on the burning shores of Mustafar.

His prosthetic ports ached and the flames licking at the metal didn't help the surviving skin that surrounded them. 

Half of him was just ready to give up- He had been in this same position before and chose to cling onto life, but what did that life provide him?

Days of pain and suffering in a suit that would be his coffin, mental anguish over the decisions he had made, manipulation from the man he was supposed to be working with… all he was here for was being a weapon of the empire. He didn’t matter. 

All of this re-lived pain because he aided his dead wife’s handmaiden (who knew that he was Anakin and told him Padme’s last words were ”there’s still good in him”).

He didn’t know if there was still good in him- if everytime he attempted to prove his wife’s last words true, he got punished; how would he go on trying to be good?

But on the other hand; why live if there was no good in him- why bring more suffering into the galaxy? 

In his moment of thought the bank of the river started sliding and he felt the heat intensifying by his legs. In defeat he closed his eyes; what else was there to live for?

The last time he was here, Padme was what kept him going. At the time he thought she was still alive and he needed her. He stayed alive for her, he dragged his mutilated body across the burning coals to get back to her. 

He remembered the pain he felt when he found out she had passed… he would not survive news like that again…

In that instance a burst of color flooded the nothingness of his closed eyes; beautiful greens, blues, and purples.

Soon the colors started forming images, images of you. Your smile, your hair, the adorable look on your face when you finished a big project, the look you gave him before falling asleep curled up to his side. 

You. 

He needed to get back to you.

In his panicked state he pushed you far from his mind; never would he want to associate suffering with you. But now he understood, you were his motivation.

His pillar of light, his guiding hand.

His eyes shot open when realized that was a double edged sword; yes, you were his reason to live, but he also knew that his master loved to manipulate him… and he would spare no soul who would give him more power. 

And now Vader wasn’t there to protect you.

As he slipped further down and the flames began to lick at his already burnt skin, his eyes widened and he gripped the gravely bank with all of his might. He was going to come home to you. 

He needed to get back, he needed to make sure Palpatine didn’t do anything drastic (the emperor already intervened in his previous relationship and he would not let that happen again). 

His desperation and worry soon became anger and pure rage- the thought of Palpatine laying a hand on you made Vader livid. 

After he made his grueling crawl up the scolding shores he wasn’t even thinking about his recovery time and procedures he would need done once he got back; all he could think about was making sure you were safe. 

_________________________________

You usually at least saw Vader once a day, even if for only a short period of time, so you were rightfully anxious when you hadn’t seen him in almost 48 hours.

No matter how much you tried to ignore it you couldn't help but worry about him; the other night he told you he had to meet his master, most likely under unfavorable circumstances…

Would the emperor have done something to him? He couldn’t have, Vader was his strongest, right?

Plus Palpatine left the other day…

Your brows knit together as you tried to fall asleep; why were you so worried?

Vader was a grown man who was more than capable of taking care of himself. You just needed to stop being “worst-case scenario”-

Wait. 

You sucked in a sharp breath when you realized that you couldn’t sense Vader’s force signature; the more you thought about it, you hadn’t felt it this whole time- you were too wrapped up in your work to notice. 

But, again… He was perfectly equipped to handle himself…yeah- no need to worry. 

No need.

…

…..

…….

As much as you wanted to believe what you were telling yourself, your gut told you something was wrong. And you’d be damned if you were just going to sit here and let that worry fester. 

You knew the Emperor was scheduled to come back aboard tomorrow morning to oversee a transport. You could act dumb and attempt to coax information out of him; It was definitely a lofty and irrational idea, but what else was there to do?

________________________________

The air was thick with dread and tension as you slowly made your way up to the loading dock with your helper droid that carried your tools. You pretended to tinker with one of the ventilator shafts until Palpatine was within your view. 

After a few shipments were packed and transported, you took a breath and headed towards the emperor. 

Only a few steps away and his sickening yellow eyes landed on you; in a panic you bowed to him and rushed out an apology. 

“Stand, my young friend” he spoke with a curious tone. 

You did as the sith asked and allowed him to examine your features. 

“What troubles you?” he asked, placing a wiry clawed hand on your back. You hold back a shiver. 

“I am one of Lord Vader’s mechanic’s and I have not received another task from him in a few days. I have finished all of my pending duties and I worry the Lord will become angry if he returns and I have not accomplished anything further” you spoke formally and as if you had no idea where he had gone. 

“I was debating whether or not to approach you. I know you are a very busy man, but I also know that you are my Lord’s superior, so you may have a more urgent task I can attend to- I would rather not putter around and waste the empire’s time”.

The hooded man smiled a toothy grin, “Ahh, young one- your ambition pleases me. I may have a task for you, but first what is the other question you wish to ask?”.

You did have another question, but you didn’t think you indicated that you had one.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you knew where my Lord went off to? It’s not like him to disappear without letting his staff know” (that wasn’t entirely true, but you might as well see what you can get out of the old man).

“I’m not sure where he’s gone off to, hopefully he will return to you soon. I can tell he means a great deal to you” the pale man creepily smiled before dismissing himself to attend to other matters. 

Shit. 

Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything. 

_________________________

Vader groaned in pain as the mouse droid he just rewired began to fuse a random droid’s leg to his port; He needed to be able to walk somehow and this is the best he could do as of now. 

He knew it was going to hurt like hell when he would eventually have to get it seared off (He wouldn’t be able to get his new prosthetics on without getting this replacement leg off.)

Once he was relatively put together he prepared himself to hoist himself up. He winced at the pressure of his weight on the unfamiliar legs, but nevertheless, he pressed on.

He made his way through the dingy compound, looking for ways out and back to you. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a low level bounty hunter. Did this fool really think he could take Vader? 

Without any effort, Vader slammed the armed man against the opposite wall once he started to get too close.

If there was one, there were more, Vader needed to get out of here before a real threat came his way…

***

a/n: thanks for bearing with me through finals eeekkk sorry i’ve been on an atrocious upload schedule

taglist: @vadersassistant @sxoulohvn @khaleesihavilliard @kashasenpai i @darling-murdock @beautifulbearpolice @salvatoresister1 @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @blueninjablade3 @jujuba096 @missmannequin @jellydodger @mirastark @wyvernthekriger @duckyhowls @monada43 @lauriidoesstuff @vienettacream @ray-rook @itswhatever06 @ilovenielperry

[volturiprincess]

Felix volturi with a mate who is type 1 diabetic? I’m really struggling with my diabetes rn and I could use some fluff from my favorite strong man🥺

Him

Felix Volturi x Type 1 diabetic reader

A/N: I hope this gives you the fluff you need, and I hope you are doing better 🫶🏼🥺. I might not know what you are going through but I believe in you . I'll be honest Im not super familiar with this but I have some understanding (currently in school going going for a degree in the medical field actually). But enjoy 💙

(The handsome gentle giant❤️)

“Morning my little rose”

At the sound of my mate's voice, I opened my eyes slowly to be welcomed by his handsome face. He’s so beautiful. He reached a hand out to caress my cheek gently, pure heaven right there with just his touch. I love his gentleness considering how tall and muscular he is it is hard to consider him this with his status as the ‘executor’ of the Volturi, but to me he is so tender and loving.

Still feeling a bit sleepy I responded with a soft “Morning Fe”

He joined me on the bed and pulled me into his arms so my head was resting on his chest. Today was one of those days where I had no energy to do anything. I just want to lay in bed all day and sleep. I sometimes hate feeling like this, I don't like showing Felix this side of me, even if he knows about my diagnosis. I did tell him a bit of what I go through and stuff but it's a struggle sometimes.

“You're having one of those days aren't you?”

I guess he already knows. It's been about 6 months since Felix came into my life and I was told he is my mate. But I have had type 1 for about 2 years already. The only reason he found out was he came to visit me in my house when I was feeling absolutely terrible, he thought I was sick with the flu but I told him the truth. He was very understanding and Demetri told me the next day that Felix spent the whole night reading anything there is to know about how to deal and manage with type 1. And since then my love for him bloomed more. 

“Yea it’s one of those days unfortunately”

“Alright well good thing the masters gave me the day off, i'll be your personal nurse today”

Looking up at him with a lopsided smile and booping his nose with my finger tip

“My handsome vampire nurse to exact”

—------------

Since that morning, Felix has helped with taking a nice bubble bath with my favorite bath bomb that smells like roses and lavender. He even made me an appropriate breakfast, he's managed to get me to enjoy eating cantaloupe over the past couple of months. He's still struggling to get me to eat a banana alone because whenever I chew that fruit I gag and there were times where I did throw up from that weird texture. But he does make me smoothies with that fruit which I do enjoy. And now he is pursuing me into going on a walk with him in the gardens

“Come on cara, if you do get tired, which I understand does happen, we will take a break and I will give you a taste of the Felix care package when you're tired, hmmm?”

To top it off he finished that line with his shark like grin that always makes me weak in the knees. It's impossible to say no to him when he mentions his care package, it includes a massage, hair stroking, and small kisses on every inch of exposed skin that I dare show. 

“Fine, only because I heard that the garden was worked on recently and there are new flowers that I need to see up close but-”

“I got it here already, see?”

I looked at his other side and he had a bag which I can assume had some treats to help with the fatigue and nausea and in his hand he was holding what I can say is the biggest water bottle I have ever seen. 

“What the hell Felix, where did you manage to get such a huge water bottle?”

“I have my ways amore”

He wrapped his large muscular arm around my waist and guided me to the much awaited gardens. As soon as we were close to the gardens I felt myself relax and was surrounded by the smell of different flowers. I picked up on the sweetness of jasminess, the freshness of lavender with a hint of spice which I can assume were the lilies. We walked for a while until I started to feel a bit more weak and my thirst levels increased. Felix as always picked it up and we stopped at a nearby bench that he actually carved many centuries ago. He held the water bottle for me as I drank what I felt was a whole gallon in one sip. 

“Want to hear the story about his bench, amore?”

Not wanting to speak or nod my head from the slowly approaching headache, I gave him a thumbs up that was received by a small smile from him 

“Well I told you some bits of my gladiator days from what I can remember until Aro found me and turned me in. I picked up a hobby soon after I was turned. I always thought the arts were a fascinating topic, and with Master Caius' influence, I focused on sculpting. My first couple of attempts were not ... .good” he smiled with an  embarrassed look “ With my state of being more abnormally stronger as a newborn handling small tools in my large hands to carve ... .well you can already guess my issue. With this bench it took many attempts to master, I would switch between a variety of chiseling tools until I noticed just using my hands worked best, so I actually built this with my bare hands, I wanted to add a bit of architecture inspiration from the Colosseum, which is why the legs of this are like that.”

The way he explained his story was so adorable, some of the things I picked up about Felix is when he talks about something he is passionate about he gets a twinkle in his eyes. He smiles more than he already does but the way he explains things he went through makes me feel like I was there with him as the events happened. I soon noticed after his story my headache was gone. 

“Fe, can I tell you something?”

“Always my little rose”

“I don't tell you this enough but I really do appreciate you, I love that you are in my life, I thought I would become a burden to you but with you, you make me feel so special and loved, I love you my handsome giant”

I never said the L word to him so this was a first for him to hear.

“Oh cara, I think I just fell in love with you all over again, just hearing you say that makes my undead heart flip, with you I feel complete with as what is left my humanity, I love you mi amore”

Damn that giant, some small tears of happiness rolled down my cheeks which he wiped away with his thumb. He leaned in and placed a light kiss on my forehead that can speak thousands of words. 

[kalevalakryze]

Mar'e'yi'manda

A quiet night under the stars on Lothal, Shin's laying in the grass next to Sabine, "What does it feel like?" They ask, risking a glance over to the other woman in the silver light of the moons.

"what does what feel like?" Sabine hums, fingers twiddling where they're clasped over her stomach.

"To be you?" There's something vulnerable there, something that tells Sabine not to look at them, so she focuses her golden eyes into the reflection of the light that reminds her of Shin so much.

"Everything sings," Her hand raises, open towards the night sky, a gentle breeze skirting past open fingers as her other hand drops from her stomach and to the grass, caking mud under her nails when she sinks the tips of her fingers into the dirt, to the still rain-damp layers below the surface.

"Sings? They question, and Sabine can hear them rustling in the grass, rolling onto their side so they can look across the foot of empty space separating them.

"Music is in everything, y'know?" The Artist shrugged, letting her risen hand finally drop back to the ground to twist grass up between her fingers.

"The wind in the grass, the ships coming out and going in, the life in the cities, the life we can't even see, all of it; and thats just who I am."

"I am the wind echoing across stone and I'm the sun melting away shadows, and sometimes I'm the color and the world is just waiting on me to paint it; I spent too long living in monochrome prisons to be anything but this.. this life,"

"Maybe that's sappy," Sabine huffed out with a tired smile, moving her dirt streaked hands back over her stomach, clasping them together once more, as if physically holding herself in and against the earth beneath them.

"To a Mandalorian, everything is handled in song- The Manda is everything we are; past, present, and future. It's this collective of all of our brothers and sisters, the songs of the lives they've lived. I can't be me without mentioning them, and the songs they wove into this life-"

Offering a sheepish smile, Sabine dares a look back at Shin. Their gaze is cast towards the moons in thought, their gloveless fingers twirling the padawan braid in a self stimulating movement, the ball of their gemstone sliding between the lightsaber calloused pads of her fingertips.

They seemed to be deep in thought, so Sabine let her words fade into the calming silence. From the tower, she could faintly hear Ezra, fumbling as he tried to navigate their home in its new state, with the most naggy occupant in the form of a territorial Loth-cat.

When peace and good company had finally begun to lull Sabine into a near sleep-like tranquility, accent thick in thoughtful words. "The force is like that too," They were contemplative, head held up in one hand, while the other traced a line of smell pebbles hidden in the grass.

"Singing?"

"Ah... Perhaps," Shin's nose crinkled. "I do not hear the music you are referring to, but-" The wolf sat up, legs crossing beneath them and hands dropping to the dirt caught in her greaves. "I can hear the stories." When Sabine's gaze flickered back to them, she found the pebbles, suspended in the air above their palms.

"Not the echoes in the force, more..." A slow exhale, the furrowing of their brows, and a tingle of anxiety as it melted into the cosmos around them. "Your music, your manda; that is the force, for me... My Master taught that everything was the will of The Force, like the Jedi; that we are conduits of the force and executors of its will... and the force has to have wants based on experience, right?"

A smile flickered on Sabine's lips as she watched the pebbles raise higher, the stars reflecting in their eyes as they followed the bottommost stone. Even after everything, Shin never did get talking much; Sabine learned long ago to take every moment their passion and drive for understanding was allowed to surface.

"The Force is written by the lives of all, these stones were once boulders, and in the Force, their pieces can be found; they never stop Being. They will always have a story, even when we cannot see them anymore."

"Funny, Jedi and Mandalorians have a long history of fighting over things like this, when they're so similar," Sabine shook her head as she finally sat up, brushing grass out of her hair.

The pitter-patter of soft paws in the grass tickled her ears, though before Sabine's head could turn, Nix was already making his way to clamber into Shin's open lap. "Little beast," They greeted with a sigh, allowing their pebbles to drop into their hands, setting them down back into the dirt where they had been found.

"I always had a hard time understanding the 'Force is life' thing; But I get it, I think;"

"There is no true way to get it. However you interpret it, so long as you are acknowledging the life it has and the impact you have on it all, that's what it is." Silence fell over the two women again, Sabine allowed her body to lean, shoulder drifting until she was pressing against the smooth leather of the jacket she would never hope to get back. "Thanks for that; I think sometimes, I need the reminder of how big it all is, and how we're all significant despite the size of it."

"Well, you cannot punch it, paint it, or blow it up, so I doubt you would have understood it alone, Mandalorian,"

"Why you little-!" Sabine shoved into Shin, sending Nix hissing and darting off into the tall grass as the wolf and the moon rolled in the grass.

"Hey guys! The Noti are hungry and I think I set your kitchen on fire!" Ezra called, squinting at the plume of smoke from the upstairs door wafting into the night sky.

"Little brothers," Sabine shook her head as she came to a stop, pinned into the dirt with a near smiling wolf.

"Jedi," Shin agreed, rolling their weight off and offering a hand up to the purple haired woman; Force, Manda, whatever it was, both would be rich with the songs and the stories of Ezra Bridger, the Jedi who ignited a bowl of ice-cream.

[klarionthewizard]

Piett's Turn For Imperial Headcanons

Because Firmus Piett and Maximilian Veers are never far apart.

Firmus Piett:

-has a knife in his boot at all times and he knows how to use it

-will eat bugs. has failed to convince Veers that this is perfectly natural and that bug flours are a staple on Axxila.

-likes tall ships (another @musewrangler inspired headcanon. actually, they inspired a lot of my Piett headcanons)

-can and will out drink Veers. And most of his other aquaintances

-keeps small trees in his office

-hates the dentist even more than the medics

-had three sisters but they all died

-the oldest died to pirates and that's why Piett joined the Anti-Pirate Fleet

-the middle died to circumstances caused by the Clone Wars. medical and/or food shortage due to Republic cutting of trade bc of alleged seperatist leanings, after all Axxila is in the same sector as Serenno, who knows if they support the Confederacy (the answer to that is sort of and it's complicated)

-the youngest died to general Outer Rim poor life conditions

-has 20 bounties on his head at any given time, has honestly forgotten about half of them

-loves this one specific brand of tea and will Know if you try to pass off anything else as his favorite tea

-can and will climb through vents and laundry chutes

-is the reason the Executor made it to Bespin before the Falcon

-talks to his sentient ship and loves her more than almost anything else in the galaxy

-has an accent he suppressed bc Discrimination and Classism

-has a bad knee

-had slave ancestors, grandparents or great grandparents

-sees Veers as a brother and will mercilessly make fun of him, definitely the younger brother in the relationship

-can and will bite, Veers has a scar

-Veers does not regret what he did to get the scar, Piett does not regret giving it to him

-does Not like snakes. at all. Or scorpions. He won't scream but he will make Veers or Venka get even the harmless ones

-likes those mandalorian specialty spicy chocolates

-best in Death Squadron at reading the Vader helmet tips

-Absolutely Vader's favorite, he is the only person in Death Squadron who hasn't realized this

[rimeiii]

I feel like a lot of people seem to be struggling against a lot of the stages, most notably those before story segments. And as a chronic Arknights player who regularly plays high Surging/does ending 2 and ending 3 attempts regularly in IS3, I'd like to share some tips to potentially help with progression!

First and foremost, it does help to have a zone where you can concentrate all your damage at, then prepare blockers and DPS units at that specific area, along with potentially healers. Marbas is the go-to usually because his ult is a heal over time in a 3x3 area around him that lasts the entire stage, kinda like Bard Supporters in Arknights. This comes with enemy pathing and behaviour knowledge, however. Basically, identify a chokepoint to concentrate all your firepower at.

It's probably one of the things you have to get used to in Arknights ASAP if you want an easier time. Take a look at this early stage in IS3 - where you'll have to improvise on the fly based on the unit classes the game gives you.

In this stage (Precarious Defense - normal operation), I took the long straightway in front of Exusiai (the red-haired angel) as my main damage zone. It helps burst down the exploding spiders, as well as the enemies from the bottom spawn point. Gnosis and Steward, the other two ranged units near Exusiai (black and white hair respectively), help with DPS their own way. And I would plug the the leftmost lane as a chokepoint with Spot if I had a weaker sniper than Exusiai, like May or Kroos, but S3M3 Exusiai is more than enough to deal with the squishy units on left lane.

Other options I've used at other points for this stage include:

Using Mountain (S2), Thorns (S3), Lappland (S2), Mudrock (S2), or Saria (S1/S2) to solo lane the top left spawn point.

Using a combination of anything between Agent, Merchant, or Executor classes to deploy and redeploy for the leftmost lane.

If on Emergency (bottom lane spawns turn into Bonethrowers that inflict heavy physical ranged damage, but takes damage over time), focus down the leftmost spawn point with ranged units, and have a Defender/high defense melee unit with healer support near the blue base to tank the hits until the Bonethrowers die.

But there are times where you can't funnel everything into a single chokepoint. In situations like this, you're better off looking for several laneholding combinations while focusing your damage on the lane/area with the largest threats. And since I'm limited to one video on mobile, have this screenshot from one of my ending 3 clears on IS3 as an illustration!

It looks like there's a lot of things going on in this image, but I'll explain.

First of all, the concept. I want to spawn-kill the boss, Ishar'mla, who appears in the red box before making a loop around the map, and finally going to the top left blue base. In this run specifically I have a relic combination that allowed me to one-cycle this boss, which includes the ASPD boosting relics (increases attack speed based on the amount of ingots you have), the Old Fan (increases all Operators' attack by 10% based on the number of classes in your team, capping at 80%), and the chocolate sauce pasta (boosts attack by 100% one second after using a skill).

Two types of main zones to pay attention to: the spawn kill zone in blue and the laneholding zones in dark pink.

With the laneholding zones, you need units with DPS and blocking power - Mountain on S2 is a premiere laneholder on the rightmost area (2-block, attacks everyone he blocks, gives him an attack boost, and gives him HP regen), while a combination of Gnosis's damage (S3M3) and Spot's 3-block plus heal on skill takes care of the leftmost area.

As for the spawn kill zone, it uses both Mlynar and SilverAsh to deal damage. They deal immense physical damage, and considering their ranges somewhat overlap (yellow for Mlynar and light purple for SilverAsh), it helps burst down the boss ASAP.

Of course, to utilize these tips well, you need an understanding of enemy pathing and behaviour. Sadly enemy pathing really isn't exactly indicated by the game, and it's a QoL that I also want in WHB. It's the red line that appears before a wave of enemies spawns in Arknights. Here's some things I've noticed about enemy behaviours:

The enemies that look like fluffy angel doggos move faster than other enemy units.

Screamers/ranged attackers tend to attack the closest unit within their range, and stop moving when they're attacking until they or their targets die - like the Bonethrowers.

The blobs are your slugs. Squishy, easy to beat, weaker than most other units.

As for the other units (eyeballs, smiley faces, etc) I haven't managed to playtest enough, as skill cycling between my L cards (Bath Levi, Selfie Levi, and Selfie Bubs) is enough to kill most everything without issue.

If I have to split up my forces, I personally usually have Bubs and one Levi handle a weaker lane, then focus on the other lane with everything else. I get that moving units is a thing but if I can AFK...why not? Lol

Also, as an aside, I would love to see units with lower rarities gain viability in WHB. Believe it or not, some of the units I use in those Arknights examples aren't the top rarities. To wit:

In the video, I brought Exusiai (6* Marksman Sniper), Gnosis (6* Hexer Supporter), Mulberry (5* Wandering Medic), Cantabile (5* Agent Vanguard), Steward (3* Core Caster), Fang (3* Pioneer Vanguard), and Spot (3* Guardian Defender). Only Mulberry and the 3*s aren't at E2.

In the Ending 3 screenshot, I brought Mlynar (6* Liberator Guard), SilverAsh (6* Lord Guard), Mountain (6* Brawler Guard), Saria (6* Guardian Defender), Gnosis, Texas the Omertosa (6* Executioner Specialist), Mostima (6* Splash Caster), Guard Amiya (5* Arts Guard), Arene (4* Lord Guard), Myrtle (4* Flagbearer Vanguard), Ansel (3* Single-target Medic), and Spot. Only Saria and the 3*s aren't at Elite 2.

However, with how rare Solomon's Tears are and with how upgrade costs are the same across rarities, perhaps having only A+ ranks be viable is for the best. Sunk-cost fallacy and all that.

[brickcentral]

TIPS: THINKING BETTER CONCEPTS FOR YOUR PHOTOS

Following up on the tip on how to think about better concepts for photos.

The objective today is to portray charity, but demonstrating that people can learn to be more charitable. I want the viewer of the photo to feel that he or she can also be a charitable person, that is, that my photo encourages people to be more sensitive to others.

The first image of charity is the act of giving food (primary need) to the poor and the first image for the transmission of values is education from father to son. The scene will be a father who takes his son to donate food to a beggar: father = planner of the action (dressed in a suit to represent maturity); son = executor of the action (with youthful and colorful clothes to represent a lively apprentice); beggar = recipient of the action (with gray rags and a scruffy beard to represent the condition of being in need). Detail: there is red on the father's tie and on the son's cap, a color that represents charity, giving one's life, giving one's blood for others. The son's green color represents hope for a better future generation.

The setting is the same station as the previous tip, but with a different meaning: train stations are dark and dirty at night, shelters for marginalized people. This shows that the father and son went to the beggar and not the beggar went to them. This shows that good charity is an active action in which the donor must take initiative towards those in need and not be mere passive help. The verticality between the donors and the beggar in the scene represents this active action (downward donation).

The newspapers, the poster and the mouse reinforce the dirty and abandoned environment. The “Berlin” sign has an arrow towards the center of the scene, just as the handrails also direct the eye there. The white poster behind the beggar makes the scene more detailed and reduces the empty space on the wall. As in the previous photo, the spotlight style lighting highlights our characters.

That's it for today. I hope you liked the symbolic structure of this photo.

See you next week.

@minifiglifescenes, Mod

[bradsmindbrain]

Supernova Character Guide for Everyone thus Far! (Will be Updated Over Time)

The Revolution

Name: Neil Astra (he/him)

Age: 20

Homeworld: Earth

Position: Leo Ranger, Field Commander

Initially, Neil lived a relatively normal life on Earth with his mother and younger brother Arthur, but all of that changed when the Dark Matter Empire invaded. After losing his mother during the invasion due to the building she was working in being crushed by an Executor-class Consumoai commanded by Mirfak, Neil had to take care of Arthur himself. Despite the loss of his mother hurting him very deeply, he still possesses an unshakable confidence and optimism that the Empire will collapse. This positive attitude led to him being chosen by the Leo Nova Sphere, a family heirloom from his mother’s side of the family that she passed on to him shortly before her death. Now the Leo Ranger, he’s incredibly happy to be able to help liberate the galaxy from the Empire, even if he’s less experienced in combat than the other rangers, especially Shen, who has more or less become his and Arthur’s adoptive father following Arthur becoming the Ursa Ranger. Strangely, he was able to do something to the Draco Nova Sphere, perfecting Shen’s morphing abilities and getting rid of his time limit…

Name: Leiurus Calchas (he/him)

Age: 25

Homeworld: Serket, Scorpius system

Position: Scorpius Ranger, spy of the Revolution

A man in his mid-twenties with an orange scorpion tail, as well as the chosen of the Scorpius Nova Sphere and the Scorpius Ranger. Initially appearing to oppose the Rangers and later allying with Kaus, in reality he's a spy for the Revolution, and the very first chosen that Shen found. Like all Serketians, he's able to modify the venom his tail injects for a variety of purposes. Despite willing to perform morally-grey actions to infiltrate the Empire, he opposes them as much as the other Rangers do, possessing a strong code of honor and a desire to atone for some mysterious crime. Despite this, Aster is incredibly antagonistic towards him, as he was present the night Aster's creator was kidnapped. As for Leiurus himself, he has a strong desire to make the Empire crumble and find his missing older brother, Eurypto, who’s become the Duke of the Scorpius system, Antares.

Name: Sirius (he/him)

Age: 35

Homeworld: Fenrisulfr, Lupus system

Position: Lupus Ranger

A blue-furred wolfman from the Lupus system, and the Lupus Ranger. Previously he lived a simple life with his wife and the rest of his clan on his homeworld, up until the Dark Matter Empire’s recent invasion of it. His clan tried to resist, but they all fell in battle, leaving him the sole survivor. Despite possessing the Lupus Nova Sphere, which was a wedding gift from his late wife, he wasn’t chosen by it until Neil helped him realize he still had things to fight for. Sirius appears gruff and serious (heh) but he is deeply loyal to the ones he cares about. Coming from a planet that was rarely contacted by the galaxy at large, he also finds himself being a bit awestruck by some of the galaxy’s technological advancements.

Name: Tip (they/them)

Age: 300 in Iustitian years, 25 in Earth years.

Homeworld: Iustitia, Libra system

Position: Libra Ranger

A bombastic mechanical life form from the Libra system who possesses the Libra Nova Sphere and fills the role of the Libra Ranger. Despite coming from a long line of high-ranking judges in the Libra system, they found such a life to be boring, and while working as an aid, helped a defendant, Hydra Trabem escape to receiving a charge they saw as ridiculous. From there, the duo went on to become a pair of the greatest thieves in the galaxy before crossing paths with the Revolution. Despite their eccentric and larger-than-life personality, they’re incredibly loyal, with a heart that’s almost as gold as the plating covering their body.

Name: Asterion “Aster” (he/him)

Age: 38

Homeworld: Crete, Taurus system

Position: Taurus Ranger

A large, strong, bull-like robot from the Taurus system who possesses the Taurus Nova Sphere and is the Taurus Ranger. He has a rather happy-go-lucky attitude, a strong belief in justice, and a love of puzzles. He also loves a good fight and showing off his strength, even using dumbbells despite them not giving any benefits. He joined the Revolution shortly after Brando did and a bit before Alura did, and as such he has a very strong bond with the two of them. Along with Brando and Alura, he was chosen by one of the three legendary Nova Spheres the Revolution was able to recover, and is ready to fight horn and hoof to free the galaxy from the Empire, though he seems to have his own personal reasons for it as well, that being to rescue his creator, Professor Minos Ain, who was kidnapped by the Empire. This has lead to some distrust towards Leiurus, who was present the night he was kidnapped. After learning that Antares was the one responsible, he’s teamed up with Leiurus to bring him down.

Name: Hydra Trabem

Age: 22

Homeworld: Gorgonia, Ophiuchus system

Position: Ophiuchus Ranger, Void Ophiuchus Ranger.

A stoic, vaguely reptilian man from the Ophiuchus system, chosen of the Ophiuchus Nova Sphere and the Ophiuchus Ranger. The world Gorgonia has discarded all emotion to avoid conflict, but Hydra wished to have emotions of his own, a major crime on Gorgonia. He was taken to the Libra system to face justice, but the aid of the judge overseeing his case, Tip, helped him escape. Acting as a duo of formidable thieves, they eventually came into contact with the Rangers. A stoic and logical young man, Hydra has made it his personal quest to have emotions of his own. He was brainwashed by Schedar and utilized artificial Nova Spheres created by Mirfak, becoming Ophiuchus Void. Tip was eventually able to break through to him, and has since used those artificial Nova Spheres to assist the Revolution as the Void Ophiuchus Ranger.

Name: Alura Palleon (she/her)

Age: 18

Homeworld: Tokage, Chameleon system

Position: Chameleon Ranger, Field Commander

A young but highly capable woman from the Chameleon system, being the chosen of the Chameleon Nova Sphere and filling the role of the Chameleon Ranger. Due to her upbringing on her home planet as she was raised to be the future leader of her village, she’s very no-nonsense despite her young age, but she can be quite excitable under the right circumstances. Despite resembling a human, she’s able to camouflage herself so well she appears to be invisible, something everyone on her home planet can do. Despite her young age and the fact that she was the last of the original three Rangers to join the Revolution, she’s easily the best fighter between herself, Aster, and Brando. Despite her serious nature, a memory in the forests of Tokage sticks with her to this day, that being an encounter with Audumla, the embodiment of all that is good in the universe.

Name: Birdie 8 (she/her)

Age: 25

Homeworld: Olympia Corp. Production Station 283, Aquila system

Position: Aquila Ranger, Secretary, Pilot

A bubbly, white and pink android from the Aquila system who serves as Commander Long’s personal secretary and as the pilot of the Orion. Like Aster, she’s just as much of a person as most people are despite being a robot, and is always willing to help the Rangers and the Commander with whatever they need with a joyful attitude. That being said, she does find Commander Long’s puns and antics to be quite grating at times despite working with him for nineteen years, but she still respects him, and he respects her enough to share some of his deepest secrets. She still makes time for herself, and plans on becoming an author following the Empire’s inevitable defeat. Secretly, she’s always dreamed of joining the fight against the Empire more directly, and her desire to do whatever it takes to accomplish that has caused the Aquila Nova Sphere to choose her, allowing her to become the Aquila Ranger and fight alongside the other Rangers like she always dreamed of.

Name: Brando Pesce (he/him)

Age: 28

Homeworld: Bahamut, Dorado System

Position: Dorado Ranger, Chef of the Orion

A big-hearted chef from the tropical world of Bahamut in the Dorado system, as well as the chosen of the Dorado Nova Sphere and the Dorado Ranger. Brando cares deeply for his comrades and is incredibly empathetic towards people in need, an aspect that might be why the Dorado Nova Sphere chose him. He’s incredibly considerate of just about everyone he comes across, even making meals for Aster and Birdie so they don’t feel left out during meals despite them being unable to eat. Despite his caring attitude, he’s more than capable of fending for himself, using the Star Weapon’s Star Saber mode with the grace of a master swordsman, delivering food-based quips all the while. This caring attitude appears to be from his childhood on his Imperial run homeworld, which was overrun by the Marquis Nozzie. Nozzie taxed resources extensively, so Brando’s desire to become a chef stemmed from his desire to help his community deal with it.

Name: Shen Long/Shen Arctos (he/him)

Age: 40

Homeworld: Ladon, Draco system

Position: Draco Ranger, Leader of the Revolution

The purple-scaled draconian leader of the Revolution, and formerly its head scientist. Shen became the leader of the Revolution nineteen years ago, long before he was ready for the position, though he has since grown into it. Despite appearing to be a kooky middle-aged man who loves puns, Shen is an incredibly competent leader and inventor, being the one responsible for the creation of the Supernova Morphers, Star Weapons, and the Nova Sphere tracker. He cares incredibly deeply for the Rangers, and will do whatever it takes to make sure they’re happy and safe. Despite all of this, he’s still deeply haunted by demons from his past, demons that involve Skragen and Calamartia, who were responsible for the death of his adoptive father, Theodore nineteen years ago, forcing him to take over as the leader of the Revolution. He carries deep guilt for what happened, as he disobeyed his father’s orders and believes that he’d still be alive if it wasn’t for him. Nineteen years ago he figured out a way to become a Ranger without one of the legendary Nova Spheres, instead using the Draco Nova Sphere, though it had a time limit. Despite this he helped the Revolution immensely, being known as the First Hero of the Revolution. Following an odd occurrence involving Neil and the other Nova Spheres, the time limit is gone, allowing Shen to join the team full-time as the Draco Ranger. Following Arthur becoming the Ursa Ranger, he became Neil and Arthur’s adoptive father.

Name: Arthur Astra (he/him)

Age: 12

Homeworld: Earth

Position: Ursa Ranger, Revolution asset

The younger brother of Neil, and a remarkably intelligent boy. Following their mother’s death, he was cared for by Neil, and while less impacted by their mother’s death than Neil was, is still hurt by it. Arthur is a remarkably intelligent and curious boy, and that curiosity only grew when he was taken aboard the Orion and had the opportunity to learn all about the rest of the Galaxy, though he has a particular interest in engineering. While he frequently teases and snarks at Neil, he does care deeply for his older brother, and quite likes Commander Long as well, as the Ladonian is always willing to answer any question he has. Compared to his brother, he’s far more cynical and pessimistic about the Empire’s defeat, though watching the Rangers battle the Empire seems to have planted a seed of hope in his heart, a seed that later blossomed following Shen becoming the Draco Ranger. This determination coupled with a strange power of his own allowed him to call forth the Ursa Minor Nova Sphere, allowing him to join the team as the Ursa Ranger.

Name: Kenneth Faulkner (he/him)

Age: 338 (chronologically), 32 (biologically)

Homeworld: Earth

Position: Phoenix Knight, former president of the Galactic Federation of Free Systems

Originally a fatally wounded Scottish warrior in 1717, Kenneth was abducted and experimented on by the Fenghuangians of the Phoenix system, bonding him with the Phoenix Nova Sphere. He later met with Ptolemy, an Astrographer, who created his Zords and Morpher with which he’d use to protect the galaxy as the Phoenix Knight. Eventually, he was elected to be the president of the Galactic Federation of Free Systems, a position he held until the Dark Matter Empire emerged. He fought valiantly, and while he lost many friends, he was able to destroy Karna Rog’s physical form at the cost of his immortality. While he was unconscious, he was outfitted with a special apparatus by Mirfak, which brainwashed him into becoming Ankaa for 300 years until it was destroyed by Neil. Kenneth is very cocky, but he has the skills to back it up, and underneath it he’s a man that cares deeply for others and is deeply haunted by his final battle against Karna Rog.

Name: Corvile (he/him)

Age: 338 (chronologically), 38 (biologically)

Homeworld: Verona, Corvus system

Position: Former advisor to the president of the Galactic Federation of Free Systems, Revolution asset.

Kenneth’s advisor and fiancé during his time as president. 300 years ago, he along with 86 other warriors were led into battle against the Empire, with Corvile wielding the Corvus Nova Sphere. Corvile appeared to sacrifice his life during Kenneth’s battle against Karna Rog, but following Hydra’s freedom from Schedar’s brainwashing, he was discovered in a cryosleep pod, claiming to have narrowly survived Karna Rog’s attack. In truth, he’s been the very reluctant vessel of Karna Rog’s metaphysical form for the past 300 years, as unlike other Nova Spheres, the Corvus Nova Sphere’s abilities mean Karna Rog is unaffected by it. Corvile’s a very sophisticated alien, and often had to clean up some of Kenneth’s political messes during his time as president, but despite this he still cares deeply for Kenneth, and likes to tease Kenneth about all the stress he caused him. He detests Karna Rog, and is incredibly confident that the Rangers will be able to kill the Emperor, even if it costs him his own life.

Allies

Name: Theodore Arctos (he/him)

Age (at time of death): 45

Homeworld: Maritimus, Ursa Major system

Position: Founder of the Revolution, former Leader of the Revolution

The Revolution’s late founder and its previous leader, as well as Shen’s adoptive father. Following an attack on a town on the planet Ladon, Theodore found the egg that hatched into Shen, and raised the Ladonean as his own son. Theodore died protecting Shen from Skragen and Calamartia after Shen’s time limit expired while trying to stop their attack on the Revolution’s previous base. Theodore was a kind man, but one who wasn’t afraid to tell people what they needed to hear. He loved the stars and the various stories and legends about the constellation systems, something that be passed down to Shen. He cared incredibly deeply for Shen despite not being related by blood or even being the same species, and was always incredibly proud of how intelligent his adoptive son was, and that only grew when Shen found a way to morph and help the Revolution. His death caused his soul to latch onto the Ursa Major Nova Sphere, which was on him at the time of his death. This allowed him to continue watching over his son even after death. During an attack by Kaus and the Marquis Mothema, Arthur caused his spirit to materialize by using the Hrsa Major Nova Sphere in the Supernova Morpher, who would go on to empower the Ursa Major Nova Sphere for Arthur to use. Following a reunion with his son, he finally passed on.

The Dark Matter Empire

Name: Karna Rog (he/him)

Age: [REDACTED]

Homeworld: [REDACTED]

Position: Emperor of the Dark Matter Empire

The white-robed Emperor of the tyrannical Dark Matter Empire that has conquered the galaxy. Incredibly mysterious, only the Empire’s Dukes are allowed to interact with him directly, and only the Knights of Andromeda are permitted to see his face underneath his hood. The Emperor is not cruel, nor is he compassionate, and many of his own Dukes and Duchesses find his lackadaisical and cold indifference towards everything and everyone to be deeply disconcerting. On occasion he does show fondness for his bodyguard, Ankaa, but those moments are few and far between. On rare occasions he does show emotions, but the last time anyone but the Knights of Andromeda discussed it with him went incredibly poorly for the poor Duke that asked about it. In truth, he’s an embodiment of all the despair, suffering, and hatred held together by dark matter. He also tends to talk to himself, as if there’s someone only he can see… this unseen force is Corvile, his vessel, who still has some semblance of control over himself and can communicate with Karna Rog.

Name: Ankaa (he/him)

Age: Unknown

Homeworld: Unknown

Position: Duke of the Phoenix system, Karna Rog’s bodyguard

The mysterious, gold-masked Duke of the Phoenix system and the Emperor’s bodyguard. Ankaa emotes even less than his charge does, not even speaking at all. Not much is known about him, even among the other Dukes, who frequently speculate what his true nature could be, whether he's a living being or some machine cooked up by Mirfak and the rest of the Empire’s scientists. Only the Emperor himself and the Knights of Andromeda are aware of Ankaa’s history and what he truly is, though given his silence and unfaltering loyalty to Karna Rog, they rarely discuss it. After Shen became the Draco Ranger and Arthur became the Ursa Ranger, Karna Rog assigned him and Antares to assist Kaus, Skragen, and Calamartia in killing the Rangers, with Ankaa being the first of the two to arrive and coming very close to killing Neil. In addition to being highly skilled at swordplay, Ankaa also possesses incredibly potent pyrokinetic and thermokinetic abilities, making him one of Karna Rog’s most lethal subordinates. In reality, he’s a brainwashed Kenneth Faulkner.

Name: Mirfak (he/him)

Age 300+

Homeworld: Quetzalco, Perseus system

Position: Knight of Andromeda, Duke of the Perseus system, Head Scientist of the Empire

Sir Mirfak of Perseus is the youngest of the Knights of Andromeda, the Emperor’s three foremost subordinates and the Empire’s head scientist. Known as the “Maniac of Perseus” to the Revolution, an incident in his past caused the  entire left side of his body to be replaced with cybernetics. Despite being the youngest of the Knights of Andromeda, he’s the most pragmatic of the three, formulating schemes like he does chemicals. As the Empire’s head scientist, he’s tasked with overseeing Project Wormwood, a top-secret project that is only known to the scientists working on it, the Knights of Andromeda, and the Emperor himself. He’s also the one responsible for the death of Neil and Arthur’s mother. Despite his position, recent events have led him to conclude that the Emperor is unfit to continue ruling the Empire, and that someone else should step in.

Name: Schedar (she/her)

Age: 300+

Homeworld: Acámbaro, Cassiopeia system

Position: Knight of Andromeda, Duchess of the Cassiopeia system, Empire’s Minister of Propaganda

Dame Schedar of Cassiopeia is the second of the Knights of Andromeda, as well as the one tasked with the creation of the Empire’s propaganda. Like all Acámbaroans, she’s capable of compelling people to do her bidding with the sound of her voice, which pairs well with her position as Minister of Propaganda, this has led her to being dubbed the “Witch of Cassiopeia” by the Revolution. Despite her bubbly attitude, love of dancing around, and eagerness to please her fans on the Galaxy’s social media, she’s easily the cruelest of the Knights, sometimes going as far as to do actions that actively harm the Empire for the sake of twisting the knife. 

Name: Alderamin (he/him)

Age: 300+

Homeworld: Sabinain, Cepheus system

Position: Knight of Andromeda, Duke of the Cepheus system, Warlord of the Empire

Sir Alderamin of the Cepheus system is the eldest of the Knights of Andromeda in addition to being the Empire’s warmonger. Of the Knights, he’s the most loyal to the Emperor, and has led the conquest of numerous planets in his name. He’s an excellent military strategist, but his solution to other complex problems often amounts to crushing it. He has a love of combat, and partakes in countless invasions of planets even though that is often delegated to Dukes of that planet’s constellation system. He isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty either, often personally leading his conquests himself and overwhelming his opponents with incredible force, earning him the nickname “Butcher of Cepheus” from the Revolution.

Name: Antares/Eurypto Calchas (he/him)

Age: 35

Homeworld: Serket, Scorpius system

Position: Duke of the Scorpius system, top Jester of the Empire

Jester is the title given to the Empire’s assassins, and Antares is easily its most successful one on top of recently becoming the Duke of the Scorpius system. He’s incredibly cruel but also incredibly efficient, and has gained infamy from dispatching his marks in quick but incredibly painful ways. He possesses a scorpion-like tail, and is able to modify its venom to induce a variety of effects in his victims. His loyalty to the Emperor is matched only by his loyalty to Schedar. After Shen and Arthur became Rangers, Antares was assigned alongside Ankaa to help Kaus, Skragen, and Calamartia terminate the Rangers, though he has yet to arrive. In addition Leiurus claims that Antares is his older brother, Eurypto. While this is true, the way Antares recounts events is quite a bit different than Leiurus’s…

Name: Felis/Cassius Bodmin (he/him)

Age: 40

Homeworld: Nanzca, Hydra system

Position: Duke of the Hydra system

A man clad in red, feline-like armor and the Duke of the Hydra system. Since his promotion to Duke, he has set his eyes on getting his clutches on the Cerberus Zord, an immensely powerful Zord known as the Beast of Ruin. He’s aided in his quest by his two favorite Marquises, Yetton and Aquaereo. Petty and cruel, he also wishes to take revenge on the Revolution for a perceived slight against him in the past. His real name is Cassius Bodmin, and he was kicked out of the Revolution by his childhood friend Shen, as the two of them worked together to locate the Cerberus Zord, but Shen discovered that he wished to use the Cerberus Zord to destroy Imperial-controlled planets with no regard for innocents. Since then, he turned to the Empire.

Name: Kaus (he/him)

Age: 60

Homeworld: Ojikazo, Sagittarius system

Position: Duke of the Sagittarius system

Of the Emperor’s innumerable subordinates, Duke Kaus is easily one of his most staunch supporters out of all of them. Tasked with hunting down the Rangers, Kaus likens it to his time hunting on his home planet, though he doesn’t let it get in the way of his mission. His zealous loyalty to the Emperor is frightening, and is willing to kill for something as simple as someone mocking the Emperor. This zealotry extends to his fellow Dukes and Duchesses as well, and he will not hesitate to call them out for their perceived lack of loyalty to the Emperor. Initially thought to have died following the crash of his Consumoai, he is still very much alive. Not many know why he’s as loyal as he is, but recently Mirfak has become the target of his ire.

Name: Skragen (he/him)

Age: 55

Homeworld: Cryskull, Crux system

Position: Jester of the Empire

A white, squid-like alien covered in crystals that serves as one of the Empire’s most dangerous Jesters as well as Calamartia’s husband. Following Kaus’s apparent death, the two of them were sent to terminate the Rangers. Between him and his wife he’s the more cerebral of the two, always speaking in a polite tone, but that being said he’s capable of immense cruelty. Despite this, he does genuinely love Calamartia and enjoys their assignments together, as well as being fond of ink-related puns. As a Cryskullian he possesses the ability to use telekinesis from the crystal on his head and the crystals and suckers covering his body act as extra eyes. He also claims to have the ability to read minds, allowing him to avoid almost any attack, though this claim is dubious. Years ago, he and his wife also did battle against a Ranger, different from the ones now, Shen. He and his wife were also the ones who killed Shen’s adoptive father, Theodore Arctos.

Name: Calamartia (she/her)

Age: 54

Homeworld: Vivifica, Octans system

Position: Jester of the Empire

A red, octopus-like alien who’s Skragen’s wife and another incredibly dangerous Jester. Like her husband, she was assigned to hunt down the Rangers following Kaus’s apparent death. She’s far more crude and hot-blooded than her husband is, and takes great pleasure in fighting, even naming her weapons. “Jelly brain” is one of her go to insults, but she can go a lot lower than that. She cares deeply for her husband, and he’s probably one of the few things she cares more about than a good fight. As a Vivifican, she can regenerate from most injuries, and can even regrow her entire body so long as a small part of it remains intact. This means that like her husband, she’s incredibly difficult to harm, just in a different way. Like Skragen, she battled a Ranger in the past, Shen, and was responsible for the death of Shen’s adoptive father, Theodore Arctos.

[bitchesgetriches]

Hey bitches! I have a quick question for you. I'm making my last will and testament and my living will through TotalLegal. Pretty straight forward. I'm just wondering how some of this works though. Like say for the Living Will, I'm unconscious in a hospital somewhere--how does anyone know I have a Living Will? Will I have to make an announcement when the documents come in to my parents? Am I supposed to ASK someone to be my Advocate Agent? (I have no significant other ATM). I'm putting my parents down 'cause it would default to them anyway and there's nothing special about my circumstances that I'm worried about after I'm gone. (I.E. Wrong gender used, etc). Thanks!

Great question, babycakes! And we're glad to see you're following our advice and getting your affairs in order. We are as proud of you as we are wise and thoughtful.

The trick is to TELL your people about your living will and medical directives. Give copies of your living will to whoever you designate as your executor, as well as a few other trusted folks. And give a copy of your medical directive to your doctor to put in your medical files. If you don't have a primary care doctor yet, get one when you can.

I have three different people's living wills in my little closet safe with my other important documents (example: the paperwork that names my spouse and I as our nephew's guardians in case of emergency). If you feel awkward asking them to hang onto this paperwork, offer to do the same for them!

3 Legal Documents You Need NOW and Where To Get Them Online for Cheap 

You Need to Talk to Your Parents About Their Retirement Plan 

If you found this helpful, consider tipping us!

[kahidlaws]

quick executor alter drabble dedicated to a mutual who indoctrinated me to appreciating the sankta <3

reader is ambiguous gender but has a vagina

cw: desk sex, fingering, clothed sex, premature ejaculation but like he can bring it back up like how he brought me back into the game 🥴

He's started asking questions.

This was out of the ordinary for someone like Federico 'Executor' Giallo. The man never second-guessed, never doubted his superiors requests when it comes to missions. It led to many people theorizing that Executor was a robot but then that would be an insult to Lancet-2 because she had more personality than he did.

You never expected the question that he asks of you.

"How do you finger someone?"

Good gods, he can really excel at everything if you asked him.

He has his ever-so serious expression on his face. The same one where he shoots his guns at the enemy. The same one where he's gained the title of Saint. The same one where he delicately glides his fingers over your wet folds as you taught him with a shaky breath.

Enacting such a lascivious act on your desk was far from how you wanted the lesson to go but you didn't complain. After all, Executor had no qualms when he hoisted you on it and removed your pants and underwear in a way that seemed to practice. If you didn't know any better, it seemed as though he was treating this as a mission.

But you do know better. You see how his ears turn ever-so pink and his heart that beats profoundly beneath his saintly garb.

"Is this well for you, Doctor?" He asks you, voice hushed.

You sighed softly at his ministrations. He was trying but he was following a routine. "It's okay, but not quite there yet. You have to change it up."

He raised a brow and if he didn't have his fingers toying with your pussy, you would've laughed. "'Change it up'?"

"Like so." You proceeded to shoo his hand away, using your own to show him how to pleasure you. "You want to alternate strokes and teasing in order to increase the feeling of satisfaction when we get to penetrative sex."

And it was amazing how he listened intently to you, eyes honing in on how your index and ring finger parted your folds in order for your middle finger to rub your clit. You let out a small moan, rubbing slow circles around the nub. He tentatively raised a hand and you let it glide across your inner thigh before attempting to copy your moves. He used his thumb to rub your clit and the size difference of his thumb compared to your finger was enough to make you fully moan.

He caught on fully, this time, shooing your hand away as he uses his entire palm to cover your pussy. The heel of his palm digging into your clit as his long fingers found their way prodding your entrance. He let out an imperceptible breath through his nose, almost marveling at how wet you became from his actions.

"You mentioned penetrative sex," He started, eyes wandering straight to yours, "is there something more to this?"

Oh, dear gods, you were going to enjoy this.

"Y-Yes there is." You answered, eyes fluttering when the tips of his fingers entered your hole but not all the way. "If you want c-continue after this."

He paused, his middle finger circling over your hole. "It wouldn't be fair if I didn't see this through."

And then he plunged his middle and ring finger all the way inside you. Your eyes fully rolled back, your spine concaving as you let out a keening cry. His fingers were long enough to reach that special part inside of you that when he curls them just right-

You threw your head back when he did, hands grabbing purchase on his clothes as your hips thrusted to meet his hand. The heel of his palm continued to grind deliciously against your clit as his fingers plunged in and out, making squelching noises that it made your ears burn.

"Fuck, Executor-" You whimpered. "Federico, please..."

His throat bobs up and down at the mention of his name. His other hand replaced his palm, the thumb doing quick strokes on your clit as his fingers thrusted deeper, curling each time he reaches the deepest parts.

"Fuck, Federico, yes...!" You mewled, tossing an arm over your eyes. "Just like that-mmm fuck, I'm gonna-"

He drew impossibly closer to you, now leaning over your sprawled body. He braces his hand over you, making him return in using his palm to grind your clit. "Doctor, I might have a problem."

The words didn't register in your mind. It wasn't until he slowed down that you looked up at him. "H-Huh?"

He took your hand that used to cover your eyes, guiding it across his chest and down to his pants where you gasped when you felt his sizeable problem.

"What shall I do, Doctor?"

His responses were so dry but it does the complete opposite to your pussy. You squeezed his girth through his clothes and you grinned teasingly when you hear his sharp intake of breath.

"You just continue." You breathed against his lips. "I'll handle your problem."

And with that, you surged forward, capturing his lips against yours as you palmed his cock. Thankfully, he knew how to kiss, meeting your eager mouth with his as you felt his tongue glide over the seam of your lips. His hand that was still toying with your pussy began to thrust harder, making you move up and down your desk as his mouth swallowed your moans. Meanwhile, your hand was pressing against his girth, teasing what you assumed was the head of his cock as you gripped harder.

When you felt the coil in your stomach getting tighter, you parted from his mouth, eyes shining with tears. "I'm close, Federico...!"

He thankfully understood, upping the ante as he raised himself over you. His other hand soon returned to your clit, rubbing in quick strokes as your hips thrusted to meet his hands. You were losing your grip on his cock but you had to see it through. You gripped his girth harder, rubbing it through his clothes that it made Federico shudder.

"Doctor..." He sighed out. "I..."

Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by your cries of your orgasm washing over you. Your walls clenched his fingers so tightly that it seemed like you were trying to break his fingers. He slowed down on his ministrations, letting your orgasm continue as your thighs twitch beside him. Sweat rolled down your back, making you cringe when you remember that you didn't remove your top or your coat.

You felt as though all the bones were melted. Your chest heaved up and down, already tired from having to be fingered by Executor of all people but you were elated all the same.

You tried to retrieve your hand back from his crotch but your eyebrows raised in surprise when you felt wetness. Looking down, you gasped when you spot a dark patch on his pants where his cock was. Did he always cum that much?

"That's what I was trying to say." He said after a beat. "How will you remedy this, Doctor?"

You were tired. You just got the best orgasm of your life minutes ago. You should've been the good partner and cleaned up the mess.

But you grinned cheekily, fingers toying with his zipper. "I'll see this mission through, Federico."

And you delighted in being this Sankta's first when you felt his cock stir under your fingertips.

[filmtv2022]

By Your Side: Chapter Seven (18+ Minor DNI) 

Image Credit - IMDB The Void

Previous Chapter

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Masterlist

Pairing: Rhett Abbott x Reader & platonic!Perry x Reader 

Chapter Summary: Y/N and Rhett spend a morning together trying to make up for lost time, but as always, life finds its way back in, returning the pair to the fears and pains of the present and past. Between an odd meeting with her father’s executor and a possible unwanted encounter, Y/N and Rhett are thrown back on their heels, they’ll need to yet again rely on each other to navigate the truth of their reality.

Summary: Returning to Wabang was never something that Y/N had planned on, but with the loss of her father leaving her the sole owner of her family’s farm she must go back. Time spent at home forces Y/N to face the people she left behind. Will Y/N be able to navigate the murky waters of her past and present as the lines between them blur? 

Warnings:  SMUT + mentions of abuse/threats + language 

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I love these two together so much, and just wish they could be happy all the time, but alas, life doesn’t always work that way! Thanks so much for reading, and forgive any mistakes. 

________________________

Rhett’s warm breath floated over your skin, a pleasant reminder of the previous night. While you were sleeping, the pair of you had rolled onto your sides, your bodies pressed together, his front to your back. Rhett’s warm hand rested on your stomach, the heat of his body under the blanket incredibly comforting. Not wanting to disturb him, you decided to stay put, for the time being, the errands you needed to run could wait a bit longer. And if the faint grey light shining in through the window was any indicator, it was still incredibly early. 

Exhaling deeply, you sank further back into Rhett, allowing his frame to swallow you. The feeling of you snuggling closer caused him to stir, his hand sliding further up to the spot just below your breast. A long yawn escaped him as he woke up. Blinking the last dregs of sleep from his eyes, Rhett’s heart swelled as he realized that you were still in his arms. 

His rough morning voice cut through the room, words muffled as he spoke them against your shoulder, his lips brushing lightly over a large scar that pulled at the skin there. 

“Good mornin’”

“Mornin’” Your own voice rough as your vocal chords warmed up. 

Rhett’s lips continued to leave a trail of hot open-mouthed kisses along your shoulder and your neck. The sweet gesture quickly turned heated as his hand began to massage your breasts, fingers paying close attention to your nipples. A frantic whimper gave away the way you were feeling, the sound of it giving Rhett the confidence to keep going. Dragging his hand down your body, his strong arm adjusted your position to allow him better access. You jolted at the sensation, still overly sensitive from the previous night. Noticing the change in body language, Rhett slowed his pacing, whispering sweet nothings in your ear and encouraging you to let go. With one final sweep of his fingers, you found your release, your body going limp in his arms. He continued to work until he was sure the last of your climax had run through you.

Once you were able to open your eyes again, you flipped onto your other side to face Rhett. Your lips instantly found his, rapidly escalating as you felt him hard against your stomach. Seeking much need friction, Rhett guided your hand to him. You palmed him over boxers, his hips moving with your hand as you worked.  Rhett found his own release as your lips settled on his chest, leaving a path of love bites in their wake. 

Tipping your head up to face him, Rhett placed gentle kisses on your lips, his free arm wrapped around your body to keep you close. With legs tangled beneath the sheets, the two of you fell into a comfortable silence. You could have stayed this way forever, but the grumbling in your stomach finally became too loud and insistent to ignore. 

“Guess we better go find some food.” 

You couldn’t help, but chuckle at his comment, the growl of his own stomach caused you to laugh harder. 

“I guess we better.” 

Peeling back the covers, the cold air of the room sent goosebumps running across Rhett’s skin. The room was still fairly dark as the sun had just started to pop above the horizon enough to be seen. The murky light made the search for fresh clothes difficult.

“Stay under the covers for a minute”

“Okay”

You smiled as you watched Rhett make his way over to the dresser on the other side of the room. Yanking the drawer open, he took out one of his many rodeo shirts and a pair of his sweatpants, setting them aside for a second while he reached back in and grabbed another set, and pulled them on. The squeak of the wooden drawer closing reverberated loudly in the quiet space. 

Quickly, Rhett found his way back to you. Sitting up, you leaned back on the headboard, pulling the covers up as you went to keep in the heat. Perched on the edge of the bed, he handed you the long sleeve shirt. Taking it from him you slipped it over your head, the smell of fresh dryer sheets filled your nose as the shirt settled on your body. Pulling back the covers, you swung your legs over the edge, your bare feet soaking up the cold of the floor below. Scooting off the bed, Rhett took the sweatpants with him. Carefully, he held each of your legs, sliding them into the legs of the pants. His lips left sensual kisses along your knee and thigh as he pulled the pants up your legs. Helping you stand, he brought the waistband to your hips, folding the fabric over twice so that you wouldn’t trip on the extra length. With a quick peck to your lips, he stepped back from you, allowing you to lead the way downstairs. 

The house was filled with the promise of early morning quiet as the two of you made your way to the kitchen. You headed straight for the coffee maker to get a pot brewing while Rhett went to the fridge, pulling out a carton of eggs and a package of fresh-cut bacon. Opening the bag of ground coffee, you brought it up to your nose, inhaling deeply, the rich scent of the coffee waking up your body.  Using the scoop that was inside, you added the grounds to the pot, a clean filter already in place. With water poured into the reservoir, you flipped the lid closed and pressed the on button. The machine gurgled to life within seconds, the delicious drip of fresh coffee falling into the pot was music to your ears. 

Done with your task, you turned to find Rhett at the stove scrambling some eggs, the small bowl he’d used to beat the eggs was now filled with their discarded shells. The blue lick of the flame below the pan flashed higher as he turned up the temperature. Wanting to help, you picked up the package of bacon, filling the second frying pan on the other burner with as many strips as you felt was reasonable. Clicking the dial to ignite the gas, you turned it back to high once the flame was visible. Reaching for the spatula on the counter next to you, you flipped the bacon absentmindedly, your eyes darting over to Rhett to watch him work. 

His jaw clenched in concentration as he stirred the creamy eggs every so often. He had always loved this pairing for breakfast, the two of you had cooked it together countless times during high school. The memory of a younger Rhett burning numerous batches of bacon as he learned to cook brought another smile to your face. 

Feeling a bit playful, you bumped your hip into his, his beautiful blue eyes scrunched at the corner with his own smile. Standing up on your tip toes, you searched for a kiss from Rhett which he happily gave. The one kiss turned into a series of quick pecks as he continued to stir. Settling back onto your heels, you flipped the bacon again, the edges crisping up nicely, the scent mixing heavenly with the fresh coffee that was now pouring in a steady stream into the pot. 

Within no time breakfast was ready. Rhett removed the eggs from the heat and grabbed two plates from the cupboard. Taking the bacon from the flame, you sat it on the cool burner behind where you’d been cooking. Rhett plated the food while you poured two cups of black coffee, setting them at your spots. Silverware in hand, he made his way over to the table and placed the plates next to your mugs. Sitting down you pushed the sleeves of Rhett’s shirt up to your elbows, not wanting to get it messy while you ate. Needing to be close to you, Rhett scooched his chair closer until he could feel your leg pressed against his. 

Just as you were finishing up you heard footsteps on the stairs. Perry’s tired body came into view, his five o’clock shadow dark on his jaw. His body awake, but his brain clearly still coming around as he was halfway to the coffee pot before he realized you were sitting with Rhett at the table. The shock of seeing you was still less surprising than seeing his younger brother awake at such an early hour. 

“Mornin’ Perry.” You greeted as he continued on his way to get coffee. 

“Mornin’ you two.” Perry grabbed two of the leftover slices of bacon as he headed back to the table to take his seat. 

The three of you drank your coffee in silence, no one really awake enough to have a conversation about the implications of you being here so early in the morning and dressed in Rhett’s clothes, which of course Perry noticed. The creaking of the stairs could be heard again as Royal and Ceci came down to get their days started. Ceci started to cook more food as Royal went straight for the coffee.

Royal joined you and the boys at the table with a steaming mug wrapped in his hand. The deep lines between his eyebrows were a dead giveaway of his emotional state. You could feel Rhett tense up next to you, your hand coming to rest on his thigh in an attempt to keep him calm. His hand came to meet yours under the table, his finger interlacing tightly with yours as if your grip on him anchored him to this space. The same silent animosity from the night returned the longer the three Abbott men sat at the table together. It was in the light of this new day that it dawned on you, just below the corner of Rhett’s lower lip there was a set of parallel lines backed by the slightest amount of swelling. The marks were clearly healing, but still fairly fresh. It seemed odd that you missed them considering how you’d spent the night, but the wound had not impeded him in any way nor was it uncommon for Rhett to wind up with minor injuries from stupid little accidents. But the sight of them made you sick and filled your head with questions as you sought to understand what the hell was going on. 

The tension continued to build until the final Abbott made her way into the kitchen. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, her blonde hair was mussed up from a good night’s sleep. Amy blinked a few times, the look on her face was one of confusion as she tried to figure out if what she was seeing was real.

“Y/N?” 

“Good mornin’ baby bug” 

Sleepily, Amy made her way over to you. Letting Rhett’s hand go, you wrapped your arms around the little girl giving her a big bear hug. Slumping back into her chair she tried to ask a question, but a deep yawn left the words nearly unintelligible.

“What was that bug?”

“Why are you here so early?”

“Oh, well…” You should have expected the question, but in truth, you had not. Perry could see you floundering for an answer that wouldn’t call attention to the situation any more than was already necessary.

“Y/N and Uncle Rhett have some things to do in town today, and they’ve gotta get an early start.”

“But why are you wearing Uncle Rhett’s clothes?” 

Rhett nearly choked on his coffee as he heard his niece’s innocent question. 

Patting him on the back you covered for yourself this time, “We stayed up pretty late last night putting together our to-do list for today, and it just made sense for me to stay over. So I had to borrow some of his clothes for PJs.”

“Oh, okay..” 

By the mercy of God, Ceci came up next to Amy and placed a plateful of eggs in front of her along with a fork. She hungrily devoured the food, pushing back from the table when she was done.  Having nearly inhaled the food, Amy made her way back upstairs to get ready for school without so much as another word to the rest of her family. 

With Amy no longer in the room, Ceci took the time to acknowledge you as she continued to serve her husband and oldest son. 

“It’s good to see ya Y/N. ‘Pologize for last night. If I'd known you were staying I would have left out some towels for ya.”

“It’s okay Ceci, I just appreciate you letting me intrude. I feel like a bit of mooch in all honesty.”

“Oh don’t be silly Y/N, you are so far from being a mooch.”

“Thanks for the reassurance.”

“Not to pry, but should we be expecting you around here more often?” Her eyebrows raised in a knowing way as if she already knew the answer to her question.

“Uhh…” The answer was simple, but the possibility of further questions stuck your brain in place. 

Seeing you freeze, Rhett took over for you, his arm coming to rest behind you on the back of the chair. 

“Yeah, Y/N’s gonna be stayin’ with us for a few days.”

“That’s wonderful dear, love having you here.” Her smile was detached from the rest of her features. So while you believed her words to be true, it was easy to tell that your extended presence did bring her some unwanted negative feelings. 

Royal’s face was the most concerning, anger sharpening his features in a dark and uncomfortable manner. Grunting in displeasure, he stood from the table abruptly. The thunk of ceramic on metal acted like an exclamation point for his exit from the room. Not sure what to say, you sat in silence, Rhett’s hand that was behind you came forward to rest along your shoulders. Now that his father was out of the room, some of the anxiety seemed to seep out of him. 

Perry finished his plate in a few hurried bites, taking his own leave from the kitchen as quickly as he could. Needing some space, Rhett got up and made his way to the living room, sinking down into the couch and turning on the TV.

Standing you grabbed for the forgotten utensils and plates bringing them over to the sink and giving them a quick wash.

“Thanks, dear. You can leave those right in the sink, I’ll dry ‘em here in a minute.” 

Nodding, you made your way to Rhett who stood to embrace you. Your arms circled his middle as you let your face press into his warm chest. Breathing deeply, you let the scent of him fill your lungs. Leaning your head back, your eyes landed on his lips investigating the cuts there more closely. The edges of the wounds were pink, the swelling just enough to pull at the skin causing it to stretch. Tenderly, your fingers ghosted along Rhett’s lower lip, hesitating on the spot in question. The delicate caress felt like heaven to Rhett, and if weren’t for his mother in the other room, he would have taken you right there in the living room. 

Unable to give in to his base desire, Rhett leaned down and kissed you, focusing on the feeling of your lips between his as his tongue explored your mouth. The need for air is what parted the two of you. Sitting back down on the couch, Rhett pulled you with him, settling you on his lap perpendicular to him, your nose nuzzling into his neck. The entire house seemed to be chilled this morning, the temperature difference between Rhett and the air sent a shiver through your body. Snagging the blanket on the cushion beside him, he covers you with it, pulling it up to your shoulders. The two of you stayed like this as the Abbott House came to life. 

Eventually, Amy returned, sprinting out of the house to catch the bus on time. Her haste was even more evident in the fact that she didn’t stop to say goodbye to you. Perry and Royal followed close behind dressed in well-worn clothes that had become their uniform of sorts when the day’s tasks called for more physical labor. Ceci quietly went to her home office and prepared for a morning full of paperwork and phone calls. A ranch this big didn’t run itself and while she didn’t love this aspect of owning the family land, she knew if she didn’t do it no one would. 

…

The sun was now high enough in the sky that the bright orange rays pierced the sky. It was a reminder of the fact that you did in fact have things to take care of today. 

“We should probably go get ready.” Your whisper nearly lost in the fabric of Rhett’s shirt.

“Probably.” Tucking your closer to him, his lips connected with the side of your head as they moved, “What’s on that ‘list’ for today?” 

Your chuckled at his joke about your earlier fib, “I need to stop by my dad’s executors office, he’s got a few more things for me to pick up . What about you?”

“I need to grab some parts from the shop for your truck.”

“You still haven’t given up on it?”

“No, not yet.”

“Thank you.” 

Sitting up you found his lips, your tongue sweeping over his. Rhett didn’t hesitate to give you more, opening himself to you as he shifted you on his lap so that your thighs were straddling his. Instinctually, your arms looped around his neck, fingers working into his hair. Rhett’s hands gripped your hips, sneaking under your shirt to brush along your skin. Moving to his neck, your teeth grazed along the column of his neck leaving light red marks as you went. Rhett’s strangled groan filled the space between your bodies as you left one particular rough bite to his throat next to the collar of his shirt. His hand toyed with the folded waistband of your sweats, but the distant sound of Ceci moving across the house stopped him dead in his tracks. You took advantage of the change in pace to capture his earlobe between your teeth causing him gasp. 

Staying close, you whispered to Rhett, “How ‘bout a shower, hmm?” 

Leaning back you watched his eyes follow you, his pupils blown with lust. Crawling off of his lap, perhaps less gracefully than you would have liked, you headed to the stairs. Rhett sat still for a minute, watching you walk away, the curve of your hips short-circuiting his brain. 

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, you called out to Rhett who had yet to move from the couch, “You comin’?”

Hearing your voice returned him to reality and within seconds he was following behind you to the bathroom. His hands trailed along your hips and back as you walked briskly down the hall. Finally, inside the bathroom, Rhett shut the door hard behind you, pressing your body against it, hands raking greedily over your soft skin. The lewd sound of heavy breathing echoed in the small room as the two of you removed each other’s clothes. 

Pushing Rhett back, you peeled yourself from the door and turned on the hot water, getting the shower ready to go. The metal rings of the curtain clink on the rod. Incapable of waiting, Rhett was on you again, a particularly loud groan came from him as your nails scratched across his back. Your knees went weak as his mouth closed over your nipple, swirling his tongue around the sensitive bud. The steam from the hot water floated to the ceiling signaling that it was ready. 

“I think it’s ready.”

“It can wait” 

Your hold on him tightens, stopping him in place. Worried he had hurt you, Rhett stood up and scanned your body. 

“I’m fine, Rhett. But we both know that warm water isn’t going to last forever, and I don’t know about you, but a cold shower sounds absolutely dreadful.” 

Letting go of him, you pulled back the curtain, and stepped inside, the hot stream of water relaxing your body almost instantly. Rhett was right behind you, his hands sweeping in gentle lines across your body as you let the water run on you, wetting your hair fully before changing places with Rhett. Squeezing shampoo into your palms, you lathered it briefly before carding your hands through his hair. Using your fingers to massage his scalp, Rhett sighed deeply, his shoulders dropping as he let go of the tension in his muscles. The clean scent of the shampoo wafted delicately in the hot air.

Letting him rinse out the shampoo, you carefully turned around and grabbed the fresh washcloth that had been on the edge of the shower the night before, left behind by Rhett. Getting it damp, you poured some of the body wash you’d noticed earlier onto the rag. The deep woodsy notes of amber mixed with the clean shampoo creating a beautiful bouquet. Guiding him from under the shower head, you reverently used the cloth to clean Rhett’s body. His head tipped back as your hands explored his frame. Finished with the washcloth, you folded it over the bar on the side of the shower. Laying your hands flat on his chest,  you stepped forward, Rhett responded to your movement and stepped back under the water. The suds rolled down in waves. You peppered his body with kisses, paying particular attention to the tattoo on his chest, as he rinsed himself clean of the soap. 

Moving away from the water, Rhett’s hand reached out to grab the washcloth you’d hung up, adding more soap to it before bringing it to you. Slowly, methodically, he washed every inch of your frame, indulging himself in the feeling of you beneath his fingers. Stopping halfway through to kiss you, tongues and teeth clashing. Switching places, he used his hands to help rinse the soap off of you. Taking the same shampoo, he repeated the actions you did to him before. A moan tumbled from you as Rhett’s strong hands worked gingerly through your hair. Your eyes remained closed as he removed his hands, giving you time to rinse it out. While he waited, Rhett put a dollop of conditioner into his hands because while he could get away with using bar soap for all the steps in this process, he knew that you could not. 

Taking a step from under the stream, you opened your eyes. Seeing that you were ready for him to continue, Rhett ran the conditioner through the ends of your hair. Giving it time to sit, you pulled him close. To this point the two of you had been quiet, allowing the noises of your lust to communicate for you, but something shifted in the space as you held each other. 

“Rhett?” 

“Yeah, baby?” 

Your stomach fluttered hearing him fall back into an old habit. 

“Whatever it is… I’m here when you’re ready to talk. Okay?”

Dropping his head, he buried his face into your neck, arms holding you like a cage to his body. The sweet embrace was broken only by the change in temperature. The water that had once been falling in steaming streams was now pouring out in tepid ribbons, screaming at you to finish up before it turned frigid. Feeling the change, Rhett helped you rinse the conditioner from your hair, reaching behind you to shut off the water once you were done. 

Sliding back the curtain, he stepped out first, taking your hand to steady you as you followed. Trying to spare you from the cold, Rhett bent low and opened the cabinet under the sink. From the dark depths, he retrieved a fluffy blue towel, and with it dried your glistening skin. The gesture felt as natural as breathing. With your body dry, he wrapped the towel around you, letting you tuck the end into the top to hold it in place. Stooping down again, he took a towel from himself and began to wipe the droplets from his skin. You tracked him with your eyes, adoration filling your soul. But somewhere in the back of your mind, it was there, regret. Not about coming back to Rhett, but about leaving him in the first place. You couldn’t help but think about all of the moments like this that you’d missed.

 The raw emotion caught you off guard, tears spilling without your noticing, but Rhett noticed. Covering himself at the waist with his towel, he moved to you as quickly as he could. 

Cupping the sides of your neck with his hands, Rhett cocked his head to the side so that he could see your beautiful eyes.

“I never should've left. I’m so sorry.” 

Your confession hit Rhett like a knife to the chest, ripping the wind from his lungs. He was at loss for what to say because if he was honest… he was sorry you left too. Your hands came up to circle his wrists, not wanting him to move but terrified by his silence. 

“You’re here now… that’s what matters.”

Brushing your lips together, he stopped your protest in its tracks, not pulling away until he was sure you were calm again. 

“Rhett, we can’t avoid talking about this.”

“I know. But we aren’t gonna unpack it all in a day. For now, let’s just go get ready, yeah?” 

Shaking your head yes, his hands dropped from you, yours going with his as they lowered to his side. Leading the way out of the bathroom, the pair of you found your way back into his room. Light conversation passed between you as you dressed, Rhett guiding the topics in an attempt to keep your mind occupied. 

….

Finished getting ready, Rhett picked up his hat from the top of the dresser, placing it on his head as he followed behind you. Calling out to Ceci, he let her know that you were headed out for the day, but neither of you heard a response. Thinking nothing of it, you continued on your way, running your hand along your father’s truck as you passed it. The cab of Rhett’s vehicle was starting to warm with the heat of the sun but wasn’t yet to the point of discomfort. Wanting to feel the wind in your hair, you rolled down the window, the air thrumming through the space like a drum as Rhett sped down the road. The air was crisp with the earthy tang of freshly cut grass.

You stuck your hand out the window, letting the rushing wind move it up and down. Rhett snuck a quick glance at you, smiling as he noticed what you were doing. The light bounced brightly off his scruff as he chuckled a laugh to himself.

“Old habits die hard, huh?”

“Guess so.” Smiling back at him over your shoulder, your eyes shut as the sun beat down on your face. 

Holding the wheel with his left hand, Rhett’s palm came to rest on your thigh, drawing soft circles next to your knee. Soaking in the feeling, you let your head fall gently on the headrest. For just a little bit longer you let yourself believe that life was as it should be and that all the problems in the world didn’t exist. But that bubble of peace couldn’t last forever. 

…

Tapping on the breaks, Rhett slowed as he made his way down the main road in town. The downtown seemed to be bustling for a weekday morning, people scurried about everywhere with little regard for the flow of traffic. Even with the extra people, Rhett easily found a parking space not too far from the autobody shop & the executor’s office. Faintly you could hear the voices of people as they passed by the truck, their conversation light and breezy. 

Not quite ready to go, you sat with your eyes closed. Rhett’s hand was no longer in your grasp as he had needed both to park the car. But there you sat, sunlight shining on your skin, bringing a tinge of pink to your cheeks as your temperature rose. Rhett could guess why you were stalling. Going into this meeting felt like you were burying your father even deeper into the recesses of your past. And even though your father had hurt you so deeply, it still pained you to be pushing him further away from the present… once this series of tasks was done the memories of your father (good and bad) would exist only in the scattered pieces left behind. The truck, the house, the photo albums… and of course your own mind. 

“Can I go in with you Y/N?”

Opening your eyes, you turned to look at Rhett. The look he gave you made this moment simultaneously better and worse. Better because this was the first time in the process of taking care of your dad’s affairs that you had someone by your side who knew the internal fight you were having intimately. You didn’t need to pretend around Rhett when it came to your father, he knew exactly how torn and broken your dad had left you. But he also knew that there were years worth of wonderful memories you wrestled with from the time before your mom died, the time when your dad was still your dad. 

“Yes”

Glancing quickly out the driver’s side window to check for traffic, Rhett opened the door and stepped out. Your hands shook as you got out of the truck, a few deep breaths were needed to steady yourself before taking a step toward the office building. With Rhett by your side, his hand in yours, you made the short walk into the building. The red brick of the structure was covered in a light layer of dirt as if it had not been tended to in some time, the awning overhead though worn kept the occasional bouts of rain from washing the facade clean. 

The quiet tinkle of a bell peeled as Rhett opened the door, the sound called the attention of the receptionist to the pair of you. Transitioning from the bright light outside to the dim space took a second, your eyes blinking rapidly to flush away the green speckles that formed in your vision. 

“Welcome to Colt and Sons. You must be Y/N,  I’ll let Mr. Colt know that you’re here. Feel free to have a seat.” Her voice was perky and excited, a stark contrast to the space itself.

“Thank you.” 

The name tag on the front desk read, “Kaitlyn”. You’d only been in here one other time right after you returned to Wabang, but this was a new face to you. You didn’t recognize her from your earlier visit nor from around town, and while you knew you were being judgmental, you couldn’t help it. Her cheery smile and positive energy pissed you off, this wasn’t the place for happiness for fucks sake… this was the place people came to hear what their loved ones had left behind when they died. Sure, you supposed for some this place could be filled with possibility, love, and nostalgia, but for you… that just simply wasn’t the case.  

You and Rhett tried to get comfortable in the stiff waiting room chairs but found quickly that that was not going to be possible. So instead, you resigned yourself to flipping through one of the outdated magazines piled on the table in front of you. Unsure of what to do with himself, Rhett sat stiff as a board next to you, his hands firmly gripping his knees as he waited. The smell of fresh toner swirled through the room as Kaitlyn made copy after copy, the smile on her face never faltering as she worked. Holding the magazine higher, you attempted to block her from your sight. 

More time than expected passed before Mr. Colt finally made his appearance. The cheap-looking door on the other side of the room opened to reveal the tall, lanky frame of Mr. August Colt. Hearing the door handle jiggle, you looked up from the sleazy article you were reading, immediately closing the pages and setting the magazine back down. Mr. Colt took a few steps towards you but didn’t come over all the way. 

“Oh, good, you’re here.” 

His comment seemed odd seeing as how you’d made this appointment the last time you'd spoken, and he had been expecting you. A confused look on your faces prompted Mr. Colt to continue talking.

“Luck must be running my way this morning, getting you both here without needing to make another call. Come on back, and we’ll get started.” 

…

The leather chairs in Colt’s office were peeling with age, the stuffing underneath pushing out through the cracks in the covering. Shelves of books lined the man’s office, the yellowing of the spines showed the age of the textbooks. Piles of binders and papers littered the room, the desk had just enough space cleared for the current item he was working on and a large thermos of coffee. None of this made you feel any better about being here and really called into question what your father had been thinking allowing this man to handle his affairs. But then again, Mr. Colt and your father went way back, they had been friends all throughout school. Or maybe more accurately, your father had been the only person who stood up for Colt when the other boys decided it would be fun to harass him. The first time you’d met Mr. Colt he’d told you about the time that your father caught a couple of their classmates knocking him around and decided to beat the hell out of the bullies. August and your father had become thick as thieves after that, your dad protecting Colt from bullies in exchange for tutoring. The story had been a perfect example of the man your dad had been before and made you livid to know how much had changed.

Clearing his throat with a wet cough, Mr. Colt opened the manila folder in front of him, flipping through until he found the page he was looking for. Rhett had removed his hat as he came into the room, and was now playing with the edges as he waited. 

“So, first things first. I’ve got a couple of other forms I need you to sign for me.”

Setting a pen on the desk in front of you along with a stack of three papers, Mr. Colt proceeded to explain what each of the forms was for, wanting to make sure you understood what you were signing. Reaching for the pen you pulled off the cap and shoved it on the opposite end to avoid losing it in the mess of his desk. Sloppily you signed the forms at each of the spots that were marked with yellow highlighter. Tapping the stack of papers on the edge of the desk, you made a neat pile before handing them back to the man. 

“All right, now that we’ve got that taken care of, on to the other piece of business. So, the other day after you left I was looking back through the paperwork your father had given me before his death, and I found something I missed.” 

His head dipped down below the edge of his desk, his messy mop of red hair sticking up over the lip as he opened the metal drawer to his right. Sharp scraping sounds grated on your spine as he worked the drawer open, thankfully he didn’t bother pushing it back in after grabbing what he wanted from inside. Sitting back up, he had a medium-sized box in his hands.

“As I was saying, in your father’s paperwork I found a note I made about a box that was to be given to you after his death. And this is why I’m glad you’re here Rhett. In the note, it says that it contains items for both of you. The only stipulation given is that your dad wanted you to wait to look at the contents of the envelopes until you were away from the office. And before you ask, I don’t know why.” 

Up to this point, Mr. Colt’s tone had been straightforward and aloof, but it shifted as he wiggled the top of the box off and sat it precariously on a stack of papers to this left. 

“He asked me to save this for you both as a friend, and not his executor. I don’t know what’s in here, but what I do know is that he made me promise to give you this message when I gave it to you.” Looking back at the sticky note in his file he read the following word for word, “Y/N & Rhett, please… read the letters. You can burn them after if you'd like, but please, read the letters.” 

August reached into the shallow box and retrieved the items inside. The first is two envelopes, one addressed to you and the other to Rhett. They were sealed from edge to edge, the typically crisp corners were rounded as if someone had rubbed them ragged. Leaning across the desk, Colt handed each of you your respective envelopes before reaching back into the box. You didn’t see him pull out another small item from within as your eyes were glued to the thing in your hands. 

“This is also for you Rhett.” 

Prying your eyes from the envelope, you followed Colt’s hand as he yet again leaned across the space to hand Rhett something. It was a small box, about 5x5 if you had to take a guess, the sides were taped shut to prevent whatever was inside from falling out. 

“For me, are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. He specifically listed your name next to this item in his note.” 

“Okay, thank you.”

Rhett turned the box in his hands, the contents sliding around inside, but it was still impossible to tell what it was. 

Looking back at August you expected him to have something else for you as well, but he did not. Fitting the lid back on, Colt placed the now empty container back into the drawer, shoving it shut with a gross metallic scrap. 

“Okay, well that’s all I’ve got for you Y/N. I think we’re all set, but I’ll call you if I need anything else.” 

Caught off guard by the abrupt end to the meeting you, looked back at Mr. Colt in a tad bit of shock, your eyes big as you processed his words.

“That’s… that’s all.” 

“Yes. I’ve got all the paperwork signed, and now you both have those additional items. We should be all set.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

Standing up, you shook Mr.Colt’s hand, the man plopping back down into his seat as soon as you let go. Putting his hat back on, Rhett joined you as you made your way out of the room, his hand low on your back as he guided you out of the room. 

The receptionist's perky voice trilled a goodbye in your direction as you moved on autopilot out the door. Rhett called out a quick goodbye so as to not be rude to the woman. The bell above the door rang again as you pushed through to the sidewalk, the warmth of the air a pleasant change. Continuing to move you back to his truck, he encouraged you to lean against the side for a moment and collect yourself.  

Leaning into your space, he rested his freed hand on your waist, his fingers curling around to your back as he held himself close. 

“You okay Y/N?” 

“I… I don’t know…” You rubbed the soft paper of the envelope as you let your mind wander.

“We can go home if you want, I can always come back out later and get the parts.” 

“No, that’s okay. I honestly just need to keep moving because if I stop…”

“Gotcha.” 

Grabbing the envelope from your hand, he opened the truck and tucked the items into his glove box, slamming it shut before returning to you. 

“Ready?”

“Yeah”

Taking a fast glance to the right and left, Rhett made sure it was safe for you both to cross the road. The autobody shop smelled of oil and burning rubber, the smell unpleasant in your nose as you wandered around the store. Rhett was at the counter talking to an employee who was looking up something on the computer. The shop was nearly empty, only a few other men wandered the rows, checking out the plethora of tools lining shelves. Rhett’s voice faded the further you walked away from the counter, mindlessly weaving through the aisles. Eventually, you found your way to the far corner of the store up by the front window, the wall covered in a variety of different car washing solutions. Running your fingers along the bottles, the sudden movement of a person passing by the window caught your eyes. Lifting your gaze, your body froze, it was as if the world around you fell away. 

Now a few steps beyond you on the other side of the glass was a man, his strong back and messy shag of brown hair all too familiar. Your lungs stopped functioning as you waited for him to turn into the store which is what you were sure was going to happen. Time slowed to a near standstill as he turned in the opposite direction, looking both ways before crossing the road. Finally, at the sight of his profile, your body came crashing back to reality, your heart thudding erratically in your chest. It wasn’t him, it wasn’t James, but for a moment your worst nightmare was just feet away ready to pull you under like a riptide. 

A hand on your shoulder startled you, with lightning speed you spun around to find the person who’d touched you. It took a second for your brain to catch up, Rhett patiently waited for you to get your bearings. 

“Y/N, what’s wrong? What the hell happened?” Concern and confusion consumed him as he looked around for what had caused your panic. 

“Nothin’, it’s nothin. I just thought…” 

“It’s clearly not nothin’ Y/N. Talk to me, please.”

“Not here okay.”

“Sure. Why don’t we drop this stuff off at the truck and go get ourselves some lunch?”

Nodding yes, you moved away from Rhett, power-walking a few paces ahead of him to give yourself a bit of space as you calmed down. Rhett watched you with cautious eyes, uncertain of how to ask for more information. He wanted you to let him in, but he understood that doing so left you vulnerable. This dichotomy was something he was intimately familiar with as he struggled with the decision of how or if he should to talk to you about everything that had unfolded the other night at the Pit bar. 

…

Betty, the sweet old waitress at the diner sat you and Rhett in one of the booths tucked away at the back. The smile on her face couldn’t have been bigger if she tried, it warmed her heart to see the pair of you together again. The initial shock of you two coming in for a meal after so many years apart fell away quickly as she walked you to your seats. You knew instantly where she was taking you, the very back booth with the bench seat wrapping in a semi-circle around the table. The perfect spot for a happy couple to cuddle in relative privacy, and also the same booth you and Rhett had inhabited many times as teenagers looking to spend some quality time away from the prying eyes of your families. 

Sliding into the booth, you tucked yourself into Rhett’s side as he ordered two glass bottle cokes, one for each of you. Resting your head on his shoulder, you laced your hands together. Swiveling his head, Rhett dipped his face down to kiss you, unspoken words of encouragement passing between you. The coke bottles thunking softly on the laminate table pulled the two of you apart. 

“So, what’ll be?” The tip of Betty’s pen perched on her order pad as she waited for you to order.

Not really up for making a decision, you let Rhett order for you.

“We’ll have an order of fries and two cheeseburgers please.”

“All the fixin's?”

“On one yes. On the other just cheese, pickles, and lettuce. She’ll add the ketchup as she goes.” 

“I’ll have that right up.” 

Grinning, you sat up and kissed Rhett. Letting go of the kiss, you kept your face close to his, your whispers falling softly on his lips.

“I thought I saw James outside the autobody shop today.” 

“What?” His own anger and panic caused him to shoot back from you, eyes scanning the small crowd in the diner. 

“It’s okay Rhett, it wasn’t him. It was just some guy.”

“Are you okay?” 

“I was okay the second I saw you. It just took a minute for the shock to fade.” There was another thought itching at your throat begging to be revealed, but you worried that by speaking it out loud that it would come true. 

“That night right after he… he pushed me, he bent down to talk to me. An’ I know I told you what he said, but that wasn’t all.” 

Rhett stiffened as he braced himself for what you were about to say. 

“Just before he stood up he pushed his weight down on my chest with his hands, shoving me further into the glass, and whispered ‘You tell anybody what actually happened tonight, and I’ll kill you. An’ don’t you dare try to run, ‘cause  I’ll find you.’ ”

“I did both of those things Rhett, and I know he knows.” 

-------------------------------

@lostinthefandoms11

@eugene-emt-roe

[shuttershocky]

Unfortunately I don’t have time yet to play through vs Jaedong simulator so no SN guides for now, but I CAN give tips on clearing the new XP and LMD stages!

LS-6

This layout may look intimidating, but it’s actually really easy so long as you remember that you should defend with Physical damage on the left, and Arts on the right. You get lots of squishy enemies coming from the left as well as the more dangerous arts drones, a Rockbreaker, and a Hateful Avenger, so what you can do is have a Marksman Sniper on the tile with the blue arrow facing upward. That should let them shoot down the arts drones that spawn while assisting both leftward lanes with dealing with mooks. Because of the Marksman’s DPS, the melee units don’t necessarily have to be strong (except vs the Avenger), just tanky!

If you have a little difficulty getting your dudes up, one flagbearer and two charger vanguards on the left side should do the trick until the stronger enemies arrive!

The right side on the other hand, features a buttload of Heavy Defenders and Defender Drones to support them. Place one Splash or Chain Caster on the red X facing right, this lets them hit both lanes that will attempt to bumrush your melee operators and overwhelm their block count with their sheer beef. Passenger with his S3 in particular is crazy strong at defending the right side almost entirely on his own thanks to his lightning storm’s enormous range and bouncing attacks.

The green circle on the other hand, is a fantastic place to put a Lord Guard with Arts damage (or very strong phys like Thorns/Silverash) facing upwards, they can defend both lanes at once.

Remember to fill out your other slots with heals, and reasonably sturdy melee operators to block enemies. If you lack DPS in the three critical roles, just add more operators to support the one who’s lacking!

CE-6

A simple map with a nasty surprise at the end.

This map features enemies with relatively weak DEF and then surprises you with a truckload of Defense Crushers that take the bottom road and attempt to smash into your backline. I’ve drawn their route in red, as well as boxed where they tend to stand around and give you time to beat them up first.

The Green circle is the tile where your backline CANNOT be weak if you cannot kill the Defense Crushers inside the red box. This is where the Defense Crushers will attempt to re-merge into the regular lanes by smashing up the operator placed there, and their ability lets them stun your operators on their third attack. You need someone strong or tanky, ideally with a silence to stop their stun or status resistance to halve its duration, as well as having a Caster behind them to support with Arts damage. Lappland with S2 covers all those bases, so be sure to bring her along if you’ve got her!

Additionally, the blue arrow shows the best spot to place a Physical DPS operator with a widened range. They can be strong in single target like Thorns or Exusiai, or deal AOE like Ch’en the Holungday or Executor. Everyone else plays a blocking or healing role and backs up the main DPS or the operator defending the Green tile.

Just like with LS-6, if you’re finding your opening difficult, two Chargers and one Flagbearer will survive the early waves (they don’t take the low road until later) and let you build the DP you need quickly.

[latimeria-fell-from-heaven]

Lati i started playing Arknights bc of you any tips on starting the game (also which hot characters should I look out for)

okay first things first, make sure you really save up your originite prime, especially if you want to use them to buy skins for your favorite characters or use them for sanity or even get more orundum for when you're pulling on a specific banner. speaking of orundum, please please save it up, and try not to pull on banners for characters that you do not really care for unless you really want to. don't feel bad for using lower-star characters; i use operators like yato, noir corne, melantha, etc, for a ton of missions especially if you're trying to stall an enemy or if they're the only operators available. and don't feel pressured to do the annihilation levels especially if you don't have enough operators or are not adequately prepared enough for the enemies.

as for hot characters, personally i'm pretty excited for a good handful of upcoming banners ever since i was aware of them. i'm saving up for executor the ex foedere, ho'olheyak, kirin x yato and rathalos s noir corne. the last two are mostly bc i'm a huge sucker for the monster hunter franchise and it's always been so cool to me. but these are just my preferences, and i'd recommend looking at any upcoming banners on the wiki so you can see which characters you think you'd like <33

[thelibraryofsylphide]

The navigational charts. The route to the Farthest Gate. Wouldn't it be amazing if this venture of yours took you to the world beyond this one?" ― Sao Feng

Welcome to my blog! These are the Navigational Charts (no stealing or drowning needed!) for your visit.

Warnings / General Info:

- I can and will block freely, it is often not personal, you might just be into something I'm not. [Examples: Thor Ragnarok, Loki (TV series), Yashahime.] - Autistic, disabled, adult. - Flows in and out of obsessions. - Multilingual. - Main: @zanda-rl

Featured Post: This wonderful personalized moodboard by @abbys-moodboards

"'Up is down.' Well, that's just maddeningly unhelpful. Why are these things never clear?" ― Jack Sparrow

Tags:

I sure as hell forget what I put here, so I can't imagine how confusing it must be for you guys. So here's the, maybe kept to date if on a good day, list of things I usually post or reblog about:

(Useful tip: The main topics are common, but the downwards arrow is what I usually fixate on the most. The related tags are beside each one, with spaces included.)

Main Fandoms / Media: - MCU in general, commonly up until Thor:TDW [#marvel] ↳ MCU!Loki, exclusively up until Thor:TDW [#loki] [#loki meta] ↳ Asgard [#asgard] ↳ Thor, up until T:TDW [#thor] [#thor meta] and Fandral [#fandral] [#fandralposting] - League of Legends Lore [#league of legends] ↳ Pantheon, the Unbreakable Spear [#pantheon league of legends][#league of legends pantheon] [#league of legends atreus] ↳ Skinlines/skins [#league of legends skins] ↳ Concept art [#concept art] (this tag will have more than just LOL) ↳ Cinematics [#league of legends cinematic] ↳ Aurelion Sol [#aurelion sol] - Pathologic (videogame saga) [#pathologic] ↳ The doctors: Daniil [#bachelor] [#daniil dankovsky], Artemy [#haruspex] [#artemy burakh] and Clara [#clara pathologic] ↳ Executors [#executor pathologic] and Tragedians [#tragedian pathologic] - The Mechanisms (band) [#the mechanisms] ↳ The Bifrost Incident [#the bifrost incident] - Five Nights at Freddy's (videogame saga) [#fnaf] - Ham-Ham Hamtaro (videogame saga) [#hamtaro] - South Scrimshaw (videogame by episodes) [#south scrimshaw] - Pirates of the Caribbean [#potc] [#pirates of the caribbean] - Lord of the Rings [#lotr] [#lord of the rings] - Journey (videogame) [#journey] - Our Life: Beginnings and Always (videogame) [#our life:bna] [#ourlifebna] [#our life: beginnings and always] - Undertale (videogame) [#undertale] [#undertale au] [#undertale aus] - Baldur's Gate 3 [#baldur's gate 3] ↳ Astarion [#astarion] ↳ Gale [#gale] [#gale of waterdeep] ↳ Wyll [#wyll ravengard] [#wyll] - Inuyasha (anime/manga series) [#inuyasha] - Gargoyles (TV series/comics) [#gargoyles]

General Likes: - Punk [#punk aesthetic] [#punk] [#punk fashion] [#punk outfit] [#punk patches] [#patches] - Dividers [#dividers] - Concept art [#concept art] - Mythology [#greek myth] [#norse myth] - Quotes, sayings and lessons [#commonplace] [#commonplace tag] - Lordi (band) [#lordi] - Moodboards [#moodboards] [#moodboard] [#my moodboard][#my moodboards] - Gif making [#my gifs] - Set Design [#set design] - Screenplays [masterpost]

"Nothing here is set. These can't be as accurate as modern charts." "No. But it leads to more places." ― Will Turner and Tai Huang

Credits:

Title card - by me

Dividers Art Deco by @saradika

Dainty Chains | green blue by @cafekitsune