#senators need age limits

[hopefuldesolate]

why the hell do people think its okay to say, "they're just from a different time!!!!!11!!!1111!!!" as a justification for peoples bigoted behavior, then follow it up with "we don't need upper age limits for political positions!!" its such a fucking deplorable mindset. you can pick one. either those people are capable of changing and just refusing to, or they cant change and should never get those positions.

#left #leftwing #rightwing #left wing #right wing #centrist #politics #senators need age limits #the president needs an age limit #all government positions need an upper age limit

[cheshire-j]

PLEASE READ

So as of tomorrow, the Kids Online Safety Act, is set for markup as of July 27 at 10:00 am. And for those who aren't aware, this bill, if passed, does not protect kids. If merely eradicates privacy, freedom of speech, and unlawfully searches and seizes everything you say and do on the web.

It will censor everything the government does not like and if you want "unrestricted access" you will need to prove you are above the age of 18, which will most likely mean you will need to upload some kind of ID. Additionally, if you need to upload your ID, there is no guaranteed protection that your image or the ID itself will not be swiped or sold like how Instagram/Facebook/Twitter did when they sold data to the Russians.

This will also be harmful to kids, especially those to have a bad living situation. KOSA does nothing but police the Internet for everything you say and do on the Internet. It will censor medical information, history, information, and restrict and limit, if not outright ban what can be posted on social media.

Sites like Ao3 (Archive of Our Own), Wattpad, Tiktok, Tumblr, etc.... EVERYTHING will be affected, art especially. And what's more, is KOSA passes, it will be a gateway to pass all the other bad internet bills like the RESTRICT ACT, EARN IT ACT, COOPER DAVIS, etc.

The Internet will turn into a hellscape for everyone; kids, companies, and adults alike!

The picture above, from @dontdelete.art, is a call to action in protesting these bad internet bills. As of today, July 26, we need to protest against this bill for our privacy and our freedom. Call your representatives and senators, AND ALSO call the Commerce Committee as they are the ones overseeing this mark up meeting.

The Commerce Committe's numbers are:

Majority: 202-224-0411

Minority: 202-224-1251

Call them and tell them you oppose KOSA, tell them the dangers, tell them how it breaks our first and fourth ammendment rights and how it violates our privacy.

We only have one more day before it goes to mark up, so let's make it count. Spend today speaking out on KOSA, post on social media talking about the dangers of KOSA, call and email your representatives, senators, and the committee!

DON'T SIT IDELY BY, MAKE TODAY COUNT!

#wattpad #fanfiction #archive of our own #kosa #restrict act #earn it act #politics #artists on tumblr #artistsupport #bad internet bills #stop kosa #activism

[somewhereincairparavel]

🐚 Daughter of Neptune headcanons list 🌊 part one..

Note: I've never done a pjo hcs post like this with the aesthetic pictures and everything- but I've been Itching to make a daughter of Neptune one, since I consider myself as a Neptune child. So this is sort of a self insert haha, and I thought it'd fun cuz I have so many hcs abt this, I've only over seen ppl do a daughter of Poseidon one.

Also this one has reader x Jason Grace as romantic pairings, but it isn't the main focus. Like I said, this is a self insert, and I love my bb jason ;) + imagine having Percy as a big brother, goals fr

• Okay so you'd come to Camp Jupiter at the age of 8-9, so you definitely have a considerable amount of childhood before you came to camp. Which only made it harder for you to adapt to the barbaric ways the Roman camp worked.

• Also, Since Neptune was not a very respected Roman god, your arrival was considered bad luck. Octavian made you go through an intense trial (that motherfucker was like 10 years old and an augur, and was already such a bitch lol) + forced a newly elected praetor Reyna (who was also just 10 at the time) to hold a senate meeting before you were even offered a position at camp.

• Neptune is very feared by the romans though, since he represented the harsh brutality of the ocean, so you got the Roman Nico di Angelo treatment from camp. Everyone was scared of you, flinched when you walked passed them. this was to your advantage tho, since you never got bullied, mostly out of fear.

• so Neptune temples in Camp Jupiter are only taken care of by you, if you left for a quest or something then the shrines would be in such a horrible state, bc no one cares enough to offer Neptune anything or even clean up his shrine. You'd do the cleaning and offering.

• and the worst part? Your dad wouldn't even notice you even after your efforts.

• okay, your powers are quite similar to Percy's butt I feel like since Roman/Greek siblings always have powers that compliment eachother, you'd have better control over the earthly side of the domain. Like you can cause longer earthquakes, control seismic waves, and make volcanos erupt + cause bigger avalanches, Stuff like that.

• Your water control was actually a little limited, up until Percy arrived and helped you enhance your powers. And you helped enhance his control over earthquakes, since his earthquakes usually only lasted for a few seconds, his dad is more water dominant. So when you met him, you knew he was a missing puzzle piece in your life. You'd even be able to communicate telepathically to Percy underwater, a power you both never knew you needed.

• Seriously tho it would be hilarious to look at, bc to the others, you both sound like squeaky dolphins but in reality you are just telepathically speaking with one another. The others wouldn't understand, and poor Frank would be so confused as to why you both are making strangled fish noises

Leo would troll you guys so bad for this lol

• your eyes would actually be black. Not blue, not sea green, just black. Your eyes would literally glitter like black obsidian rocks. because Poseidon is the calm side of ocean, hence sea green eyes for Percy, Neptune is the dark and scary side of the ocean, so that's black eyes for you. that difference would clearly reflect in your guys's eye colours AND personality (I'll expand on this more in part 2)

• but your scariness comes with a downside, you had no friends. No friends, except Jason and Reyna. it's just your dad's naturally strict aura surrounding you that makes your overall personality a Lil grumpy and moody tbh. You did have such a resting bitch face that wasn't helping either.

• Jason, being the noble boy he was, knew you were going to be his friend the moment you made a dramatic entrance to camp for the first time, getting scouted by the waves to New Rome. He knew what it was like to have a powerful, scary dad, but he acknowledged and empathized that you had it harder than he did. He was considered a golden boy, while you were considered a scary bad luck charm. But regardless of that, Jason was your first best friend. And eventually, your boyfriend.

• Reyna on the other hand, badly wanted to befriend you because she admired your mental strength, you were 9 years old and you were openly scoffed at by the legionnaires simply because your father was a scary man. Yet you handled it all so well. But she befriended you a little later than Jason did. Since she was so busy, she barely had any time to chat with anyone. You, Jason and Reyna bonded as a trio when you guys had your first quest.

• Reyna secretly shipped you and Jason from the very beginning lol, bc a Jupiter x Neptune union? Y'all were powerful and cute af together. The mutual pining drives her crazy though, like kiss already smh.

• Also, Nicknames! Your nickname was ALWAYS "kelp head" because your hair was wavy and shaped like seaweed lol. As much as you hated to admit it, the name fit a little too well.

• okay enough with the friendship stuff, let's talk about how much that bastard Octavian makes it his mission to make your life a hellhole. It isn't even funny anymore, he hated you from the very beginning. Not only because you were considered bad luck, it's because he envied that you were a direct descendant of such a powerful God, he couldn't even handle Jason's arrival, yours was just the last straw for him. He opposes your opinions in front of the whole senate + prevents you from getting elected as Centurion + attempts to prevent you from going on quests, bc he can't handle someone else taking the glory.

• He was also the reason you were put into the unpopular twelfth legion. The underdog legion. But Jason? That sweetheart made it worth being in the twelfth legion so you weren't complaining tbh.

• honestly? Octavian and you are famous in camp for your bickering though lol it's just always a back and forth between you and him, such burning rivalry and enmity. You LOVED roasting him and you were fucking great at it too. He deserved that for making you go though hell. You'd laugh like a maniac when he trips and he smirks when has the upper hand against you in senate discussions.

• Reyna is the only reason you both didn't beat eachother up at this point tbh

• once, Reyna came running up to you all panicky because Octavian went missing from camp. In response, you beamed and told her that you'd get the balloons ready in the dining hall for a grand celebration. Jason would burst out laughing lol.

• you'd steal his teddy bears and give them to younger campers, asking them to hide it from octavian. So the younger campers absolutely adore you, unlike the older ones.

• you are also quite the rebel in camp, JUST like Octavian predicted you would be, when you first came to camp. It was actually written in his auguries that the new child of Neptune arrival would be always shafting the rules, since the sea can't be controlled. It's in a nature for a Neptune child to walk their own pace (lol have you seen Percy??) That gave another reason for him to hate you.

• Even some of the lares in CJ would call you an abnormal roman bc you never acted like one. You were wild and temperamental.

This rule breaking tendency you had did earn you lots of punishments that included scrubbing the whole camp with a toothbrush. But it was worth it for you. Camp Jupiter sucked. And you were already in trouble, so what's a little more, right?

• you'd sneak out at night to explore New Rome, because again, the Romans had this weird bedtime curfew like. they have rules for every. Fucking. Thing. It pissed you off so bad. They wouldn't even let you explore the city at night? They were seriously wasting the beauty of the city, You'd definitely rope Jason in to break the rules with you. Like don't be such a goody two shoes smh. I feel like that's what attracted him to you in the first place. He's a goody goody boy with such a boring life, youd just make it interesting for him.

• besides, sneaking out is SO much easier when you can fly. So Jason is your personal airplane. The Jason Grace airlines.

• okay so after all your hardwork in the legion, you'd finally get elected to Centurion, after you successfully finished a quest to retrieve a lost Roman artifact, which was formerly Jason's position and he would become a co praetor with Reyna. But you were still very much disrespected in camp tbh, it just became an internalised thing for everyone to hate you at this point, Octavian was also great at putting your reputation under dirt, but you didn't really care anymore.

• now here comes the catch, Jason and you were sort of in a half-pining half-relationship situation, Before that jerk goes missing. because neither of you knew how to confess, and camp was SO strict when it came to relationships for some reason?? Like even dating has to be lowkey.

• you and Jason are totally the grumpy x sunshine trope lol except you're the grumpy, snippy and batshit one and jason is calm, levelheaded and optimistic one.

Perfect balance. Gosh your dynamic would be so cute :(

• you'd just be grumpily stomping around while jason stalks behind you, laughing lightly. You're super short compared to him aswell, so yeah it makes it funnier.

• You were in charge of welcoming Hazel to camp, since Jason and Reyna had some serious meeting stuff about the new prophecy Octavian told them about.

• poor hazel would be scared to death while meeting you, not just bc it's you, it's bc she just came back from the dead, so this is all rlly new for her.

• That's where you met him. Nico di Angelo. You'd bond over your shared mistreatment in camp. So you became homies w him fairly quickly. He saw you as this cool big sister he could have happy meals with talking abt life.

• you would be a little curious when he keeps disappearing off to somewhere tho, you knew he was lying about where he came from.

Okay part 1 of this is done, this was so long lol, part 2 would drop later, that's where you and Percy meet and stuff.

Update: part two is out! https://www.tumblr.com/somewhereinhogsmeade/746489087922520064/daughter-of-neptune-headcanons-list-part-two?source=share

#OMG this was soo long?? I was not expecting that. #Gosh my fingers are exhausted #How do y'all fanfic writers do it #I applaud you fr #pjo #pjo fandom #percy jackson #pjo hoo #jason grace #pjo series #pjo hoo toa #annabeth chase #piper mclean #leo valdez #hazel levesque #frank zhang #reyna avila ramirez arellano #nico di angelo #octavian pjo #pjo headcanon #percy jackson headcanon #pjo x reader #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #x reader #reader insert #percy jackson x reader

[david-talks-sw]

What "The Hidden Fortress" (1958) tells us about the Jedi's status in the Prequels.

In 1999, George Lucas had this to say on BBC Omnibus: A Long Time Ago: The Story of "Star Wars" and then The Phantom Menace's director's commentary.

“I greatly admired Kurosawa, especially the film Hidden Fortress, which told a story from the point of view of two serfs, two slaves...

... peasants who tag along with this famous general and a princess-- y'know, royalty. And the whole story is told from their point of view. And I like that idea. I like the idea of telling a story from the lowest person's point of view, uh, in the food chain, and that's how the story got to be told by Artoo and Threepio.”

“[The Phantom Menace] is told primarily from the Jedi's point of view, but the story that's being told is essentially the story of Queen Amidala and her plight of having her planet blockaded. As in, say, Episode IV, where the story is told through the eyes of the droids, in this one, it's told through the eyes of the Jedi.”

“But [from the moment we get to Coruscant, Anakin and Jar Jar] are standing on the sidelines. It's a little bit a riff on the very first film where the story is told through the point of view of the droids, who were sort of the lowliest characters.”

“And in [Phantom Menace], I'm doing it through - primarily - the two Jedi, but then the secondary characters are also carrying a lot of the weight when the Jedi aren't around.”

George Lucas draws a comparison between lowly characters like Hidden Fortress' peasants Matashichi and Tahei, the droids in A New Hope, as well as the Jedi in The Phantom Menace.

What do they all have in common? They are all the lowest-ranking characters in their respective films. Repeat: the movie frames the Jedi as almost at the bottom of the food chain.

Because of course they are. Functionally, they're just diplomats. They hold no political power whatsoever and barely have any authority .

What little authority the Jedi do have in TPM comes from the Queen's young age, which allows them to ease into a more advisory position, and Qui-Gon's rebellious streak. And even he's explicit about the fact that his mandate has limitations.

The only characters "below" them in status are Jar Jar, an exiled Gungan, and Anakin, who just yesterday was still a slave kid, Artoo the literal object and that's it!

Also the other Prequel films are consistent with this portrayal. Who do we see lower in status than the Jedi? Dexxter Jettster and the clones. Everyone else is pretty much above them.

Yes, the Jedi are part of the system, but they're not as high-ranking as you'd think. Yes, they have Force Powers, but that means squat when put against political power. So, like, to expect the Jedi to...

influence the decisions of the Senate,

wage a war against the Outer Rim to end slavery,

or blatantly refuse an order to join the war effort,

... is incredibly unreasonable.

They're not meant to be seen as "the elite, peering down upon the people from their ivory tower".

They're the servants! Servants of the Republic.

And they're seeing their higher-ups destroy what they should all stand for, but are unable to stop them.

Later on, with The Clone Wars, we are introduced to civilian characters and from their point of view, the Jedi are ultra powerful and are highly placed and "should do more but don't".

It makes sense that these characters would see the Jedi as 'the elite'. But they don't have the full picture.

We, as the audience, do.

So we know that the reality is more along the lines of the Jedi "should do more but can't".

After all, we are made privy many instances of the Jedi speaking up and trying to change politicians' minds, only to be dismissed and overruled at every turn.

↑ these aren't even all the times we see it happen, btw, there's more examples...

So at some point, if you - as an audience member - see all this and are still saying "the Jedi should've done more!" I really need to know... what more could they have done?

Take control of the Senate?

That'll result in a dictatorship, there's a reason they waited as much as they did before trying to take down Palpatine.

Power corrupts and they're wise enough to know it.

Don't join the Republic in the first place?

George Lucas never frames the Jedi's involvement with the Republic as a bad thing. In the foreword to Shatterpoint (2004), he says their being part of the Republic led to 1,000 years of prosperity.

Where's the issue, then? Well, it's a two-man job and the Jedi's bosses, the Senate, grew corrupt and stopped doing their part. They stopped carrying their end of the couch.

But “no Jedi in the Republic from the get-go” means the Sith will rise to power even faster. Fun!

Stay neutral in the war?

The Separatists were killing civilians and testing weapons on neutral systems, or enslaving them.

The choice put before the Jedi was "do what we tell you and fight, or let people die".

But also, out-of-universe... do you really think Palpatine, genius politician, master of spin, can't re-frame the Jedi staying neutral in a negative light?

When they joined the war, he unleashed propaganda that either directly (on the Separatist side) or indirectly (on the Republic side) framed them as "warmongers who corrupted their values". If they don't join, they're "apathetic cowards who care more about their own values than the lives of the people they're supposed to protect".

So either way, Order 66 comes around, wipes them out and the Republic goes "good riddance".

So what else could they do?

The answer is "not much".

Because the whole point of the narrative is that Palpatine checkmated them by taking the fight to a field the Jedi had no experience in or right to meddle with: politics.

So if you look at these characters who are nowhere near the top of the food chain, and say "well, why didn't they fix things?" I'm sorry to say you're missing the point of the narrative.

Or maybe you do get the point of the narrative and just aren't trying to be fair...

... in which case, at least be consistent and also argue:

"Why didn't Threepio & Artoo do more to save the Rebel crew of the Tantive IV from the stormtrooopers?!"

"Why didn't Matashichi & Tahei do more to save the Akizuki clan?!"

#HINT: the answer to both those rhetorical questions is “there was nothing they could do” #Also while we're on 'Hidden Fortress' - it's also worth pointing out that Qui-Gon and Padmé's dynamic on Tatooine in TPM #is very similar to the dynamic of General Rokurota and Princess Yuki in 'Hidden Fortress'. #The older warrior looking after the royalty teenage girl who is dressed as a peasant so as to not draw attention because she's on the run. #The Hidden Fortress #Akira Kurosawa #George Lucas #Artoo #Threepio #c3po #r2d2 #lucas quotes #meta #on the jedi's involvement in the clone wars #in defense of the jedi #jedi order #qui-gon jinn #the phantom menace #star wars #long post

[wist-eri]

i’m not really sure about what KOSA does to censor the internet. what exactly is there to it? i’ve heard a lot of awareness posts about it but not about what it actually does

i’m just going to copy-paste and slightly edit a previous reblog i made. though i’m not too sure how completely accurate this is, hopefully this can be of help if anyone wants a bit more info or wants to write a letter on their own:

——

basically, they’re forcing companies to limit certain content based on age and what could be considered dangerous to minors. they do somewhat give examples of what’s “mature content” but 1. they’re incredibly vague and 2. they open up for many other interpretations.

they also give the state attorney general the right to file a civil lawsuit against companies they think is infringing on this and showing minors “mature content.” however, this also means that this is completely up to the state attorney + state court’s interpretation, which can VERY EASILY be influenced by personal and political views. aka, a lot of LGBTQ information and other resources can be easily censored if the state deems it unnecessary for minors (and if the state court agrees with that belief). if one state does that successfully, it causes a ripple effect. aka, this can literally lead to censorship and the bill is straight up allowing that interpretation.

and another qualm i have with the bill (other than just the censorship part): the bill also states that they want ways to verify a user’s age so that they can filter content properly. however, the only way that’s truly foolproof is LITERAL GOVERNMENT IDS. this basically means that your personal information is collected by a “covered company” (the term they use for social media platforms and stuff) and used for age verification. let me tell you i don’t think that’s a good idea AT ALL. it compromises everyone’s security, not just minors. like, what are they gonna do in the case of a data leak / security breach? how many people will have their personal information revealed and taken advantage of?

KOSA is a trojan horse with a LOT of consequences. it’s way too risky to implement into congress at this current stage, unless either of these problems can be solved through amending the bill or just straight up not approving it entirely.

ALSO: the bill is currently introduced in the SENATE and is being contemplated over. however, there’s still a lot the bill needs to do before it passes into law (house of representatives, president, etc) aka, do not stop expressing how DANGEROUS this bill is, in the case it’s passed in the senate. keep talking when it’s in the house of representatives. do what you can

THIS TOO: (https://www.stopkosa.com/)

#wist talks #stop kosa #stop bad internet bills #stop kids online safety act #internet censorship #internet freedom

[maulfucker]

Ok some thoughts about senator Maul AU because I keep thinking about it

Palpatine never finds an apprentice in this AU, so he ends up not being such a huge threat

The events of Phantom Menace only kinda happened - Naboo was attacked by the Trade Federation, but there was no Sith to pursue them and kill Qui-Gon, so things got resolved much more easily

Qui-Gon lives, so he gets to train Anakin, and Dooku doesn't get tempted by the dark side

I think Dooku still quits the Jedi Order, but this time it's because he feels like he could do more good as a politician than as a jedi. He keeps a good relationship with the Jedi Order and the Republic and doesn't become a separatist

Every time he's in Coruscant he visits Qui-Gon and Anakin (and Obi-Wan) and chats with them over a nice lunch, which is good because it gives Anakin a politician role model that isn't Palpatine, and a better perspective of his options - he can leave the Order if he finds a new purpose, it's not a betrayal or a failure

Maul was raised in Dathomir so he's not a sith murder machine, but since he's such a powerful Force-senstitive he was raised closer to his mother and the Nightsisters than to his brothers and the Nightbrothers

(Savage and Feral are alive and happy btw. They visit Maul in Coruscant sometimes. I think he might also have one or two sisters because why not)

He still doesn't like Jedi but it's like. He doesn't want to kill them, he just thinks they're way too limiting and self-righteous. Like how Obi-Wan doesn't like politicians

He rarely makes speeches on the senate, so hearing him speak is a rare treat

Picture holonet social media hornyposting under every clip of him speaking because he has a very sexy voice

His outfits are also pretty daring (read: sexy) compared to most (male) senators. The entire Dathomir delegation dresses pretty similarly, but he gets the most attention

Maul vs Padmé who wore it better type posts

He and Padmé have this weird kinda-rivalry because they're very opposite in a lot of ways, but they still vote on the same side in a lot of topics since they both have a very "I am doing this for my people" mentality

He also absolutely hates Palpatine because he gets extremely rotten vibes from him (he's more attuned to the dark side than the Jedi so he probably Feels Palpatine's dark side vibes better than the Jedi. He Feels Palpatine is Bad)

When/if the Jedi Order ever finds out Palpatine is a sith he will be very unsurprised

Ventress is a representative and Maul's "apprentice", learning the Senate life from him

I'm making her younger than her "canon" age here (by about 10ish years) because it makes more sense to me and because giving Maul a government-assigned baby sister is funny

From what we see in the movies each world seems to only have one senator but I want the Dathomir delegation to have at least two because I think it's more fitting (and realistic, every world needs more than one senator what the fuck)

I think it would be funny if Maul swears he's gonna quit soon and Ventress will take his place in the senate but then the other senator retires first and makes Ventress her successor so Maul has to stay a senator for longer. He just wants to get out of this fucking planet

On the Jedi side of this AU I think Anakin grows into a much more disciplined jedi because Qui-Gon the rules bender would definitely stay in contact with Shmi so Anakin's anxieties regarding his mom will be more controlled, and they would be contacted immediately when she gets kidnapped by the tuskens so they save her faster and she doesn't die and neither do the tuskens and everything is fine

Plus Anakin gets to know his new family better and have a brother and add a new dad to his collection <3

Maybe Obi-Wan gets Ahsoka as a padawan this time, so she can have a master who actually wants to teach, and also be kinda-siblings with Anakin and cause chaos with him while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan aren't looking

The Separatists never really take off, so the clone wars never happen, but I think the attacks on senators that were happening at the start of AotC still happen because I think it's fun to have drama and have Jedi escorts assigned to senators (read: good excuse to set up an obimaul and allow the anidala plot to happen)

I want Maul to be miserable wet cats with Obi-Wan on Kamino so I am allowing the clones to exist. Purely for comedic plot opportunity. And because I love clones so I want them to exist

But I think this time they only made a single batch of like 10-100 clones and were waiting for the Jedi to get back to them with approval to make more

Maul sees this and goes "Absolutely the fuck NOT" so no more clones are made after those. Sad!

With Maul there to help the Jango fight is much more successful (and 50% less humiliating on Obi-Wan's side) so they capture him and no one has to die

Sidious had to hire Jango this time since I am not letting him have an apprentice, so Jango is like "I was hired by some old weirdo in a cloak who called himself Darth Sidious who sounded and looked a lot like the chancellor from Naboo" and Maul feels so fucking vindicated that YES the bad vibes he gets from Palpatine were correct can we PLEASE kill him now

Jango gets arrested and maybe he makes a deal to work under the Jedi instead of staying in jail so he can take care of Boba instead of leaving him to his own luck

Boba being raised with Jedi younglings while Jango is busy offworld....

The clones also become part of the Jedi Order so they can help Jedi with peacekeeping and defense and stuff

Palpatine gets found out and arrested and/or killed by the Jedi and everyone else gets to live happily ever after. Eventually.

... this is. Way longer than planned. I'm having fun

#hm i should make an original post tag #senator maul au #long post #maul #darth maul #ventress #padmé #palpatine #obi-wan #ahsoka #anakin #qui-gon #count dooku #... ok that's enough tagging characters. find this if you will. don't find this if you willn't. #this post spent so many days in my drafts because there's just so many thoughts to write down #and this isn't even every thought #i want maul to take obi-wan to dathomir expecting mother talzin to get rid of kenobi for him but she actually welcomes him #because he's dooku's grandpadawan and dooku is an old friend. and maul is mega pissed. like. how dare you get along with my mom. #also. live ahsoka (and ventress) reaction every time obi-wan flirty-banters with maul #and delayed obi-wan reaction when he remembers maul is a senator and this is highly inappropriate behavior #maul does not react he just glares at obi-wan #also imagining maul using magic and fighting with a magic-infused staff. sexy. #i need to post this already or else it will remain forever in my drafts #so let it be known this is not a complete solid idea this is an idea in progress #have fun thinking about it with me

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

You can always tell when somebody isn't giving their Roman senator proper enrichment. They're a working breed, people. Give him a decemvirate committee or aqueduct to build or else he'll start bringing in packs of gladiators for attention.

And you need to resist the urge to adopt a whole litter. Sure, it's cute to watch all the quaestors skitter off to their provinces, but if they're the same age they'll fight when the consulships come up, and that's how you get mob violence and rigged elections.

Do you have enough territory for all of them to become propraetors and proconsuls? Do you have a wall of client states to prevent Parthians and Marcomanni from invading? Don't get me started on people who let their senators roam the provinces unsupervised. Your dear Lucius Tiddlypuss might not bring extorted art and gold into your house, but rest assured, he is decimating the local tax base.

I know it's hard, but you need to discipline your senator. Limit the length and scope of his provincial commands so the legions remain loyal to the Senate instead of him. Establish independent courts with clear accountability so his personal feuds won't escalate into civil wars. With a bit of research and attention, your Roman senator can have a long and forgettable career!

I mean, apart from the sex scandals. Yeah. They kind of just do that.

#jlrrt scribbles #just roman memes #ancient rome

[the-rad1o-demon]

@neil-gaiman, @transformativeworks, @vancityreynolds :

I am asking you to reblog this to spread the word, to make sure people see all of this. You don't have to if you don't want to, but it would be extremely appreciated it you did! 💛

It's important that we stop these bills and keep Project 2025 from ever winning. I do not want to live in a world where the Internet is censored by LGBTQ+phobic and racist politicians. I do not want to live in a country where Donald Trump is literally the dictator. I do not want to live in a country where people such as myself are oppressed and forced into hiding/out of the country because of extremists like the ones behind KOSA, behind all these other really bad Internet bills, and behind Project 2025.

I am asking you to reblog/share this post, and I am asking you also that if you're able to take action against these bills. And definitely try to make people more aware of Project 2025 especially, because it will seriously fuck things up for nearly everyone in the United States (except for the ones running that show, obviously).

To help stop KOSA in particular, I'm copying and pasting from a document I wrote for the folks on my campus:

[BEGIN COPY-PASTED SECTION]

WAYS YOU CAN HELP STOP KOSA

Email to your friends, family, classmates, professors, etc.

Stage protests (and stay safe if doing so!)

Create and print out posters you can put up in areas people will see (if it's allowed there)! Doesn’t need to be fancy, it can be something like this in terms of text content:

STOP KOSA 2023

This bill threatens to censor many marginalized communities and topics on the Internet, including but not limited to:

The LGBTQ+ community

The discussion of race

Mental health issues

And many more!

It also will take away even more of both children’s and adults’ privacy on the Internet!

Call your state’s senators to tell them not to sign. Slightly edited scripts you can use are copied and pasted below, the Google doc from whence they came is below:

………………

DEMOCRATIC VERSION Hi, I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA, s.1409. Almost 100 human rights and LGBT organizations came out in an open letter opposing it in 2022 and 2023 because of how dangerous it is. The new language does NOT meet any concerns brought up, in fact many organizations were ignored. Major news have reported that this bill actively harms kids. When you look online through social media, you will find hundreds of posts by Gen Z who are opposed to this bill. We do not want this. This bill would allow any state attorney general to sue any website for “harmful” content. When you have Republicans calling anything LGBT “sexual exploitation” or anything about race “CRT” to successfully ban books and teachers, then they will use any justification to censor the internet. The Missouri attorney general used “mental health” successfully to ban gender-affirming care with backed up research. Suicide rates will skyrocket for marginalized youth with this bill restricting content. Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies. Furthermore, updated language threatens encryption the same way the Earn It Act does. How is this protecting children’s privacy? KOSA actively harms kids by taking away educational resources they need right now. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

REPUBLICAN VERSION I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA, s.1409. This is a dangerous bill that will harm children. Many news organizations have reported that this bill actively harms kids by exposing their private data to strangers under the guise of protecting them. We need to hold Big Tech accountable, but KOSA is not the solution. This bill would allow any state attorney general to sue any website for “harmful” content. Do we really want blue state lawyers deciding what can and can’t be allowed online and continue to censor people? This is massive government overreach. We need a bill that actually protects people by creating better security measures instead of bringing about more censorship. Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies, which would put them in further danger. How is this protecting children’s privacy? What parent would want their child’s private data in the hands of strangers like this? KOSA is actively putting kids in danger. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you. ……………… This version comes from this Google doc, which has additional learning resources! (It also has additional resources for fighting the KOSA bill, but some of it is outdated due to Congress having already done their thing):

Note that there is a separate script for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, use THIS ONE for him:

If you know anyone in Massachusetts specifically, tell them to call Senator Warren in order to ask her to rescind her support of KOSA. Script you can use written below (this one I wrote myself):

……………… Hello, Senator Warren. I am calling you today to ask that you rescind your support of the KOSA bill. It does not protect children. If anything, it will actively them by cutting them off from important discussions about the LGBTQ+ community, discussions about race, and mental health issues. There are even children in abusive situations who might not even know they’re being abused, and by censoring the Internet like this, or blocking children out of certain discussions, they may not find out until they’re adults. Senator Blackburn has made it perfectly clear that this bill aims to “protect” children from the trans community. Civil lawmakers, civil rights organizations, and many others have been saying over and over that this bill could be used to censor other marginalized groups as well. Please don’t support this bill. Thank you for your time and your consideration. ………………

Another important and final thing to do is to stay informed. Keep an eye on the news and on what’s happening with the KOSA bill.

That’s all I have for you!

[END COPY-PASTED SECTION]

Also!! Petition you can sign!

Thank you so much for your time, and please do whatever you can to help stop this train wreck.

EDIT - UPDATE:

Please look at the following post!

#lgbtq #lgbtq+ #lgbtqia #lgbtq community #lgbt #black lives matter #ex jw #ex mormon #ex catholic #ex christian #ex cult #stop kosa #kosa bill #kids online safety act #bad internet bills #project 2025 #internet censorship #us politics #politics #Youtube

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

SEP 22, 2023

The Senate has confirmed three top defense leaders. Last night it confirmed Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. to replace Army General Mark A. Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he retires at the end of the month. Today, it confirmed General Randy A. George as Army chief of staff and General Eric M. Smith as Marine Corps commandant.

The Senate filled the positions at the top of our military by working around the hold extremist senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has put on more than 300 military promotions, allegedly because he objects to the government’s policy of providing leave and travel allowance for service members who have to travel to obtain abortions. 

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post focused on the House Republicans today, though, when she wrote: “The GOP completely gone off its rocker—incapable of passing House spending, ranting and raving at AG, cooking up ludicrous and baseless impeachment, unable to greet Zelensky with joint session. This is not normal. This is egregious. You'd think the reporting would reflect it.”

Indeed, the House Republicans remain unable even to agree to talk about funding the government, let alone actually passing the appropriations bills Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed to four months ago. Today, right-wing extremists in the House blocked a procedural vote over a Pentagon funding bill, keeping what is normally an easily passed bipartisan bill from even reaching the floor for debate. McCarthy acknowledged to reporters that he is frustrated. “This is a whole new concept of individuals who just want to burn the whole place down. It doesn’t work.”

The extremists do indeed appear unconcerned about the effects of their refusal to fund the government, and since they have the five or six votes they need to sink the measures McCarthy wants to pass with only Republican votes, this handful of representatives are the ones deciding whether the government will shut down. 

McCarthy could pass clean funding bills through the House whenever he wishes, but he refuses. To do so would mean working with Democrats, and that would spark a vote to throw him out of the speakership. And so, rather than keep the members in Washington, D.C., to work on the appropriations bills over the weekend, McCarthy recognized he did not have the votes he needs and sent them home.

The extremists are bolstered by former president Donald Trump, who posted on his social media platform today that the Republicans in Congress “can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government…. This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots. They failed on the debt limit, but they must not fail now. Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!” 

Experts say shutting down the government would not, in fact, end the former president’s legal troubles, but he is actually doing more than that here: he is trying to assert dominance over the country. As Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said: “Let’s be clear about what the former president is saying here. House Republicans should shut down the government unless the prosecutions against him are shut down. He would deny paychecks to millions of working families & devastate the US economy, all in the service of himself.”

Extremist leader Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) responded to Trump’s statement with his own: “Trump Opposes the Continuing Resolution” to fund the government,” he wrote. “Hold the line.” Ron Filipkowski of MeidasTouch noted: “House Republicans refuse to fund the government to protect Donald Trump.” 

Trump’s accusation that President Biden is weaponizing the Justice Department against him and others who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election is the opposite of what has really happened. Not only has Biden stayed scrupulously out of the Justice Department’s business—leaving in place the Trump-appointed leader of the investigation into Biden’s son Hunter, for example—but also we received more proof yesterday that it was Trump, not Biden, who weaponized the Justice Department against his enemies. 

Nora Dennehy, who abruptly resigned from former special counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, explained in her confirmation hearing to Connecticut’s state supreme court yesterday that she quit because Trump’s Department of Justice was tainted by politics. Before joining the probe, she said, “I had been taught and spent my entire career at [the] Department of Justice conducting any investigation in an objective and apolitical manner.” 

But Trump and his loyalists expected Durham’s investigation to prove that there was a “deep state” conspiracy against him, and then–attorney general William Barr seemed to be working to support that fantasy, even though there was no evidence of it (as shown by the fact the investigation ultimately fizzled). Barr was, she thought, violating DOJ guidelines in his public comments about the investigation and in his consideration of releasing an interim report before the 2020 election.

“I simply couldn’t be part of it,” Dannehy said. “So I resigned.”

The resistance of the extremists to McCarthy’s leadership is spilling over into foreign affairs as well. Today, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington, D.C., where he met with President Biden at the White House and with leaders at the Pentagon, and spoke to a closed-door session for the Senate. But he did not speak to the House of Representatives. While McCarthy met with him privately, the speaker maintained that “we just didn’t have time” for him to address the House. 

As part of their demands, House extremists want to cut funding for Ukraine’s defense. This would, of course, work to strengthen Russian president Vladimir Putin’s hand in his war against Ukraine. Earlier this month, former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan told MSNBC that it is “absolutely essential” to Putin that Trump win back the White House in 2024. “I think it is Putin's main lifeline in order to find some way to salvage what has been a debacle in Ukraine for him," Brennan said. "If Trump is able to return to the White House...Putin could have a like-minded individual that he can work with, detrimental to U.S. interests certainly and detrimental to Western interests overall.” The intelligence community assesses that Putin worked to help Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and is pushing pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine propaganda now.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III assured Zelensky that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine and work with allies and partners to make sure it has the weapons it needs. Lara Seligman of Politico reported today that the Pentagon will continue to fund Ukraine operations even if there is a government shutdown. Military activities deemed crucial to national security can be exempted from being shuttered during a government shutdown.

And finally, 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch announced today that he will be stepping down as chair of his media empire, including both Fox Corporation, which includes the Fox News Channel (FNC), and News Corporation, which owns the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, among other newspapers. In 1996 the Australian-born mogul launched the Fox News Channel with media specialist Roger Ailes, who had packaged Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon in 1968 by presenting him to audiences in highly scripted television appearances. 

The Fox News Channel initially presented news from a conservative viewpoint, but over time its opinion shows, delivered as if they were news, came to dominate the channel. Those shows presented a simple narrative in which Americans—overwhelmingly white and rural—wanted the government to leave them alone but “socialists” who wanted social welfare programs demanded their tax dollars. Isolated in the fantasy world of FNC, its viewers became such fanatic adherents to right-wing politics that FNC wholeheartedly trumpeted Trump’s Big Lie after he lost the 2020 presidential election because viewers turned away from FNC when some of its personalities acknowledged that Biden had won..

Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, said today that “Murdoch created a uniquely destructive force in American democracy and public life, one that ushered in an era of division where racist and post-truth politics thrive.”  Margaret Sullivan, formerly the Washington Post’s media critic, wrote in The Guardian that FNC was “a shameless propaganda outfit, reaping massive profits even as it attacked core democratic values such as tolerance, truth and fair elections.” Murdoch, she wrote, wreaked “untold havoc on American democracy.”

Murdoch sees it differently. In his resignation letter, he attacked “bureaucracies” who wanted to “silence those who would question their provenance and purpose” and “elites” who “have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class.” “Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth,” he wrote. 

Forbes estimates that their media empire has enabled Murdoch and his family to amass a fortune of more than $17 billion.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #political #Media Matters #corrupt GOP #anti-democratic GOP #Big Lie #government shutdown

[enthusiasticharry]

𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 | 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 10.0k

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: i cannot believe that I can finally say that the first chapter of regret me is out now. i've honestly been cooking this one for a while and i'm so excited for everyone to read it! it's honestly been my lil baby in my brain for so long and i cannot wait to hear what everyone thinks and has to say about it! pls let me know what you think, what you think of the characters and the plot and what you're excited for, i want to hear it all! (pls i've wanted to speak to someone for so long about this)

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: explicit language, drug and alcohol use, family issues and a very sexy 70s rockstar Harry Styles.

𝐩𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟎 HERE

Los Angeles, Spring 1970

There was so much that YN didn’t know about life. She was aware of this, of course, and she had faith that one day she would but sometimes life had other ideas for her. On difficult days, the knowledge that one day she would have full control of her life made it a little easier to stomach. That didn’t mean that sometimes she didn’t feel hopeless, or as though her life was spinning in circles that she had no control over. It often felt like that was the case.

She lived her life by the book, prim and proper under a magnifying glass. In her childhood, she was satisfied with her life, especially the attention that came along with it, but as she grew up that caught up with her. Living her life as the daughter of a Senator and Socialite in Los Angeles meant that there was no time for fuck ups, no time for even the slightest incline that her life wasn’t anything but perfect. Her father was one of the most influential and important people in the whole state of California, and she knew from a very young age that she would not be the one to fuck that up for him. YN always supposed that was the reason that they only had one child – to have that picture-perfect family but limit any fuck ups that may come along with that.  

“Remember, YN, this isn’t about us it’s about our country,” Her father would always say to her, every day, as though she had forgotten it from the day prior, “We’re the ones who set the example.”

“And that example needs to be perfect,” Her mother would chime in, softly spoken but always with that rough edge that would make YN shudder, “Right, darling?”

That word haunted YN her entire life. Perfect. It was easily the most used word in their household, and it was the word that YN hated the most. The word caused YN to question what she was doing with her life. The word caused YN to realise that she wasn’t living her life, but she was living the life they had moulded for her. They had orchestrated their perfect life, and YN had put up with it for eighteen years, but she was done.

YN had never seen central Los Angeles in the nighttime until this point in her life. It had taken her eighteen years to buck up the courage to forgo her perfect life for a night and venture into the city that she loved so much in the dark. She was dressed in a floral blouse and a pair of flared jeans (ones that she had secretly purchased a few days prior when her mother was distracted by diamonds) and felt she could fit in. She was no longer the Senator’s daughter, she was YN – the rebellious eighteen-year-old who wanted to know what she was missing.

When YN looked back, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what caused her to snap and finally venture out on her own. It was just a random day in April when she decided that enough was enough, and perfect wasn’t what she wanted for herself. She wanted to know what was out there, and what she was missing. In some ways, she could have seen her childhood as her parents trying to protect her from the dangers that were in the world but as an eighteen-year-old, she only wanted to know what was out there.

YN kept darting her eyes from left to right as she continued walking, as though at any second the cameras were going to have spotted her and she was going to be busted. Or maybe someone will recognise her and that’s it, she would be forced to go back to her little prim and proper life. It was only when she started to get into the more crowded areas that nobody cared. Well, people noticed that she was there but were all too intoxicated to care why.

“Go on, honey, get your tits out for us!”

It wasn’t even the words that shocked her, because obviously, she had never heard such crude language before, but the fact that they saw her as a normal girl. Again, looking back, being catcalled on the street wasn’t something to be proud of, but she honestly didn’t mind the attention.

“Assholes!” The voice came from behind her, and she didn’t recognise it, “Leave her alone, go find someone else to annoy.”

Turning around, YN saw one of the coolest people she had ever seen in her life. A girl, maybe a little older than she stood in a halter neck top and a pair of jean shorts with not a care in the world. She even had sunglasses on the top of her head (it was pitch-black outside) and bangles on her wrists that rattled when she moved.

“You all right, babe?” The girl looked concerned about her, and YN was frozen to the spot. This was the first time that she had spoken to someone that hadn’t been vetoed by her parents in a long time, “Just ignore them, babe, they’re assholes.”

“Thank you,” YN nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Don’t worry about it, we have to look after each other, right?” The girl nudged YN’s shoulder with hers, “I’m Vivienne, by the way.”

“YN.”

“You look like a fish out of the water, babe,” Even though she was slightly mocking YN, there was still sincerity behind her voice, “Do you know where you’re going?”

YN released a breath that she had no idea she had been holding this entire time, “I don’t really. I haven’t… this is my first time –”

“Your first time on the strip, babe?” YN nodded, “Well, I happen to be an expert in the field that is Los Angeles at night, so I’d say you’ve hit the jackpot.”

Without a single hesitation, Vivienne slung her arm through YN’s and started marching her through the streets of Los Angeles with a pep in her step. It was risky, at the end of the day, as she had no idea who this girl was, but deep-down YN felt as though she could trust her. Vivienne babbled about all of the best places, and YN listened. The only time YN opened her mouth was to apologise when she knocked into someone on the street, but that person didn’t even seem to bat an eyelid in her direction.

To say that it was nearing the early hours of the morning, the streets were crowded, and the air was still warm enough for the majority of people to be showing more skin than YN ever had in her life. She hadn’t buttoned her blouse the whole way down, meaning that there was a slither of her stomach exposed and that was honestly the most exposed she had ever been.  

The walk that Vivienne was taking her on was long, but listening to her talk about her life and this place they were going made it seem like it was over in a heartbeat. For some reason, YN felt as though she was a tourist in the place where she had grown up her entire life. But she was in a way because she had never seen this side of Los Angeles before in her life.

Gazzarri’s was, in Vivienne’s words, the place to be for the best rock n’ roll on the strip. YN had never even heard of the place before, but from the long queue that covered the entire sidewalk, she thought that she was maybe the only one. Names covered the exterior of the building that YN had never heard of before, and the music was so loud that she could hear it from the sidewalk. This is what YN imagined when she thought of living her life, all the people and the music and everything in between. She just wished that she wasn’t such a novice.

Without a single hesitation, Vivienne bounced to the front of the queue and was immediately let in by the guard on the door. YN sheepishly smiled at the man who only grunted in response and allowed herself to be pulled inside by Vivienne. The place was crowded to the brim, and in all honestly, she had no idea how any of those people would fit in if they were let inside. Smoke clouded her vision, and the music was so loud that YN felt as though she couldn’t breathe. It was only when she familiarised herself with her surroundings that she realised that there was a band playing on the stage. They made a beeline for the bar, which did mean that YN received a few pushes and shoves, but nobody truly seemed to care. It was as though nobody cared at all.

The bar lined the left side of the room, complete with people frantically working behind it to keep up with the orders from people on their side. The entire place was alive. YN hadn’t even known that life could look like this, and she had seemingly found herself amid a girl who knew exactly what to do. Without any hesitation, Vivienne pushed her way through the gaggle of people at the bar and leant herself on its wooden top, front and centre. YN was a step or two behind her, but she made sure that she didn’t lose Vivienne in the crowd, or she would seriously have no idea what she would do.

YN thought that they would be standing there waiting for a century. In all honesty, she didn’t know how Vivienne had managed to beckon a bartender over and order a round of shots as quickly as she had. YN hadn’t drunk before, well not properly, but it was certainly something she was curious about. A few years ago, she had been at a party with her parents, and they were giving out complimentary champagne, and even though YN was years underage she managed to sneak a glass and downed it in one. She didn’t feel light and airy, or though she wasn’t in control of her body, so she stole another, and then a third. After her third drink her cheeks were flushed and the world was a little blurry around the edges, and it made the night a lot easier to stomach. This would be her first time trying hard alcohol, like the bottles that sat on her parents’ bar cart that she had been told many a time to stay away from.

Eight small glasses filled to the brim with a clear liquid were then passed to her and Vivienne. YN moved so that she was standing next to Vivienne, and watched as the girl brought the first glass to her lips and the second one straight after in quick succession. YN picked up her first two, planning to do the same but the second the harsh alcohol touched the back of her throat she coughed, and Vivienne’s widened her eyes at her. 

“You, okay?” YN nodded at Vivienne’s words, “Was that your first shot babe?”

“Yes,” Even though YN was grimacing, that didn’t stop her from lifting her second glass to her lips and throwing it back in one.

Vivienne cheered, “Jesus, girl. I can already tell that this is going to be a great night.”

It was a little hard to hear Vivienne over the music that was playing, but YN managed to figure out what she was saying. The two girls threw back their last two shots and without a single hesitation YN was being pulled through the crowd by Vivienne again.

There were cheers around them, and YN realised that the band that was on the stage had finished and was now leaving. It confused YN slightly as to why now that the band had finished, they were making their way towards the front. Wouldn’t that mean it was finished? All in all, YN had no idea what time it was, or what she was doing or supposed to be doing.

It didn’t take long for the two girls to push their way to the front of the stage, just to the right near some steps that were cornered off for the musicians to come off and on.

“This is about to change your life, babes,” Vivienne muttered into YN’s ears as the cheers subsided.

“What’s happening?” YN was embarrassed that she didn’t have a single idea of what was going on, but at the same time, she knew that if she didn’t ask, she would never know.

“The best singer of our generation is about to walk this stage,” Vivienne smiled. Even though YN had no idea who that was, she could tell that it was going to be good just by the excitement that Vivienne was showing and the rest of the room.

It seemed as though everyone was waiting for something, and the second that the lights in the room dropped YN knew it was this. The curtain covering the stage dropped, a drum beat kicked in and the lights around them flashed. The entire crowd came to life when he stepped onto the stage, even Vivienne at the side of her but YN just stood there, completely enamoured by the sight in front of her.

In all honesty, she didn’t know where to look. She didn’t know whether to look at the girl on the drums who seemed to be doing all of this without breaking a sweat, the girl on the keys who moved her body rhythmically with the beat or the guy on guitar with long hair that just seemed so cool. It was when YN saw him that she knew exactly where to look.

He came out with his microphone in hand, adorned in a denim two-piece that was left unbuttoned at his chest. His whole body moved with such ease, and what a body it was. If this was what YN was missing, she never wanted to go back. He had the whole room in the palm of his hand the second he stepped onto the stage, but it was only when he opened his mouth and finally started to sing that YN was one of those people too.

It was unlike anything she had ever heard before. The way he sang with such ease, as though he didn’t have to think about it made YN’s stomach fill with butterflies. The more of the song he sang, the more that it became familiar to YN.

The few times that YN had been allowed to leave the house unsupervised was to go see her friends from school at their house. Even then, there were always guards waiting for her in a car with blacked-out windows. It was a few months ago, and her friend (whom she wouldn’t class as a friend, mainly the best of a bad bunch of people) was raving about this new artist that she’d found.

YN loved music. It had always been the key to her heart and an escape, but she never had the chance to listen to anything that wasn’t certified fit for her by her parents. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t help but get lost in the music and wonder what else was out there. She sang in the school choir, and the day that she had been given her first solo changed her life. It made her believe that maybe she was all right at this singing thing too, even though her parents would hate the idea of their perfect daughter becoming a singer. Maybe a Christian Evangelical singer but that didn’t float YN’s boat.

The record that her friend had put on was from this man, the one that was standing on the stage in front of her doing things that shocked her and excited her at the same time. She spent the first song racking her brain for his name, and she hadn’t even noticed that she was singing along with him. YN picked up lyrics quickly, as she always had, but she was starting to wonder how maybe times she had listened to that record in the space of a few hours.

“Well, that was a lovely welcome,” The man spoke into the microphone as the applause around him drew out, “I’m Harry Styles, and I’d like to sing a few songs for you tonight if that’s all right?”

Harry Styles. That was his name. YN was shocked that she’d forgotten a name like that. It wasn’t exactly one that screamed forgettable. YN wondered if that was the name he was born with, or if he had picked it up once he had started recording. Either way, it was a rockstar’s name if YN had ever heard one.

The concert continued, and everything that man did on stage made YN’s insides scream. The way he pushed his curls back off his forehead, wiped the sweat off his brow with a towel, ran the microphone down his chest and thrust his hips – it all screamed sex. It was everything that her parents had warned her was a sin, and that the people who acted in that way were menaces to society. But no matter how much she tried to push that out of her mind, she couldn’t tell if she wanted to be that person or be with that person.

After starting with Only Angel, he moved on to Meet me in the Hallway, and Two Ghosts and Woman All of these songs he not only sang with such a passion and a fire and a gorgeous voice that drew anybody in but also had such deep, moving and powerful lyrics that YN remembers being lost in at her friend's house and that was the same at this point, hearing them live.

“We’re about halfway through,” Harry spoke into the mic, and there were a few grunts and boos from the crowd which made him chuckle, “Now since this is our first concert since we released our debut record, we thought we might do something a little fun.”

There were cheers from the crowd, and YN had no idea what was going on. She turned to Vivienne who seemed to have the same perplexed look on as many people in the crowd. There were a few girls around YN that were screaming and pushing and trying to do everything they could to get closer to the stage, but Vivienne and YN stood their ground.

“Okay, we’re going to sing one of my favourites from the new album, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring one of you on stage to sing it with me.”

The entire room erupted into screams, so much so that YN had to resist the urge to cover her ears from the sound. Vivienne had seemed so cool, calm, and collected but the second the screams started she joined in too. 

Los Angeles was the land of possibility. Of course, YN knew that. She had heard all of the stories from her parents of the low lives that pack up and move there were dreams of becoming a star. She’d read magazines that her mother hid from her of famous movie stars that found their fame sitting at bars and rock stars that found their fame singing in places like these. YN believed that most of the people in this room would kill for that opportunity, but YN had to lay low. Even though she was having the time of her life there was still that nagging feeling in the back of her head about what would happen if someone noticed who she was, and that information was relayed back to her parents. It would possibly be the end of her.

“Okay,” He laughs, and YN could get lost in those dimples that were adorned on his cheeks, “Sounds like you all like that idea. Okay, make as much noise as you can, and I’ll make my decision.”

YN stood there, sort of hiding behind Vivienne but she couldn’t ever be truly hidden as she was so close to the front of the stage. YN watched as he surveyed everyone screaming and clamouring to be chosen, but she just stood there. Even Vivienne was shouting, but YN just tried to drown the sound out as best she could.

He lifted his microphone to his lips and YN thought that she’d finally made it out unscathed and then he looked directly at her. He held up his hands to block the lights out and started walking towards her. YN shook her head at him, not letting her eyes draw away from his. He nodded his head at her, and she shook hers again.

“You want to do it?” He spoke into the mic, “You there, in the white blouse?”

“Oh my god,” Vivienne slapped YN on the shoulder, “He’s talking about you, babe.”

“He isn’t,” YN shook her head, “He can’t be.”

“He is,” Vivienne pushed her forward towards him, “And he’s coming right towards us.”

When YN turned away from Vivienne, he was standing right in front of her. He leaned down so that he was face to face level with her and smiled. YN didn’t know what to do so she just smiled back up at him, and he only grew wider.

“So,” At this point, he wasn’t talking into the mic, he was instead talking just to her, “What do you think? Do you wanna come up here?”

YN opened her mouth to reply but the next thing she knew Vivienne was answering for her, “Yes! Yes, she would.”

Harry laughed and Vivienne’s enthusiasm at the entire thing, “This is your friend, I’m guessing?” YN nodded, “Well it seems to me like she’s decided for you. Come on then, up you get.”

A man suddenly appeared at the side of her and moved the barrier that cut off the crowd from the stairs that lined the side of the stage. He waited at the top of the stairs for her, extending his hand out for her to grab when she reached the top.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “What’s your name?”

“YN,” She muttered back to him, leaning closer to say it into his ear, “I’m YN.”

There was a slight look on his face that YN couldn’t recognise, but then he just beamed a smile at her and pulled her towards the centre of the stage. Thankfully the lights were so bright that she couldn’t see anybody but the first few front rows, and even then, she was getting a few less-than-lovely stares from people.

“So,” He speaks into the microphone this time, dropping her hand so that he can be passed his guitar, “This is one of my favourite songs from the record, Ever since New York,” He turned to look at YN who truly looked like a deer in headlights, “You know it?”

YN couldn’t explain to him that she had only listened to his record for a few hours, and she hoped that her memory of lyrics was truly going to come in clutch right now. If it didn’t, she was not only going to embarrass herself in front of the heartthrob of the century but also an entire room of people that probably knew who she was. So, she just nodded.

He nodded back at her, and the music started. Out of all of the songs on his record, this was probably one of the ones that YN loved the most. It was just so raw and honest and beautiful if YN was telling the truth. Once it was his time to sing, he moved closer to the microphone and YN stood by him, trying not to focus on anything other than not getting the lyrics wrong, or the timing.

“Tell me something/ Tell me something/ You don’t know nothing/ Just pretend you do,” There was something about watching this man perform from a metre in front of her that YN couldn’t explain. It was exhilarating and hearing the crowd sing along with him, knowing that a few minutes ago she was in there baffled her brain.

“Oh, tell me something I don’t already know,” YN had been so mesmerised by him that she hadn’t even noticed him finish singing and moved away from the microphone, motioning with his head for her to step forward whilst continuing to play.

With a deep breath, she stood in front of the microphone and started to sing, “Brooklyn saw me/ Empty at the news/ There’s no water inside this swimming pool/ Almost over/ Had enough from you.”

When there was a slight lilt in the song she turned and looked over at Harry, and he was staring directly at her. He was still playing, but it was almost as though he was on autopilot and all he could focus on was her. It made her cheeks heat, and a smile crosses over her face but it gave her this urge to continue, as though she was truly doing well.

“And I’ve praying/ I never did before/ Understand I’m talking to the walls,” Without even thinking her arms were lifting as she was singing, “I’ve been praying ever since New York.”

She moved to the side slightly so Harry could join her, the two of them singing in such close proximity into one microphone causing electricity throughout her entire body. He never looked away from her, never drew his eyes away from hers as they both sang his song together.

“Oh, tell me something I don’t already know/ Oh, tell me something I don’t already know.”

It was electric, that was the only way that YN could describe what was happening on stage. She could hear the audience cheering, and Vivienne was screaming for her just where YN had left her minutes before.

“Tell me something/ Tell me something/ You don’t know nothing/ Just pretend you do/ Tell me something just before you go.”

YN would be lying if she said that they didn’t sound good together – they sounded amazing. Here she was, standing and singing with this rockstar who thought he was doing something nice for a fan of his and singing with her, and here YN was soaking up every moment of her dream that she didn’t even realise was her dream.

“Oh, tell me something I don’t already know!”

As they finished singing, YN couldn’t help the disappointment that bubbled in her chest. She wanted to stay, and she wanted to continue singing. She wanted nothing more than that. He pulled his guitar off and put it on its stand and walked over to her. He pulled her closer to him, and she could smell the tobacco scent on his clothes and the slight hint of whiskey on his breath.

“Come find me afterwards, yeah?” He spoke into her ear over all of the shouting.

YN smiled, “Yeah.”

“Everyone, give it up for YN wasn’t she amazing?” The crowd cheered and she gave one last little wave before making her way down the stairs. The man allowed her back into the crowd and Vivienne immediately threw her arms around her new friend.

“Jesus!” Vivienne looked as though she was going to explode, “Why didn’t you tell me you were hiding those lungs girl?”

“I didn’t think I would ever be using them, that’s why!”

“You were fucking amazing, and I’m not just saying that,” Vivienne said with sincerity in her voice that YN appreciated, “God, you could even really be something, babe, I mean everyone loved you. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of you.”

“I don’t know,” YN shook her head, “It was only a singsong, Vivienne.”

“If you say so,” She shrugs, “But I think it was more than a singsong.”

The concert continued with no other words spoken between the girls. YN tried to concentrate on what was happening in front of her but all she could think about was what had just happened. She had just been on stage, singing and it wasn’t solo in the church choir – it was to an actual song. YN was flying, she honestly couldn’t believe it.

Out of everything that YN had ever done in her life, this was honestly the craziest and the thing that had brought her so much joy. She had no idea that life could feel like this, let alone that she would be able to experience it outside the confines of her parents. She had no idea if she would ever be able to do it again. She wished that she could just relive it, just for a second.

“Thank you all for coming out tonight, we appreciate it,” He smiles out to all of the crowd, “I’m Harry Styles, and this is our last song. This is Kiwi.”

The second that the drums kicked in; YN was straight back into the concert. All of the thoughts surrounding what had happened earlier had gone, and all she could think about was what was happening on the stage in front of her. This song, if she wouldn’t go to hell for saying it, oozed sex, and rock n’ roll. It was mesmerising.

“When she’s alone/ She goes home to a cactus/ In a black dress/ She’s such an actress.”

YN hoped that she wasn’t making this up when she swore that Harry was looking directly at her when he sang that line. YN also swore that he winked at her as he did so. If she wasn’t already flushed and sweating from the heat in the room, she definitely would be now.

He finished the song and the whole place erupted. It was unlike anything YN had ever heard before and she was in awe. Once the music had stopped, the people around her slowly started to move.

“Babes, I need the bathroom, are you coming?” Vivienne knocked YN out of her trance and nodded. She accepted Vivienne’s hand and was pulled into the bathroom, and then into the stall with her. With every movement that YN made she was in a daze, as though she wasn’t in control of her movements.

YN leaned against the door and was ready to turn around and give Vivienne her privacy when YN realised what she was doing. When YN saw the dollar bill rolled up, along with a card and a little bag of white powder YN knew what she was about to do.

There was one side of YN that was truly thinking of listening to her parents and getting the fuck out of there. But then on the other side, the little louder and overbearing other side of her brain was telling her to say. The other side of her brain was that one that had just been on stage with a rockstar and sung her little heart out.

“You want some, babe?”

The second that Vivienne asked her that question YN knew that there wasn’t any turning away from this now. She was hooked. Every single little thing about it made YN wish that she lived this life and had this freedom without people watching her every move. That was probably why there was no hesitation in her voice when she nodded at Vivienne.

“Go on, then.”

YN felt as though she was having an out-of-body experience. Everything was making her laugh and smile, and Vivienne seemed to be feeling the exact same. The two of them pushed their way out of the small, disgusting bathroom and into the corridor that extended back to the club and then to what YN assumed was backstage.

The two girls turned to stumble their way back into the actual club, but that didn’t last long when they realised that someone was calling her name from behind them.

“Excuse me,” A man that she didn’t recognise stopped them in their tracks, “Are you YN?”

“Yup,” She smiled, giving the man a little nod. She was truly floating now. Even more, than she had been after finishing on the stage, “What can I do for you?”

“Harry would like to see you,” He spoke professionally, but both YN and Vivienne couldn’t hide the shock on their face, “If you’d like to follow me.”

Vivienne slipped her arm through YN’s, and they walked arm-in-arm behind the man. Vivienne leaned closer to YN and whispered, “Babe, you are totally getting some tonight.”

The prospect excited YN. The fact that she had two substances running through her system that she hadn’t experienced made for a carefree YN. She hadn’t ever felt like this before, and in all honesty, she could get used to it. She felt as though she could conquer the world with no questions asked.

The man opened the door at the end of the corridor, and they were welcomed with a dimly lit opened room. The band that they had just seen on stage were all sat with each other, drinking, and smoking and all in all being the coolest people YN had ever seen. The guitarist and drummer were sat on a sofa, leaning against each other, and passing a blunt between them. The girl on the keys was sitting with another man that was also on stage drinking, obviously having done a line of some sort by the look of the table. It was only then that she noticed Harry in the corner of the room by himself.

He was sitting by the open window, a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. It looked like he hadn’t been paying attention, but once the two girls had made their way into the room, he immediately walked over to them. Even in her slightly intoxicated state, YN could feel the butterflies erupting from the pit of her stomach.

“Well,” He started, the British drawl easing out of his mouth like it was honey, “If it isn’t the girl that upstaged me at my own concert. And her friend that convinced her to do it.”

“Vivienne,” The girl at YN’s side held out her hand for him to shake, “I would just like to personally thank you for making her do that.”

Harry laughed, “And how long have you two known each other.”

“Hmm,” YN wondered for a second, “About four hours.”

Harry laughed, but when he saw the look on the girl’s face he immediately stopped.

“Are you serious?”

“Deadly,” Vivienne nodded, “Picked her up on the side of the road looking like a lost puppy.”

He shook his head, “Well, there are drinks in the fridge and maybe you guys can get to know each other a bit. And the others, I promise they’re friendly, and don’t bite. Well, maybe Mitch.”

YN nodded and followed Vivienne. It was surprising how she didn’t feel even the slightest bit intimidated by the conversation and felt so confident. Vivienne opened two beers on the side of the fridge and passed one to Vivienne, and then they both started to mingle. Vivienne sat with the woman on the keys whom YN learnt was Charlotte, and the man that YN learnt was Pauli. They seemed cool, but Vivienne immediately struck up a conversation with Sarah, who was the drummer of the band. Her boyfriend Mitch, the guitarist, was still sitting behind her but he left the two girls to it.

“With lungs like that,” Sarah tilted her head to the side slightly, lifting her bottle of beer to her lips, “You must have been singing for a long time.”   

“Sort of,” YN shrugged, collecting some of the condensations on the tip of her finger from the neck of her bottle. She was sweating, “I’ve sung in choirs for a long time, the one at my school and the one at church, but never anything like this before.”

“Well, you’ve got something, kid,” Sarah shrugged, “If you set your mind to it, you’ll be able to do anything.”

YN wished that it was true, but it wasn’t. When this night was over, whenever that was, she would have to go back to her perfect life with only the memory of what happened on stage. In YN’s mind, she couldn’t see any other way. It upset her, but she had done what she wanted to do. She had experienced the life that she wanted, and although she would dream of this night every day – this wasn’t the life that she was given.

“I don’t know,” YN shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head, “I wish I could, but I don’t think this life is what was intended for me, no matter how much I want it to be.”

She didn’t know whether it was the alcohol talking or the drugs, but she was unable to stop. It was almost as though once Sarah had opened the can of worms, everything that had been laying on YN’s chest wanted to voice itself to the world, no matter how much she wanted to push all of those feelings deep down.

“Look, I understand the whole chasing the dream but it not coming true,” Sarah moved away from Mitch slightly, so that she was looking directly at the younger girl, “Do you think that we all thought that we would be playing for the biggest rockstar in the world every night?”

YN shook her head, “I’m guessing not.”

“No, we didn’t,” Sarah leaned back on her boyfriend again, “But I wanted to be a drummer, and Mitch used to work at a pizza shop and would play the guitar in his breaks, dreaming of playing on stage. Everything in our life was pointing to that we would never play live music like we dreamed, everything, but then Harry found us, and he managed to drop our dream right into our laps.”

Without even thinking, YN turned to look at Harry. He had finished his beer, and his cigarette but he was still sitting on his own, staring out of the window. YN thought that he would have been with his bandmates, drinking and doing all of the drugs in the world – but he wasn’t. He was just sitting on his own, seemingly staring at the stars.

“It sounds like that man’s some sort of miracle worker,” YN laughed, the two people across from her joining in.

“He isn’t. He just has a good ear for good music.”

YN looked at the girl with a perplexed look on her face, “But he had no idea when he picked me that I could even sing. I could’ve sounded like a strangled cat for all he knew.”

The couple laughed, “But he took a risk, and it paid off. You have to use that. Now, if you excuse us, I think it’s time we went home.”

YN watched as Sarah and Mitch stood up, hand in hand and said goodbye to the band. Charlotte, whom Vivienne had been talking to also decided that it was probably time that she went home as well. She thought that maybe this was a good time to get Vivienne and go, but the way that Vivienne and Pauli moved closer to each other and were in such a deep conversation she decided to leave them.

There were other people in the room, but nobody caught YN’s eye. It was only when she turned to look back at the window where Harry was sitting that there was a slight panic in her, but when she noticed him slipping out of a side door, she knew that this was her only opportunity.

She gave Vivienne a look and the other girl gave her a thumbs-up, which made YN laugh. As she pushed the door open, YN realised that he could have been long gone by this point which stressed her out. But then again it didn’t take long for her to spot him sitting against the wall with a joint in between his fingers. It seemed out of character, that this mega-famous rockstar was smoking on his own, instead of surrounded by his band and groupies. Maybe there was more to this than YN was expecting.

Her boots crunched stones on the floor as she made her way towards him, “You sharing that?”

Harry turned to look at her, and she stopped right where she was. She leaned against the wall a few metres away from him and crossed her arms. He furrowed his eyebrows at her and shrugged, so she took it as permission to sit down next to him. She could still smell the tobacco on him, and in all honesty that was like drugs itself to YN. There was a slight chill in the air, but sitting this close to Harry and feeling his body heat against hers was all of the warmth that she needed.

“You ever done this before?” He asked, lifting the joint in her direction, “Miss. YLN.”

Busted. All of the confidence that she had, mainly due to her intoxication had gone, and she felt like she was just a little girl again, sitting and listening to her father’s speeches about what it means to be the perfect American little girl. She felt as though she had been caught, and she was slightly embarrassed for herself.

“So, you knew who I was?” She asked after a beat, not daring to turn and look up at him.

He lit the joint and brought it up to his lips, and surprising her, he passed it to her next. She did the same as what he had done but immediately coughed as it hit her lungs. She passed it back to him and saw a smile on his face.

“I didn’t,” He remarked, “It wasn’t until you were sat talking to Sarah and Mitch that I realised.”

Okay, that made her feel a little bit better. Maybe he was just a little more observant than she had expected him to be.

“Should I be afraid that you’re gonna tell my dad?” She asked, turning to look at him so she could see his face as he spoke, “Earn a bit of money from my dad buying your silence.”

He furrowed his eyebrows at the girl, and she felt tiny. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to preserve her body heat and make herself feel a little bit better about the situation.

“I don’t need your dad’s dirty politics money,” He shrugged, taking another hit, “I make plenty on my own, thank you very much.”

He wasn’t wrong. YN wondered how much a rockstar as Harry made. She wondered if she would be able to do that. Then she hypothetically shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. YN’s life was already sorted out for her – go to college, meet a rich man who could sort her for the rest of her life and marry him immediately. She would then become a little housewife, popping out kids constantly just like her mother does. It wasn’t the life she wanted, but it was the life that was planned out for her.

“Nobody should want my dad’s dirty politics money,” YN shook her head, lifting her legs so she could rest her head on her knees.

Harry raised his eyebrow at that, “You don’t like your dad?”

“He has a less-than-desirable view of America and people,” YN shrugged, “And being his daughter, I’m automatically part of that.”

He passed her the blunt again, and even though she wanted to cough again she managed to keep it down. She hadn’t even spoken about this before, and the more that she opened her mouth the more that she couldn’t stop those feelings from spilling out of her.

“Forget your parents, forget their life and everything about it,” He said, his voice a little deep and coarse from the singing and smoking she guessed, “What do you want to do? What would you be happy to wake up and do every day?”

“Sing,” She shrugged, “I knew that music was always a big part of my life, and I didn’t know what that would mean until tonight. But getting up on that stage and singing with you – I couldn’t imagine doing that again.”

“Then don’t imagine it,” Harry shrugged, “Do it. I know some people that would kill to have someone like you singing for them.”

“I wish it was that easy,” YN sighed, offering him a small smile, “The only reason I managed to leave tonight was that my parents are out of town, and my guards had passed out on the sofa before the clock hit ten.”

“But you’re out, yeah?” Harry lifted his hands, motioning to the crappy little alleyway that they were both standing in, “Don’t go back.”

“They would find me. If you noticed who I was, it would only be time before I’m tracked down and sent back to their perfect little life. They’d probably send me away to a boarding school and release some sort of statement that brushed all of it under the rug.”

It was quiet after that. It was almost as though Harry didn’t have anything to say to that, and YN was thankful. There wasn’t anything that he could have said to make that better, because it was the truth. YN knew it, and he knew it.

“Enough about me though,” YN nudged him with his shoulder slightly, “You must have a story to tell. You’re obviously not from here, but you’re the biggest thing in a while.”

He laughed, “What made you say I’m not from here? Grew up in Malibu.”

He was joking, and it was a nice way to clear the air a little bit. YN was feeling a lot more relaxed than she had been when she first stepped out here, and that fuzzy feeling was back.

“No, you’re right,” He smiled, “Grew up in Cheshire, in a small village. Decided I wanted to be a musician and moved to London. Then I met Sarah and Charlotte, and our manager at the time had a few connections in L.A. Moved out here a few years ago, and here we are.”

“Here you are,” She smiled, turning so that her head rested on her shoulder looking directly at him, “But there must be more of a story than that.”

“Not really,” He shrugged, “Took us a while to get where we wanted, but we’re here now.”

He was hiding something, but YN didn’t want to pry. They were still strangers at this point, and he knew that she could be influential, just as she knew that he could be. It was strange because to YN it seemed as though they were both getting on quite well. Two people, from completely different backgrounds, but two people who shared the same dream. That burned for the same reasons. It was bliss, to YN.

“What made you pick me?”

Harry turned to look at Harry with his eyebrows furrowed, “What do you mean?”

“You could have picked anybody from that crowd to come on stage with you, but you picked me. People were clamouring and screaming more than me. Vivienne was clamouring and screaming more than me.”

“I think it was because you weren’t screaming and clamouring,” He admits, and that says a lot more than YN was expecting, “You were the one that stood out, the one that wasn’t trying to get my attention that actually got my attention.”

YN laughed, “I’m my own worst enemy.”

“It was that bad of an experience?” He asked and she shook her head.

“No,” YN shakes her head, and she could feel herself getting a little teary, “It was the best night of my life.”

“Then why are you an enemy to yourself?” He seemed genuinely curious.

“As I said,” YN shrugged, “It will be the only time I’ll ever feel it.”

It was quiet between the two of them again. YN was looking directly in front of her again, but she could feel Harry’s eyes on her. When she did turn to look at him, he was staring directly at her. She leaned her head on her shoulder, and before she knew it, he was leaning forward and moving towards her. He was so close in fact that she could feel his breath on her cheek, and her heart was beginning to beat out of her chest.

“Do you know what I think?” He spoke, this time in hushed tones.

“What?” Her voice sounded croaky, probably from the nerves. She swallowed once to get rid of it, “What do you think?”

“I think you are your own worst enemy,” He spoke, not moving away from her but not looking at her. His eyes were focused on her lips, “Because if you pushed everything aside, fucked both of your parents off, you could be exactly where I am.”

YN let out an airy laugh. Without even thinking, and pushing away everything that told her no, she pulled away from him and leaned her head back on the wall. She could feel him still staring at her, but she pushed that out of her head also.

“I understand why you said that,” She says, her fingertips messing with the edge of her blouse, “But as I said, it isn’t that easy.”

“I think it is,” He says, inhaling some more of his joint, “I just think that you’re too much of a coward to realise that.”

That it was. Those words were all it took for YN to push herself up from the ground and turn to look at Harry.

“Well, you know what,” YN spat the words directed at him, “Fuck you, Harry.”

“Fuck me, yeah?” He laughed, “I’m sure you want to sweetheart, but I don’t fuck people that get in their own ways.”

“You’re an asshole,” She spat back at him, “And it’s unfortunate because I was actually beginning to like you.”

YN turned on her heel and stormed back inside the room. She ignored Vivienne and Pauli, even though the two of them were not even looking in her direction and stormed out of that room and into the corridor again. As she made her way down the corridor, a wave of anger rose throughout her. As she passed the women’s toilet, the men’s toilet door threw open and out stumbled a man that she didn’t recognise. She stopped in her tracks to let him out, but when he turned and looked at her, she realised that he recognised who she was.

“Hey,” His words weren’t slurred, but his body language showed that he was intoxicated somehow, “I know you. You’re that girl that sang with Styles, earlier.”

“I am,” She nodded, watching as he leant against the wall beside the toilet door. As if that was going to make her more interested. It wasn’t. But she was angry, and clearly wasn’t thinking right so she accepted his advances.

Losing her virginity pressed up against the door of a bathroom stall in a club certainly wasn’t what YN envisioned, and looking back she certainly shouldn’t have done that. But at the time, in her intoxicated and angry state, all she could think about was doing something for herself for once, and showing people that she wasn’t a coward and that she could do whatever she wanted and whatever she pleased. It was a way of showing herself that she could take control of her body, her mind and all of her thoughts. 

It was quick and sloppy, and she felt more pain than any pleasure, but she had done it. Today had been the day of firsts, but losing her virginity and singing for the first time on stage was the best, without fail. Even if both of them ended up being in a shitty way.

Once the man had finished, he turned to look at her, thanked her and walked out of the stall – leaving her half-naked and with not an ounce of her dignity left. YN cleared herself up and pulled her jeans back onto her body.

It was at this point she realised that she had enough. It was time for her to find Vivienne and for the two of them to leave.

As she pushed herself out of the bathroom, it didn’t take long for her to spot Vivienne walking towards her.

“Babes, I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Vivienne immediately wrapped her arms around the girl, “What were you doing in the men’s bathroom?”

“Was it?” YN pretended to faux shock at that news. She turned to Vivienne and laughed, “I didn’t even notice.”

Vivienne let out a large laugh and linked her arm with Vivienne’s, “Come on babe, let's get you home.”

YN was happy to hear that.

It was around 4 a.m. when YN arrived home. She had said goodbye to Vivienne about an hour ago and contemplated going home whilst the sun rose before deciding that it was probably the right time.

She had taken her shoes off about half an hour ago, so she was swinging them around by the side of her as she walked. She slipped through the back gate, the same way that she had left last night. The only perk of living in the house that YN did was the fact that there were many places to hide. The back door was seemingly safe, so she opened it quietly and slipped through the door.

When she heard a quiet house, she felt as though she could have gotten away with it and be awake for her parents to get back later. The first item of business was to slip the fridge open and grab a bottle of water, hoping that would quench the thirst that she was feeling right now.

With her shoes in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, she made her way towards the stairs. She was tired and ready for bed, and she could feel all of her bones wanting to collapse the second that she started to climb them. She was exhausted, dehydrated, and ready to sleep for a century. 

The stairs creaked under her feet, just as they normally did, and she didn’t think anything of it until she could hear movement coming from the living room and she was immediately frozen to the spot.

“YN!” It was her mother’s voice that she could hear, “Is that you?”

They weren’t supposed to be home until the evening. That’s why YN chose last night to be the night that she went out, because whilst she could be caught by the guards, she would have time before she felt the wrath of her parents. There were two things that YN could have done. She could run up to her room and pretend that she had been there all night, or she could escape through the door. Both of those plans were ruined when the front room door swung open, and both her mother and father stood there.

YN was terrified, and still frozen in place. Her mother had tear-stained cheeks, as though she had been crying for a while now. Her father, however, showed a very different emotion on his face. YN could tell that he was annoyed, maybe even angry. His face was red, and the way that he was staring at her felt like she was a little kid again who had just smashed his favourite Scotch glass whilst playing with dolls in his study.

“I think it’s best if you come down here, YN.”

YN was no longer frozen to her spot, and instead was trailing into the front room behind her parents. She had no idea what she was going to be in for, and that was the scariest thing. Her father had never hit her or been violent, but he truly did have a mean streak. He knew how to make her feel so tiny, and so shit about herself with just his words. It was truly remarkable how that man could make people feel, and yet he was preaching his bullshit throughout the entire state.

Her mother and father sat down on one sofa, and YN took the one across from them. She dropped her shoes and water on the floor and curled her legs up beneath her, not trusting that they wouldn’t shake in fear if they were spread in front of her.

“Where have you been?” Her mother was the one to start, “We’ve been worried sick about you. Imagine our surprise when we get a call from Keith in the middle of the night saying that you were nowhere to be found!”

“Did you ask Keith what he had been doing?” YN shouldn’t have bit, but she did anyway. She could feel the anger radiating off her father with every second that she sat in front of him.

“We’re not talking about Keith, YN,” Her father spat at her, shaking his head, “We’re talking about you. Tell us where you were.”

YN shrugged, “I was out.”

“Where?”

“Does it matter?” This was the first time that YN had not only spoken back to her parents but also withheld the truth from them on such a scale as this.

“It does matter, YN,” Her father leant forward, spitting venom with every word, “Because I want to know what bullshit you got up to last night that left you stumbling home at four in the morning, stinking of alcohol and with red bloodshot eyes.”

“I’m guessing you already know, father.”

“I do,” He shook his head, grimacing as he did so, “But I want you to say it. I want you to say how you went out, got fucked up and did unholy things with strangers whom you don’t know!”

“Fine,” YN stood up. Eighteen years of anger and torment were finally brewing at the surface, “I went out last night, made friends with a stranger, sang onstage in front of a crowd that actually wanted to hear me, drank, did drugs. Oh, and one other thing, I fucked a guy in the bathroom of a club. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Her father looked as though he was ready to explode, and her mother just started sobbing. She felt bad for her mum, she truly did. Her mother wasn’t the problem at all, she had just been caught by her father and trapped. He was the problem. He was the person that she was trying to escape from. But escaping from him meant escaping from her.

“Sit down, YN,” Her father stood up, obviously wanting to intimidate her but it didn’t work. She couldn’t be intimidated by him at all, she was too full of rage to see anything but red, “You truly have disgraced our family, and you need to know that!”

“I’ve disgraced this family?” She laughed, she honestly couldn’t believe that, “It took me a while, but I did work out why I’ve had so many babysitters, yeah? Turns out you were sleeping with all of them, is that right, Dad? Wouldn’t want people learning about that one? You’d truly lose your seat then.”

For the first time in her entire life, her father’s hand left a loud smack on her cheek. She immediately lifted her hand to cover her face and realised this was it. This was the point that the water boiled, and she was ready to spill out.

“You’ve truly fucked up now, haven’t you Dad?” YN picked up her shoes and her bottle of water and turned to her mother, “I’m sorry but I can’t live here, not anymore. Not with him.”

With that, YN turned and ran out of the house. She ran straight out of the front door, still in just her socks, and straight through the front gate. YN didn’t know where she was running, or what she would do once she got there but she had left.

With only the clothes on her back, and her shoes in her hand she had left her parents and the hellish life that she had grown up in.

YN couldn’t believe it, but she was finally free.

#rm #harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x reader #harry styles x yn #harry styles x you #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles writing #harry styles series #series

[absurdthirst]

The Election {Max Lord x F!Reader}

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 10k

Warnings: People being assholes, comments about physical appearance, politicians, public sex, protected sex, public scandal

Comments: Meeting Senator Max Lord in the diner where you work one night leads to a very unusual arrangement. Sex behind the building. Changing both of your lives in a very real way. 

A/N: Thot based off this filthy gif but is no way representative of the reader. 

Co-written with @storiesofthefandomlovers​

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

You sigh, wiping down the table after the teenagers had effectively thrown every single fry on the floor and squirted ketchup all over the table. You had told them to stop but they just laughed at you before they left. They didn’t leave a tip. You toss the dirty rag into the bowl in the kitchen, leaning against the counter just beside the window that looks out into the diner. “You’ll never guess who just sat down in your section.” Sally says, appearing through the swinging door, and you frown, turning your head to look into your section. 

“Who’s that?” You frown. 

“Senator Maxwell Lord. He’s running for re-election.” Sally declares and you scoff, adjusting your apron. 

“I don’t follow politics.” 

Sally sighs, “you should. He really is dreamy. Single dad too. It’s hot. A powerful man.” 

You snort, “sounds like you should go serve him.” 

Sally shakes her head, “no. Hopefully he tips well. You need it more than me. Go.” She orders and you push on the door to make your way over to your section, approaching the Senator sitting at the table.

Max sighs and looks down at the menu, the selection here a lot better than the greasy spoons he has been visiting while he’s been on the campaign trail. Bypassing the burgers because he didn’t want to have anyone, mainly the man sitting opposite him, commenting about the cholesterol or how unhealthy he was eating. The California grilled chicken sandwich looks good but he damn sure is going to get the fries. “Now we have a campaign stop tomorrow morning and we need to make sure that you make an appearance at the children’s hospital. Kiss a few sick kids, make a donation that is in full view of the cameras.” 

Max rolls his eyes at his campaign manager, shaking his head at how callous he sounds, visiting sick kids for political visibility. “No.” He tells him. “I will donate privately and you can photograph me going into the hospital but if the parents don’t want their kids photos taken, that’s it.” He warns the overeager man. “No persuading them. Those kids are sick and shouldn’t be exploited for votes.” 

You walk over, brushing down your apron, and you pull your notepad out, grabbing the pen from behind your ear. “Good afternoon.” You tell the two men your name before asking what they want to drink. “Diet Coke.” Both men say and you nod, “no problem. I’ll be right back with those and then I’ll take your order.” The dark eyes of the senator focus on you and you find it a little hard to breathe with how handsome he is. Clearly well groomed with his expensive suit and watch that costs more than your car to appear in charge and ready to lead. A true politician.

Watching you walk away, Max ignores the assessing hum of the other man as he admires the curve of your ass. It’s been a long time since he’s really noticed a woman. First he was going through his divorce and then it was lack of availability. Anyone around him was off limits, he wasn’t going to be that kind of politician. No matter what, he didn’t want a sex scandal undermining the kind of change he was trying to bring about.

You bring the drinks back, setting them down and ignoring the appraising look from the man in the blue suit. The kind brown eyes are deceptive considering his career in politics. “What can I get you to eat?” You ask. 

“Are you on the menu?” The blue suit man winks and you offer him a tight smile. 

“No. I am not. Only food available in a diner. I can tell you the specials though.”

He’s already decided what he wants but he smiles at you, the charming one that he uses on the campaign trail set aside for one that is grateful and almost hesitant. “Please.” He just wants to hear you talk, enjoying the way your voice sounds. “Your specials. What you would eat here.”

You are a little taken back, “oh, okay. Um, the specials are a double cheeseburger with bacon and a fried egg served with fries. We also have a meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a red wine jus. I could go with the burger.” You tell the senator with a wink.

He gives you a slow smile, enjoying the butterflies that erupt in his stomach at your playful wink. “Then I’ll have the burger, no mayo please.” He asks, “but I wouldn’t mind extra ketchup.” He winks back at you just as playfully. 

You offer him a soft smile, sensing how charismatic he is, and you write down his order just as his companion says, “I’ll have the grilled chicken salad. Maxwell. You shouldn’t have the burger. You need to watch your weight. Maybe the waitress should too.” His blue eyes look at you, and your jaw drops. 

“Excuse me?” You balk. 

“Just sayin’ you might want to cut out the burgers and maybe get a boob job. Might get you out of this shithole diner.” He shrugs. 

You scoff, “I’ll put your order in and maybe I can find the number of a dick extension doctor. You seem like you need one.” You snort, spinning on your heel to head into the kitchen, absolutely fuming at the audacity of the man.

“Jackson.” Max shakes his head at his campaign manager and frowns. “What the hell are you doing?” He huffs. “That was completely uncalled for, you- you know what?” He leans back and stares at the man. “Go back to the bus and make sure my speech is ready for tomorrow. I’ll get your food to go and bring it back to you.” Jackson huffs and argues with him for a few minutes but Max is adamant and the other man shuffles out of the restaurant. 

You come back with the plates, still annoyed at the prick in the suit. “Where’s your friend? In the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror?” You ask, setting the senator’s burger down in front of him before you slam the chicken salad down on the table.

“He’s - he’s not my friend.” Max shuffles slightly and bites his lip. “I want to apologize for him, he’s my campaign manager and was completely out of line.” He apologizes. “What he said was wrong, you don’t need to lose weight, or a boob job.” He flushes when he realizes what he said and flusters. “I- I mean…You are perfect - perfectly fine just the way you are.” 

You fluster at his words, his dark eyes are kind and you know you’re going to look him up when your shift ends. “Uh, thank you. Ketchup is over there.” You point at the bottle, “and I can pack up the salad for your…campaign manager. I just - I hope you don’t have the same morals as him. Especially if you’re gonna be representing this state.” You tilt your head.

“Well, I’ve already been representing the state, but I hope to continue to do so.” He admits. “But no, I don’t have the same morals as he does. I want to be honest and transparent with what I can do for my constituents and what I hope to accomplish for our state.”

You bite your lip, “I- I don’t really follow politics. I didn’t - I didn’t know who you were until my coworker told me.” Your confession has you glancing around the diner. “I’m just saying you might want a new campaign manager. One who isn’t an asshole.”

Max chuckles and leans back in the booth, throwing his arm along the back as he appraises you, enjoying how you speak your mind. “You know any good ones?” He asks, actually delighted you didn’t know who he was or have ten thousand questions that he needed to carefully answer so he wasn’t misquoted. “I wish we could just skip all the b.s. and just run off our principles.” 

You chuckle, “unfortunately my Rolodex of campaign managers is empty. Surely the world would be a better place if politicians just told the truth? Although I doubt the population wants to hear it. I just don’t get involved in politics, I have too much of my own b.s going on to care.” You tell him honestly, “I’ll let you eat your meal.” You realize he hasn’t touched his burger.

“Again, I’m sorry he was an ass.” He tells you as he reaches for the bottle of ketchup. “The burger looks delicious and I’m sure you are busy enough without taking up more of your time.” He knows you have other tables, he actually enjoys that he isn’t special. Right now he is just a patron eating a burger. 

You nod, walking away from him and you can feel his eyes on you. “Sooo how is the senator? Think he’s gonna leave a big tip?” Sally asks, and you chuckle. 

“No. I- he’s…sweet. Not what I expected. His campaign manager is a dick but he’s nice. He seems like he actually wants to do some good.” You say as you lean against the counter and Sally raises her eyebrows. 

“A politician who seems nice? Alert the media.” She jokes.

It’s rare that he isn’t wolfing down his food or having a working dinner. So it’s honestly a treat to be able to take his time and eat. He can’t help but watch you though. His eyes find you around the diner as he watches you go about your tasks, refilling drinks and serving customers. You are graceful and quite frankly beautiful. It’s been a long time since he’s met a woman so pretty and he’s honestly finding it hard to look away from you. 

You eventually come back around to grab Max’s plate, taking it before you look down at him. “Looks like you enjoyed it.” You tease, glancing at the empty plate. He blushes a little and you think it’s cute. He’s cute. Sally said his wife had divorced him, too focused on her own career to go on the road with him.

“I did.” He nods and looks around. “I will have to bring Alistair here. My son.” He clarifies with a small smile as he thinks about the boy. “He loves a good cheeseburger and I spotted milkshakes on the menu.” He chuckles. “He would want a double chocolate.” 

You smile, “you’ll have to bring him by. Cheeseburger and chocolate shake.” You tap your head, “I’ll try and remember in case you come back. Here’s your check.” You tell him, setting it down. “There’s no rush. Your…campaign managers salad has been wrapped up. I’ll give it to you when you leave.”

The bill is reasonable, and he wants to make sure that he leaves a good tip, especially because you had to deal with Jackson’s bullshit. Max digs out his wallet and slides the bills under the check and stands. Catching your attention with a smile. “I’ll take that box for him, even if he deserves to starve.” He jokes and gives you a tiny wink.

You nod, grabbing the takeout box with the salad from the counter. “Hope he doesn’t choke on the lettuce.” You snort flippantly. 

Max offers you a wry smile, “knowing him he won’t eat it and will have a cigarette instead.” 

You roll your eyes, “of course. Well…good luck Senator Lord.” You offer him a smile and he nods, “thank you.” You watch him leave, biting your lip as you realize how broad he is, and you wonder if he will be back. Shaking your head, you make your way over to the table, grabbing the check and when you cash it out, your eyes widen when you see the fifty dollar tip. “Holy shit.” You curse, eying the money before you put it in your apron, torn on whether to accept it or not. You know he’s gone so you won’t be able to return it. Maybe you can donate it. You need the money but this is a lot. Deciding to figure it out later, you get back to work.

Max thinks about that burger all day, deciding that he’s going to order them back to the diner from yesterday, he walks over to the driver. “I want to go back to the restaurant from last night.” He tells him. “Just me and one of the security guards.”

You look up as the bell rings above the door, your eyes widening slightly when you see Senator Lord walk in with a buff looking man wearing a suit - his security you’re assuming. “Hey. Table for two?” You ask, grabbing a couple of menus.

Shaking his head, Max gives you a smile. “No, Gunther doesn’t like sitting with me.” He tells you. “He’ll sit at the bar and order nothing, just to make himself seem more intimidating.” He jokes, knowing the man will at least order a coffee. But he doesn’t eat while he is out with Max so he can be alert. “I had to come back for another burger.”

You chuckle, setting one menu down before you guide Max to a booth in your section. “Diet Coke?” You ask, and he nods, smiling at you. You love how he blushes a little when you take his menu, his fingers brushing yours. “So you left me way too much money last time.” You say as you set his drink down after submitting his order to the kitchen. You take the money out of your apron and set it down on the table.

Max frowns and looks down at the money before he shakes his head and pushes it back towards you. “I know how much I left. You deserve it.” He murmurs, nodding towards it. “You were a lot more graceful than you should have been to my campaign manager and I know you work hard - like everyone in the service industry.”

Your jaw drops slightly, taken back by his genuine response. You know that most politicians would pull the same act to try and win over another voter but the gesture seems genuine. You pick up the money and tuck it into your apron, tilting your head at him. “You don’t seem like most politicians. You seem…real. Is that genuine or are you just that good an actor?” You ask, deciding to call him out on it.

Laughing at your brazen question, he shakes his head. “Not an actor.” He promises, giving a small shrug. “I grew up poor, very poor. I just know how the little people struggle while everyone else overlooks them.” He explains. “My mother cleaned houses and would cry if her clients would even leave an extra five dollars to tip her. It meant she could eat lunch that week too.”

You are taken back by his answer, figuring he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. You smile at him, “not what I expected but I’m glad to hear you are not one of those upper class assholes looking to make money while pretending to work for his constituency.” He chuckles and you smile again, “I’ll go get your burger when it’s ready.”

Max looks around then diner again, watching a family have their meal while they interact with their two kids. That’s what he wants to work for, a family. The average people who just want to live a good life and raise their kids in a safe world. His own son counted amongst them.

You come back over with his burger, grateful your shift is nearly over with how bad your feet are aching, and you set it down along with the bottle of ketchup, remembering what he said about wanting extra. You look at him for a moment before you fluster, a little lost in his dark gaze, before you walk off to get him another refill on his soda.

When you bring the soda back Max motions to the seat across from him. “Sit down?” He asks, slightly shy but wanting to have you sit with him for a bit. “The diner isn’t very busy and I’m enjoying our banter.” If you say no, he will respect that, but he hopes you don’t. 

You glance around the diner, seeing it’s quiet and your shift is nearly over, so you nod and take a seat. “So…must be lonely on your campaign bus, going from city to city.” You observe, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

Max nods. “Living in hotels or on the bus for weeks at a time isn’t as glamorous as you would think.” He admits. “I miss the simplicity of just sleeping in the same bed every night.” He chuckles. “It actually makes me miss D.C. when we are in session.” He jokes.

You chuckle, “wow. Must be bad. Guess it’s worse when you don’t have someone traveling with you to share your bed at night.” You are a little forward but you think he’s cute and honestly? It’s been a while for you. Not since your asshole of an ex cheated on you.

“Don’t I know it.” Max groans before he stops himself. He clears his throat and blushes slightly and looks away. “I just- there aren’t a lot of opportunities to meet someone new and I refuse to be another senator to has a fucking sex scandal to take away from the real issues.” He explains, hoping you don’t mind the language that slips out.

You hum in agreement, taking note of his broad shoulders. “What if - what if you were guaranteed that no one would know?” You ask cautiously, waiting for his reaction while you lean forward, offering him a glimpse down your button down dress the owner wants you to wear.

Max’s eyes drift down to your cleavage and then back up to your face. “I’m a red blooded man.” His voice is raspy, thicker than it had been before. “I’m not opposed to sex, but I wasn’t going to take advantage of the women that work on my campaign or my staff.” He clarifies. “I meet a beautiful woman and sex happens…well, hopefully she enjoys herself.”

“And if I say that my shift ends in ten minutes which seems to be enough time for you to eat and perhaps, you could come find me outside after you’ve paid your check?” You ask casually, tilting your head at him. He’s hot, the raspy tone in his voice has your thighs pressed together, and you can’t deny the thrill of fucking him without anyone knowing except the two of you is exhilarating.

Max blows out a breath, cock twitching and he watches your eyes to make sure your offer is genuine. “I would say that I will see you outside in 9 and a half minutes.” He promises, looking down at his food with a grin. “Maybe even nine minutes.”

You grin, “see you in nine minutes Senator.” You wink and stand up, swaying your hips as you walk away from his table without looking back. The next nine minutes drags by and you watch the seconds tick down as he scoffs his burger, eagerly slapping down some cash when he pays. You giggle, walking over to him to grab the bill. “Meet me outside in the alley.” You whisper, leaning closer as you pick up the cash. “Change?” You ask breathlessly. He shakes his head, barely able to breathe, and you smirk as you carry the check over to close it out before you clock out.

Max walks over to his guard and murmurs in his ear. All of the team that surrounds him have NDAs so he doesn’t have to worry about the man talking. The worst he could say was the the senator had sex with a woman in an alley. All consensual, but in public. Still, he needs to be aware of where Max is going. He nods, telling Max that he will be in the car. Swallowing, Max exits the diner and walks around the back, already starting to harden at the mere prospect of touching you.

You shove your apron in your locker and grab your purse, shouting a goodbye to your coworkers before you make your way outside to the alley where Maxwell is waiting. It’s dark outside now, the moon in the sky and it gives an intimate atmosphere to your rendezvous despite being by the dumpsters.

Max looks up from where he was staring at the condom in his hands, watching you walk up to him. “Lucky I had one of these.” He jokes, holding it up and biting his lip as you walk closer. “Fuck, you look pretty.” He groans. “Thought so from the very beginning.”

You stride towards him, loving how sweet he is and the fact that he has a condom in his wallet is endearing. He probably had to check it wasn't expired.  You grip the back of his neck, dragging him towards you. "You're too fucking cute. Want you to fuck me, use me for your frustrations." You order before pressing your lips to his.

Max groans, quickly kissing you back and reaching up to cup the back of your neck to press into you. It’s been years since he’s had sex, as shameful as that is. His ex was the last woman he was with, concentrating on his career and Alistair when he has him. However, his body definitely remembers what to do, quickly pressing you against the wall of the diner and kissing down your throat, his hands sliding under your dress.

You gasp when he nips on the skin between your neck and your shoulder. “Fuck, Max.” You moan, snaking your hand between you to cup his hard cock through his expensive slacks. You whimper when his hands squeeze your ass, pulling you against him. “Want- want your fingers.” You confess, grinding against him.

His fingers dip under the band of your panties, practical cotton, but to him they are sexy. Parting your curls, his thick digits slide through your folds and he moans when he finds your clit and starts rubbing as he kisses down your chest and his teeth graze the top of your cleavage. “God.” He breathes out. “So fucking pretty.” 

Moaning, you grind down onto his fingers, and you unbuckle his fancy belt, flicking the button his pants before you can reach in to grip his cock. “Fuck. You’re so thick.” You moan, pulling him out of his pants. His fingers work your clit and you are breathless at how good it feels already.

Groaning at your hand on his cock, he throbs for you. “Shit.” He hisses. Quickly twisting his wrist so he can sink two fingers into your thankfully wet cunt, he licks the top of your bra, wetting the white material and your skin underneath it.

“Oh God. Max, that- that feels good. Gonna make me cum.” You whine, grinding down onto his fingers and your grip on his cock slackens. It’s been so long since you had something other than your own fingers. “Fuck. Oh shit.” You hiss, trying to keep quiet as you clamp down on his thick digits.

He smothers his own whine against your skin, keeping his fingers pumping and moving in your gasping cunt. “That’s it. That’s it.” He croons quietly. Marveling at how tight you were squeezing them and soaking them with your pleasures. Your top finally opens and he bites down on your nipple over the material of your bra and sucks harshly with a groan as he works you through it.

You squeeze his cock, ready for you and you are now ready for him. “Come on baby. Want you inside of me.” You beg, gently pushing him back before you reach into his jacket pocket for the condom. Ripping it open before you roll it down his length.

Max groans and pushes you back against the wall. He reaches down and grips your leg and lifts it up over his hip. “You want me inside you, baby?” He asks, grasping his cock and starting to guide himself towards your cunt as you move your panties to the side.

You keep your panties to the side, gasping when he pushes into you. “Oh. Oh. Oh fuck.” You hiss, tilting your head back as he fills you up, stretching your walls. “Max. Max, baby. Fuck me.” You plead, gripping his neck.

Shuddering at the feel of your nails digging into the back of his neck. Making him hiss and drag his hips back to snap them forward again, burying his cock back in your heat. “Fuck.” Growling, he leans and presses his lips to yours while starting to thrust in and out of your cunt.

You cling to him, pressed against the wall as he thrusts into you with a hiss. “So good Max. Feel so damn good. I- I want - I want more.” You murmur against his lips. Rocking up onto your tip toes so he can thrust deeper into you with a moan. “God yes. Yes. Right there.” You groan when he hits deep to find a delicious spot inside of you.

One hand holding your legs, the other braced on the wall, Max tries to keep hitting that spot with every jolt of his hips. Moaning and grunting at how you tighten around him. He’s not done anything like this in forever and it feels like fucking Heaven. “Jesus, fuck.” He pants, leaning his forehead against yours while you take his cock again and again.

You reach up to cup his cheeks, bringing his mouth back to yours as you get closer and closer to your orgasm. “Fuck. Fuck. I’m gonna- Max. Maxxxx.” You squeal against his mouth, clamping down on his cock as you cum.

Max pants out your name, nearly whining it as he continues to rock into you, working you through your high. The loud sounds of your fucking practically echoes around the small area you are tucked into. “Shit.” His hips stutter and he can’t only give another four or five thrusts before he is burying himself deep and filling the condom with his seed with a moan of your name.

You caress his neck, loving the way his jaw clenches as he rocks his way through his high before he stills inside of you. "God, that was good." You sigh, kissing his nose, unable to help yourself when you've imagined it far too many times.

“Yes it was.” Max’s breathing starts to slow down as he enjoys the last moments of closeness before he carefully grips the base of the condom and pulls out of you. Putting your leg down and taking it off to tie a knot in it before throwing it in the dumpster. “Going to sleep like a baby tonight.”

You chuckle, "I bet you are. I'm happy to serve the state." You wink at him and reach out to pull him close one last time, pressing your lips to his. "So...uh, I guess you gotta get back?" You murmur, shifting from one foot to the other. It's a little awkward now the lust has been satiated.

Max nods, hating it, but he does have to strategize and call Alistair in the morning before school. “Do you need a ride home?” He asks, wanting to spend a few more minutes with you if he could.

You shake your head, "no. I can get the bus. I'll be fine." You tell him, picking your purse up from the floor and you turn to look at him. 

"You aren't taking the bus." He insists and you shake your head. 

"I- I don't have a car. I can't afford a car." You tell him, biting your lip.

“Then let me take you home.” Max implores. “Please.” He wants to make sure you get home safely and he knows that the public transportation can take forever to get you where you need to go. “Get you home quickly and into a bath with a glass of wine before you would normally be home.” He adds, trying to sweeten the offer.

You stare at him for a moment, unsure if you should accept the ride home and make more of this than it really is: a hook up. You smile and nod, “that sounds wonderful. Yes, I’d like a ride home.” You lean closer to kiss his cheek.

“Good.” Max smiles and puts his hand on your back as the two of you walk down the alley. If Gunther is surprised to see you with Max, he doesn’t show it. Opening the door, Max motions for you to climb into the back seat of the SUV before he climbs in beside you. “I’m glad you let us take you home, it’s getting late.”

You glance out the window before you look back at Maxwell. “I’m used to taking the bus. I- my car broke down and I couldn’t afford to fix it so I had to change to taking the bus. If I end up doing a night shift, I usually just walk home because the bus isn’t running.” You confess, knowing it’s not safe but you don’t have any other options. You tell the driver where to go.

“Jesus.” Max shakes his head, knowing that if he hadn’t insisted on taking you home that you would be walking home. “I- my schedule is tight but I can send the man who works on my cars over to look at it?” He offers, wanting to help however he could. “Otherwise, I would look at it myself.” You give him a startled look and he chuckles. “I worked my way through college working in a mechanics shop.”

You tilt your head, “you did? Wow. You are way more than you appear, Maxwell Lord.” You reach over to take his hand in yours. “Thank you. I- I would really appreciate you doing that. I- I need my car back. Pepper spray only goes so far.” You chuckle awkwardly and squeeze his hand.

Max squeezes your hand back, proud of being able to help you. It’s a good feeling almost as good as the first time he had signed a bill that became law. “We’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about that from now on.” He promises. “He’s a miracle worker with cars.”

You kiss the back of his hand after lifting it to your mouth. “You’re a good man. You’ve got my vote.” You joke, offering him a wink before you give the driver another direction to turn onto your street. Thankfully you didn’t live too far away from the diner.

Max honestly wishes you lived farther away so he could spend more time with you. Instead he feels the car pull to a stop, turning to see the older apartment building. He could tell that it wasn’t newer but hopefully the owners kept up with maintenance. “Well, I take it you are home. I hope you have a good night.” He offers softly.

“You too. I’ll see you around Senator Lord.” You offer him one last wink before his driver opens the door to let you out and you make your way into your builder. 

Gunther meets Max’s eyes in the rear view mirror after the car is rolling down the street. “You know Jackson is gonna kill you for this.” Gunther warns his boss.

Max gives a small shrug, a smile playing on his lips. “Let him try.” He murmurs. “She is exactly what I needed tonight and Jackson needs to remember he works for me, not the other way around.” He looks back towards your building behind him and huffs. “Might be my new favorite place to eat.”

“The diner or the lady?” Gunter jokes, making Max blush and look out the window. He knows he will be back, it’s just a question of when. 

****

It’s been three weeks since you saw Max and you can’t help but think he got what he wanted and now he’s never coming back. You ignore the questions from your coworkers, all of them guessing he kissed you, none of them daring to assume he fucked you in the alleyway.

You don’t divulge the dirty details, wanting to keep your secret romp with Max just that to preserve his integrity and yours. However, with each day that passes, you can’t help but want to talk to someone about it to get some advice. You don’t have the man’s phone number and even if you did, he’s on the road so much you’d probably go straight to the answer machine.

Max sighs, tired after three weeks on the road. He has been to several diners that reminded him of yours, but his spirits lift when he sees the sign for the little greasy spoon he has come to dream about. More specifically the alleyway behind it and the sexy yet sweet waitress. 

Smiling when the bell rings out when he opens the door, the woman closest to him turns to greet him. “Can I sit in her section?” He asks, nodding to where you are bringing out plates to a table of what looked like truckers. “Please.”

You turn your head to see Max walking towards you and you can't stop the silly smile that appears on your face. You might've been scouring the tv guide and local news for any interviews with him and you had thought about him every time your hand was between your thighs. "Here you go fellas." You tell the truckers, setting their meals down before you walk over to the table Max sat down at. "Hey stranger." You smile, "Diet Coke and a burger?" You guess.

Max’s grin is answering your own, but there is a devilish twinkle in his eyes. He nods, leaning in. “It will have to do for now, since what I want isn’t exactly on the menu.” He murmurs where no one else can hear him. He has been thinking about you probably every day, definitely every time he had his hand wrapped around his cock. “So I guess I will have to stick with the food.” He winks at you playfully. “How have you been?”

Your stomach twists in anticipation about what he really wants and you bite your lip. "Not too bad. Busy with work as always. Been thinking about this senator...he does this amazing thing with his hips." You whisper with a smirk, writing down his order. "I'll be right back with your soda." You wink, walking away and swaying your hips until you feel his gaze burning into you.

Gunther is at the bar again, sitting there as Max admires your figure. He had immediately told the guard that he wanted to come to the diner over the objections of his campaign manager, but he had just ignored that. He was free from any meet and greets, town hall meetings or campaign trail stops for the next week and he had wanted to see you before he did anything else. Hoping that you weren’t too upset that he hasn’t been in. He had forgotten to give you a number to reach him at. When you bring the Diet Coke back he notices that you don’t seem as tired. “So I heard that my guy was able to get your car back on the road for you.”

You hover near his table, nodding and offering him a smile. "Yes. Yes. He was great. It's so nice to have my car back. I wanted to reach out to you to thank you but I didn't have a number for you." You confess, shifting from one foot to the other and you look into those dark eyes that have haunted you. "Thank you. Really, you - you have no idea how much easier my life is now I don't have to take the bus or walk."

“I should have given you my number.” He’s happy you don’t have to worry about getting home from work now. He had not been thrilled about you walking home alone at night, and it was something he had told his guy when he sent him over there. Get your car on the road no matter what it costs. You didn’t have to worry about the bill, he would have paid it, but luckily it was just a spark plug. Although he had gone through the car to check more than that and did a tune up on it for you. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a card. “Personal number’s on the back.”

You carefully take the card from him, admiring the gold, and you bite your lip. “I’ve never had the personal number of a senator before.” You tease, tucking the card into your apron. The truckers call you over, asking for more coffee, and you glance back at Max before you go to grab the pot. After satisfying the truckers, you grab Max’s burger and set it down in front of him. “How’s your son?” You ask, wanting to extend your time together.

He grins, thinking about his son. Despite the divorce and his ambitions, he wanted to be a good father to Alistair. He chuckles. “I’m going to go pick him up tonight. Have him spend the night and take him to school tomorrow.” The campaign trail was hard because he spent a lot of time away from him, not wanting to drag him away from his routine, despite what Jackson wanted. His son wasn’t going to be a pawn to get votes. “Pizza and the newest movie he wants to watch is on the menu.”

You grin, “membership card to Blockbuster, huh?” You snort, imagining Max in his pristine suit picking out a movie with his son. “I like that you put your son first. Not many fathers would do what you do and still try to be present for their child. I, uh, I like you. A lot.” You confess, biting your lip as you look towards the table of truckers who are leaving after paying their checks.

“I like you too.” Max answers easily. “A lot.” He sees the money on the table and jerks his chin over to it. “Go pocket your tip.” He urges you. “I’ll be here when you get done. Until you have a break even.” He tells you, voice slipping a bit lower and rougher. He wanted to see you mostly, but now that he’s seen you, he wants to touch you again. 

You shiver at the roughness in his tone, nodding before you make your way over to the now empty table, pocketing your tip before you clean up the plates. Once you’ve finished wiping down the table it’s time for your break and you see Max has finished eating. “Come on baby. Meet me in the alleyway.” You whisper as you walk past, waiting for him to follow you.

Max gets up, making like he is going to go down the hallway and use the bathroom. Gunther sees him of course, smirking to himself and the senator as he walks by. But Max doesn’t pay him any attention, eager to meet you in the alleyway despite it being broad daylight.

You giggle when Max slams the door open and grabs you, pressing you up against the wall, his lips immediately finding yours. You moan into his mouth, gripping the lapels of his expensive jacket, his tongue sliding into your mouth when you gasp. The door to the alleyway swings open and you push Max away when his security guard appears. Maxwell turns his head to look as Gunther lights a cigarette. “Just want to make sure no one watches. Carry on. I am gonna have a smoke.” He says, turning his back.

He waits for you to protest, to tell you that there is no way that you can have sex with him while his security is here. When he doesn’t hear a sound of protest, Max chuckles and leans in to kiss you again. “Thought about you for three weeks.” He groans, biting down your throat again. He has a condom in his pocket again and he presses his hard cock against your hip. “Tell me I can fuck you? Tell me that you’ve been thinking about it.” He begs quietly.

You whine, “yes. Yes, please. You’re all I’ve thought about. I’m wet just thinking about how you felt inside of me.” You confess, reaching down to grab his hand. You slide it under your dress to your panties, showing him how wet you already are.

Max groans, pushing the fabric aside so he can slide his fingers through your slick folds. “Fuck.” He pushes a finger inside you. “You want me to fuck you right here again?” He asks. “Make sure you come back to work feeling good from cumming?”

“Yes. Yes. Want- want you to fuck me. You- you felt so good last time.” You pant, pushing his hand out of your panties so you can push them down, turning around after pulling your dress up. You look over your shoulder at him, “please Max. Fuck me.”

“Fuck.” Max hisses and pulls the condom out of his pocket to put between his teeth, tearing at his belt. His cock is already aching to be buried inside you. A quick glance at Gunther’s back ensures the man is watching for the two of you as he rips open the foil wrapper and quickly rolls the rubber down his length.

You gasp when the head of his cock nudges your clit before he notches the head at your entrance, pushing into you in one thrust. “Fuck. Oh fuck Max. Feels so good. Already. Feels so fucking good.” You moan, trying to grind back onto him as your forearms are scratched by the brick wall.

Gripping your hip, Max moans his agreement. “Fuck.” He hisses, pulling back to surge into you again. “Jerked off thinking about this, about you.” He confesses, grinding deep and loving the way that you clench around him. Your panting moans make him want to cum right now but he wants to make sure you cum before he does.

“Never felt like this before. Always - always faked it but with you - it’s real. You make me feel so good. Fuck my pussy so good.” You lean forward to rest your forehead against the cool brick, spreading your legs a little wider so he can fuck into you. “Yes baby. Yes. Harder. Need more.” You beg and reach back to grip onto his hand on your hip.

Pride rises in his chest, making him give you his cock exactly how you want it. Hard and deep thrusts into your cunt, pushing you into the wall make him start panting. “Y-you feel f-fucking incredible.” He gasps out. “So so tight, h-hot.”

Your cheek scratches against the brick but you don’t care, too obsessed with the way he is grinding into you, fucking you into next week. The sound of his hips hitting your ass echoes in the alleyway but Gunther just continues smoking his cigarette as he keeps watch.

“Fuck.” He hisses, one hand sliding under the bunched up fabric of your dress to reach around you to start rubbing your clit. The audaciousness of it, a senator fucking his waitress in broad daylight in an alley, but he fucking loves it. Loves the way that you are so eager for it, the way that you want him. “Cum for me.” He groans into your ear, nibbling on the shell.

You let out a strangled groan when his fingers rub your clit, making you cry out in pleasure when you clamp down on his cock. He actually makes you cum - something your other lovers couldn’t claim. “Yes yes yes. Max. Oh shit!” You shriek, legs shaking as you soak him.

He pants raggedly in your ear, the hold your body has on him makes his teeth grit. Moaning with you as he rocks into you. Now that he has made you cum, he can cum himself. “Good.” He rasps out. “S-so fucking good.”

When he cums, he bites down on your neck and you love it. Reaching behind you to tangle your fingers in his styled hair, messing it up delights you. "Cum for me Max. Cum." You plead, squeezing his cock.

Max whimpers, letting go of the thin control he has and with one more thrust he bites down on your neck, aware that your co-workers might see the imprint of his teeth and not caring. Grunting and grinding into you as he pushes his release into the condom until he finally stops moving and kisses the spot on your neck while he tries to catch his breath.

You sag against the wall, closing your eyes as the pleasure continues to wash over you. “So damn good. Every time.” You sigh, shifting so his cock slides out of you and you turn to wrap your arms around his neck, pressing your lips to his.  “How about a milkshake to go?” You ask, “for Alistair?”

“That would be perfect.” Max kisses you again. “Thank you.” He murmurs softly, smiling at you before he starts to tuck himself away.

You dispose of the condom and adjust your dress, stepping away from him before you turn towards the back door of the diner. Gunther is still standing with his back to you until Max tells him to turn around. You head back inside, unaware of his teeth marks in your neck until your coworker mentions it. “Just making out with the Senator.” You joke, working on making Alistair’s chocolate milkshake.

Max walks over to pick up the bill and walks over to hand you some money when you turn back and have the milkshake ready. He’s paying you far more than necessary but he wants you to make sure you have a good day today. “Thank you.”

You offer him a wink and a smile, “you’re welcome Senator Lord.” You take the money, eyes widening slightly at how much extra cash he’s given you. Sally eyes the money, glancing between you and Max before he nods and walks out with the milkshake. “Seems like you have an admirer.” Sally comments and you shrug, “he’s just being nice.”

****

It’s  been nearly two weeks, and Max is practically obsessed with seeing you. He has been to see you every day you work and the two of you always end up behind the diner, wrapped up in each other. The only time he hasn’t had sex with you was the night that he brought Alistair for dinner, promising the boy he would take him to where he got the delicious milkshake from. He had loved how you had interacted with him; making him even more sure that you were someone he wanted in his life. Walking through the door, he nods to the other waitress and moves over to your section to sit down. 

Sally calls out your name, “Senator Lord is here.” She tells you and you can’t help but look in the mirror in the hallway, checking your hair and you stride into the diner, smiling when you see Max sitting in his section. “Hey stranger.” You coo, sliding in to sit opposite him. “Burger?” You ask and he nods. “How’s Alistair?” You inquire, scribbling down his order.

“He’s good. He aced his math test.” Max crows, a proud papa of his son. “My son is bright, already learned the next section of the class, the teacher thinks he needs to be put in an advanced class.” He looks you over with a soft smile, imagining you helping him with homework. “How are you? Anything new going on with your neighbor?”

You shake your head, “no. No. He’s still got the television blaring at all hours of the day despite me telling him to turn it the fuck down. I’m sick of hearing the buzzing noise when the channel goes off air.” You roll your eyes as you reach out to brush your leg against his. “I, uh, I applied to go back to school. Finish up my classes…finally.” You fluster, biting your lip. You’ve saved the money Max gave you, deciding to put it towards something that will get you out of the diner.

“That’s great!” Max grins, proud of you for deciding to do something for you. From the time he has spent with you, learning about you, he’s come to find that it’s rare for you to do something that benefits just you. “Let me know if I can help in any way, you let me know.” He offers, meaning every word of it.

You want to reach for his hand but you can’t. You’ve never really discussed what you are or what it is that you’re doing. All you know is he comes to have a burger and then he fucks you. Probably an amazing deal for most men. You can’t help but want more. A proper date to dress up and eat with him instead of rushing off to get another person’s meal. “Thank you.” You tell him, meaning every word. It’s unusual for you to ever have support like this…not since your mom died. “So…I’ll go put your order in.” You tell him, not noticing the giggles coming from the women on the next table over from Max, the morning newspaper on the table.

Max frowns when the giggling and whispering continues, but he doesn’t pay much attention. Too busy watching you as you check on your customers. You are so sweet and kind to people, even when they are rude. He plans to try to come up with the nerve to ask you out. It’s laughable, he’s able to fuck you, but he can’t ask you out.

You grab the sodas for the table of women after putting in Max’s order, and that’s when you see it. A photo of you and Max in the alleyway. Clearly having sex, your mouth open as he pressed you against the wall with Gunter standing in the background. You squeak, grabbing the paper, and the women look up at you. “Who knew we had the Senator’s whore serving us?” One of them says and you stare at the photos.

Max hears the comment, immediately jumping out of his booth to confront them. He doesn’t understand why they would say that but he quickly understands when he sees the paper in your hands. Striding over to see the picture that has you frozen in horror, he closes his eyes and hisses a curse. “Shit.” He opens his eyes and glares at the women. “Calling a woman a whore isn’t very feminist of you.” He scolds, gently taking your shoulder. “Come on, we need to talk.”

You nod, heart pounding in your chest, and you are worried about what he is going to say, wondering if he is going to  blame you or throw you under the bus. "Max. I-" You choke when you are in the alleyway once more. The paper seems to be burning in your hands from where you still hold it. "I'm - I'm so sorry."

Max shakes his head, hating how mortified you seem. “I am sorry.” He murmurs, taking the paper from you and sighing as he cups your cheek. “This is my fault. I should have known this could happen.” He’s ashamed of how he had never even gotten a hotel room for the two of you or taken you out to dinner. “I’ll protect you from the media as best I can.” He promises.

You shake your head, "no Max. You can't. It will destroy your career. You need to blame this on me. Tell the media I offered myself up. Tell them I - I came onto you and you, being a man, couldn't resist. You'll be the hero. I- I will be branded a slut but they will forget about me. I'll be forgotten after the next scandal comes out. You need to win this re-election for you and for Alistair. Blame it on me." You plead, cupping his cheeks.

“No.” Max is adamant about that. There is no way that he is going to blame this on you. “I should have-“ he breaks off and shakes his head. “I should have done things right. Taken you out on a date or at least gotten a fucking hotel for this.” He gives you a sorrowful work. “I didn’t even have sex with you in bed.”

You chuckle, shaking your head, “no. No. It was - fuck. It was perfect. It was clumsy and messy and just - it was us. No expectations or drama. I liked it. I loved it because…fuck Max. I - I think I’m in love with you.” You finish with a whisper, stomach twisting with nerves.

Max stares at you for a moment, amazed that you aren’t screaming at him for getting splashed across the front page of the paper. Instead you are confessing your feelings for him. “I had planned to ask you out today.” He confesses. “Want to take you out. Have someone wait on you for a change. Would you still want to maybe do that with me?”

You bite your lip, “do you want - you want to be seen with me after that?” You ask, gesturing to the newspaper. “It’s not gonna be easy Max. Are you sure you don’t want to just…blame it on me and say it’s all me? It would be a hell of a lot easier for you.” You sigh, crossing your arms.

Max shakes his head. “I wouldn’t do that. I- Jackson might be pissed but I’m just going to admit that I should not have been in a public setting, but that it was an intimate interlude with the woman I love.” He tells you, stroking your cheek with his thumb.

You inhale sharply at his confession, a silly smile on your lips as you look at him. “Then let’s go to dinner.” You surge forward to press your lips to his, hearing the photographers approaching when they are shouting your way and suddenly you’re engulfed by cameras. “Max?” You choke, clinging to him.

“Shit.” Max wraps his arm around you and curls you towards him, holding up his hand towards the throng of reporters. 

“Senator Lord! You’ve been adamant that you run a clean house, what do you have to say about this scandal? Sex in public.” 

Max shakes his head. “No comment.” More questions are hurled towards the two of you as he shuffles the two of you towards Gunther, who is pushing his way through the cameras and bodies. “No comment at this time.”

You press yourself against Max as Gunther guides you to Max's car through the throng of vultures and you exhale shakily when you are inside the back of his town car. "I- shit." You choke, trying to ignore the way they are banging on the windows as the driver pulls away. "Shit. My purse is in my locker. I haven't finished my shift." You tell Max despite your hands shaking.

“I think your boss will understand.” Max murmurs, hugging you to him and rubbing your arms to calm you down. You are trembling and he hates it. “We will go back to my house. I’m sure Jackson is there, ready to berate me, but I don’t care.” He promises. “I’ll call your boss when we get there, make sure they understand.”

You nod, leaning into him to breathe in his expensive cologne. You close your eyes until you are arriving at Maxwell's house. Somewhere you have never been before. It's big and fancy - not that you expected anything less- and it's overwhelming when you walk inside to see the marble floors and gilded gold. It's a far cry from your shabby little apartment. "Your home is beautiful." You whisper, lost in the extravagant decor.

“Thank you.” Max keeps you close, his hold on you tightening slightly. This wasn’t the way he wanted to bring you over, but there was no changing what happened now. 

“Max!” He frowns and turns his head towards the study door where Jackson is rushing out, his campaign manager obviously aware of what the papers posted by the look on his face.

Jackson looks at you and you prepare for the onslaught of thinly veiled insults. "You - you are fucking fantastic." He tells you, "you are - our poll numbers are through the roof. You wouldn't believe - they love that Max is with a working class woman. They love that he seems...normal. You are a fucking saving grace." Jackson says, holding his hands up towards you.

Max huffs, completely thrown off by this. He had been expecting Jackson to hit the roof, not look at you like the golden goose. “Right.” He chuckles, rolling his eyes and leaning into you. “Of course you are happy with polling numbers.” He clears his throat. “I want the paper to issue an apology for publishing her name though.” He tells Jackson. “They were wrong to do that.”

“I agree, but there’s no such thing as bad news Maxwell. It’s fucking - we will ask for an apology but then you gotta take her out on a proper date, show them you can be a gentleman and it will be a proper Cinderella story. We will make sure that she is all dolled up - designer of course - to show the public she’s more than a quick fuck. She is more than a quick fuck, right?” Jackson asks Max.

He purses his lips, not liking the term ‘Cinderella story’ because he never viewed you like that. “Yes, she’s more than a quick fuck.” He assures his manager. “But I don’t want to doll her up in designer anything unless she wants it.” He turns to you to explain. “I don’t want you to think you aren’t good enough exactly as you are.”

You shake your head, “no. I, uh, I don’t want to be seen as a gold digger. I’ve never asked Max for any money. I’ve always worked hard for what I have and that’s not going to change. I want to go back to school. Get my degree and be on my own two feet.”

Jackson groans with pleasure and shakes his head. “I told you- I told you she was perfect when we met her!” He crows over your answer and completely ignores the fact that he has said quite the opposite. “Just make sure you say it just like that when you sit down with the reporter we are going to get to do a story on you and Max.” He grins. “This is going to be good!” His eyes widened in happiness. “I need to start making calls! Max is going to get re-elected thanks to you!”

****

“Please welcome Senator Lord and his beautiful new wife.” You squeeze Max’s hand, unable to believe you are at his election party. You had gotten married just before the election, unable to wait since you were impatient to be his wife. You’ve gone back to school, working on finishing your degree and you are an excellent stepmother to Alistair, growing close to him after you and his father were official. 

You have been the talk of the election cycle, giving interviews and photoshoots with Max. It’s been exhausting but after leaving the diner, you are able to focus on what works best for you and Max. You enter the room, loving the cheers of his supporters, and he guides you to the dance floor. 

“Can I have this dance?” He asks softly. 

“Always.” You answer, letting him pull you close. 

“Max. I have something to tell you.” You murmur after he sways you to the music. 

“What hermosa?” He asks. 

“I’m pregnant.” You whisper, a smile on your face.

Max gulps, his face breaking out in a wide smile and he lunges forward to press his lips to yours, much to the delight of his followers and the people who had worked tirelessly to get him elected. 

“I love you.” He promises against your lips. “I love you so much, Mrs. Lord.” 

He can’t help but be absolutely amazed. Stopping in a diner for dinner one night has led to this moment. He’s remarried to a woman that loves him and adores his son. He’s been re-elected to serve his constituents and try to make the world a better place for everyone, including the new baby you are going to gift him with. Life couldn’t be better.

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#pedro pascal #max lord #maxwell lord #max lord x reader #max lord x f!reader #max lord x you #max lord imagine #max lord smut #max lord fanfic #maxwell lord x reader #maxwell lord x f!reader #maxwell lord x you #maxwell lord smut #maxwell lord imagine #maxwell lord fanfic #maxwell lord wonder woman 84

[d3cayingabyss]

I don't usually make posts like this, but this is serious.

I'm not from the USA, nor do I live there. I'm canadian, but I have friends and people I know that live there and this is an issue. I couldn't help with anything other then signing petitions, because at the time I wasn't sure if I should post these or not.

This is about KOSA. While I don't know much about it, heres what I've gathered from articles.

The "Kids Online Safety Act" (KOSA) is a bill that was introduced to the United States Senate in February 2022 and reintroduced in May 2023; the bill "sets out requirements" to protect minors from harm on social media platforms.

This does NOT protect minors from harm on social media. This limits knowledge and safe spaces for children and teenagers. Additionally covered platforms must provide minors (or their parents or guardians) with certain safeguards, such as settings that restrict access to minors' personal data; and parents or guardians with tools to supervise minors' use of a platform, such as control of privacy and account settings. This can and WILL put children in abusive households in danger, this will limit lgbtq+ children/teenagers access to safe spaces and resources even further, this will not HELP youths mental health nor provide them safety. This act may aswell be putting them in more danger because that is what it will do for multiple people. Children/Teenagers in abusive households will no longer be able to get support from online if they are consistently monitored, because whatever they say will be SEEN. Apps and websites such as tiktok, discord, ao3 and multiple others will likely be removed, shutdown, monitored or banned in the USA. This not only limits the ability to spread awareness, but give support and help others. The bill considers awareness of ED's, su!c!dªl thoughts, lgbtq+ and discussion of race (as phrased in an article) as "glamorizing" it or romanticizing it. While that can be the case, more often then not there is more awareness about how to help, learn and discuss these things rather then glamorizing them. Children/Teenagers 13 and under would be banned from any social media + their platforms, and teenagers until the age of 17-18 would need parental consent to be able to use these platforms.

here are some articles about Kosa.

This is not okay.

If you think this doesn't effect you because you are not in the states, then you're wrong. Even if it doesn't directly effect you, it can effect any and all of your online friends in and out of the states.

"What can I do?"

Spread awareness - make posts like this, reblog and like posts like these, share this on any possible media platform. Don't let them sweep this under the rug.

Sign petitions - Sign petitions, simple as that. I will have multiple petitions linked here. Some have the ability to donate to them if you can - even a dollar might help.

Do research - Research about KOSA, and then spread awareness.

Don't let them do this.

They are endangering youth all over the world. Su!c!d3 rates could and likely WILL skyrocket in youth from this because the online world is their safe place. Their support and their friends, and the information they get to help themselves exists HERE. Please spread awareness. Please add onto this and do research. Please correct me if I'm wrong on certain points, but don't let this be sweeped under the rug.

PETITIONS YOU CAN SIGN-

#stop kosa #kosa #kids online safety act #kids online safety bill #suicide tw #abuse tw #protect trans kids #protect the youth #spread awareness #stop kids online safety act

[mariacallous]

In January, the CEOs of X, TikTok, Meta, Snap, and Discord testified in front of a congressional committee about child exploitation on their platforms. “Mr. Zuckerberg, you and the companies before us, I know you don’t mean it to be so, but you have blood on your hands,” Senator Lindsey Graham said at the time.

Despite confrontational questioning from Graham and others about how many underage users were on their platforms, and what safeguards protected them, Zuckerberg and other executives weren’t questioned about the concerning practices of some parents who manage social media accounts on behalf of their young children. A New York Times investigation the month after the hearing found that some parents, mostly of girls, were amassing tens of thousands of followers for their children by posting suggestive images that can attract predators.

Now, Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan is demanding that tech companies account for the untold thousands of accounts that place girls as risk of exploitation on their platforms, through the actions of adult account-holders.

“These corporations must answer for how they are allowing young women and girls to be exploited on their platforms and what steps they will take in response,” Senator Hassan, who represents New Hampshire, told WIRED. “Young women should be able to express themselves online in safe environments that do not facilitate the monetization of potentially exploitative content.”

The Times investigation found that parents can readily bypass the age restrictions of social platforms that bar children under 13 from having accounts. Some parents use the accounts they set up for their children to essentially monetize their daughters by putting them to work as influencers, garnering discounts and sponsorship deals or pulling in advertising revenue.

More sinisterly, some of these accounts brought in money from people seeking sexual or suggestive material about young girls, some of whom were convicted sex offenders. Some of these followers are willing to pay for extra photos beyond those shared on a girl’s social media account, or for private chats or used clothing. Times reporters examined some 5,000 accounts of young girls run by their parents.

While the Times found that some of the parents also operated TikTok accounts, the phenomenon was most prevalent on Meta's Instagram. (X was not mentioned in the Times investigation, and the company claims that its underage user base constitutes less than 1 percent of its usership. WIRED has previously reported that the platform may not have the age verification systems needed to accurately make such a claim.)

“After the disturbing revelations about predators interacting with the posts of minors and even buying their worn clothing, it continues to be clear that social media companies are failing to keep our children safe,” says Senator Hassan.

Meta, TikTok, and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to the Times about its earlier reporting, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that the company prevents “accounts exhibiting potentially suspicious behavior from using our monetization tools, and we plan to limit such accounts from accessing subscription content,” but that parents were ultimately responsible for the accounts.

In the letters sent to TikTok, X, and Meta, Hassan is asking companies to disclose whether they were aware of parents circumventing their age requirements, whether accounts of young girls are monetized—or have ads placed on them—by the platforms, and what active measures the companies have in place to detect these kinds of accounts.

The platforms have until April 8 to offer their responses.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

As the national security workforce ages, dementia impacting U.S. officials poses a threat to national security, according to a first-of-its-kind study by a Pentagon-funded think tank. The report, released this spring, came as several prominent U.S. officials trusted with some of the nation’s most highly classified intelligence experienced public lapses, stoking calls for resignations and debate about Washington’s aging leadership.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had a second freezing episode last month, enjoys the most privileged access to classified information of anyone in Congress as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight congressional leadership. Ninety-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., whose decline has seen her confused about how to vote and experiencing memory lapses — forgetting conversations and not recalling a monthslong absence — was for years a member of the Gang of Eight and remains a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on which she has served since 2001.

The study, published by the RAND Corporation’s National Security Research Division in April, identifies individuals with both current and former access to classified material who develop dementia as threats to national security, citing the possibility that they may unwittingly disclose government secrets.

“Individuals who hold or held a security clearance and handled classified material could become a security threat if they develop dementia and unwittingly share government secrets,” the study says.

As the study notes, there does not appear to be any other publicly available research into dementia, an umbrella term for the loss of cognitive functioning, despite the fact that Americans are living longer than ever before and that the researchers were able to identify several cases in which senior intelligence officials died of Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive brain disorder and the most common cause of dementia.

“As people live longer and retire later, challenges associated with cognitive impairment in the workplace will need to be addressed,” the report says. “Our limited research suggests this concern is an emerging security blind spot.”

Most holders of security clearances, a ballooning class of officials and other bureaucrats with access to secret government information, are subject to rigorous and invasive vetting procedures. Applying for a clearance can mean hourslong polygraph tests; character interviews with old teachers, friends, and neighbors; and ongoing automated monitoring of their bank accounts and other personal information. As one senior Pentagon official who oversees such a program told me of people who enter the intelligence bureaucracy, “You basically give up your Fourth Amendment rights.”

Yet, as the authors of the RAND report note, there does not appear to be any vetting for age-related cognitive decline. In fact, the director of national intelligence’s directive on continuous evaluation contains no mention of age or cognitive decline.

While the study doesn’t mention any U.S. officials by name, its timing comes amid a simmering debate about gerontocracy: rule by the elderly. Following McConnell’s first freezing episode, in July, Google searches for the term “gerontocracy” spiked.

“The President called to check on me,” McConnell said when asked about the first episode. “I told him I got sandbagged,” he quipped, referring to President Joe Biden’s trip-and-fall incident during a June graduation ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, which sparked conservative criticisms about the 80-year-old’s own functioning.

While likely an attempt by McConnell at deflecting from his lapse, Biden’s age has emerged as a clear concern to voters, including Democrats. 69% of Democrats say Biden is “too old to effectively serve” another term, an Associated Press-NORC poll found last month. The findings were echoed by a CNN poll released last week that found that 67% of Democrats said the party should nominate someone else, with 49% directly mentioning Biden’s age as their biggest concern.

As Commander In Chief, the President is the nation’s ultimate classification authority, with the extraordinary power to classify and declassify information broadly. No other American has as privileged access to classified information as the president.

The U.S.’s current leadership is not only the oldest in history, but also the number of older people in Congress has grown dramatically in recent years. In 1981, only 4% of Congress was over the age of 70. By 2022, that number had spiked to 23%.

In 2017, Vox reported that a pharmacist had filled Alzheimer’s prescriptions for multiple members of Congress. With little incentive for an elected official to disclose such an illness, it is difficult to know just how pervasive the problem is. Feinstein’s retinue of staffers have for years sought to conceal her decline, having established a system to prevent her from walking the halls of Congress alone and risk having an unsupervised interaction with a reporter.

Despite the public controversy, there’s little indication that any officials will resign — or choose not to seek reelection.

After years of speculation about her retirement, 83-year-old Speaker Emerita Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stunned observers when she announced on Friday that she would run for reelection, seeking her 19th term.

#us politics #news #republicans #Democrats #boomers #Gang of Eight #sen. Mitch Mcconnell #sen. Diane Feinstein #rep. nancy pelosi #Senate Intelligence Committee #the pentagon #classified information #RAND Corporation #National Security Research Division #national security #dementia #cognitive decline #Alzheimer’s disease #security clearances #Fourth Amendment #gerontocracy #president joe biden #us congress #2023 #the intercept

[ospreyeamon]

on the prevalence of bounty hunters in the gffa

I’m not sure George Lucas intended bounty hunters to become as prominent as they are in the Star Wars universe. It might just be a consequence of Boba Fett Armour Rad ✨, like the invention of the Mandalorians. However, thinking about  the Galactic Republic, it does make sense that there would be a lot of bounty hunters running around fulfilling a particular societal need.

The Galactic Republic’s structure is difficult to pin down because it doesn’t have a clear real world parallel. While it’s usually the United Nations or USA that are brought up, I suggest that its closest structural equivalent is the European Union; single currency, open boarders, high degree of internal autonomy while members are still meant to be bound by the laws and rulings of the higher courts and legislature, multitude of languages and cultures, states have the right cede unilaterally without requiring permission from the central authority. There are still differences though, and the one relevant to this discussion is that we aren’t shown a Republic equivalent of Europol, or the better-known Interpol. During the prequels era there are the Republic Judicial Forces and Jedi Order, but both these organisations provide specialist and crisis assistance rather than dealing with the day-to-day dealings of local planetary and system law enforcement systems. Nobody is calling the Jedi because someone skipped off-planet rather than front-up to court after crashing their speeder through a sixth-story window. Even if local law enforcement were inclined to do such a thing it wouldn’t be permissible, because the number of Jedi and Judicials is tiny compared to the overall population of the Republic.

I think the Republic logically should have an equivalent of Interpol, which I call the Intersector Security Bureau so it can keep its acronym when it is transformed into the Imperial Security Bureau. Given how easy it appears for anybody who owns a private starship to planet-hop undetected, facilitating information exchange must be hugely important. Still, the fact that so far as I can recall the ISB is never mentioned before the Republic becomes the Empire suggests that its reach is limited before Palpatine starts beefing it up. The Jedi do a lot of investigating but mostly rely on their own resources or liaise with the local planetary authorities.

There are a few reasons why an early ISB space!Interpol equivalent might have less prominence and reach than RL!Interpol. One is that it is affected by the same resources sap as the Judicial Forces; losing work to the Jedi Order and funding to local planetary or sector law enforcement. Another is that the Republic’s diverse array of species and cultures creates a complicated environment for hashing out the cultural consensus necessary for the level of understanding and trust required for agreeing to carry out other agencies’ arrest warrants. For example, the Republic’s de facto age of majority – the minimum age at which a person can hold Republic public office, like a become a Senator – is sixteen. This is not an age of majority that member systems of the Republic are required to adhere to in any way; having species with wildly different lifespans and lifecycles like wookiees, trandoshans, and ruurians makes trying to enforce a single age of majority a terrible idea. But that means that you have a planet like Naboo, where Padme Amidala can be employed in the political office of Princess of Theed when she is nine, under the same government as Alderaan, where the heir to the throne doesn’t step up into their full public role until they come of age at sixteen. Other points of difference – attitudes to gambling, recreational drug usage, corporal punishment, reasonable person tests, etc. – create a plethora of friction points between legal jurisdictions.

Then there’s the issue that many of the planets in the Republic aren’t going to trust the governments of every other planet in the Republic. RL!Interpol is facing controversy regarding the accusation that some countries like China have been submitting warrants for arrest on people who are actually political dissidents. In the Republic that translates to, for example, corporate-controlled planets putting out warrants on whistle-blowers calling out the companies’ fraud, environmental regulation violations, debt slavery, etc.

So, if you can’t rely on intersector law enforcement cooperation to retrieve your dangerous driver before any more speeders become wedged through the windows of high-rise apartments, what do you do? You put a bounty on them.

This implies that mainstream socially respectable bounty hunting is quite different from the “I can bring you in hot or I can bring you in cold” business the Mandalorians engage in. Reputable law enforcement agencies will only want their bounties hot and minimally injured; the idea is to get criminals back so they can be tried and punished in accordance with your law. And what if a bounty hunter screws up the bounty you posted and grabs the wrong person? If they’re alive you can stick them on a shuttle back to the planet they were kidnapped from, but if they’re dead that’s a PR nightmare and now you need to chase after that bounty hunter to charge them for murder.

Looking back a couple of millennia from the Post-Ruusan Republic to the Old Republic, many of these forces are still in play. One example of a deficit in law enforcement cooperation that I found particularly memorable was Miel Muwn of the Sullustan Constable Brigade from the Smuggler class story, who personally travelled to Coruscant in pursuit of the stolen Murustavan Ruby where he deputised two Very Upstanding Lawful Citizens to aid him rather than collaborate with the Coruscanti authorities.

Additionally, the division of the galaxy between the Republic and the Sith Empire creates another reason for those governments to work through bounty hunters. Because the Republic and the Empire are either in a state of hot or cold war, they obviously aren’t cooperating on issues like intergalactic crime. If either power wants to arrest someone who has fled into the other’s territories, the most legal least likely to spark violent conflict option available to them is to hire a third party (it’s still not very legal or unlikely to end in violence). Hence, bounty hunters everywhere.

…there are so many ways that this dysfunctional excuse for a system would produce bad outcomes.

#Meanwhile in a Galaxy Far Far Away #star wars meta #swtor meta #bounty hunters #the Galactic Republic #star wars prequels #star wars the old republic

[tinky-dinky]

If I Could Reform The Jedi, Here's What I'd Do

Remove any kind of age limit to joining. One of the big things that jumped out at me as dodgy about the Jedi is that they were reluctant to allow Anakin to join the order partially because he was too old, even though he was only 9. As their other concerns about him were over his fear for his mother, it seems to me that the Jedi prefer that the children who join are too young to properly remember their families, so the Jedi are the only thing they remember. This is dodgy as hell and smacks of child indoctrination, so if I could reform the Jedi I'd change it. Any child, regardless of age, should be able to join and there should be some kind of program for adults to be trained too.

Oversight for Masters and Padawans. Clearly, there isn't any kind of system or oversight over the Master/Padawan pairs in the Jedi. In proper canon, Ahsoka is assigned to Anakin, even though he is very clearly not a suitable master, being as he's only 19, has literally just graduated to knight and is obviously very reckless and prone to endangering himself and others around him. In the, now non-canon, books, Qui-Gon repeatedly mistreats Obi-Wan and no one ever does anything about it. So, clearly, there needs to be some kind of oversight.

Support for Jedi who choose to leave. It doesn't seem like there's any kind of support for Jedi who choose to leave the order, which doesn't seem right to me. While some Jedi, like Dooku, might have wealthy family who can support them, most probably don't have any family that they know. So what is in place to help these Jedi? Are they just sent out into the Galaxy penniless? I'm guessing there's no emotional or mental support either, considering Dooku leaves then almost immediately begins Falling. As does Xanatos, in the non-canon books. I'd put a transitional support system in place.

A better system for deciding who gets sent on what mission. The premise of the Clone Wars movie is that Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka get sent to rescue baby Rotta the Hutt. The Council thought it was okay to send Anakin on a mission involving Tattooine, where Anakin was enslaved and his mother died, and the Hutts, who enslaved him. That cannot have been good for his mental state. I'm not sure if it's canon or not but Dooku was, at one point, sent on a mission to his home planet, where his father left him to die of exposure as a baby. To give credit to the Jedi, I don't think he was meant to encounter his father, but still, that's not smart. In the non-canon books, Xanatos goes on a mission with Qui-Gon to his home planet, wherein they have to stop his crime lord father. Who the hell thought that was a good idea?! Not-so-coincedentally, these three Jedi all Fell. I'd set up some kind of system so Jedi aren't sent on missions involving places and people that have caused them trauma.

A mental health support system. Very, very obviously the Jedi have no mental health support system at all. Also very very obviously, they really need one. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Quinlan Vos and more would have heavily benefited from some mental health support.

A research requirement before missions. It's unclear if the Jedi are required to do any kind of research before they're sent off on missions. I'm uncertain if it's canon or not, but part of Jango Fett's backstory involves his people being slaughtered by the Jedi because the Jedi thought they'd been killing civilians. If the Jedi had done a modicum of research, they'd have discovered that that particular faction of Mandos didn't harm civilians. The entirety of the clone wars might have been averted. So there definitely needs to be a research requirement before missions.

Independence from the Senate/Republic. This is the big one. The Jedi being so involved and connected to the Senate/Republic means that they can't help non Republic planets and peoples, so large parts of the Galaxy go unaided. It also means they can be forced into things like leading a slave army of child soldiers, like in the Clone Wars. It's a religious order, there's no reason they need to be connected to the Senate/Republic.

#the Jedi Order #Jedi #Anakin Skywalker #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Qui-Gon Jinn #Dooku #Xanatos DuCrion #The senate #the republic #Quinlan Vos