#but i only have a few elected officials and it is very very easy to be extremely annoying to a small group of people

[sharpenote]

there's not always going to be an option to make things immediately better, but there will always be options to stop things from immediately getting much much worse, and you will always owe it to people less fortunate than you to keep things from getting worse, no exceptions

[dailyanarchistposts]

The Government Responds to the Yellow Vests

Those interested who wish to see two and half hours of political doublespeak can watch Macron’s press conference in full. Our goal here is simply to analyze some of the major decisions taken by the French government.

In the opening statement, Macron explained that he had learned a lot from the National Debate and emerged “transformed.” According to him, this three-month political experience highlighted that there is a deeply rooted feeling of fiscal, territorial, and social injustice among the population, alongside a perceived lack of consideration on the part of the elite. Therefore, the government has decided to present “a more human and fair” political project.

However, after these conventional words intended to create the illusion of empathy from the government towards yellow vesters and everyone else struggling on a daily basis as a consequence of the policies implemented by successive governments, Macron lifted the veil, adding:

“Does this mean that everything that has been done in the past two years should be stopped? I believe quite the opposite. We must continue the transformations. The orientations taken have been good and fair. The fundamentals of the first two years must be preserved, pursued, and intensified. The economic growth is greater than that of our neighboring countries.”

If some people still hesitated to believe that the National Debate was just a political farce, here is the ultimate proof. For months, people expressed their frustrations in the streets and traffic circles. Facing this unprecedented and uncontrollable situation, the authorities answered by saying that in a democracy, dialogue must not be established through “violence,” therefore offering the National Debate as an alternative in order to pacify the situation—while increasing police repression against demonstrators in the meantime.

After three months of National Debate—which fortunately failed to stop the movement—those who trusted the good intentions of the government saw their efforts and demands dismissed. In effect, Macron was telling everyone, “Thanks a lot for taking part of this debate, we heard you, but in the end, we decided to pursue our political agenda and continue the liberalization of the capitalist economy.”

So the long-awaited conclusion of the National Debate was simply a mix of old promises, a few adjustments to show the goodwill of the government, and new reforms to accelerate the transformation and liberalization of society.

First, Macron rejected some of the biggest demands of the yellow vest movement. The government will not officially recognize “blank votes” as a form of opposition during elections (so far, those votes are counted but they are not taken into account in the final results and in the total number of vote cast). Then, he refused to reverse the decision to reduce taxes on the income of the super-rich—one of the issues that had provoked the emergence of the yellow vest movement in the first place.

Furthermore, the government also opposed the idea of creating the Citizens’ Initiative Referendum (RIC). Instead, they want to develop an already existing alternative¬—the Referendum of Shared Initiative—by simplifying its rules. From now on, instead of requiring 4.7 million signatures to be discussed at the Assemblée Nationale, a petition will only need one million signatures and the approval of at least a fifth of the total number of deputies. If the National Assembly refuses to discuss the issue, a referendum can be held. Macron also mentioned his desire to reinforce the right to petition at a local scale.

Even with the proposal to simplify this participatory political platform, it is easy to see that the government is taking very few risks with this alternative. The idea is to give people the impression that they have more leverage within the democratic system, as they can address petitions to their representatives. But in the end, who will have the final word on these issues? Politicians motivated by self-interest, power, and careerism. There is very little probability that the deputies will validate any petition that could threaten the status quo. As in any other political system, this democratic game is obviously rigged: even if you play by the rules, you always lose!

Then, Macron repeated and clarified some reforms that were already present in his electoral program of 2017: limiting the number of terms for politicians (though he did not specify how many would be allowed); reducing the number of parliamentarians by 25% or 30%; increasing the degree of proportional representation in legislative elections (which will likely give more power to the National Front in French political institutions).[1]

After presenting what the government is planning to do to include more elements of participatory democracy in the French political system, Macron expressed his desire to undertake a “profound reform of the French administration” and of its public service. To do so, the government intends to put an end to the National School of Administration (ENA)—symbol of republican elitism and opportunism—in order to create a new institution that “works better.” Moreover, in May, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has been mandated to officially present a government plan to put more civil servants in the field so they can help the authorities find solutions to people’s problems at a local scale. Therefore, the government has abandoned its previous objective of abolishing 120,000 posts of civil servants—but this doesn’t mean that the government has abandoned the idea of cutting jobs.

To fight against the steady reduction of public services in the countryside and in some provinces—such as post offices and deliveries, health insurance, and unemployment agencies—the government aims to establish buildings that would concentrate all these rudimentary public services in one location. Such initiative already exists, in fact, but is suffering from critical underfunding.

Then, Macron stated that no further hospital or school will close until 2022—the end of his presidential term—without the agreement of the Mayor of the Commune they are located in. For years, successive governments have underfunded hospitals and schools, increasing the precarious aspect of working conditions. The main question is—what will happen after 2022? Regarding the education issue, Macron agreed to limit the number of students per class to 24 from kindergarten to second grade and to duplicate classes if necessary, as is already stipulated in some priority education areas—read poor districts. This is an interesting focus for Macron when in the meantime, government policies are worsening the educational system as a whole, especially via reforms targeting high schools and universities.

Concerning economic policies, Macron explained that he wants to “significantly reduce” the amount of income tax demanded from the middle class. However, to do so while balancing the loss of tax revenue, Macron is asking everyone to “work more.” The meaning behind this statement remains quite obscure, as Macron offered no further explanation. So far, we know that the government doesn’t want to change the legal age of retirement nor to cancel holidays. However, Macron is not opposed to the idea of increasing the number of working hours per week. The government also aims to reach its objective of “full employment” by 2025, without explaining how this might take place. In order to compensate for the tax cuts for the middle class, the government also aims to suppress some specific fiscal niches used by large companies, but Macron said nothing about the various strategies of tax evasion utilized by the super-rich.

Macron also explained his wish to increase the minimum amount of retirement pensions from today’s approximately €650 per month up to €1000. Moreover, Macron also reconsidered his previous policy regarding retirement and confirmed that pensions under €2000 would be re-indexed to account for inflation starting January 2020. Finally, the government wants to create some sort of mechanism to guarantee the payment of child support to families in need.

Starting in June, Macron wants to create a “citizen’s convention composed of one hundred and fifty people with the mission to work on significant measures for the planet.” In addition, he wants to establish a Council of Ecological Defense to address climate change. This council would involve the Prime Minister as well as the main Ministers in charge of this transition in order to take “strategic choices and to put this climate change at the very core of our policies.” This is not a measure to address the ecological crisis so much as yet another step in the development of the same French bureaucracy that sparked the yellow vest movement in the first place. Our governments and the systems that put them in power in the first place continue to lead us towards darker futures.

Finally, and most ominously, Macron presented his plan to “rebuild the immigration policy” of France. “Europe needs to rethink its cooperation with Africa in order to limit the endured immigration and has to reinforce its borders, even if this means having a Schengen area with less countries,” he proclaimed. “I deeply believe in asylum, but we must strengthen the fight against those who abuse it.” This will likely be the premise of a new step in the development of fortress Europe. And, of course, whatever authoritarian measures are developed to target migrants will also be used to target poor people and rebellious elements within France itself. In this regard, we can see that it has been self-destructive as well as racist and xenophobic that some yellow vesters have demanded more immigration controls.

[magnusmodig]

||. an assortment of thoughts + headcanons concerning thor + previous relationships / his mentality surrounding ... being that one Resident Super Hot Guy :tm:

(none of these are fully fleshed out into words past these excerpts from my chats w a pal on discord... mostly, I just want to put them on the blog for later reckoning)

a. He was originally set to be betrothed to Lady Sif, though this was never really enforced or official so much as it was implied for as long as they've known each other. He'd have actually happily gone through with this if he hadn't met Jane??? but that's obvsly not what happened. He loves Jane and he would never choose another, ever.

b. Thor at no point ever expected he'd meet someone he'd fall in love with and trust with his heart, and he also sort of just… resigned himself to the fact that he won't marry for love, and that he WILL need to sire an heir whether he wants to or not (but he's super family coded so ofc he'd want kids of his own. It'd just suck for him a lot if it wasn't with someone he loves. he'd not blame the children for that, though.) / (more on that HERE)

c. Thor wasn't exactly a man-hoe or anything, but he is NOT a virgin in the slightest and lost that long before he met Jane, and this is from a variety of short relationships and the occasional fling… but when I say "short" and "occasional" I really do mean that… I don't think he'd get into relationships unless he felt there might be potential, but those never lasted more than a few days. He only would ever need those few to know if there could be something long-lasting.... (and usually they were done while he was out traveling the realms with the rest of his squad), I don't think he'd do flings and one-night-stands often but uh. Sometimes you really need a distraction and alcohol + s*x just kind of happen to go together in Thor's case bc he's an idiot and very careless with himself when it comes to… not being self-destructive. He'd find someone he okay with indulging, get drunk and have relations… but that said I think he'd always make it a point to treat those women nicely before, during, and especially afterwards, and he never left them high and dry bc that'd break his heart more than anything…. sooooo d. He's (unfortunately) used to being people's eye-candy and just kind of expects it at this point. When he's not perfect in the sense of "can do no wrong" or "a hero that always wins and can never be broken, no matter what comes his way", then it's just "he's so handsome and i boy am i having some Sinful Thoughts abt Prince Blondie over there" and thor just sort of …. He doesn't shrug it off, really. I think it actually makes him really uncomfortable. He just chooses to ignore it. Turn the other cheek, if you will, and give a wide berth and a blind eye, because in his mind there's nothing he can do about it =v=;;; To that end, he won't get terribly mad at anyone who does do express anything inappropriate towards him bc he DOES just expect it to happen. He reasons it away and elects to simply stay disengaged unless some lines are crossed. He does goes out of his way to dress modestly. Long sleeves when he can help it, always wearing some kind of shirt or tunic or armor, long pants (on earth, the most casual items of modern-day clothes he'll keep to are joggers. Never ever shorts.), boots, you name it. The most skin he feels comfortable showing are his arms w the sleeveless shirts but that's also partially out of it being easy to wear and great for training purposes. He actually doesn't like training w/o a shirt as an adult bc he has Learned ™️

e. Thor counts his flaws and ESPECIALLY whenever he sees or notices someone Oggling Him he'll go out of his way to remind himself of what they are. He's got a lazy eye that nobody comments on, his hair is darker than it was when he was a child, he's got callouses on his hands from the weapons he uses, when he was a child he had a gap between his front two teeth, he's got very thin scars from the occasional battle (not many, but they're there), - post!ragnarok there's also the addition of his lost right eye and eventual heterochromia … and he does it just to make a point to himself that he's .... not perfect, and if they can't spare the time to notice it then they're probably creatures to be wary of, in the long run

[dodger-chan]

In Spain, elections are always on a Sunday so that most people can vote, as a legal protection for voting. And if you have to work that day, despite being Sunday (say, you're a doctor), you have the legal right to get off work for a couple of hours for voting. And you don't have to register anywhere. It is automatic once you are of legal age to vote. You receive a letter at your home telling you the address where you have to vote. Where I live (about 1500 people), there are two voting places. All the places in all towns and cities are conveniently located within walking distance of the official residence you have. And you can always vote by post too if you are travelling or living in a different address. The people counting the votes are anyone, literally anyone (you receive a letter saying you have to do it) and it is mandatory that you attend (there are only a few valid legal excuses you can use to avoid it). This is like this for all elections, local, national or EU.

Yeah, the US elections tend to be on Tuesdays. I think local ones can be set whenever, but national ones are Tuesday, and everywhere I've lived all the local ones have stuck with Tuesdays. More people vote when they happen on the same day as national elections.

(I say national elections, but really that means elections for national offices. All elections are run on the state level, which is why US election laws can vary so much.)

Most places have some amount of early voting now, which usually includes at least one Sunday. Early voting has very limited locations, though. Like, my regular polling place right now is in my apartment building, but the place I would have to go to vote early is forty minutes away and requires changing trains.

Legally, workplaces are required to give their employees time to vote on election day. Practically, it's not something that's easy to enforce. I don't know anyone personally who's been fired/retaliated against for missing work to vote, but I have known people who were concerned about it happening.

There are a few places in the US that are trying out automatic voter registration, but it's not a nation-wide thing. I believe the places that do it use driver's licenses for that information, so if you don't have one, you'd still have to register.

Voting is so much more convenient for me since I left Florida, though I think that's a suburbs vs. city thing rather than a Florida vs. the mid Atlantic states. It wasn't that the polling places were so far away, but they didn't have bike racks, bus stops, or in some cases side walks so they were hard to get to without a car.

Voting by mail is an option. Some places mail you a ballot automatically. Most places you have to request one from the department of elections. I think a few places require you to give a reason you want an absentee ballot, but it's never come up for me.

[dreamofbona]

starlight - park jongseong

summary: when your family decides to move, you're not happy at all. even though your social life is crumbling, you want to stay in new york. besides, what's to say that life in seattle will be better?

alternatively: you move to seattle and learn how to live (2521-esque)

genre: high school au, fluff, angst

pairing: jay x fem!reader

warnings: swearing

word count: 2.43 k

other characters: jake, heeseung, kim chaewon, huh yunjin, sakura, huening kai, taehyun

Chapter One:

You didn’t want to move. You were perfectly happy staying in New York City. Okay, maybe you weren’t happy. But you still didn’t want to move. So what if your social life was falling apart? So what if you had started to hate school because of it? Moving was still worse.

Especially because it was Seattle. No one lived in Seattle. The entire plot of Family Reunion was the fact that the McKellans were moving out of Seattle, not to it. It rained a lot there, was in the North West of the United States, and had no real appeal. Washington State as a whole was uninteresting and gloomy, the whole reason (probably) that Twilight took place there.

So you make it known that you don’t want to move. You complain, whine, procrastinate packing, and make pointed comments at dinner, but your parents don’t give in, and next thing you know you’re on a plane to Seattle, leaving your beloved city behind.

You’d spent summer vacation getting ready to move, and so only a week after you’ve moved into your new home in Seattle, it’s the beginning of junior year. School is starting. Great.

It’s the last Friday before school starts, and you receive an email from the school - schedule, locker, school map… and a guide. Another junior, Jongseong Park, it says. You sigh, trying to ease your nerves about starting all over at a new school, and close your email. You can deal with school later. Now? Netflix.

Before you know it, it’s the first day of school. You walk to your bus stop in the morning, not bothering to start a conversation with anyone there. Being lonely is hard, but being ignored is harder. Why make friends when they never stick around? Music is better, music stays, music fills the silence and never lets you feel alone. So you elect to spend the bus ride with Spotify.

You reach the school, walking into the main office. You take a quick look at the room - it’s large, spacious, airy. There are so many windows, and therefore so much natural light that you feel refreshed. Maybe this school won’t be so bad. 

There are a ton of little cubicles in the room, where it seems like the majority of the school’s administration works - there are secretaries, transportation officials, security team people… you eventually walk to the first secretary desk you see.

“Hi, I’m a new student, I was told to come here?” You say. 

The lady at the desk smiles warmly, “Yes, can I have your name?”

You give her your name, and she types away on her keyboard, clicking around with her mouse, before she says, “Alright, I’ve signed you in. Don’t worry about being late to classes this first week - teachers are very lax about tardiness for the first few days, and they know you’re a transfer student so they’ll go easy on you. Your guide should be here soon, and he’ll walk you to your classes today and answer any questions you have about the school.”

It’s magical - the second she stops speaking, you hear the door behind you open, and in walks a tall blonde boy. He’s wearing a gray tee shirt, black ripped jeans, and black Adidas sneakers. He’s wearing his navy backpack on one shoulder, headphones around his neck, and he raises his eyebrows in greeting,

“You must be Y/N,” he says, and you nod. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jongseong, but I go by Jay.”

“Nice to meet you too, Jay,” you respond quietly. You can hear your heart beating, nervous.

“Alright, first period…” he glances at his phone, and you try to calm your breathing. This kid is attractive, and you find yourself wondering if everyone at this school is. You’d thought some of the guys at your old school were cute, but this was something else. Jay could be a model. Maybe he is. “Alright, so we’re gonna go to the History wing.”

You follow him down the hall, looking around at the flyers on the walls - there are so many clubs, sports teams, and charity events going on despite school having just started. You and Jay walk straight for a while, before you eventually turn right into what you quickly figure out to be the history wing - the board of history memes gives it away. You walk past two classrooms, before turning into C104, your classroom.

“We’re here,” says Jay, and you both walk in. There are no assigned seats, instead, you’re asked to pick seats that you’ll use for the rest of the year. You sit down at a seat in the second row, and Jay sits down at the desk next to you. 

You’re kind of surprised. You’d thought that he’d walk you to your classes, nothing else, but instead he sits down next to you and makes conversation with you. Either this school is filled with kind people, or Jay is the kindest person on the planet. 

“So, where are you from?” he asks you after sitting down, his warm brown eyes showing genuine curiosity.

“New York City,” you answer, “Manhattan specifically.”

“Oh, I love NYC. I want to live in Manhattan one day - it’s such a lively place. I’m hoping to go there for college.” Jay enthusiastically responds.

“Yeah, there’s always something to do there. That’s something I love about it.” You reply. You open your mouth, wanting to ask him a question, but then your teacher starts talking.

“Welcome to American Government, I’m Mr. O’Neil, your teacher.” He drones on about the class, expectations, topics covered, and you stop listening. You have no interest in government, and all the interest in the boy sitting next to you. 

Somehow, your first class finally ends, and next thing you know you’re standing up, slinging your bag over your shoulder, and walking out of the classroom.

“So next…” Jay starts, pulling out his phone, scrolling with his finger, “we both have Math but we’re in different classes. They’re in the same wing though so we can walk there together.”

You nod, and follow him once again. You exit the History Wing, turn right, walk straight, climb up stairs, and then turn into the Math Wing. Your math classroom is first, and you thank Jay, who jokingly wishes you good luck - he mentioned on the walk there that he hates the subject.

You walk into the math classroom, sitting down at a desk towards the back of the room. You hate math. You know you’re gonna hate this class. You sigh, staring at the board - the first slide of a powerpoint on PreCalc is up on the screen - and nearly jump in your seat when you hear a voice next to you loudly exclaim “OH MY GOD!”

You turn to see a girl with long brown hair that reaches just past her shoulder blades laughing loudly at a boy in front of her. 

“I can’t believe you actually did it,” she’s saying, “why would you dye your hair gray? You look like a young old man.”

“I look amazing, thank you very much,” he responds. “And it’s not gray, it’s silver. Silver like the moon, like the stars, like the glossy fur on a wolf. I look gorgeous with this hair color, as I always do.”

The girl just laughs in response, “You’re so full of yourself.”

Another boy walks in, with a head of brown hair and black glasses on his face. “Hello Grandpa,” he says to the gray, no, silver-headed boy. Except this boy’s voice sounds different, and when he continues talking you realize that he has an accent. Australian?

You’re unable to figure it out fully because then the bell rings, and your math teacher silences the class, beginning a long, boring introduction to Precalc. 

Your next few classes are the same - Jay walks you around, which is somewhat fun because he talks to you, all enthusiastic and funny - but the classes themselves drag on for eternity. 

And then it’s lunch time. You’ve been dreading lunch all day, because with lunch comes socializing, and with socializing comes stress. Who are you supposed to sit with? Will anyone let you sit at their table? Will there be any empty tables you can sit at, and if there are, will people think you’re weird?

Once you reach the cafeteria, you find that your worries were for naught. 

“You can sit with me and my friends if you want to, Y/N,” Jay says to you, and you just nod, and he gestures for you to follow him, “Over here, that’s our table.”

The three kids from your math class are there, along with a few others who you’ve seen in some classes. 

“Everyone,” says Jay, “this is Y/N. She’s new, she’s cool, be nice.”

“We’re always nice,” says the girl from your math class.

“No you’re not,” says silver-hair boy. He then turns to you, and goes, “I’m Heeseung, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” you respond.

One by one, they all introduce themselves, and they’re all really nice, and you figure that either people at this school are just kind, or these kids are different. You pretty quickly decide the latter, since they also all look like models, and now that you’ve seen a decent amount of the kids here, you know that that’s not a shared trait among the general school population.

Girl From Math Class is Yunjin, but she just tells you to call her Jen.

Boy With Accent is Jake, and he moved from Australia a few years back, hence the accent.

There’s also Kai and Zuha and Chaewon and Taehyun and all of them are so kind and welcoming and for the rest of the day, you feel like maybe school here won’t be that bad. You now only have one class where you don’t know anyone, and you feel happy, you feel like you belong. They talk to you during class, slipping you notes while teachers drone on, and now you understand why people like school. You’d never experienced any of this in NYC.

They also add you to their group chat, and your parents raise their eyebrows at your constant grinning at your phone that evening. Kai is absolutely hilarious.

“School was good today?” Your mother asks after dinner, and you nod.

“Yeah, everyone’s super nice, I made friends… I’m feeling good about this school thing in Seattle.” 

“I’m glad.”

Despite your saying that, you find yourself unable to fall asleep. You toss and you turn, and all you can think about is the people you met today. Did they actually like you? Were they pretending? Why would they want to hang out with you? You find yourself going back to your old school, to your old friends… you don’t want to think about it.

“Y/N, tell him he looks ridiculous!” is the first thing Jen says to you as you walk into math class the next day. Heeseung is wearing a pair of enormous glasses, and you can’t stop yourself from laughing. The large, tacky, red glasses clash with the rest of his style - the neatly combed silver hair, the gray tee shirt and the black jeans. 

“You look ridiculous,” you say to Heeseung, “why red?”

“I can pull anything off,” says Heeseung. “I’m proving that point today.”

“You know what you’re proving today?” you all jump at the question from your math teacher. “Trigonometric identities. Here you go, get to work,” he says, handing out worksheets.

You groan at the problems, “I hate math.”

“Me too,” says Jen. “I don’t care about numbers, and doing math with letters is so weird. Like why is x a number now?”

“I love math,” says Jake, “it’s such a gorgeous way to represent life. Like, so much is represented through math. It’s so important for science.”

“You,” you say, “are an anomaly.”

“That’s because I’m perfect,” Jake replies, “one of a kind, absolutely amazing.”

You laugh, and Jen just sighs, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else. “They’re always like this,” she says to you. “So full of themselves.”

“As we should be,” says Heeseung, and Jake voices his agreement, and you just shake your head, smiling nonetheless. 

“Y/N’s disagreement tells me she has a crush,” says Jake after a few minutes, “how else could anyone resist our charms?”

You blush, shaking your head, “I’m sorry to break it to you two, but you’re very resistable.”

“Nonsense,” says Heeseung. “You just like Jay.”

“Where’d you get that from?” you frown.

“You looked at him yesterday like a gold-miner looking at gold,” says Jake.

“The way you said that was so weird,” you say.

“But you’re not denying it.”

You sigh, “Guys, I’ve known him for one day. I just appreciated that he was kind and welcoming.”

Heeseung shrugs, “We won’t stop you from being delusional. Whenever you want to talk boys, though, let us know.”

“Let me know,” says Jen. “You can’t trust those two.”

And conversation erupts again, this time Heeseung and Jake acting hurt at Jen’s statement. 

You laugh, turning back to your worksheet, surprised at how fun this math class is.

Pretty soon, it’s lunch time. You walk to lunch with Kai, who happens to be in your art class, your class before lunch. He’s making jokes, imitating the art teacher, and you’re laughing. 

You walk into the cafeteria, sitting down in an open seat next to Jen, and Kai moves to sit on your other side, but then Jay walks in. He looks mildly annoyed. He glances at Kai, and then sits across from you. 

“So, Y/N, how’s your day been so far? Are these idiots being nice to you?”

“I’m not an idiot,” Jake protests, before starting to recite physics formulas by heart, and then he starts talking about linear algebra and you wonder who allowed him to be in precalc.

Jay just rolls his eyes, before making eye contact with you.

“Yeah, it’s been good. I had no idea that Kai was so good at impressions.”

Jay shrugs, “I guess he is.”

The rest of the lunch period, Jay seems off. Granted, you’ve only known him for a day, so maybe this is how he always is, but he stays pretty quiet, glancing at Kai every so often, before glancing at you.  Jen just looks at you, and then at him, and then at you again and laughs. Later on, you swear you hear her whisper to Zuha that “he so has a thing for her”.

taglist: @chaewon-slays

[houseofbrat]

Hi HoB, have you had a look at the astrology for the US presidential election yet? Or is it too soon?

I've looked at some of it. Technically, it gets down to looking at two charts and determining which one is more powerful during the election and immediately afterwards. Given we don't officially have nominees yet, no one can make an official determination. After all, we have more than 12 months until the election, and probably about 12 months from now until we have official nominees.

That said, we know that Trump is unquestionably going to be the Republican nominee. No other GOP candidate has come close to topping Trump in the polls. Trump's first federal trial is currently scheduled for May 2024, which means the outcome of that trial is unlikely to affect Trump clinching the Republican nomination. Even still, Trump is unlikely to win in November 2024.

But is Joe Biden going to be the Democratic nominee on the top of the ticket in 2024? I highly doubt it. Will Kamala Harris be on the Democratic ticket? I highly doubt that either. I may be on the left half of the political spectrum, but Kamala Harris is the weakest VP since Dan Quayle. (And I am old enough to remember Dan Quayle!)

I still suspect Kamala is going to get an easy out from this political mess and head to a different branch of government. She just needs an opening in the judicial branch to make that happen. The only question is if it will be an associate position or chief of the judicial branch. Chief Justice isn't a job opening that happens very often. Not even once a decade. If that position opens up, which I think is somewhat possible, then you know that Kamala will be gunning for that position just like Hunter Biden wants a sweetheart plea deal.

Speaking of Hunter Biden, I bet we continue to get more of his mess as this summer and early fall drag on. Which means Kevin McCarthy will probably be forced to make a choice on impeaching Joe Biden or not. And let's not forget there's a significant section of the House Republican caucus who hates McCarthy. They got taken for a ride just a few months ago on the debt ceiling bill, and I bet they haven't forgotten about it. So...will Kevin continue to be Speaker of the House from now to the end of the year? I'm not so sure of that. Are we going to end up having another vote where we go ten, fifteen, or more rounds to determine who is the Speaker? I won't be surprised if that does indeed happen again.

So, if we have a situation where Kamala has moved over to SCOTUS, then that means there is no Vice. And if we have a situation where there is no VPOTUS and no Speaker of the House, well, the line of presidential succession still exists. And so does the 25th amendment.

As to your question about the 2024 election, I think when it gets down to it, the man who is likely to be the winner of the 2024 election has not announced yet. However, as things begin to change this fall, I suspect the Big Kahuna will change his mind and announce because...well, we'll wait until then. But regardless, I suspect the 47th president will be finishing out the remainder of Biden's presidency as a caretaker president, as she is not someone who ever wanted to be POTUS.

[mariacallous]

Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan will win the special election for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District and will become the first Black woman to represent the commonwealth in Congress, CNN projected Tuesday.

McClellan will defeat Republican Leon Benjamin, a pastor and Navy veteran, to succeed the late Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who died in November.

The heavily Democrat district, which comprises the city of Richmond, parts of Henrico County, Petersburg and south toward the state line, had been held by McEachin since 2017. He overwhelmingly defeated Benjamin in 2022 for the seat with 69.4% of the vote.

McClellan outraised and outspent Benjamin in the lead-up to Tuesday’s special election, according to their respective campaigns’ pre-special election reports filed on February 9.

Her election to the US House of Representatives is a milestone for Virginia, a state that was once home to the capital of the Confederacy and is a former slave-trading center. McClellan’s victory will add to what is already a record number of women and women of color in Congress, and also set a new record for the number of Black women, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

On a busy Saturday ahead of the election, she greeted voters alongside Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a close ally who officiated her wedding, and local and state lawmakers. She also rallied a few dozen campaign volunteers before they went knocking on doors of potential voters and cast her ballot along with her husband, David Mills, with their two children Jackson and Samantha.

“It’s a tremendous honor but it’s also a tremendous responsibility because I need to make sure I’m not the last,” McClellan said after casting her ballot. “And, I have a responsibility to be a mentor and help pave the way for other Black women, whether it’s, you know, running for federal office or running at local or state and to just help as many as I can to succeed.”

Raised in Petersburg, Virginia, McClellan was elected to the House of Delegates in 2005 and won a 2017 special election for state Senate after McEachin was elected to Congress in 2016.

In 2020, she launched a bid for governor, eventually coming in third in the 2021 Democratic primary. Her bid for the US House was a “level up” from her delegate and gubernatorial campaigns, which helped her prepare for this campaign, she told CNN.

“That I had that team ready to go when the special came and it made it very easy to build a very fast campaign. And that the importance of having not only a message that resonates with voters but the resources to communicate it. That both are equally important and having the importance of a field organization, you really need all three, and I was able to pull all three together in a very short amount of time,” she said.

McClellan won the Democratic nomination for the 4th Congressional District in December, defeating fellow state Sen. Joe Morrissey and two other candidates in a “firehouse primary,” which was conducted by party officials across a handful of pop-up voting locations. She took 85% of the vote to Morrissey’s 14%, according to the Virginia Democratic Party. McClellan was backed by party leaders and groups, including House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and the moderate-backing Democratic Majority for Israel PAC.

During her time in the General Assembly, McClellan has pushed legislation on several issues, including climate, gun reform and education. In 2020, a bill rolling back restrictions on abortion rights that she sponsored in the state Senate was signed into law by then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat.

She spearheaded the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, which was signed into law in 2021 and aimed to eliminate voter suppression and intimidation in the commonwealth. McClellan also sponsored her chamber’s resolution that helped Virginia become the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which bans discrimination on the basis of sex and guarantees equality for women under the Constitution. (In 2022, state Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, withdrew Virginia from a legal effort to have the Equal Rights Amendment recognized as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.)

McClellan told CNN she plans to continue her work on issues including voting rights, education and access to health care, but she may be met with challenges in the US House. Republicans’ majority in the chamber makes the possibility of passing Democratic-backed priorities slim. And Republicans in the Senate, although still in the minority, have already blocked advancement of previous voting rights measures.

“I was in the minority party for 14 years here,” McClellan said of her time in Richmond. “I learned two things. One, you really need to listen and understand why people believe what they believe, where they are coming from. And when you do that, sometimes you’ll find common ground,” she said. “So, start from that and then see how far you can go. If you can’t find common ground, then persist until you succeed, and I’ve had success doing both at the state level.”

McClellan said she is interested in joining the Armed Services, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs Committees, though said she’d be “happy with whatever I get.” She said she is also excited to join the Congressional Black Caucus.

[sa7abnews]

Speaker Mike Johnson: Only Americans should decide our elections. Here’s how Congress can guarantee it

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/speaker-mike-johnson-only-americans-should-decide-our-elections-heres-how-congress-can-guarantee-it/

Speaker Mike Johnson: Only Americans should decide our elections. Here’s how Congress can guarantee it

There are few things more important to our country than ensuring the integrity of our elections. The people rightfully demand it, and Congress has a duty to act.  Yet, when given the opportunity to eliminate one of the most glaring threats to fair elections, 198 House Democrats voted instead to keep the door open to fraud. The threat is very real. In nearly all 50 states today — including every major electoral battleground state — a noncitizen can walk into a DMV or welfare office, fill out a federal voter registration form, claim they are a U.S. citizen, and be registered to vote.  That noncitizen can then cast a ballot and help decide the direction of America. REPUBLICANS SAY SCHUMER MUST ACT ON VOTER PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP BILL IF DEMOCRAT ‘REALLY CARES ABOUT DEMOCRACY’This is not a hypothetical problem. I was recently in San Diego, CA to tour the new epicenter of the Biden-Harris border catastrophe where brave, overworked Customs and Border Protection agents have encountered millions of illegals. The agents told me the Biden-Harris Executive Order isn’t working the way the administration says it is. In some ways, it’s made the crisis worse.  Instead of carrying out their mission of protecting our borders, they have become processing agents, forced by the administration to send illegals throughout the country with little paperwork or record of their location. Many of them end up at local DMVs.  While it is illegal and clearly wrong for a noncitizen to vote in a federal election, and thus engage in foreign election interference, a current loophole in the National Voter Registration Act actually prevents states from requesting proof of citizenship when the registration form is signed.   To close that dangerous loophole and help ensure that only Americans decide American elections, House Republicans drafted and passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.  Our legislation makes several critically important reforms. It requires state election officials to request proof of citizenship for every person registering to vote and gives the state officials easy access to federal databases so they can confirm citizenship status. The SAVE Act also requires those state officials to clean up their voter rolls and directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine whether to conduct removal proceedings of any illegal alien who has registered unlawfully. To ensure actual citizens can continue to easily register to vote, the bill allows state officials to accept a wide variety of documents for registrants to prove citizenship and requires states to establish an alternative process for Americans who have misplaced their documentation.  Finally, the SAVE Act requires DHS to notify a state chief election official whenever an individual has been naturalized to ensure our newest citizens can exercise their right to vote. These commonsense provisions are not only right, but they are also in high demand. Polling has shown that 89% of Americans believe only Americans should decide elections — including 82% of Democrats, 80% of Black voters, and 78% of Hispanic voters. In light of all this, one would expect overwhelmingly bipartisan support for the SAVE Act in Congress. But Democrat leaders put on a full-court press to discourage their members from supporting our bill, and the White House issued a veto threat. The Democrats’ opposition to this simple election integrity bill is indefensible and exposes their intention to allow illegal aliens to vote.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONEarlier this year, most of these same Democrats voted to count illegal aliens in the 2030 Census. They also voted to let noncitizens vote in local elections in Washington, D.C. Some may also remember, how, in 2019, then-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris relied on a study that touted the “electoral implications” of widespread amnesty, including “sizable contributions to the margin of victory in swing states.” Perhaps that’s why Border Czar Harris has done such a pitiful job securing the border. Those who have illegally entered our country have no regard for our laws and have no right to interfere in our lawful election processes. Virtually all Americans agree — except for the Biden-Harris administration and congressional Democrats, who are so desperate to hang on to power that they will sacrifice the integrity of our election system.   In a study of the 2008 election, researchers estimated that 6.4% of noncitizens in the U.S. had voted in the general election. If a similar portion of the 7.2 million illegal aliens Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have welcomed into the country were to vote this year, those 460,800 votes would be more than enough to change the election outcome in a few key battleground states.  In an era of divided government where every single ballot matters immensely, we must have zero tolerance for fraud. One of our Republican colleagues won her first race in 2020 by only six votes. And for many weeks during this Congress, our majority in the House was held by just a one vote margin.  As the sanctity of our elections now hangs in the balance, the SAVE Act is urgently needed. It is smart policy and overwhelmingly supported by the American people. Everyone who shares this common concern should insist that Senator Schumer bring this bill forward to pass in the Senate, and that President Biden then sign it into law. The stakes could not be any higher. 

[kayla1993-world]

Terry Glavin: Why we may have finally reached a tipping point on Chinese interference

“The Chinese community here is frightened by the Chinese government, even though they are in Canada … A lot of Chinese organizations or social groups are very close to the consulate and the embassy. Why is that? It’s not because they don’t understand the values, trust them, or agree with them. It’s just because they are scared. They know that the Chinese government is so brutal they could do anything.”

If you thought that those words appeared in some news story over the past few days, perhaps in an interview with a Canadian Security and Intelligence Service whistleblower speaking anonymously out of fear of prosecution under the Security of Information Act, you’d have guessed wrong.

Those words were spoken 17 years ago, quite publicly, in testimony before the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Sheng Xue, the vice president of the Federation for a Democratic China, tried to explain to Parliamentarians the vicious reach of Beijing’s strong-arm operations in Canada.

It’s all to the good that a CSIS whistleblower and the Globe and Mail were quickly vindicated this week when prominent Conservative MP Michael Chong received official, in-person confirmation from CSIS head David Vigneault that the stories were true, that he and his family had been targeted by Beijing following his sponsorship of a February 2021 House motion to condemn Xi Jinping’s regime for engaging in genocide against the Muslim minorities of Xinjiang.

It’s also all to the good that the spotlight has been bright on the dirty work of Beijing’s agents of influence in efforts to monkey-wrench the outcome of the 2019 and 2021 federal elections to the advantage of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, and that Canadian tempers have not been so easily soothed by former prime minister Jean Chrétien’s cavalier assessment: “Ten or 15 constituencies in Canada at most? I don’t think it’s a big problem.”

It turns out that Chrétien so assiduously cultivated the unseemly intimacies with China's Communist Party ruling class during and after his tenure as prime minister. These intimacies, which Justin Trudeau’s Liberals torqued into hyperdrive in 2015, are becoming a problem no longer easily relegated to the back pages of Canada’s national newspapers.

There is still a strange Groundhog Day quality to the recent stories about the scandals related to Beijing’s success in capturing the affection if not the outright allegiance of so many personalities among Canada’s political and business elites.

Here’s another headline, but it’s from three years ago: Both stories make the same case, more or less. However, the 2020 headline was about a public document released by the National Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliamentarians.

And yet here we are, and it’s not easy to show that the Trudeau government is taking what is a full-blown national-security crisis as anything more than yet another opportunity to dodge, weave, mislead, conceal, and draw attention away from the paralyzing fear that has gripped tens of thousands of Canadians — Uyghurs, Hongkongers, Tiananmen refugees, diaspora democracy activists, Tibetans and so on — that Sheng Xue described to that House of Commons committee back in 2006.

To the extent that the Trudeau government is taking the crisis seriously, its actions have only been in response to widespread public revulsion, derision, and outrage. Well, maybe, at some point, so long as it doesn’t upset certain “vulnerable communities,” which is an odd way to describe the Beijing-loyal landlord class in the Mandarin bloc that lords it over the Chinese diaspora in Canada and finds its most eager interlocutor in the notoriously Beijing-friendly senator Yuen Pau Woo.

And maybe there will be some sort of public inquiry rather than directly answering questions about what Prime Minister Trudeau knew about Beijing’s interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections when he knew it, and what, if anything, he did about it. But that will be determined by an “independent rapporteur," old Trudeau family friend David Johnston.

It remains the height of bad manners to point out Johnston’s former role as a governing member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. This foundation has been directly implicated in a dirty-money influence operation Beijing ran to curry further favor with Justin Trudeau himself as if such an effort was even necessary. And never mind Johnston’s half-century of efforts to draw Canada closer to China’s orbit.

Back in 2017, 2019, and 2020, Amnesty International undertook extensive investigations in collaboration with Chinese-Canadian and other human rights organizations that set out in shocking detail the breadth and scope of Beijing’s bullying and intimidation operations in Canada. These reports were not leaked to the press. They were publicly disclosed, and widely noticed.

The case of Michael Chong, a trusted friend of human rights activists in the Chinese diaspora, is just the latest in a long and sordid story of Beijing’s emissaries in Canada getting away with unlawful and outrageous conduct. It’s that long story, and Ottawa’s inaction, that has caused quite a few veteran officials in Canada’s intelligence agencies to lose their patience. They have gone public, at risk of livelihood.

Maybe a tipping point has been reached. But we have been here before, and the evidence was in plain sight, on the record, without whistleblowers.

[vipier]

@gurrillero  sent  :  a kiss between two people in a fake relationship .

          THIS LIFE REMAINS UNDOUBTEDLY STRANGE TO GET USED TO, BUT TRISTAN HAS ALWAYS PRIDED HIMSELF ON HIS ADAPTABILITY.       frankly, it’s the only way he’s managed to survive this long  -  and now he finds himself both at his most comfortable and his most vulnerable all at once.  he is  concubine to the king,  as far as all of the fools in the hall are concerned, and he makes a good show of it, for his good looks, his coordination, his subtle  seductiveness  that’s so easy to play up with every move.  the official story  -  the one the king had elected to circulate after some discussion  -  is that tristan had been a circus performer,   A CONTORTIONIST,   which, give or take a few years, wasn’t  actually  a lie at all.  the tale was scandalous enough to prompt whispers, yet convincing enough to be believed, particularly after the would-be assassin had offered a borderline sordid demonstration as entertainment for the guests prior to dinner.  really, he’d rather have no eyes on him at all that he can’t control,  but in his role as his majesty’s favorite plaything in that moment, he felt so little like   HIMSELF   that he hardly minded the dozens of spectators gawking at his ability to twist and bend in ways impossible for most.

          I suppose now we understand his majesty’s curious tastes,  he overheard one man almost sneer to his wife, and not forty minutes later, tristan ensured that same man was wearing his third cup of red wine all over his doublet.

          usually, he remains sharper, but tonight he can tell he’s indulged a tad more than he would have liked by the tinging in his fingertips and the very slight but lulling sway of the room around him.  he’ll feel  something  in the morning, if barely, but he feels at least somewhat relaxed  -  and, as such, he keeps   CLOSER   to cassian’s side, in case his dulled senses threaten to make him miss something.   (  without the king, after all, all of this privilege goes out the window and he’s left on the street again to fight and claw for every scrap of bread.  )   but as wine-happy as he may be, tris remains sharper than the average man and he certainly hasn’t missed the tension that seems to live in the king’s shoulders tonight, the way they draw taut against the back of his chair, the way his mouth pulls perpetually downward,  subtly,  in almost every moment he isn’t trying to   CHARM   one noble or another.  they play at it to a point, dance around the edges of this  lie  with a strange precision, exchanging lingering looks and touches to fan the flames of courtly gossip, whispering in each other’s ears as though flirting while in truth strategizing about how to control the room.  but rarely does it go further than that, a fact which tristan realizes must   CHANGE   if they wish to maintain the ruse for a significant period of time.

          ❝   cheer up, my king, or your subjects will think you’re less than enthused to take me to bed later.  and after I practically bent myself   IN HALF   on the banquet table!  you’ll embarrass me.   ❞   his tone well reflect the tongue firmly wedged in his cheek as he says the words, leaning in from his seat beside cassian’s to murmur them in his ear before taking another swig of wine.  he stands out amongst the attendees in their rich, copious clothes ;  all he wears is a pair of luxurious silk pants and gold jewelry, complimented by the kohl lining his eyes.   (  the more a scandal he appears, the less anyone suspects his influence, his  true  purpose at the king’s side.  )   ❝   share my wine, quickly.  that third cousin of yours is watching, the one who likes to  humph  after everything he says.  he already suspects me of no good.  I’d rather it be  this  kind.   ❞   cupping the back of cassian’s neck in one hand and lifting the cup to his lips with the other, he smiles slyly, lingering near as a paramour should and finishing the wine off himself directly after before setting the empty goblet aside.  the banquet has become less formal as the attendees become more intoxicated and the volume has risen in the hall, but tristan is still fully aware of the eyes perpetually upon them,   BURNING   into his back from all directions.  without thought or shame, he rises and swings a leg over cassian’s lap to straddle him, balancing one hand on the back of the chair beside the king’s head as the fingers of the other stroke his jaw.   ❝   the eastern lords are growing restless with your most recent charters.  you’ll need to convene the counsel sooner than you intended, to avoid revolt.  we will look at the map tomorrow morning, come up with a plan.  for now, at least  try  to make this look convincing?   ❞   with that, he leans in without hesitation,   MELTING   into a kiss that certainly borders upon  inappropriate  for an event so public, his knees squeezing just so at the king’s hips as he settles more comfortably into his lap.

[youbutstupid]

I am so thrilled with the George lore. At first I thought it was just one big joke and then as time went on it was honestly really trippy and has raised so many questions such as:

- how long has George been in this dream state?

-is he even aware of his connection to Kinoko Kingdom or was he in a haze when he participated in that too?

-what is his connection with Ranboo?

-why is Niki in his dreams? Is it because in the few interactions he had with her he saw her as one of the only consistent trusting presences on the smp? She seemed to act quite a bit as an anchor trying to subtly pull George back to reality, which DreamXD quickly put an end to.

-he dreamt of him and Quackity working together again as a way of reconciling after the election. The election was seemingly George’s last true participation in lore that wasn’t micromanaged by c!Dream, does this have any connection?

George then went on to talk about El Rapids, frequently referring to it as ‘Mexican l’manberg’ despite that name not becoming official until AFTER his dethronement. Furthermore he claims he was last there ‘yesterday’ and has no idea where it has gone. Could it be the fact that after Dream and George’s argument when he was dethroned that Dream then put him in that dream state as a way of protection or containment? It weirdly explains a lot Aka the fact that he mainly refers to it as Mexican l’manberg, still sees Mexican Dream as still alive, doesn’t seem to fully comprehend Kinoko Kingdom (‘me, Sapnap and Karl are gonna have to sleep on the streets’) and also became very detached as soon as his and Dream’s argument was over after his dethronement (‘what is your stance on Dream George?’ *jumps away*).

Obviously these things weren’t planned back in November so there’s no way they held that weight at the time but I find it really clever how they have managed to make it carry that weight now and give it all some meaning. It’s been really interesting how they’ve created and shaped his lore as I can’t imagine it was easy as there were a lot of loose ends to be tied up but they did it better than I could have imagined. I sort of just assumed they’d throw him in as someone who would try and break Dream out but I’m liking this a lot better

[nathcnielarchibald]

Drunk kiss and tell | Serenate

Who: Serena van der Woodsen ( @theserenavdw​ ) & Nate Archibald

When: August 2nd, 2022

Location: A bar in Manhattan, Nate’s apartment

Summary: Serena invites Nate to get drunk with her which leads to more honest conversations, confessions and a step further than they actually intended.

Trigger Warnings: alcohol, smut

Serena: Serena couldn’t remember the last time she’d spend a day like this with Nate. The fact that she had actually convinced him to leave his work behind was remarkable all by itself. The fact that she managed to convince him to do so only to sit in a dark corner booth of a bar at mid day with drinks that should have never been consumed before dark was even more remarkable. So many things in her life were uncertain at the moment, but unsurprisingly, Nate was her constant. No matter what was happening in her marriage that wasn’t much of one anymore but also was officially only on hold, or in her life in general, she so easily gravitated towards him. Actually, the blonde had been uncertain where he stood with all of this - his reaction to her trial separation a lot more neutral than what she had expected. Leaving Manhattan for a bit certainly had been a reaction to all of that, but now, next to Nate in an establishment neither would ever frequent on a normal day, she couldn’t quite remember why she had ever wanted to leave. “I need another drink - and some food!” The blonde declared just as she emptied her last, the glass barely touching down on the wooden table before she already gestured for the waiter who, mostly because they were the only people in the bar, reluctantly made his was over. “Can we have 2 more of, well, that - !” Serena asked gesturing to their empty glasses before she added “plus, we need shots…and food. Whatever you have, we like it all!” The smile that followed was one of those charming ones that she reserved for grumpy bartender and people of authority, clearly the first one being the reason for its appearance right now. Leaning her head against her arm that was propped on the table the blonde looked back over at Nate, her smile softening into one of its most honest iterations. “I really have to be incredibly special to you, getting you to leave the office only to get drunk with me while I avoid all the renovations at my place!”

Nate: Convincing him to skip work even if it was just for a day or maybe only a couple of hours was certainly not an easy task - mostly because he always felt incredibly guilty. Almost as though he was letting the people of NYC who'd elected him as their mayor down if he for as much as a second wasn't working. He was aware that it was ridiculous and that politicians should certainly have actual time off too to rest and recharge but Nate had minimized that free time a long time ago and it was a habit that wasn't exactly easy to break. Even though he knew it wasn't really healthy. Apparently it was a little easier to break it if your name was Serena van der Woodsen though. Maybe there had been a few seconds when she'd suggested the idea of hitting up a bar so early that he'd been hesitant to join at first. Not just because they'd look like they could potentially be the kind of people who'd hit those bars up very frequently, but also because... well, he was afraid he was signing himself up for heartbreak. The kind that was actually worse than every he'd went through so far. There was a part of him that was convinced all of this was meant to go downhill soon enough, after all it had never worked out with her and she basically had easily fallen out of touch with him. Or so it felt at least. Not that he had really tried to reach out either, which was mostly due to the fact he didn't exactly feel like she wanted to be contacted. Luckily, the alcohol took all those thoughts and the little bit of anxiousness away quickly, the two easily falling into their usual teasing and lighthearted conversation topics. Weren't they truly champions at ignoring the elephant in the room? Someone should hand them a trophy. The grin that had settled on Nate's face a while ago only widened at the bartenders grumpy look, knowing that it would probably not really put the other in a better mood but at the same time hardly caring about that. Honestly, who could blame him that he didn't pay much mind to some grumpy guy when a gorgeous woman like Serena was sitting right next to him? "I think I remember you claiming something along the lines of making it your personal duty to keep my sanity in check for the rest of the month? So... I'd say I only gave you a chance to actually live up to your promise." His gaze met hers as he kind of mirrored her position, only that his chin was resting on his fist. "And it kind of feels like you're just using this apparently hardest challenge of your life as an excuse so you really don't have to take care of your place that I'm almost convinced very likely looks like a mess right now. Only because you started something but then weren't really into finishing it."

Serena: “I think it was something along the lines of your sanity suffering because I wasn’t here?” Serena quipped back without missing much of a beat, though part of her wondered if there was something about her prolonged absence that didn’t sit right with him. She knew she’d probably left town one too many times to just claim that people were overreacting whenever she went on a little trip without much of a notice, but then again he had hardly actually spoken to her either, something she had longed to change but just didn’t quite know how to. After all he had been the one to leave relatively abruptly the night she had told him that her marriage was most likely over. “No, that’s not it at all - plus I absolutely do have a decorator who is doing all the work for me…all I have to do is wait and see!” She replied grinning, the words still somewhat foreign, easier identified with those that used to come out of her mothers mouth than her own. “Plus, it’s barely afternoon and you did not voice any opposition to another round of drinks and shots, therefore whatever I’m doing right now seems to be working!” As if he had heard her the waiter put their drinks on the table, noticeable absent at this point though was any kind of smile on his face and the food they had ordered. Not that the food has been ordered for anything but to keep up appearances. “if we were any younger I’d absolutely suggest we play a very paired down version of a drinking game now, but I heard that we are all together to old for that at this point!” Sighing dramatically she blonde cracked a smile before she added “but if we weren’t you’d absolutely pick truth and I would ask you how you really felt that evening when I told you Dan and I were on a break!”

Nate: Nate clicked his tongue followed by a gentle chuckle and a barely visible shake of his head when she kinda called him out, the conversation still too present on his mind to pretend she wasn’t absolutely right. “Touché.” Even if the moment was short, he did notice that there was something else weighing on her mind for a moment but thanks to the alcohol that clouded his mind, his focus moved too quickly to her reply than to actually figure out what it could be. But if it was important, the one thing he should know was that it’d always come up in conversation at some point. While they were certainly good to dance around a topic sometimes, it inevitably never worked for too long - which, honestly was a good thing because 9 out of 10 times it was a misunderstanding that could easily be solved instead of spreading constant worries in their minds. “Pft, that’s just another unfair advantage because you know exactly alcohol is the way to my heart.” He joked, the grin still as present as before while he glanced at the drinks that were now placed in front of them. One thing he really had to give the grumpy waiter was his great timing. Despite his previous words, Nate knew that alcohol (especially too much of it) had put them into very difficult, sometimes even heartbreaking situations they also didn’t seem to be immune to the fact that it led to some of their most honest confessions. The only thing he wasn’t sure of right now was if the truth this time was such a good idea. He’d been vulnerable without the involvement of any alcohol months ago, confessing his feelings to her while at the same time pushing her away because he couldn’t bear the thought of watching her choose someone else again and he wasn’t sure if that had actually changed. Yes, the situation was very different to what it had been then, still feeling guilty about the fact he’d kind of betrayed his friend in that moment by telling his wife that he loved her, knowing that it would cause some reaction at least. Some would maybe even go as far as saying that the trial separation was an indication she might choose someone else than Dan but he wasn’t too sure of it. And the fact her question made his heartbeat quicken as he slowly started feeling a little nervous wasn’t helping either. “Mmm,” He only hummed after she’d finished talking, the grin on his face fading a little as he bought himself some time while he took a sip of his drink, the alcohol helping slightly with his nerves. “What makes you think I wouldn’t choose dare? Though, I have a feeling it’d be the same question regardless only that you would dare to tell me how I really felt.” Despite his obvious attempt to avoid answering the question for at least a little while longer, his gaze never left hers, maybe a slight indication that he would eventually give her the answer she was seeking. Especially since he’d kind of already confessed with his reaction right now that he’d been hiding his feelings back when she’d told him. “If we were young enough to still play that drinking game I’d tell you that I wasn’t able to comprehend the fact this was really happening when you told me,” He began, still much like he’d been then struggling to find the right words or any words to express how he felt really, “It made me feel guilty later that the first thing I think I really felt was relief - in the sense of there being an actual chance you wouldn’t force yourself to stay in this marriage just because you didn’t want to be like your mom. Which, for the record, I still think are two whole different situations.” His fingers traced the rim of his glass absentmindedly as he still kept his gaze on her. “And I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kiss you as badly as I did then.”

Serena: Serena wondered if she should not have asked. Maybe they’d be better off pretending, as they had so often, that nothing was the matter. Maybe she had also just been too quick to assume that he’d..have some kind of reaction to the possibility of her leaving Dan. It felt like these days there was a constant push and pull between her and Nate, something she had assume they had put behind them years ago until he had kissed her on thanksgiving. Actually, it wasn’t quite fair for put that on him, if anything, they had kissed. Very mutually. From there on things seemed to change by the minute. From declarations of love, to not speaking at all, to honest conversations about figuring out whatever was going on between them..only to then not actually talk about anything once something actually seemed to be changing. “It’d be an unfair advantage if you’d be the only one drinking, we are keeping this very level!” The blonde commented smiling a little as she watched him carefully, the silence that followed her question not exactly the most reassuring thing. “I think you wouldn’t because we used to actually play these games when we were young, remember?” Probably when they were too young, 15 year old on the carpet of Blair’s room - back when it still felt like Serena would end up watching her two best friends love story from the side lines forever. God, how the tables had turned. The blonde stayed quiet when Nate spoke, listening carefully in between sips of her drink, the stem of her glass somewhat of a lifeline at this very moment. “That’s why you felt relief? Or guilt?” She questions maybe came out a little more sharply than she intended, but she really wasn’t quite sure what to make of his words, at least not until his final admission reached her ears, her eyes looking up from her glass and locking with his. It took her a moment to find her voice again after that, before she’ll couldn’t help but ask another question. “Why didn’t you?”

Nate: “Vaguely,” He answered, a bit too amused probably. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to remember all those times they’d played truth or dare but the alcohol that had been part of those games only left him with rather blurry memories. After all, even back then and even if he certainly didn’t want to admit it then, he’d at least had a crush on Serena so that game always caused him to get nervous - and therefore required at least a specific amount of alcohol. The sharpness with which her following questions came irritated him to some degree, brows furrowing as he wasn’t sure if she had expected him to elaborate some more, maybe even wanted him to say that he’d not only been sad to hear that she was potentially single again. He opened his mouth to explain further how and why he’d felt the way he did but then closed it once their eyes locked and a question that simply brushed all the others aside followed. Maybe his mind also seemed so empty now because his gaze had dared to drop down to her lips for a moment, something that so easily made him forget anything but the fact that he was absolutely drawn to her lips and wanted to kiss them. Taste her. He swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly a little dry. “It probably sounds stupid but I was scared it’d push you away.” His voice was barely above a whisper as his eyes met hers once more, smiling softly.

Serena: God they were not good at this, at communicating and their last conversation probably was even more proof of that than the one they were having now. If anything she had been disappointed that he had not reacted more that day, had not said, as she had so often asked of him, even if only silently, to make a move, or at least try and fight for her - a fact that wasnt exactly fair, not when she had pushed him away and made it hard for him to do exactly that so many times before. "It does sound stupid!" Serena confirmed with a slight smile, the air around them charged with something sh could, in fact, put her finger on but wasnt sure if was something they should react to just now. Not that the sentence that followed would help with that. "I thought you would, you know, kiss me that night. I really thought you'd..seize the opportunity I guess!"

Nate: He tilted his head searching her face with his eyes as he tried to figure out if she was messing with him or not. But then again, there was no reason to. Plus, they were pretty much alone in here so that kind of gave them the perfect opportunity for intimate and honest conversation, no need to fear anyone who wasn’t supposed to hear them would eventually get the information from gossip girl. Not that this was really on his mind right now though, thinking not his strongest suit when he was already a little too intoxicated for how early it still was. “Damn, I really suck at reading signals from you, don’t I?” Nate shook his head more at himself than anything else, wondering how it was so easy for him to think he was doing the right thing and then missing something as simple as that. It surely also made him wonder if he’d been standing in the way of his own happiness all those years. Maybe he shouldn’t have flown himself out of the city before her wedding and instead shown up on her front door to ask her not to marry Dan as he’d done many, many times in his imagination. “But I think it doesn’t change the fact that it would’ve felt like taking advantage of a vulnerable situation. The right person, yes, but not the right timing for a kiss.” He then added softly, revealing yet another reason why he hadn’t kissed her that night. There was so much in their past that had happened because they’d followed their desire and the undeniable chemistry between them and while he didn’t regret any of those situations, it did ultimately put them through so much heartbreak and drama that he didn’t want history to repeat itself this time. Which was also something he thought both of them had agreed on when they’d their heart to heart on his birthday - and therefore another reason why he was surprised she seemed to be a little upset that he hadn’t tried anything but instead given her space and time to figure this new situation out.

Serena: “I sometimes think you just don’t want to see them…!” Serena admitted when he asked if he sucked at reading her signal - possibly signals also looked very different to them, no matter what they’d talk or didn’t properly about it seemed that actions tended to look different for the both of them sometimes. At the end of the day it probably was a mix of all of it, many situations of right person, wrong moment, paired with miscommunication and topped off with some fear that they’d mess it all up again. After all, how many heartbreaks could a friendship, or a partnership survive? They’d already coming very close to no longer being part of each other’s lives and that in itself was reason to be cautious. His follow up statement made her smile softly, the reason for why he hadn’t kissed her so very much him that it was hard to believe that so many years living in their world he had not changed. “I think you’re possibly the only person I’ve ever known to be worried about taking advantage of a situation…!” Serena told him softly as she took a sip of her drink before she shook her head softly, the fact that it felt like they’ve never but also constantly had this conversation slightly overwhelming as well as heartbreaking. “Even if you would have kissed me that night, I would have never thought you’re taking advantage of me!”

Nate: Her words probably hit the nail on the head - at least to a certain degree. He didn’t exactly not want to miss out on all the signs she may have given him but something was telling him that he did avoid acting on anything because he’d built some kind of wall around his heart, trying to keep her out of it. Ironically, he at the very same time always wanted nothing more than to be with her, this inner conflict surely to blame for his slow or non-existing reactions and actions. And that inner conflict was also most definitely one of the reasons for the (luckily) short-termed ending of their friendship. God, he probably would’ve never forgiven himself if they would’ve never recovered from that. It was probably the most stupid thing he’d ever done. His hand reached for her hand that was holding onto her glass, fingers brushing over the back of it until she let go of the glass so he could lace their fingers together.  “I may have missed some of those signs on purpose,” He admitted as he lowered his gaze, “I guess I was and I still am a little scared of what would happen if I act on it. No, I actually think we both are. And you know that as much as I do because I’m pretty sure that’s why you told me we shouldn’t move too fast this time. Being with you all those years back was - despite all the drama - the happiest time of my life and losing that was the worst. Especially the way it happened, it was just so frustrating.” He sighed. “I don’t want to go through another time of me having to read about your hookups in Paris on Gossip Girl every morning and feeling just the worst kind of pain that I just wanted to numb,” Nate made a face at the memory of how he’d chosen to numb it and that he actually used Chuck’s black book and how completely out of character he’d acted at the time - an indication of much he’d really been hurting. “I don’t want to use unhealthy coping mechanism again and even worse - everything I know about you against you so I could hurt you too. As much as I would maybe like to claim I didn’t know what I was doing when I brought Juliet with me, I most definitely did it for the worst reasons.” He looked up at her when he paused for a moment, unsure if he was putting his foot in his mouth or if talking about this was actually a good thing. “I don’t want to play any jealousy games or trying to push the other over the edge to get them where we want to… We both know this is all so delicate and I don’t want us to break it before it can even start.”

Serena: The irony of the fact that the hand he was holding, fingers interlaced in what might have been the most comforting action of the day so far, was still adored by both her wedding and Engagement ring was not lost on her - and it was an unwanted reminder that technically, this was a trial separation and a decision would still have to be made. Despite the fact that she was already renovating their shared space, she wasn’t sure if either her or Dan were ready to admit that it was in fact all over. “I just don’t want anyone to think you’re the reason for this…I mean for a possible divorce. At the end of the day we weren’t..we aren’t happy and whatever happens with us, it’s a whole different story!” It was one of her main concerns, not necessarily for the sake of her own reputation but Nates. His job was demanding and while the comparison to Tripp wasn’t one she’d ever voice again, it was undeniable that the press would be equally unkind if they’d suspect their mayor might have cause a divorce on the upper east side, especially since her name wasn’t completely unrecognisable in the New Yorker society circuit either. “It was always other peoples drama…whenever it was just us, it was so good?” What sounded like a question wasn’t really one, in her mind she knew the answer. Whenever they’d actually been alone during their relationship things had been absolutely wonderful, if anything perhaps they had never spent enough time just the two of them. “I think the days of a spending a month of reckless dates in Paris are well and truly behind me, if that’s what you’re worried about!” Serena teased him, the only way she knew to help her cope with all of the things he had just said - and was continuing to say. Even if they both looked back at their relationship and considered it an incredible happy, if not the happiest time, it was hard to deny the fact that they had played far too many games - both during and after. Not to mention that, much like he said, they knew each other so well it unfortunately was easy to push the others button when push came to shove, though in her memory that had happened more so whenever they weren’t actually together - when repressed jealousy showed it’s ugly head. “Neither do I, but we also didn’t want this when we last tried this…!” It was hard to admit that, but she felt like in a way their previous relationship had started with much of the same pretence. “I just remember thinking then that it made so much sense, that it was you..and that it should have been you all along!”

Nate: If there was one thing Nate certainly could relate to than it was the fear of people turning a possible relationship between them into unnecessary drama. It wouldn’t exactly be the first time and people just loved to judge and gossip without really knowing anything, especially not the truth. But to him it wasn’t only his reputation and the way he could potentially be received as a home wrecker by those narrow-minded people, it was also the fact they’d (once again) judge Serena and paint her out to be someone he knew she wasn’t. He’d always hated how Gossip Girl made her look like this spoiled brat and party girl (and yes, he knew Serena hadn’t exactly been innocent growing up so maybe it wasn’t completely undeserving to some people) but he felt like the good and kind parts of her had always been left out of those narratives. Which wasn’t really fair. The last thing he wanted was for her to be seen as someone who she truly wasn’t again because of stupid nonsense. “I know and I don’t want it either. But if the existence of Gossip Girl and all those tabloids have taught us one thing, it’s that people always talk and they also always make up shit about people they don’t know, if they feel like it. I think even if we waited for years after decisions have been made and things have been finalized, there’d be someone digging and then finding out about our history only to use it against us.” Of course, it was easier said that  they technically would have to accept those false narratives should someone decide to put them out there, than to actually do so but he felt like they didn’t really have any other option. “Maybe we should ditch New York and just run off to the West Coast together.” He joked, chuckling softly though there was a small part of him that if things got really bad wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea of them just running off somewhere - it didn’t even have to be the West Coast as long as they were away from the drama. “It was always good when it was just the two of us, yeah.” Not that it was really necessary for him to confirm it because the smiles and glances back then had spoken volumes - just as much as the moments they’d managed to steal away, blissfully oblivious to the drama slowly unfolding in both of their lives. “Ha ha. Not the point but I appreciate the reassurance.” He couldn’t help but grin at her when she teased him, as heavy as the topic was at least they were also at a point where they could make fun of the situation itself now. That was some progress, right? “I know but maybe we just have to try harder this time.” Once again, something that in their lives seemed easier said than done but Nate also knew that if they would really try this again, he was willing to do everything he could to make it work - something that also included the fact that he needed to take action in situations that didn’t seem as perfect and right at first probably. “Your young adult self was smarter than I ever gave her credit for, I guess.” Now he couldn’t help but tease her, a soft grin coming along with his words to make it clear that they certainly weren’t meant to harm her. Maybe it was even a confession of sorts because he did indeed always convince himself that he’d been her second choice in every past situation.

Serena: He was absolutely right, if anything they had learnt to deal with the noise of the tabloids and Gossip Girl over the years, but it also felt like the older they got the stakes certainly were higher. She didn’t put it past the media to have an impact on his career if they decided to really hound him, or her for that matter. “I think the whole point is not running away from it all this time around, no?” Serena asked softly, although the thought was always appealing. She sometimes did wonder why they had never left New-York and all the drama behind, not just her and Nate, but all of them. When he admitted that there was a chance her younger self had been smarter than he had given her credit for she smiled softly, though a trace of sadness was easily readable behind the smile. “You never trusted me when we were together, not fully at least. I know I didn’t give you many reasons either, so I don’t blame you, but…I just wish you would have trusted me more!” Maybe it was also a silent plea for him to now do what he apparently couldn’t do then, to, if they were to try to build some kind of life together, actually fully let himself believe that it was what she wanted and that being with him was the only thing she wanted.

Nate: While Nate knew that the point indeed was not to run this time, part of him wished they could because it certainly would be easier. On the other hand, he kind of really wanted to go the more complicated, harder route because he was sure in the end it’d be worth working through everything that was still lying ahead of them. No matter if they were friends or lovers at the end of what he assumed was going to be a rocky road. “Yeah, it’s all about not running this time.” He smiled softly as he looked at their intertwined hands, the fingers of his other hand absentmindedly drawing circles on the back of hers while he was lost in his thoughts for a moment. He looked up again when she talked about his lack of trust, the sadness of her smile not going unnoticed by him, a soft sigh escaping him at the sight. There were many factors that had played a role in their relationship not working out and Nate knew that his own issues had been part of it. Oddly enough, Serena was one of the people, if not the only one, he trusted in every other aspect, so much that she was probably the one who knew the most about him. The only thing he still couldn’t completely trust her with was his heart. Just the thought of giving it all away and trusting her blindly, especially not to change her mind about who she wanted to be with was scary. Most of all because he just knew if they screwed up another time, there’d be no way to fix this relationship again. It’d be over for good then. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek gently, his thumb running across the soft skin of cheek as he searched for her eyes this time. “I know I have to work on my issues too. I’m… I’ve actually already… started working on them. Not alone, though. But with professional help.” He admitted, it was the first time he was telling anyone that he was seeing a therapist. It had been difficult for him to even admit that he needed help, always one to try and figure things out on his own, especially when it was only about himself but he knew he couldn’t continue like this. “I’ve been seeing a therapist regularly since… since my trip to LA. When I ran into Diana, I had some kind of panic attack because having to see her and being confronted with that part of my past that I just honestly want to forget brought up too many feelings that I couldn’t handle. My therapist calls it trauma, I honestly didn’t have any idea it was that bad until that day but yeah. Working on.. all of that has been interesting and just… a lot.”

Serena: His words floored her for a moment. Professional help, admitting one was out of one’s depth wasn’t exactly something that was common in their world - while most people certainly needed it, nobody ever seemed to consider it. The fact that he now was facing things that they had always downplayed, mostly because it was the only way to continue, felt momentous. “Trauma…id like to say I’m surprised, but the only thing that actually surprises me is that we are all still standing upright at this point!” Sure enough they had all experienced more traumatic situations than most people did in a lifetime, most of which had always been simply ignored and considered normal. Just part of their lives. Serena let go of his hand for a moment, taking up her drink as she considered his words. “How does it feel? To talk to someone about, I mean, just all of this?” She asked her hands automatically reaching for his arms again, softly tracing little lines on his skin as she waited for his reaction, his answer. “I did think if anyone would make you want to go to therapy I’d be me!” She finally joked softly, just to let him know that she in fact, much like him, understood where her faults laid with their past. Her next words weren’t exactly the easiest to formulate, but she meant every word of it. “Nate, if you need time for yourself right now..and need to focus on yourself - I get that!”

Nate: The pause she needed to process the information he'd just placed in front of her, he used to take a couple of sips of his own drink. The liquid courage certainly needed in a moment like this. And he honestly understood the need to process on her part because he still wasn't sure if therapy was the right or wrong thing to do and it most definitely wasn't a common thing in their society. "It feels... odd, weird even. I prefer talking to you about these things, cracking jokes and brushing it off... momentarily. But I guess that no longer works for me from a long-term perspective." He answered truthfully as a sigh fell from his lips. While her questions and the topic in general was the hard-hitting kind, her touch was soft and gentle - basically the opposite of it, which was more than just comforting and calming in a way. Plus, there was always this soft layer of goosebumps covering his skin whenever Serena touched him. Not solely because of his sexual attraction to her but every time she was touching him, it felt like she was touching his soul - one of those effects only she ever had on him. When he'd told her that he was seeing a therapist, he somehow didn't think of what else she could apply this to. He didn't think that she would maybe assume that he was subtly trying to tell her that he needed time and wasn't ready for letting another person into his life. That was not what he wanted - or meant so he shook his head. "I don't need time for myself. I mean- I-I do need to figure some things out that I need time for but... that will likely be something I'll work on for the rest of my life. Maybe I should just marry my therapist. Though I think his wife might not be too happy about that." He couldn't help but drop a joke in between all the heavy, seriousness of this topic. "I meant that... I..." He was struggling to find the right words or to put his thoughts into words that made sense for both of them, honestly. Not because he was afraid she wouldn't understand him or she wouldn't like what he was about to say but solely because he wanted her to know that the fact he wanted to be with her was the only certain thing in his life right now. "I do trust you, there are just... holes in that construct that I still need to fill? But I'd... I think the only way to fill those and build it back up in a complete way would be to do it with you. I don't need distance from you to work on it, the only thing I need from you is to understand that I want to get there but it's gonna be a work in progress. Basically like everything in life is? The only thing I don't want is to go into this pretending like those issues didn't exist and making the same mistakes all over again so that we'll inevitably fail again. But from what you said, I think that is a very mutual thing, right? And if you tell me this is what you want - I am what you want then I will believe you this time and not question it constantly. I'll try as much as I can not to slip up and fail to trust that.”

Serena: "Oh please do not marry a therapist, I am that would not go down well next thanksgiving – i personally would hate being psychoanalysed over turkey and pumpkin pie!" I was really easier to just smile away the worries and the topics, it was what she, or all of them really, were good at, but she none the less was listening, taking in all those informations he was laying on her right now. News and information she was proud he chose to share with her. "I understand that,  I really do, I think...!" Serena could not help but laugh a little, her hands covering her face for a moment when she looked back up at him, the whole situation feeling much more complicated than any of the things they'd found themselves in before. Somehow the lines when it came to kissing while one was still married, having sex while the other was in a relationship - and any other thing that had ever happened between them was less black and white like this. "I cannot and I will never promise you anything. I am not good with these things, but I need you to understand how I feel about you, how I have always felt about you, in one way or another! I am nowhere near divorced yet, my husband...Dan, we havent even decided that things are really over..I guess we both know, but...all I wanted when I told you that my marriage seemed to be ending was to kiss you!" She was not sure if any of this was giving him what he needed, or if this was an actual answer to anything he had just said. "I dont want to make the same mistakes again either, but I also dont want us to once again just...not try, or not try enough. What if things just arent meant to be completely smooth and there will always be some kind of complication? Because there will be. Your family would never approve of me, I doubt it'll be great for your career, people will talk always … about us, about the past, about Dan, wether or not this started long before. There will be gossip, an rumours and we might fail...!" Because there was a chance this would not work, just statistically, this might as well would not work out and that was not taking all kinds of exterior factors into consideration. If the fact that she had said all of that with a smile on her face had not been sign enough that none of this was meant to be stated to be hurtful, but simply to be truthful, her next words certainly would give him that idea. "But I want that and I want to try. I'll have to talk to Dan and we need to figure this all out...and we should take it slow, see where this all leads us, but...!" Her body had gravitated towards his as she had spoken without really realising it, but it did just underline her next words perfectly "...I need you!" words that were especially underlined when her lips met his just moments later, albeit in a kiss that was much softer than what she truly craved.

Nate: Just picturing being married to a therapist and them analyzing his friends amused him so much that he let out a soft laugh. The guaranteed chaos, however, wasn't something he'd look forward to either. Especially since their Thanksgivings were already dramatic enough and there was still that little bit of hope left that they'd finally have one so calm that their biggest worry would be maybe some spilled red wine. But that was a train of thought for another day, maybe. He rather focused on what she was now saying, the fact she told him she wasn't going to make promises she likely wouldn't be able to keep not something that disappointed him but he actually appreciated. It was definitely not something he expected or wanted from her anyway, the only thing he really wanted was for her to acknowledge that they had issues that needed to be worked on and she already did that. Everything else she could offer was something he'd take but he certainly didn't want to pressure her with expectations she couldn't meet. They were already both on the same page of wanting to really try this time, but maybe his hesitation when it came to kissing her already made it seem like he wasn't up for that. But when it came to the possible repercussion this could have on his career, the gossip they would have to endure and most importantly his family not approving... those were things he didn't really worry about at all. Truth be told, that could seem a bit stupid, especially since he'd worked hard on getting where he was but it wasn't really his career that was making him happy. Plus, he'd already made the decision for himself that he didn't want to stay in the political field after his term was over. But that was also something he hadn't really told anyone yet, except for his therapist and he knew he'd need some time until he was able to tell anyone. She was right - there was a chance they would fail yet another time and that thought was admittedly scary and maybe the one he worried about the most. For the most part because he wasn't sure how much this would also affect their friendship in the end. He knew that if their relationship failed after they really tried to make it work, he wouldn't want to try that another time. But what he knew was that he would try his best to stay friends with her, just that it obviously depended on the reason why it ended then. Though, right now, this was the worst case scenario and surely not something he wanted to pay much mind to. Thinking about something ending before it even really started surely wasn't clever. Moments earlier, when she had mentioned that all she wanted was to kiss him the night she'd told him about her trial separation, Nate's gaze had inevitably wandered to her lips for a second but he'd quickly reminded himself to focus. Only when her body now moved closer to his, he suddenly felt the urge and the pull to meet hers in the middle and this time he gave in. The smile on his face mirrored hers as she told him that she wanted to try and when her lips met his, he let his eyes fall shut as he enjoyed the softness of the kiss, not even hesitating for a moment to kiss her back. "I want to really try this time too. Doesn't matter which obstacles will be thrown our way." Nate then whispered against her lips, pulling back a little to look at her again but it truly wasn't the easiest task. And just a moment later, he gave in a second time, only that he kissed her this time with a little more hunger than the kiss they shared before.

Serena: Serena had never been known to be one to resist temptation, if anything she was the temptress, even in moments when she had not anticipated or attempted to do so. If there was one thing they had always been able to rely on it was physical attraction - friendship or relationship hardly mattered, they’d always been physical, touch a love language Serena used and occasionally abused in a sense, physicality often easier to access than words. The blonde wasn’t sure if this was right, if they should be kissing right now - if she would think of it she’d think of the man who was still her husband, of the fact that her separation at this one was a trial, albeit one that came with renovation and a move on Dans part so the permanent decision possibly had already been made only that words had failed them. Words now equally failed the blonde as she simply allowed herself to indulge in the feeling of Nate’s touch, her lips hungrily exploring his as if they’d never kissed before. A fact that wasn’t all that far from the truth since, aside from thanksgiving, their last intimate encounter was years ago, something that filled her with both excitement and a healthy dose of anxiety. “Can I stay at yours tonight?” Serena finally asked when he lips broke away from his, though the distance was minimal, her breath still hot against his skin as she tried to regain some sense of time and space. “I mean…not for this…I just don’t want to spend the night alone!” She told him truthfully, knowing that sleeping over was them playing with fire if they truly wanted to stick to their self imposed slowness, but she knew that being alone with her own thoughts in an empty apartment that was a partial construction zone would be detrimental tonight.

Nate: Nate was a little dizzy after she’d pulled back from the kiss, he didn’t know if it was due to the alcohol in his system or just simply the fact it was Serena who he was (finally) kissing again - but it was probably a bit of both. One thing was for sure, though… not only the kiss left him a little breathless but her question surely took a moment to process as well. While the timing surely did indicate something entirely different than the actual reason behind it, Nate wasn’t disappointed when she corrected herself. Instead he smiled softly at her, knowing well enough that Serena always struggled with being alone and she never really had been in the last… well, probably never actually. But he also was just as aware that neither of them was actually known for being able to resist each other and if their kiss just a few seconds ago didn’t already prove it, a lot of moments in their past most definitely would. “Yeah, of course.” There was no way Nate would’ve been able to say no to her and he also didn’t want to. Plus, maybe they were finally at a point when they could actually take things slow, which was something he was sure both were equally as determined to stick to. “How does takeout sound? Because I’m pretty sure the only food they offer here are those peanuts in that bowl the guy placed on our table and I don’t think we should keep drinking on empty stomachs.”

Serena: “Mhm, I’m guessing your fridge is entirely empty since it’s no longer stocked by Blair and Chuck…!” She pondered teasingly, though the memories her own words brought back should be reason enough to reconsider her own idea of sleeping over because her whole body was craving to touch him again - but she also refused to go back on her word this quickly, how hard could it actually be to practice some self restraint. “Chinese?” She asked instead of replying properly to his question, the food choice more than enough of an answer. “Order some food and get a car and I’ll handle that guy?” Serena added, one look over her shoulder at whom she by now suspected to be the owner of this place and it was clear that he was more than ready to get rid of the only patrons at this place and while she’d claim that it was the only reason why she leant back down after she had gotten up and caught Nate’s lips in another kiss that should technically be reserved for the privacy of one’s own home although truth was it was both, her heart and the shots doing the talking. Plus this guy hardly looked like he knew, or cared about gossip girl. The air outside was hot and heady, the opposite of cool and sobering that they both possibly needed and it was the first moment that Serena wondered if what she was doing was cruel to both of the men in her life, one who probably knew that their marriage was over and the other who might end up loosing a friend over it, especially if photos of them would appear online so soon after this trial separation. It was a question she mulled over on the drive back to his place, teeth unconsciously pulling on her lower lip, a nervous habit that had never really disappeared over the years - although the worries did he moment she stepped foot into Nates place, everything about it familiar despite the fact that she had spend very little time there over the years. It even smelled like him. The familiarity made it easier to just discard her bag in a corner, heels following before she looked around a little, spotting little details she hadn’t notice the last time she was there. The silence between them in the moment not uncomfortable or threatening, but somewhat peaceful and she only broke it when she walked back over to him, her arms wrapping around his neck, the height difference suddenly turned on its head now that the loubutins no longer worked to her advantage. “Thank you!” She whispered against his lips, hers meeting his again because frankly now that they had kissed she felt like she been starved of his touch for years and not only memories but emotions resurfaced at an almost overwhelming speed - all quieted by the simple action of giving in to this, to him. Were their plans of quasi-chastity saved by the ringing doorbell that announced the arrival of their food? The fact that at least Serena felt what she assumes most teenagers felt like when they were caught by their parents suggested that yes, the doorbell had been somewhat of a saving grace. The blonde sighed with a hint of what possibly was sexual frustration as she pushed her hair out of her face and stepped away from him so he could take care of the food, only speaking up again when the door was closed. “I need a hot shower and a drink…and since you cannot be part of the first, you’re in charge of the second!” The words were spoken with a grin on her face, though she did need a moment to put some distance between them and a shower was about the only thing she could think of in the moment.

Nate: There was something about the sexual tension that was suddenly so present in the air between them that made him almost forget his actual task while she was gone to pay their drinks. He had no memory of him calling his driver to pick them up and then ordering the food but both things had apparently happened during her absence. All he did remember was how his eyes never left Serena and the little voice in the back of his mind screaming that it was a bad idea. But bad ideas didn't mean that they would always come with regret, right? At least he couldn't exactly claim that he fully regretted any decision they had made while drunk on both, alcohol and... feelings in the past. So, why should it be different now? It seemed like Serena's mind was clouded with similar thoughts, or at least with worry during their drive back to his place, his eyes catching sight of one of her nervous habits that he was all too familiar with. And yet, the only thoughts that really crossed his mind were that she looked cute like this and that he was glad this day wasn't over yet but actually included a sleepover. He'd missed her so much that every additional hour was very welcomed, no matter the possible consequences that could come from this. It was easy to tell Serena relaxed as soon as they were inside his apartment, his body inevitably doing the same, but for a moment he wasn't sure if it was the privacy or because she felt comfortable in his space. The bag and heels that landed in the corner almost carelessly a second later gave a little hint as to what at least the main reason seemed to be. Which in return caused a smile to grace his features, still unable to keep his eyes off her, though he at least managed to take his shoes off by the door as well before she'd approached him again. His arms easily snuck around her waist, only slightly surprised by the kiss this time because he too felt the constant pull towards her since the moment they'd shared their first kiss of the night. Lines they had drawn themselves and previously planned not to cross had been blurred again, and it, ironically enough reminded him of a similar situation. Only that... well, Serena had basically been in his position and he was the one who had been disappointed in her and hurt by her decisions. But was this really as bad as the decisions Tripp and Serena had made back then? It wasn't the same, was it? That thought was quickly pushed away when he noticed that he was still holding the door open even though the food and money exchange had already happened and he closed it again, turning towards Serena. The question she then asked along with the mental pictures of her naked in a - no, his - shower definitely made sure that every doubt and thought was silenced, the grin on his face now matching hers even though he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to survive this night and actually resist the temptation. "Take the bathroom on this floor, this way," he gestured towards the hall to his right, "second door on the left. The shower is much nicer than the one upstairs. Fresh towels are in the first drawer." He looked at her for another moment, his gaze maybe a little more intense than he actually intended before he forced himself to turn away and place the bags with their food on the kitchen counter so he could go and grab them both a drink. Once he heard the bathroom door close behind Serena, he allowed himself to let out a deep breath as he muttered an almost inaudible "Shit." How did he always find himself in these situations with Serena? And how was he supposed to hold it all back when he'd done so for the last ten years or so and it all seemed like the hardest task he's ever been met with now? Especially since his mind always wandered back to the fact she was in his shower right now and if he was being honest, he was dying to join her and it admittedly did cost him a lot of strength not to as he forced himself to focus on placing the cartons with their food on the table in front of his couch before finally fixing both of them a drink, his first two emptied right after they were poured and then refilled again. He figured putting on a movie while they ate would hopefully help him staying focused on anything but the sexual tension, though he had no idea which movie would actually be able to break that. Not when he could hardly think straight and the alcohol he kept adding to his system surely didn't help either.

Serena: “Nice shower? Are you trying to woo me Archibald?” Serena asked teasingly as he led her to the bathroom which what he deemed the nicer shower and showed her where she could find anything she needed - only to not leave the room when he was done, at least not right away. Her eyes had met his through the mirror, knowing it’d be oh so easy to take off just one piece of clothing right there and invite him in, not just the shower but whatever else this was, but he had averted his gaze eventually, door shutting behind him and she wasn’t sure if the sigh she let out was one of relief or frustration. The hot shower didn’t exactly purify her thoughts as she had hoped, but it did leave her feeling slightly more alert than previously, the effects of the alcohol wearing off slightly - stark contrast to him as she realised when she stepped out of the bathroom, drips of water following her as she made her way to the living room again, her hair slightly tangled and damp from where it reached her shoulder blades, her body wrapped in a white towel which she held onto tightly, though it did little to cover her long legs, a fact she was achtelt aware of once she was back in Nates presence. Serena had to clear her throat for a second before she could formulate words, carefully bending down to grab a hold of the glass she assumed was hers without exposing too much naked skin…or any more than was already on display. How was modesty so much harder than seduction? And how was it this contrary to both, her nature and her current longing. “Forgot to ask if you have anything I could wear...!” She finally spoke though the fact was probably more than just a little obvious as she stood in front of him. “If you tell me what to grab I can get it myself I just…didn’t know where!” The fact that it once had been common cutesy for her to raid Nates closet for anything she could wear, be it around his place or as some kind of outfit filled her with memories and made the fact that she now didn’t even know behind which door his bedroom was even more….confusing. “You know what, never mind, I can just put my clothes back on!” She finally added as she emptied the glass she had picked up. Apparently sobering up did nothing to make her want to drop her towel any less, so she might as well continue to easy the tension with alcohol. At least that’s how she explained her own actions to herself. The fact that contrary to her words and what they’d suggest she actually sat down next to him, hand reaching for the bottle to refill her glass before simply reaching for a blanket to place over her very exposed legs wasn’t exactly sensical - but neither was anything else happening in her life so far. Not to mention that something about the effect she still seemed to have on the man next to her ten years later was undeniably exciting and maybe, just maybe she did like playing with fire despite her earlier attempts of denying that little fact to herself, but now her mind wouldn’t stop replaying the way he had looked at her just moments earlier and she couldn’t quite remember feeling as desired in a very long time.

Nate: How he had even for a second thought that it would actually be easier to not think about sex once she finally stepped out of the shower and rejoined him was beyond him. Well, maybe if he had thought about the lack of clothes she'd brought to this sleepover earlier and had gotten her clothes to change into after her shower it would've been... but now? The way the towel clad to her still slightly wet body and the fact he smelt his shower gel on her body threw any kind of control over his mind and body right out of the window. His gaze was glued to her, suddenly wishing that his couch was even bigger than it already was but deep down he knew even then they wouldn't leave too much space between each other. Nate was sure that it wasn't just him who was struggling this much, her need for the shower probably not just due to the heat outside and the smell of the bar on her, yet he wondered for a moment if she was torturing him on purpose because she didn't want to be the first to blur the lines even further or if her body was acting mostly on its own as well. His mouth was too dry to speak right away, swallowing in an attempt to actually say something at least but words certainly didn't come easy to him right now. Did he want her to get dressed, whether that would be in his clothes or the dress she had been wearing earlier? Or did he actually not truly mind that she was only wearing a towel? It definitely hadn't been his intention earlier but now he wasn't so sure anymore. "Mm, no, that doesn't make sense, I can get you something to wear." He offered before he - a little absentmindedly - kissed a few drops of water off her shoulder, only leaning back a little to look at her again but not actually moving away or getting up to do what he'd just offered. "You think a shirt will do? Or do you need some shorts as well?" Nate whispered against her lips after he'd leaned closer to kiss her for yet another time, obviously unable to resist at least her lips for too long.

Serena: The air was charge with enough tension to possibly last them a lifetime, not that there had not already been plenty of those scenarios before - most of them going way back to their teens when Serena had boldly teased him, but back then it had always just been a game, albeit occasionally one she would have liked to loose. Now it wasn’t a game, not was it calculated and yet, the situation felt oddly similar, only this time both of them tried to restrain themselves. For a second the world stopped moving when her lips connected to the naked skin of her shoulder and Serena was sure the shaky breath that followed was telling him more than she wanted him to know about his effect on her body right now. Similarly she would have answered his question but how was she going to focus on getting dressed when all she really wanted for him to also loose his clothes and to go back on absolutely everything they’d promised each other earlier. It was suddenly hard to see why they thought restraint was the way to go after all this time anyways. Her lips eagerly welcomed his, for the first time actually allowing herself to not only project feelings but all of her desires into that kiss as her tongue met his in a moment that grew hungrier by the minute. Pulling away for a moment, primarily to catch her breath the blondes head fell back against the headrest of the couch, ironically enough providing him with a perfect view of her neck and peak of her breast as she closed her eyes for a moment. “…I really didn’t come here to have sex with you!” She exclaimed weakly before she looked at him and sighed, knowing that she’d possibly have to clarify her words. “I mean god…I want this, you..so badly, but that’s not what I was hoping for…!” Her words were barely coherent as she tried to grapple with all the emotions she felt in that moment. “All I know is that this feels right, but it’s also everything we said we wouldn’t do…!”

Nate: The kiss they just shared had him almost close to throwing even the last bit of hesitation out the window, so close to just pulling her onto his lap and screwing those rules they set for themselves. That was also why a small sound of protest left his lips when she broke away from the kiss, although it probably saved them both from doing what they at least initially didn't want to do. Right now he just didn't know if that was still what he truly wanted. "I know. Otherwise we'd be doing it already." Nate then admitted once he was finally able to lift his gaze from her exposed neck that he suddenly felt the urge to place kisses all over just so he'd hear her take another shaky breath before he grinned slightly despite his words being an honest statement that probably both of them knew was true. Not that Serena would've been to blame for it because every situation in the past as well happened due to a decision they both made. Or at least due to something they both acted on. And it was safe to say they'd always been a little horny for each other. But this was not just that. Yes, he was undeniably horny but he was longing to feel her soft, hot skin against his, to explore her body as if he'd never done so before, and he also wanted all the post-sex moments, the cuddles, the sweet nothings they'd whisper to each other.... Yeah, it wasn't just about sex, it was about so much more than that. "If it wasn't obvious yet - I want you just as badly and I can't remember why we tried to convince ourselves that this specific kind of slow was the way to go once again." He then said, his voice a little softer yet there was still a hint of amusement in it considering he was obviously referring to how when they had started dating in the past obviously failed at taking it slow then too. "Maybe we just need to... get it out of our system and then... go slow?" Sober Nate would probably realize that this sounded a little ridiculous (or did it really because was it really such a wrong thing if it actually felt right?) but he allowed the question to hang in the air between them and actually waited for her reaction.

Serena: "I think that is exactly what we did last time...!" Serena teased him as she let her eyes wander towards him again, having averted his gaze for a moment mostly to avoid the little grin that was playing on his lips and was so evident in his eyes as well. There was a boyish charm about him that she assumed would never quit leave, that twinkle in his eyes that made his innocence evaporate into thin air. It did feel slightly torturous though, what they were doing here and perhaps what she should do is get dressed again and just go home, sleep in her own bed and not risk the chance of messing this up, but...somehow that also did not really feel like an option. She knew the likely hood of them giving in now and 'getting it out of their system' was slim, they had not been with each other, explored each others bodies in years and she could not exactly deny that the thought of him had crossed her mind in that time - but imagining and actually getting to reconnect was something completely different and something told her if anything if they'd cross the line it'd be terribly hard if not impossible to get back to innocence. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She asked him quietly, not a no to his question but in reverse also only a yes if he was absolutely certain that this was the right thing for them to do, rings still on her finger and all...

Nate: His gaze locked with hers when her question reached his ears, his answer not something he needed to really think about because it was a definite yes. The only thing he wasn't sure of for a moment was whether it should come with a 'but' or not. Sure, there were some worries that had crossed his mind earlier and before that when they'd talked about the possibility of a future together. At that time, Dan hadn't even suggested a trial separation and it had been all very hypothetically but that did change. Yes, she was still married, she still had to finalize things - even have the conversation that would lead there and the possible divorce would take some time for legal reasons anyway but did that really mean they had to stay away from each other? Especially when they both somehow felt that being here was right? One thing he knew for sure was that he didn't want to make decisions based on anyone else's standards, on what other people thought was right or would work or should be. The issues they had in the past weren't a result of them moving too fast, there were entirely different reasons why they hadn't worked out. Maybe it was wrong for others, maybe things wouldn't work for a different couple if they gave into the sexual tension too fast but it actually had almost caused a rift between them back then because they allowed somebody else to tell them what was right or wrong. So, he settled on no 'but'. "Yes, it is what I want." Maybe calling it 'getting it out of their system' was wrong, even foolish to believe in the sense that if they went there, it would be difficult to not do it again for some time but if he was honest with himself, he actually didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Which was maybe retracting some of the things he had said earlier but those were worries that would actually keep him from what he truly wanted and he felt like it was time to allow himself to live a little and maybe put himself first for once as well.

Serena: He was clearly considering his answer carefully, actually thinking about her question rather than just saying yes for the sake of instant gratification and that alone reassured Serena that, yes, this wasn’t as wrong as other people would make them believe it was. Similarly to the first time around, when they had been content until people had started meddling. “in that case it’s a shame you didn’t join me in that shower like you wanted to….!” She teased him softly, no denying that she had thought of exactly that while she had been under the hot stream of water, part of her wanting and somewhat hoping he’d open the door again to join her - breaking their self imposed rule that they had now decided on disregarding anyways. The food on the table was equally forgotten, the only evident hunger in the room their apparent lust for each other, though she thought it was more than just lust, though clearly it was at the forefront of the conversation right now. They’d both gotten older since the last time they’d been in a situation like this, where it was so obvious that they’d both allow themselves to act on their physical attraction, but Serena had in no sense lost any of her confidence, at least not when it came to Nate it seemed, as she stood up from the couch, still holding onto the blanket and towel until she wasn’t, the fabric falling onto the floor leaving her in nothing but panties in front of him. “Show me how much you want me…!” The blonde whispered against his ear as she leant down, her words not only exactly what she wanted him to do, but also what she needed - only that this time she also knew that her need to feel desired came from an actual place of longing and not just from a need to feel something, anything.

Nate: Her teasing words caused a grin to appear on his face, not at all surprised that she knew he’d been fighting himself earlier to stay away from the bathroom and that it indeed had been a struggle. He figured his reaction was confirmation enough that he too thought it was a shame so he didn’t acknowledge it through spoken words as well. Plus, maybe a part of him felt like shower sex sounded too much of a quickie and while that would’ve been satisfying for sure, he wanted their second first time to be more. His gaze never once left Serena, following each movement with anticipation as his breathing grew a little heavier when the towel and blanket finally dropped to the ground, mouth slightly open while his eyes took in the sight in front of him. Her body had become more… feminine (if that were possible) since the last time he’d seen her (almost) naked, the tan from that time spent in the Hamptons still visible and Nate once again knew he’d never been drawn to anyone the way he was drawn to this mesmerizingly beautiful woman right in front of him. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment when she whispered into his ear, gentle goosebumps covering his skin instantly. “With pleasure,” he whispered back, moving his head to kiss her again, only that this time, he didn’t hold back at all. All of his longing, years if not decades of pining for this to happen, the anticipation, his feelings for her… a mix of it was transferred into the kiss, leaving him breathless when he forced himself to pull back again so he could gesture for her to stand up tall again. Even though he’d planned to move from the couch now as well, he couldn’t resist placing a few kisses against her hipbone before he finally got up as well. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, he pulled it over his head before he smoothly removed his pants as well, now standing with the same amount of clothing in front of her. It was only fair if she’d stripped down that he’d too, right? Though he didn’t gave her as much time as he had to take the moment in, his lips crashing against hers again as his hands grabbed her thighs to lift her up, motioning for her to wrap her legs around him before he carried her upstairs to his bedroom. The bed was still the same as he’d left it this morning, unmade and yesterdays clothes scattered on the floor but he hardly cared about that right now. She was the only thing that mattered. He was gentle when he climbed into bed with her, her back now hitting the mattress as he hovered over her, lips moving to her neck and further down until his tongue circled her nipple all while his fingers teasingly caressed her belly before they finally moved down further and disappeared beneath the fabric of her panties, stroking her folds lightly.

Serena: Serena had always been confident, mens reaction to her and her body a constant companion and somewhat of a crutch for years, starting in her teens all through her young adulthood and admittedly still something she partially fed off of today; knowing you could invoke a physical reaction from someone, intentionally or not, was powerful knowledge after all. It hardly ever truly affected her though, never had - possibly a result of too many nights or teenage debauchery where her body and sex had almost been a currency, or perhaps she’d gotten used to playing into the fantasy of men over the years - though none of it compared to the moment she could feel Nate’s eyes taking in every inch of her body. If she didn’t know better, if the memories of previous days and Nate’s spent with him were not still present in her mind she could have sworn he was taking her in for the very first time, the flutter in her stomach supporting that theory. The blonde would have protested to how little time she had to let her eyes and fingers get reacquainted with his frame, but it was hard to do when his lips were on hers, her legs wrapped around him and she was no longer quite sure where he ended and she began. His touch was light and airy, both his tongue on her breasts and his fingers below the fabric of her underwear, not hesitant but soft and teasing - though he hardly needed to touch her at all for her body to react to his, the heat pooling between her legs proving just that. While she remember what it had felt like to be with him when they were younger, she hardly remember what he felt like, her hands refamilisrising them self with his body as her fingertips traced the lines of his back and shoulder, anything she could reach and hold onto in this moment, nails occasionally digging into his skin, especially whenever his tongue sent a jolt through her body, back arching into his touch. “Look at me!” She rasped softly, encouraging him to stop what he was doing at least for a moment - no matter how much pleasure it brought her. “…I want to remember this!” She whispered against his lips when he did face her again, her tongue teasingly brushing over his lower lip for her moment before her teeth grazed the soft skin. “I want to remember every inch of your body…and every inch of you…!”

Nate: Her reactions to his touch, to him were addicting, every inch of him enjoying the feeling they evoked, craving so much more of it. Part of him already wished they could stay in this moment forever because it just felt like this was where they belonged. It was all kinds of exciting to get to explore her for another time, it felt so familiar yet so different and new - in all the best ways and it was just as thrilling to feel her do the same with his body. The way he trembled lightly beneath her touch indicated that he wanted more; needed more but when she stopped him and made him look at her, he obeyed to her wish slowing down even more for a moment to lock eyes with her. A soft sigh slipped from Nate's lips, a combined reaction to her words which held the promise that this night would indeed be special and her tongue that teasingly touched his lip. Nate held her gaze for another moment, the look in his eyes telling her more than the words he was lacking right now even could; he wanted to remember this too, more than he ever wanted to remember anything before and it didn't even matter if this was the start of something he'd been wanting for so long now or if it wasn't. For now, for tonight, it was just her and him. So instead of saying anything, he kissed her again, tenderly at first before he deepened it - only pulling back so he could finally take off her panties, and just to keep the level of clothing on their body fair, also get rid of his boxers at the same time. This time, as he now kneeled next to her on the bed, he gave her a little more time to let her gaze roam over his body, just to give her what she'd asked for, grabbing her hand and placing it on his chest so she could feel his heartbeat, and then slowly guiding it a little lower to his abs - those obviously being the newest feature since the last time she'd seen him naked. He'd always had an athletic body, which honestly came with the territory of being the captain of almost every sports team at St. Jude's but it had never been trained the way it was now. Perks of having a gym inside the apartment complex' which he lived in and his workouts being the only actual free time he seemed to get on the regular.

Serena: The mix of the incredibly familiar with the unfamiliar was intoxicating - it had been similar when they’d last gotten back together, the memory of their very first night spent together overwritten then  by new memories, only to now meld into a completely new chapter altogether. Nates assertiveness and confidence was perhaps what had grown the most over the years, his own awareness of his effect not just in her but on women an obvious trait - and one she was all too eager to witness, especially if it meant he’d give her all this time to let her eyes roam over his naked body only to encourage her fingers to explore his naked chest, his heartbeat matching hers as she paused to just feel the heat of his skin underneath her finger tips for a moment. When he slowly guided her hand lower she couldn’t help but grin at him, frankly not expecting him to stop when her touch reached his abs though it was clear that he’d put many hours into this version of his body and she’d be lying if she’d deny that she more than appreciated it, her gaze following the lines of her fingers as she traced his muscles, following the line all the way down to the v of his hips, eyes flickering up to meet his for a moment before she confidently let her hand brush his length, fingertip tracing the underside of him before she wrapped her fingers around him, strokes slow but deliberate - the ultimate goal not to tease since something told her they’d possibly have the rest of the night to explore, manipulate, tease and tire each other out, but for not she wanted to, as she had said, feel him. “How often have you thought of this?” The blonde asked, not a taunting question but a serious one.

Nate: It was incredibly rewarding to watch her take everything of him in now, his eyes not once straying from her face to see every little reaction. Sometimes he wondered how all of his senses always seemed so… heightened when he was with her but he really liked the feeling. No matter how many other sexual experiences he’s had, nothing came close to this. Nate grinned back at her, knowing what she assumed his next move would be but also liking that she took her time instead, just like he’d silently asked her to. But when she finally reached where he’d been craving her touch the most, a little moan escaped him as his teeth slowly sunk into his lower lip and he closed his eyes for a moment. The question lingered between them for a moment, not because he didn’t want to answer it but because he was a little too lost in the moment to actually form a coherent sentence. “Too many times.” He then admitted, his voice a little hoarse as his gaze now met hers again, moving slightly from his current position so he could lean down and kiss her again. “I’ve been thinking about and longing for this for a really long time but I guess that’s kind of our thing.” He whispered against her lips, grinning for a moment because it wasn’t the first time he’d made a similar confession and he was sure they both remembered it still before he kissed her, once again demonstrating his longing for her through it as his hand reached for hers again, pushing it down into the mattress above her head, interlacing their fingers while he moved from his spot next to her back to his previous position between her legs. He knew they’d both been ready long before they’d even consciously made the decision to go all the way tonight, and waiting longer than he already had to feel all of her felt like torture so Nate didn’t hesitate to push her legs open just a little more and position himself at her entrance, pushing into her slowly. “Oh, Serena…” He lowered his head, trembling with an effort to go slow as his lips brushed over the soft skin of her neck before he filled her completely with one hard thrust, groaning against her skin. If he had been a little overwhelmed by the sensations earlier, he was now lost in a whirlwind of pleasure, the intensity of it, desperately craving more while at the same time wanting to savor every second and go as slow as possible, caused him to hold still for a moment to allow them both to enjoy the sensations rushing through their bodies. His fingers gripped onto hers a bit tighter when he could no longer resist the urge to begin moving again, thrusts still slow but hard as he lifted his head to look at her.

Serena: There was a quality to his deliberate movements, to the slowness of his actions. They were not underlined by uncertainty, doubt, or any kind of hesitating, they were punctuated by determination and a certain kind of force that was just bold enough to take her breath away. He was gentle without concern, at least not the kind of concern that she’d break under his touch, but much rather gentle for the sake of savouring the moment and each other. Although he had paused for a moment after the overwhelming sensation after he had thrust into her and yet it felt like she barely hard time to adjust to the sensation - to adjust to him in that moment. Her eyes met his, an encouraging twinkle in them that was only underlined by little gasps for air, all her senses filling with just him as she locked eyes with his, her body encouraging him to explore hers further, long legs adjusted to feel even more of him, her hand that he wasn’t holding differing into the muscles in his back, all while her hips shifted against his, meeting his thrust with an equal intensity, if not silently begging for more.

Nate: Though the encouragement wasn’t necessarily needed, it was still an absolute turn-on to have this additional confirmation that she was craving more as much as he was. There was no need to be shy or to hold back and boy, did he explore her body - touching, biting, licking, caressing, thrusting, whispering words of affirmation into her ear - all of it turning this night into something that would be forever theirs. A night worth remembering no matter what the future was holding for them. And yet, when they were done exploring each other like it was the first time all over again and their bodies were finally all tired out but satisfied, Nate couldn’t help but hope it wouldn’t be the last time he’d fall asleep with her in his arms.

[snelbz]

Tempting the Fates {Chapter 3}

Summary: It’s the final semester of Aelin Galathynius’ collegiate career and she is so beyond ready to be done. Her schedule is packed full of nursing classes and labs designed to test her knowledge and hone her skills for the real world and her “big girl” job. However, she needs one last elective to graduate, so she decides to study a subject she’s always been fascinated by: Mythology. Who would have thought that a class about gods and goddesses living complicated lives would end up complicating her own in such an unexpected way?

Word Count: 2807

Chapters will be posted every Wednesday.

Tempting the Fates Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist 

Poseidon

– God of the seas, earthquakes, horses and tidal waves

Aelin had moved past hurt.

Now, she was just pissed.

It was nearly ten o'clock after her second day of classes and she sat cross legged on the couch with Lysandra in her apartment.

Her roommate had been a worthy rant partner thus far. She’d kicked Aedion out and supplied Aelin with an endless supply of alcohol.

“It’s official. I’m sitting in your Thursday class.”

Aelin groaned, taking a long drink from her wine glass. “Don't remind me that I have to go back there, please. The thought of sitting through an entire semester with him as my teacher… Oh, gods.”

Lysandra refilled Aelin’s glass.

“You’ve done the hookup thing before,” Lysandra said, shrugging as she took a drink from her own glass. “Just pretend this is one of those situations and he meant absolutely nothing.”

“That’s impossible, for two reasons,” Aelin said, adjusting the pillow she had squished between her legs. She held up a finger. “One, it’s not like the regular hookup situation where I might see him across campus or in a bar and we can pretend we don’t know each other. This is my professor we’re talking about.” She took a very large drink of her wine and held up another finger. “Secondly, it was supposed to be a hookup, but then he turned out to be perfect and I just…” She let her head fall back against the cushions. “Do you think I just want him because I can’t have him?”

“Maybe,” Lysandra admitted, but she hadn’t ever been in a situation like this. She and Aedion had been inseparable since high school. “What does your gut say?”

“I don’t know, they’re still in knots from where he rearranged them with his huge dick,” Aelin replied, draining her wine glass.

Lysandra nearly sprayed her wine across the couch, but she knew Aelin was well and truly drunk if she was talking like that.

“So, he still means something to you, then?” Lysandra asked. “Even after you found out he’s your professor, and also a little bit of a dick, apparently.”

Aelin shot her a look. “No, I’m drunk off my ass because he means nothing to me. Have you not been listening?”

Lysandra rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’ve been listening. But, after two hours things just start to blur together and not make sense.”

Aelin hit her roommate with her pillow.

Lysandra only laughed. “Maybe sit and think on it for a few days, yeah? Maybe it’s new and exciting and he’s hot as hell, but all that will fade if it meant nothing.”

Aelin nodded, slowly, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. “And if it doesn’t fade? If it actually meant something?”

“If it actually meant something, then he won’t be forgetting about you any time soon, either,” Lysandra said, sipping from her glass.

She was still on glass #1.

Aelin had lost count of how many glasses she had drained so far.

“Doesn’t make it any easier now,” Aelin said, that hurt creeping its way back in. “You should’ve seen him, Lys. This morning, at his apartment, it was just…perfect. Then when he saw me in class, he was a completely different person.”

“Have you tried to see this from his perspective, Ace?” Lysandra asked, standing and heading into the kitchen. She handed Aelin a cold water bottle when she returned, falling back onto the couch next to her.

“Of course,” she snapped, opening the lid. “And I get it, it’s a big deal, but it’s not like I’m underage. I’m twenty-one, not sixteen. It’s not like he broke the law.”

“No, but I’m sure there’s a bylaw somewhere in his contract that says Don’t fuck your students,” Lysandra drawled, tucking her legs between her.

Aelin mumbled, “I bet it doesn’t say exactly that.”

“No, I’m sure it’s more along the line of inappropriate misconduct, but if we’re getting specific, it wouldn’t be hard for me to find an example,” she replied, leveling Aelin with a stare.

“Calm your pre-law ass down, I get it,” Aelin sighed, drinking from the water bottle. “His aunt is the president of the university. I wouldn’t want him to get into any trouble with her.”

Lysandra’s eyes softened. “He probably just got scared. I hear he’s a new professor. This must be his first year here. Hell, if he’s as young as you say, this must be his first year anywhere.”

Luck. He’d gotten the job purely out of luck, out of his connections to the university, and here Aelin was, jeopardizing his career as soon as it began.

“I’m being a bitch, aren’t I?” She asked, quietly, before draining her glass.

“You have the right to be hurt,” Lysandra said. “I’m not saying you don’t have that right, because I’d be hurt, too. But, I definitely think that this is complicated as hell.”

Aelin nodded, and took a drink of water before pouring the last of the wine into her glass. “We’re going to need another bottle of this, Lys.”

“I would just take you to the bar,” Lysandra said, “but I wouldn’t want to risk you fucking any of the other faculty.”

Aelin’s eyes snapped to hers.

Lysandra sucked in her lips to stop her grin. “Too soon?”

Aelin nudged her best friend, unable to stop her sputtering laughter. “Bitch.”

Lysandra caught her before she leaned back across the couch and held onto her shoulders, hugging her tightly. “I know this sucks, Ace, and I know you liked him. But just give it time. Either you’ll move on, which I can always help with, or something will happen. It’s not like you won’t be seeing him every other day.”

She sighed, resting her head on Lysandra's shoulder. “I know… I know.”

Lysandra reached for the remote, turning the television on. “What would make you feel better? Sappy love story, trashy reality tv, or a horror flick?”

“Trashy tv,” she decided, if for no other reason than it would be easy for her to block out while she still wallowed in her own misery.

Lysandra did as she was told, refilling Aelin’s glass again, and she thanked her best friend.

All the while, Aelin wondered how pissed Rowan was, or if he was feeling the same way she was.

*

A knock on Rowan’s door around nine-thirty had him closing his laptop and throwing it open. He groaned when he found Lorcan on the other side, walking back inside and leaving his best friend to let himself in.

“Alright, fill me in on Little Miss Perfect you took out last night. She was all you could talk about this morning, and then boom.” He sat down on the couch next to Rowan, noticing the half empty bottle of bourbon and looked at him. “Radio silence for the rest of the day.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he muttered. “Shouldn’t you be going home to your girlfriend?”

“She’s out with Manon,” Lorcan said, blowing off the question. “I’m bored, so talk.”

Rowan sighed, pushing himself up to go into his kitchen. He came back a moment later, two glasses in hand. He supposed he couldn’t continue to drink out of the bottle with company.

After handing Lorcan a half-filled glass, Rowan said, “It’s just not going to work.”

“You decided that quickly,” Lorcan muttered, his eyes remaining locked on Rowan. “Did you google her after she left? Find something cringeworthy?”

Rowan sipped from his glass. “She’s just not who I thought she was, that’s all.”

Lorcan scoffed. “You’re being vague.”

Rowan shrugged. That seemed to be the only answer he was going to give him.

“So what?” Lorcan asked, crossing an ankle over his knee and swirling the contents of his glass. “She lied and you caught her?”

“No, she didn’t lie,” Rowan said, dragging a hand down his face. “But it can’t happen. So it won’t.”

Lorcan raised one dark eyebrow. “First you say won’t, now you say can’t.”

Rowan emptied his glass. “What about it?”

“Well, which one is it?” He asked, leaning back. “Those two have very different meanings.”

“It can’t and it won’t,” he replied, giving Lorcan a pointed look.

Lorcan snorted, but took a drink from his own glass. “You act like she’s one of your students.”

Rowan didn’t say a word. He only stared at his closed laptop.

It took Lorcan a few seconds to understand Rowan’s silence. And a few more before he figured out how to make his mouth work.

And when he did, he started laughing.

“Are you kidding me, Whitethorn?” He asked, clutching his stomach. “You fucked your student?”

“Fuck off,” Rowan muttered, refilling his glass.

Lorcan was hardly able to breathe. “It was your first day at your first big boy job, and you already found yourself in bed-.” His words faded away as his laughter consumed him.

“It’s not like she’s some freshman,” Rowan snapped. “She’s about to graduate. Twenty-one. I just…” Rowan groaned as his face fell into his hands. “Someone had recommended the bar to me and told me the faculty hung out there a lot. I just assumed she was one of them, since she was the one to suggest the place.”

“Hate to break it to you,” Lorcan continued, still laughing. “But, people in their twenties don’t often land jobs at renowned universities. You’re the exception.”

Rowan continued to drink.

“Alright, alright,” Lorcan continued, taking a deep breath. “You’re five years older than her, so what? I’m four years older than Elide. Once you both hit twenty, age is just a number.”

Rowan shot him a look. “She’s a student, Lor. Maeve will fire me in a heartbeat over any sort of misconduct. This…” He just shook his head. “This position is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I probably shouldn’t even have. I can’t ruin it.”

Lorcan knew full well how harsh Rowan’s aunt could be. Before she’d become president of a prestigious university, she’d been the dean at the boarding school he and Rowan had spent their adolescence at. “So either move on or be careful and don’t let her find out.”

Rowan blinked at his friend. He was being so casual about this, when Rowan was freaking out both inside and out, which had required a two hour gym session earlier to calm his nerves.

Lorcan sighed and set his glass down. “Look, I really don’t see the issue here. She isn’t using you to pass the class, right?”

The thought hadn’t even occurred to Rowan, but he remembered the look of pure and utter shock on her face when they’d seen each other in the classroom. “No, it’s a basic gen ed. Plus I really don’t think she’d ever do that.”

Lorcan nodded. “Right. There are much tougher classes she could try and sleep her way through.” At Rowan’s simmering look at his choice of words, Lorcan held up his hands in placation. “I’m just saying, make sure she’s actually doing her homework and studying for her and don’t let Maeve find out.”

Rowan hesitated, but when his lips opened, nothing came out.

He liked Aelin. He really, really liked Aelin. And, yeah, it had been much more than a hookup. When he’d woken up that morning next to her in bed, he felt a sense of peace and satisfaction that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

Then again, the way he’d snapped at her that morning, knowing that she had only said what she had out of anger - even if she had been correct - would be difficult to come back from.

Rowan had completely shattered her. He saw it in her eyes before she left.

“I don’t know,” Rowan said, at last.

Lorcan groaned before pounding back his drink and pouring himself another. “You’re always going to be the one to stand in the way of your own happiness, Whitethorn.”

He refrained from saying anything. Lorcan had always been the one to hop from girl to girl, while he had always been the one in a committed relationship. After his last relationship had…ended, he hadn’t wanted anyone for a while.

Aelin was the first spark he’d felt since.

“You’re into her,” Lorcan said, staring up at the ceiling to avoid any sort of eye contact while he said something nice. “I can tell. And, if you don’t go for it, you’re going to regret it.”

Rowan knew he was right.

Of course, he was right.

And yet, this job was the first job he had been granted in his field since graduating three years prior with his degree in mythology. Yeah, he may have gotten it because of Maeve, but that didn’t make it any less important to him.

He had the chance to get students excited about something he loved, something he was passionate about.

“Go home to your woman or shut up and turn on the TV,” Rowan muttered, downing the contents in his glass.

Lorcan only snorted and grabbed the remote, fulfilling Rowan’s wishes.

*

Aelin awoke the next morning with a slight headache and the same dull ache in her chest.

Knowing she needed to move, workout the bad vibes, she tossed up her hair and put on her workout wear before jogging to the gym.

She was still regretting signing up for even one eight am classes, and was thankful her Friday’s were free. She was looking forward to some much needed sleep, which was a lost cause right now.

When she was packing her gym bag, she decided to go straight to class after a quick shower, so she tossed it into a locker after she arrived, locked it up, and put her ear buds in.

The gym was still pretty empty this early, since it wasn’t even eight yet, and most people were too focused on their own workouts to pay attention to those surrounding them. Aelin was grateful for the distraction the gym would provide, and for the physical outlet, as well.

She was just finishing up a mile run on the treadmills when she felt eyes on her. She could tell she was being watched, but didn’t want to look around. Whether it was someone ogling her from across the room or someone from one of her classes, she wasn’t in the mood to make small talk and made her way over to the machines, starting on her legs first. She cranked her music up and kept an eye on the time on her watch.

When there was about forty-five minutes before her first class, she put the free weights she’d been using back in their home and turned to head to the locker room for a much needed shower.

And found who had been watching her during her workout.

Green eyes bored into her own and Aelin felt a blush rising in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the amount of energy she’d exerted this early in the morning.

Ignoring the voice inside of her head, Aelin stopped in front of Rowan, and nodded. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. His t-shirt clung to him, and it was a fact that Aelin could not ignore.

“I was just going to get ready for class,” she said. “Excuse me.”

She swept past him, but his voice pulled her up short. “Aelin.”

She stilled, and slowly turned around to meet his gaze.

“About yesterday,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. Aelin found the gesture somewhat charming, although she wouldn’t admit it. “I’m sorry. I…didn’t handle the situation right. It all took me by surprise and I reacted poorly. I’m sorry.”

“S’okay,” she said, looking away from him, down at her feet. “I said some things I didn’t mean. I’m…not proud of it.”

He shook his head. “Let’s just…pretend all of it didn’t happen, yeah?”

She swallowed roughly. “All of it?”

Rowan sighed. “Just because we apologized doesn’t change anything, Aelin. You’re still my student.”

She nodded, not looking at him. “Right. No. I get it. I have to get ready for class.”

Making to slip around him, she got two steps away before his hand wrapped around her wrist. “Aelin, I’m… I’m sorry. I wish it wasn’t— I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

Daring to take a chance by looking back at him, it nearly destroyed what was left of her when she saw the sincerity in his eyes. “But wishing doesn’t change anything, does it?” Aelin pulled her wrist free. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

Rowan said nothing, but she saw that her shot landed in his eyes.

She shook it off, though, hurrying away, toward the showers.

Aelin knew one thing was for certain: no matter how much she cared for Rowan Whitethorn, there would never be anything between them.

Even if she wanted there to be.

[kyidyl]

Ok, slightly larger round up of stuff about Ukraine that I got from tiktok.

1. When asked if he wanted to be extracted, their president said "I don't need a ride I need ammo". The man has the biggest brass balls in the world.

2. The Ghost of Kiev. There are stories of a Ukrainian fighter pilot shooting down Russian helicopters, but no one knows if it's real or not. Footage of the ghost was faked, but former govt officials say it's real. Either way, it's extremely uplifting for the citizens.

3. What appears to be (and I say that bc as far as I can tell it's real, but I don't speak the language) a video of Ukrainians literally getting in front of a tank and stopping it. Notice the hesitancy of the drivers... well get to that in a sec.

4. The govt is arming the citizens with guns... and molotov cocktails. This one I've seen from multiple sources, and there's legit news footage, but I can only put one video per post. But yeah, they've given people materials and instructions and they're making molotov cocktails in large amounts.

5. Apparently the Russian army is largely made of very young conscripts who don't want to be there. Saw a video of one being captured by Ukrainian citizens and he was super young and really liked like he just wanted to go home. Not sure how much of the army is like this way, but it seems to be at least a few of them. Even so, the fact that we know a much a we do about the lack of support for the war in Russia and in its military means that it's probably WAY more unpopular.

6. Anonymous declaring cyber war on Russia. It sounds ridiculous, but remember how he fucked with our election? Well he hasn't stopped doing that and there's a lot of disinformation being spread by Russian bots. That is what Zelenskyy was referring to in the last video I posted. Putin is manipulating his citizens and trying to control the narrative and, well... largely failing. His bots are pretty easy to spot in the comments, and he's been completely unhinged in his press conferences lately.

7. Hadn't been able to confirm, but it seems that a small group of Russians soldiers surrendered to the Ukrainians. This seems to be consistent with other things, bc there are tons of videos of abandoned Russian tanks and armor. I even saw one video of a guy asking these Russian soldiers if they needed a lift bc their tank ran out of gas. 😂 can't confirm but there's a lot of talk about Russian soldiers abandoning when they figure out that they've been sent to kill citizens, not free Ukrainians from a nazi regime.

8. Russia is, shockingly, not doing well. They have taken chernobyl but have yet to take kyiv. The Ukrainian govt has lost about 137 soldiers (including one who sacrificed himself to blow up a bridge into the city), but according to them the Russian death toll is much higher - around 3000. This is penalties exaggerated, but the difference is to vast for Russia's actual casualties to be lower than Ukraine's. They've also lost a number of tanks and other heavy equipment, and today Kazakhstan turned them away when they asked for help. It's honestly the most Russian thing ever for all their talk to turn out to be inflated ego tripping. But still, Russia has a much larger force and really wins don't mean that Russia will lose. Still, it really seems that the morale of the Ukrainians is much higher than that of the Russians. Putin is sending his of reluctant kids against people fighting for their own country.

[thatonecoryosimp]

The Devil's Mercenary Part 9. Technoblade X reader. Love Locked

I'm finally getting the next chapter out, I'll be updating and writing some things today cause I'm not at school, I'm sick. I'm waiting for the meds to kick in right now so it doesn't feel like my head is imploding. This is a Dream chapter, wink wink, nudge nudge.

I've been rly sick the last week or so, and my relationship status is now complicated, so y'know.

Warnings: Smut, Mommy kink, Dom reader, Sub Dream, words like "baby, pet, whore." Beware.

Date: 10/5/2021

Series Masterlist

I was going about my day, as usual, my shoes crunched along the ground as I watched the colored leaves shake in the wind. Fall was such a beautiful season, everything sparkled in such a way, one that could melt the heart of even the most brutal of people.

The crisp air made its way through my hair, I could swear I could see it, dancing in its mysterious way, moving to its own tune.

The birds were heard chirping and I watched as small critters ran along the ground, basking in the sun's warm light.

And while fall was a very beautiful season, it was also very melancholy. It, like everything else, held two sides. While the land and the trees and the animals rejoiced in the cooling temperatures, and they turned to magnificent colors.

The thought arises that even if they are beautiful, they're still going to die. This was the leaves' last blaze of glory, its final bow. Some fell sooner than others, and in a few weeks, the rest would join. Dotting the Earth in their colors for a short time before losing them. Going brown, then to fall into obscurity.

It could almost make me sad to think about, but right now I could still enjoy the wonder the beginning of fall brought.

I felt the timber basket swish in my hand and I looked down to see a songbird, it had landed on the lid of the wooden container and started to peck at the whisker.

A chuckle formed as I stared at the gray and yellow bird.

"Well hello, little guy," I laughed. The bird's eyes met my own and it started to twitter. Its beak barely opening in closing. I grinned as I looked at the small animal.

"Aren't you just a little cutey?"

"Are you talking to a bird?" My eyes shot up and the basket jolted with my body, this had startled the bird causing it to fly off. I huffed as I watched the flurry of gray and yellow fly off.

"What was that for?" I glared at him.

I could see the blond stand up with a laugh, his emerald eyes blazing as he looked at me.

"I'm sorry I scared your little friend away," he walked closer to me with an almost loving smile on his lips, "Maybe we should eat to take your mind off it?" I felt him take the handle from me before putting one of his hands on the small of my back.

I slightly leaned into his side as I let myself react to his touch. My eyes closed again and a breath left my lips. I felt my nose scrunch slightly, this was only a deal, that's all it was. It wasn't anything else. This wasn't cheating, I wasn't even officially dating Wilbur.

I felt bad, I really did, but whenever I looked at him or was around him, I felt so right.

My eyes opened and I looked up at the man that caused my problems.

"I think this should be a good place, hmm?" I lost eye contact with him as I glanced around. The sight of the autumn trees brought a smile to my lips, it was so enchanting. The sun was setting in the distance, still peaking out over the treetops.

"Yeah," I answered breathily, "this is nice."

He sat the basket on the ground and pulled out the blanket stored in there. He unfolded it before ruffling it through the air, I watched it unfurl before it was placed on the slightly bumpy grown.

I sat down first, soon to be joined by the man that called me here.

I was the one to start unloading the food, taking out tasty concoctions Niki and I had made the night before, she hadn't questioned why I had wanted to bake so late, just happily obliged to help me.

As I sat out the last of the food I looked at him with a questioning stare, he was already looking at me, his eyes flickered in the last rays of sunlight, he had a dopey smile on his face.

"Why did you ask me to come here today?" I asked. I could see him slightly falter before picking up one of his favorite treats, it was a double-stuffed chocolate loaf cake, I had baked it for him before, and he constantly begged me for more.

"I wanted to tell you some things, I'm going to be talking to Wilbur tomorrow but I knew you'd want to be caught up." My eyebrows furrowed as I picked up a sandwich.

"Go on."

He smiled at me and took a bite of his cake, "I wanted to offer L'manburg their freedom."

My eyes widened as I looked at him, "What's the catch?"

"That there would be an election, an old friend of mine offered me a proposition. That I give L'manburg their freedom, if he could run for president, all I would have to do is be his endorsement."

I looked at him with widened eyes, if Wilbur agreed, he could win, I know he would win.

"Who's your 'old friend'," I questioned, still slightly skeptical.

"JShlatt."

The name sounded slightly familiar, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I nodded my head, my eyes were unfocused as I looked at him.

Before I could say anything else, he interrupted again, I could see him take a quick inhale of breath, "There's one more thing I would like to run by you." I stared at him, but he was looking at the ground.

A hum fell from my lips as I continued eating my food.

"I would like to temporarily put the killing part of our deal on hold."

That definitely caught my attention, "So we would just be fucking?"

He paused a minute, looking at me, then at the ground, I could see him struggling to find the right wording, "Yeah..."

I could hear his voice trail, there was something else there, but at the moment I didn't feel like pushing.

Other thoughts were swimming through my head at that moment, so many questions that would be left unanswered for the time being.

That would make it cheating, wouldn't it?

I could tell he noticed my hesitancy.

"Hey," he mumbled, scooching closer to me, his hand cupped my jaw as he looked at me.

"How about we take your mind off it?"

I looked at him with slightly glazed eyes, "How?" I saw him smile. The moon started to rise from the other side of the trees, I could see fireflies winding through the trees as I stared at the man in front of me.

He stood up and grabbed something out of his pocket, and as the moon rose I saw lanterns turn on all around me, light illuminated his features as he stared down at me with his hand held out.

I heard music start to play, it was low, almost like a wedding song.

"Would you dance with me?" my hands were placed in his as he pulled me up.

My body was swirled into his body. He held me close, his feet finding a rhythm with the melodies. His smile was sweet, and the way he held me with such purpose made my heart melt.

He twirled us around the open area. My head rested on his chest. My eyes were closed as one of his hands was wrapped around mine. My arm was rung around his neck.

The mood was made better when I accidentally stepped on his foot, both of us started laughing as I kept stumbling.

His body shook as he buried his nose in my hair. The arm around my waist tightened around me.

"You're such a klutz," he mumbled.

It was a jab, yes, but it was soft. He was kidding. I could hear him mumble something else under his breath.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it, gorgeous."

I felt him press his lips to my forehead as the music slowed to a stop. We stood there for a few seconds. It was peaceful, standing there with him, away from everything. He made me feel loved.

He pulled away and guided me back to the picnic area. I could see a squirrel ruffling through some of the food. A laugh tumbled from my throat as I watched Dream panic.

"My cake!" he bellowed as he ran over. The critter raced off as the large man stumbled over. He looked over the picnic area and whined as he saw the crumbs of his cake. He sat back dejected, head held low.

My heart slightly sputtered as I looked at him, something came over me as I walked over to him. My pointer finger hooked under his chin and I pulled his head up. He looked at me with big puppy dog eyes.

"Do you want me to make you feel better?" with that the mood shifted, it was charged, electric. His eyes widened before he nodded

"Yes, please."

I smiled and bent down and pressed my lips to his. I broke the kiss and sat down on his lap. One arm got thrown around his neck and the other got placed on the middle of his chest.

I connected our lips again with a smile, I felt him whine again as I began to put pressure on his middle, he leaned back on the blanket so now I was straddling his hips.

I once again pulled away, he looked at me with such big eyes as I sat upright completely.

"Please..." I heard him mumble. A smile pulled on my lips.

"In a minute, baby. You'll get what you want."

I pulled my shirt off my body as I looked back at him. His hands went to my bare hips but I pushed them off.

"Not yet pup, mommy's working still."

he nodded and tried to sit still, watching me with hungry eyes, I stood up for s second to take off my pants. I knew he was watching me, and I was going to milk every second.

I pulled off the pants and hooked my thumbs in my underwear. I slowly started pulling them off. I slipped them over my feet and sat back down. I grabbed his hands and brought them to my back.

He unhooked my bra and pulled it off, throwing it to the side. I began to palm him through his pants, a groan tumbled from his lips at the sensation.

It was rather easy to pull them off, just a quick tug and they were down to his thighs. I crawled the rest of the way down his body and took him in my mouth. I felt his hands land in my hair.

"Mommy," he moaned, "oh please, mommy."

My head started to bob faster as I felt him tug at my hair. His thighs clenched a bit and I pulled off him.

I looked up at him as his hands fell from me, he had a look of confusion on his face.

"Don't worry baby, mommy's gonna take care of you."

I quickly placed my entrance over his shaft before sinking down. A loud moan fell from my baby's lips as he grabbed my hips. His head was thrown back as he bit his lips between his teeth.

I gently started to rock back and forth, before starting to slightly bounce. Leaning forward so I was resting on his chest. I could listen to him as so many moans fell from him. His hips sputtered as I started a little faster.

His hair was messed up, his head was thrown back, his face was flushed, and his eyebrows were scrunched up.

"You look like such a little whore." I moaned, watching as my words had an instant reaction. His hips coming up to meet mine.

"Are you mommy's little whore, huh? Huh, prince?"

"Yes-" there was a break where you could just hear his panting and skin slapping together, "Fuck, I'm such a whore for you mommy."

A moan sounded from my lips as I continued to chase both our highs.

"Am I being a good boy, mommy? Please tell me I'm being a good boy," I heard him moan.

"Yes baby, you're being such a good boy," I paused for a moment, my own breath becoming ragged, "Such a good boy for me."

It wasn't long before I felt his thighs clench up again, "Mommy, I need- I need to cum, please."

I nodded, "Cum for me, come on, baby."

My hips sped up slightly, just enough to tip him over the edge, I felt my own high tumble over me as I stopped, I felt him fill me up with warm hot ropes.

Our breathing slowly regulated as we laid there.

"Do you feel better now?" I asked.

"Yes, so much better."

~Jules

~~~~

I got kinda tired towards the end so I'm sorry if it's kinda shitty, I think I should lay down for a bit. Have a nice day lovelys, take care of yourselves, drink water. Love you guys.

[jeannereames]

You said before that your DwtL Hephaistion in the modern world would be a vet or work with animals if he got to follow his heart, really (career-wise). What do you think your fictional Alexandros’s career would be in the modern world? And on the flip side what professions do you think the actual historical Alexander and Hephaistion would have if they were transported to the 21st century?

Crafting Believable Modern Analogs for Historical Figures

How fun to re-imagine who Alexander the Great might be in the modern world. It’s tempting to take the obvious, and too-easy route: assuming he’d be a tech or media mogul, or a celebrity child, or even a scion of some old-money family like Anderson Cooper is of the Vanderbilts. But those miss some important aspects.

Let’s try to find modern parallels for things going on in Pella when Alexander was growing up, to get a better handle on who a “modern” Alexander might be.

That requires the all-important FRAMING of his social setting and situation.

Philip II, his father, came to an unstable throne in 359 BCE. Within one year, he’d turned the tables on Macedon’s erstwhile conqueror, Bardylis of Illyria, and proved very successful at consolidating rule and making allies, or forcing them. Even so, when Alexander was born in the summer/fall of 356, Philip still hadn’t made his mark outside the region, and didn’t truly begin to pour money into Pella until about ten years later. His involvement in the Third Sacred War (356-46) got him attention in the south, but it was long, complicated, and expensive, and we know he was flat broke at several points, unable to pay his own soldiers. That’s part of why he embarked on northern campaigns. The Thracians had gold. The Phokians didn’t, but defeating them bought him a seat on the Delphi Amphyctiony worth prestige. Subsequent reduction of big cities such as Olynthos and Potidaia helped on the funds front. So, by the time Alexander reached preteen/teenage years, Philip could afford to buy him a horse worth 3 (or 13) talents of silver.

Near the end of Rise, at almost 20, Alexandros still thinks of himself against Philip’s achievements: His life might come to nothing, no great deeds to inscribe after his name. Always he’d walked in his father’s shadow:“There goes Philippos of Makedon. Oh, and that is his son, Alexandros.” He was beginning to think he’d be an afterthought forever.

A visual record of ol' Phil's conquests:

To me, that’s a key aspect underscoring Alexander’s (or my Alexandros’s) ambitions. Philip may have suffered similar, but in reverse. He was the youngest son, come accidentally to power after military disaster and exile, his brothers arguably failures, his father a king of mixed reputation. Amyntas III was among the few Argeads to die in bed of old age, not be assassinated or killed in battle. But OTOH…he was among the few Argeads to die in bed of old age because all he did was hold onto his throne, and that barely.

I’m not sure that inheritance was any easier.

I see parallels between what Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pulled off in Ukraine, and what Philip of Macedon did, in his first few years on the throne. Both men grasp symbolism and the Mask of Command, and use it to craft a resistance that held off an opponent others assumed would wipe up the floor with them (Bardylis, for Philip)—but whose army proved to be over-confident and under-trained. Yet an elected official is quite different from a king, and one shouldn’t push that parallel too far.

For Alexander, I can see some parallels to JFK, Jr., in the mythos of the Kennedy name (e.g., Heraklid blood), and heavy political expectations…yet JFK died when John Jr. was quite young, and John Jr. didn’t step into his father’s shoes despite popular hopes (or fears) that he’d try. Instead, he seemed interested in doing his own thing. That’s not Alexander, who, when he appeared before the Corinthian League to accept the role as hegemon leading the invasion of Persia, told them only the name of the king had changed. John Jr. didn’t want to go into politics because he was a Kennedy. Alexander absolutely invaded Persia because he was a Temenid/Argead.

Nonetheless, that provides a way to think about a modern Alexander analog.

Some key elements would be coming from an important local family, but one sniffed at in NYC or London or Paris or Rome. They’d be nouveau riche…or perceived to be. Savvy, smart, but a bit gauche, Alexander the first generation at boarding school (and not let to forget it). Or they were once a wealthy family who fell on hard times in the Depression and have only recently clawed their way back to prominence. (The Macedonian royal clan was pretty damn wealthy in the Archaic Era, if we can use the gold in burials at Vergina, Arkontiko, etc., as a guide.) Even Archelaos’s new capital of Pella was, size-wise, not comparable to foundations in south Greece or Asia Minor: up-and-coming, not established.

Pella reminds me a bit of Orlando, Florida, which is now one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the US. But when my parents moved our family to its neighbor, Lakeland, in 1968, Lakeland was not so very much smaller. Orlando had orange groves, but Lakeland had the once-super-important rail system. The big city in the area was Tampa, 4xs Orlando’s size at the time. (Image below, Lake Ivanhoe, downtown Orlando, 1968)

Times change. Railroads stopped being so critical. And not long after we arrived in Lakeland, Orlando got Mouse Ears (Disney), then exploded and never stopped. Now Lakeland is a little-known-outside-Central-Florida bedroom community for Greater Tampa Bay and the behemoth that is Orlando/Kissimmee. Tampa is still bigger, but it’s been a big city since the first decades of the 1900s. Orlando, only since the 1970s. I watched it happen.

It’s not a bad parallel for Pella. Pella pre-existed Archelaos. He just dredged the harbor and moved the palace there. He started the process—(Orlando in the 1950s)—but died too soon and was succeeded by roiling chaos until Philip came to the throne. Philip was Pella’s Mouse Ears. Yet the Pella Alexander grew up in was still nascent: “we’re going to BE something but it’s not quite here yet.” Similarly, in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Orlando grew, but wasn’t yet monstrous. Huge tracks of undeveloped land and orange groves still covered countryside that is now wall-to-wall hotels, stores, retirement communities, and high-end vacation-home rentals in a vast urban sprawl. Alexander’s Pella was Orlando in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, not the mega-metropolis you’ll see if you visit the archaeological site today, which shows the expansion not only of the crazy-rich Antigonid Hellenistic city (post ATG), but also Roman Pella. (Reconstruction of Hellenistic Pella)

Alexander’s Pella also reminds me a bit of modern Omaha, a city that feels on the brink of something bigger. (For an interesting take on Omaha’s expansion, here’s a 2020 article in the LA Times, so it’s not local propaganda.)

Let’s play that comparison out further.

The article points to the impact of Warren Buffett (and his family) on the city, their investments and promotion of growth-industries such as financials, tech, education, and medical research…all contrasted with the Koch investments in oil and big manufacturing in Wichita that have mostly left or gone belly-up. Philip did similar, following the model of Archelaos before him, and Alexander I before that: investing and modernizing. People moved to Pella because it was exciting. Instead of a brain drain to Athens, or Thebes, or the cities of Asia Minor, Philip hired engineers and builders to come there. He encouraged trade, using the big rivers to transport timber and metals from the interior down to the coast to sell, enriching both the royal pocketbook and the families of merchants who settled in Pella (or Amphipolis, etc.) to oversee those lucrative royal contracts.

So if you want to “find” Alexander in the modern world, ditch the king part, and the war-mongering part; those are artifacts of his world that don’t transfer easily. Instead, look at his social milieu. No, he wouldn’t be the scion of old money like the Rothschilds in London, or a Carnegie or Rockefeller or Vanderbilt in NYC, or a Forbes in Boston, Getty in LA, or McCormick in Chicago. He wouldn’t even be a Kennedy, or a Bush.

I’d make him a Buffett (or similar). The family’s insanely rich although they give a lot of it away, politically active and genuinely philanthropic, but not politicians. Greater Omaha is not a major metropolis, but is a big city (just under a one million) with cosmopolitan shine and a few things worth boasting about. Yet he’d still constantly have to apologize for his hometown at any ivy-league college. As a grandson or great-nephew, he’d have been hearing business talk from a young age, and probably sat in on more than a few boardrooms. He’d have his own legacy portfolio. He'd have grown up seeing the family name on dozens of local buildings, jetted around the world, rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, and had to sit through his share of benefit events and appear at high-profile galas. He’d have grown up in the shadow of the Oracle of Omaha (Grandpa Warren) who still lives in the house he bought in 1958 (5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms), and suffer being looked down on by Old Money from Old Settlements (like a Demosthenes in Athens). (Below: Buffett house in Omaha)

Keeping with the theme, maybe he’d decide to take over Berkshire Hathaway and grow it even bigger. Forget the Koch family in Wichita or the Waltons (Wal-Mart) in the Ozarks of Arkansas. He’d challenge the likes of Zuckerberg and Musk and Bezos (the modern Athens or Thebes or Sparta), but do it Buffett style from the Democratic angle. Being young, maybe he’d decide to champion environmental causes. Instead of seeing it as his divine destiny to conquer the world, perhaps he’d believe it his duty (noblesse oblige) to save it.

That’s a long, discursive exploration, but I think Alexander was just SO wedded to his position by birth that, unlike Hephaistion, he never had a chance to be or even think of himself as a private individual with ambitions apart from those of his family. You could play the same game and make him one of the aforementioned Waltons or Kochs, if you wanted a completely different political angle. But he shouldn’t come from a big, cosmopolitan city or Old Money family.

Edit to add: Realized I got so excited about Analog ATG, I neglected Hephaistion. Don’t know enough about the historical man to play that out. But for my fictional Hephaistion, aside from pursuing something to do with animals/hoses, maybe a large animal vet, I would make him from Old Money, somebody Alexandros met at boarding school. Maybe the son of a family who breeds race horses, but he wants to doctor them instead. How scandalous. 'Son, we hire people to do that. You're not the help.'

Btw, for those who enjoy this sort of reimagined fictional analog for famous people—and you’ve not already read it (or heard about it)—let me recommend Kate Elliott’s Unconquerable Sun. It’s a gender-flipped space opera with the Republic of Chaionia as Macedon in the Stars, newly triumphant over the Yele League (Athens) under Queen-Marshal Eirene (Philip), now gearing up for war against the mighty Phene Empire (Persia). Princess Sun is a reimagined Alexander, Hetty is Hephaistion, Persephone is Ptolemy, etc. The second book, Furious Heaven, is done, I’ve read it, it’s great, but is currently in awaiting-edits purgatory. The whole supply chain problem affects some really weird things…including book publishing.

There's an even lesser known Alexander analog in a set of three novels published by Alison Spedding in the latter 1980s that starts with The Road and the Hills.