#//Wow March 6th already?

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

03/04/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast&Crew;WJW; Con O'Neill; David Jenkins; Bumbles; Rhys Darby; A LeagueOfTheirOwn Watch Party; Wrecked WP Continues; NewarkNewark WP tomorrow; Fundraiser Statuses; SchadenFreude; Fan Spotlight; Podcasts; LoveNotes; DailyDarby/Tonight's Taika

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

== Wee John Wonday ==

Today's Wee John Wonday featured our Pirate Queen Ruibo Qian! Please check the video out on Kristian's Instagram! Don't have time to watch? There are some highlights below the pic!

Some Highlights:

Anapela couldn't make it tonight sorry!

Ruibo is really into perfume like Kristian

Ruibo and Anapela really clicked on set!

Ruibo still has hope regarding s3!

“DO I wanna smell like a haystack with a cow dung hidden inside of it?” - Ruibo

Ruibo would be interested in polycule, Zheng may not be

Kristian has an announcement coming out tomorrow - 📚

Apparently the last episode, when they were all walking out in the colonial outfits, it was SUPER LONG and a lot of it was cut.

Qian means money = so Ruibo is literally the Money Bitch

== Con O'Neil ==

One of our wonderful crew-mates was out and about and ran into none other than THE Con O'Neill! Thank you so much for sharing this meet up with us @queerjolras!

Con also posted a picture of himself and his pup Cooper on IG today!

== David Jenkins ==

Our friend @cosmosart-s posted a lovely picture of David for the 2 year anniversary OFMD anniversary and David ran it on his IG Story! One thing I've noticed a few people mentioning was the "3" hearts. Not to clown/honk too hard, but just something to think about <3

== Rare Bumbles Sighting ==

Many of you know of Rhys and Rosie's cat Bumbles, but we don't get to see Bumbles too often! Rosie uploaded an adorable photo of one of the Darby Feline-Fam.

== Rhys Darby ==

Are you in Aotearoa? Stop in to seen see Rhys on Wed 3 Apr 2024, 8:00pm–10:00pm at the Wild Estate in Auckland!

New Cryptid Factor Episode!

89: #089 The 2nd First Issue!

Spotify / Podfriend / Apple Podcasts

== New Watch Parties ==

= Mar 3 - Mar 7 A League Of Their Own =

Join us this week starting Monday, March 4th for a multi-fandom watch party! Each day will have different games and polls! (Sorry this is a bit late, I didn't get it until today!)

Where: Amazon Prime

Time: Every day 1 PM EST / 10AM PT! 

Day One, March 4th: Pilot episodes for both series with tweeting predictions for the rest of the seasons. 

Day Two, March 5th: Bingos! Live tweet your reaction and share your filled out bingo cards! 

Day Three, March 6th: Polls! Live tweet your reactions and share your thoughts on the shows so far! 

Day Four, March 7th: Caption the screencaps from the shows: Wrong answers only! 

Day Five, March 8th: Finale time! Share your predictions for the next seasons with the hashtags. 

Watch Party Hashtags:

OurFlagMeansBaseball, 

SaveOFMD 

SaveALOTO to join the event! 

== Watch Party Reminders! ==

Mar 4 - Mar 8: Wrecked Season 1

Wrecked is no longer on any streaming platform, and it is not available digitally on US sites. (Apparently, it is available on German Amazon?) There are sources being passed around. If access is an issue, DM @iamadequate1 on Twitter or Tumblr

Season 1 watch from March 4th to March 8th. 

Season 2 watch from March 11th to March 15th. 

Season 3 watch from March 18th to March 22nd. 

Times will be 10pm GMT / 5pm EST / 4pm CST / 2pm PST. Watch two episodes per day. Episodes are 21-22 minutes each. Use the following Saturday for the tags/watch if interested but not able to make this time.

Hashtags: 

#WreckedPirates

#SaveOFMD

#RhysDarbyFaction

= Mar 5: NewarkNewark with @adoptourcrew =

Please join @adoptourcrew for a @NewarkNewark watch party on March 5th at 10 pm GMT/ 2pm PS / 5pm EST!

== Fundraiser Statuses ==

= Underground Ads =

The Final Stage of the Save OFMD Crew fundraisor for the underground ads is still going! If you're so inclined, feel free to donate or share around! Ko-Fi Link

= In Soup Now =

Wow! Only 24 hours open, and already at 10%! Great job all!

== Schaden Freude ==

Thanks @iamadequate1 for catching the very sad times WBD Inc is experiencing on the NASDAQ

== How to Help ==

Another Ranker Poll! Feel free to hop in and bump OFMD up. You can rank shows up AND down so make sure to rank other shows as well. Ranker Link

== Fan Spotlight ==

Our lovely crew-mate @melvisik is back again, this time with our favorite Captain Rhys Darby as part of the Crew Cards <3

== Podcasts ==

@fandomthingpod on Twitter did an episode on the OFMD Renewal campaign and interviewed our esteemed crew-mate @lcwebsxoxo! They gave lots of kudos to the @saveofmdcrewmates and @adoptourcrew and the recaps got a shout out too! (Ty for the mention LC!) The Campaign To Save OurFlagMeansDeath

== Love Notes ==

Hello lovelies :) It was an action packed day for sure (as Mondays usually are). That being said I took some time to do some stuff today I've been meaning to, so I apologize for not taking more time on love notes!

Please know me and your crew-mates are thinking of you and hoping for all the best things for you in the upcoming days.

I know it's short but here are some reminders / love notes in other people's words for today/tomorrow. <3

Stay Strong Lovelies! Whatever you're up to, you're gonna make it through, I believe in you!

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Yeahhhhh no gifs tonight luvs, I am running late and I can't stop looking at these still pictures anyway, so here you are <3

Taika Src / Rhys courtesy of Prim on Discord!

[yuzukahibiscus]

SEWATCH (95th Class) – 2016 Archives

From 2010, Takarazuka GRAPH has a corner for introducing classmates (douki) in our colour pages. 95th class is the 6th edition and we now disclose excerpts of writer Seo Yuria (Seocchi) and her classmates.

~ Taken from August 2021 GRAPH.

JANUARY – Seo Yuria X Manaki Reika

To celebrate our first issue, the guest is...Manaki Reika of Moon Troupe ☽ It's Chapi~♡ Ah, she's an angel ♡ She's full of clarity....Let'Sewatch the mystery of this angel descending to earth!!!!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: Everyone already knows about the beauty and cuteness of Chapi, so I thought what if we showed a different side of Chapi~

Chapi: No, not at all. But because it's the New Year issue, aren't we wearing these for the New Year?

Seocchi: We thought, "Year of the...Monkey, right? OH!" (LOL) What do you think about becoming a monkey (LOL)?

Chapi: Since I was born, I've been told that I look like a monkey, so it's an honour to be a monkey [for this corner].

Both: (exploding in laughter).

Chapi: My mother used to say, "I thought I gave birth to a monkey" (LOL).

Seocchi: Well, you could say you returned to your roots. What a new feeling (LOL).

Chapi: Yes, that's right. My ears are also "far away from each other" (and while saying that, Chapi flapped her hands beside her ears).

Seocchi: That's cute (LOL).

FEBRUARY – Seo Yuria X Rei Makoto

The guest for this month is the Super Boy, our Rei Makoto of Star Troupe ☆ It's Coto-chan~ (Coto)☆

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: I thought would it be possible to show a side of Co-chan that everyone hasn't seen before~ and the result of constant frustration and thinking, I've decided that we should wear the Takarazuka Music School uniforms!!

Coto: First, I need to find my uniform~

Seocchi: Yeah (LOL). How do you feel? Actually.

Coto: No I mean, it's nostalgic.

Seocchi: I remembered that the two of us used to sit side by side whle having lessons.

Coto: That's when both of us were fighting the urge to sleep away.

Seocchi: A time that we were scolded almost every day, but the days where we were very determined.

MARCH – Seo Yuria X Reimi Urara

Now, the guest this time is Reimi Urara-sama of Cosmos Troupe, it's Yuuri!! Let'Sewatch at the mystery of this flawless beautiful girl!!!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: While both of us are thinking a lot about what to do, we heard Zun-chan (Sakuragi Minato) having her interview nearby on "What is your dream if you didn't enter Takarazuka!?".

Urara: We heard her answer, "I'm not sure if this is what I really want to do, but maybe the admirable flight attendants?"...

Seocchi: That's why everyone can see this wonderful Reimi Urara-sama!! (Thanks Zun-chan~♡)

Urara: I hope we can show that relationship between the pilot and the flight attendant (LOL).

Seocchi: There's some story between us... (LOL)

Urara: (LOL). That's fun!

APRIL – Seo Yuria X Tsukishiro Kanato

The guest this month is – remarkable! Tsukishiro Kanato of Snow Troupe!! It's Usshi (Reiko)✨ Wow~ So pretty...She's already beautiful, so let'Sewatch if we could show a mysteriously different look of Tsukishiro Kanato-sama.

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: After much thinking...

Reiko: We revived as the anime of "Shonen Ashibe"!! Well, I like Goma-chan. No, not just that, I like seals (LOL).

Seocchi: That's why, Usshi wore a seal costume and searched for various pictures, and found this really cute seal costume, and asked me "how do you think"?

Reiko: No, it's because I said, I want to be a more real seal!!

Seocchi: She seriously ordered this full costume (LOL). How do you feel wearing it?

Reiko: When I actually wear the costume, I can feel it looks fluffier than how Goma-chan was like, (LOL), but I'm really satisfied!!

Seocchi: That's great~ It's a great success that it made Usshi satisfied!

MAY – Seo Yuria X Minami Maito

The fifth guest is Flower Trouope otokoyaku Minami Maito (Maiti) ❀ I wanto see~!! Let'Sewatch the stunning muscles of this girl!!!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: If we talk about Minami, it's muscles!! That's why I immediately think of the muscleman Superman, and we had a meeting over this photoshoot [concept] (LOL).

Maiti: What!? Is my image really like that? I thought (LOL).

Seocchi: No, when we first met, you were skinny!! Then after the summer of being a primary course student (yokasei), I was so shocked (LOL).

Maiti: Right, right, when I came back my uniform seems stiff [from the muscles] (LOL).

Seocchi: I thought, what did Minami do in the summer!!!!! I remember everyone being crazy over it (LOL). That image is too strong, you definitely need to be Superman this time!

Maiti: But, this costume seems too buff (LOL). This is too exaggerated!! Look at the texture of these muscles (LOL)!!!!

Seocchi: How do you feel actually wearing it?

Maiti: No, but it seems easy to turn on the switch to get into character with this kind of costume (LOL).

Seocchi: (LOL). That's great!!

Maiti: Like that "I'm a hero!" kind of vibe. (LOL)

Seocchi: If you feel good about it, you should wear this under your rehearsal clothes next time, and when something happens, you can remove those clothes to reveal yourself as Superman!! Then it would be great!! (LOL)

Maiti: I got it!! If that's necessary, I'll give Seocchi (Seo) a call! Believe in me!!

Both: (exploding in laughter).

JUNE – Seo Yuria X Misaki Rion

This month we have our princess from Cosmos Troupe 💕 Let'Sewatch at Misaki Rion (Mirion)~ 👀

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: We decided easily this time.

Mirion: Yes, yes, I asked Seocchi "Can I be a nurse?"

Seocchi: Surely, I also wish to see how Kumi-chan (Misaki) is as a nurse (LOL).

Mirion: Since I was young', I've admired nurse so I thought, "Nurses are good!!" and decided on the theme quickly.

Seocchi: How does it feel? To be a nurse.

Mirion: I'm very satisfied because it feels my wish is fulfilled! Holding onto the syringe, I felt it was fun to feel how it is for a nurse (LOL). (I also enjoyed seeing Kumi-chan's look as a nurse!!)

Seocchi: I'm also excited because I want to play as a doctor!!!!

Mirion: You seem to really like the stethoscope (LOL).

Seocchi: Yes (LOL). This feels like "The Dangerous Love of the Doctor and the Nurse" (LOL). I hope everyone could feel happy seeing this photo and imagining various situations!

JULY – Seo Yuria X Kizuki Yuuma

This month, let'Sewatch at the mysterious Mayupon, or Kizuki Yuuma of Moon Troupe, who is so inclusive and gentle towards others~✨

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: This time, I hope it'd be great to do a concept of boys' friendship that I could do only with Myaupon.

Mayupon: Right!! We talked about, let's make this look manly as possible!

Seocchi: So, we told the edtors we wanted to do something like [the movie] "Umizaru", and we didn't think we'd have these costumes handmade!!

Both: Thank you so much!!!!!!

Seocchi: How does it feel wearing these?

Mayupon: Yes, this is so fun ♪ Of course, we wear various kinds of costumes on stage, but this feels totally different!!!

Seocchi: That's right. This feel like "Real Men's" kind of feeling (LOL)! And with that, we'd be happy if this lets everyone realise Mayupon's new charms!!

AUGUST – Seo Yuria X Hinami Fuu

This month, we have our princess from Star Troupe✨✨✨ Let'Sewatch the mysterious Fuu-chan, or Hinami Fuu!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: We always talk about tropical countries ☼✨

Fuu-chan: Right! We never knew we would love tropical countries so much ✨

Seocchi: If there's a chance, I always thought I should go to the Sebu in Philippines with Fuu-chan and Matsuko (Renju Kouki) ☼

Fuu-chan: Right!!! My first overseas vacation was at Sebu, and it was really exciting✨✨✨

Seocchi: Every day would be so fun✨ So we decided to wear something we would in these tropical countries! How does the photoshoot feel for Fuu-chan?

Fuu-chan: Well, fun✨ Wearing the aloha shirts, holding on to the ukuleles immediately!!!

Seocchi: Yes✨✨ It's as if we could see the sun in front of us ☼

SEPTEMBER – Seo Yuria X Sakuragi Minato

This month, let'Sewatch the mysterious Zun-chan, or Sakuragi Minato of Cosmos Troupe, who always flashes the wonderful child smile ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Zun: About sommelier, it's just a Style we simply want to do!!!

Seocchi: No, no matter how we say it, this look great.

Zun: Yes (LOL). It's just black, so it may look plain~ Which is why we also used wine bottles and glasses.

Seocchi: I think this makes it look really stylish!!

Zun: I hope to wear this costume one day on stage.

Seocchi: It was fun to feel like a sommelier even for a short while~♫

OCTOBER – Seo Yuria X Asami Jun

This month, let'Sewatch the mysterious Asami Jun of Moon Troupe or Aasa✨✨ Truly from her name, she is beautiful from the morning~ (*Asa 朝 = morning; Mi 美 = beauty)

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: I asked you, what do we want to do?

Aasa: We thought about our similarities...

Both: We have a strong visual!!!!

Aasa: Then, we decided on doing [the manga series] "Thermae Romae" and on the day when we wore the costumes, and tried the first photo, and we chekced to find out??????????????

Both: We have a weak visual!!!! (LOL)

Aasa: This is an emergency situation 💦 She quickly came to the dressing room of Moon Troupe since we were performing (LOL).

Seocchi: Yes, I went to Aasa's makeup table and both of us desperately wanted to make up for it.

Aasa: We started putting more makeup! (LOL)

Seocchi: How did you feel wearing this?

Aasa: It feels comfortable and it makes me feel really good! As if, this was how I would be like in my past life (LOL).

Seocchi: You're not wrong! Have you worn this type of costume on stage before?

Aasa: Nope, this is my first time! Also it was fun to use different small props for the photoshoot✨

NOVEMBER – Seo Yuria X Hoshino Anri

This month let'Sewatch the mysterious Hoshino Anri of Snow Troupe, or Hiroko ❅

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: This time, both of us thought over quite a lot. Then Hiroko suggested, "Should we do baseball [concept]?"

Hiroko: Yes! If you turn on the television, you can see the rankings of Se Ring or Pa Ring, [Hiroshima Toyo] Carp and [Fukuoka] Softbank [Hawks] would be the top positions respectively, and they are baseball leagues of our hometown, so we wore their jerseys✨

Seocchi: Well, I believe when this [October] issue, Carp would definitely win by then!

Hiroko: Softbank too! Because they are so powerful!! If Carp wins, wouldn't that be since then 25 years since their last win?

Seocchi: Amazing! Hiroko knows so much! (LOL) When both teams win, let's celebrate together!

Both: Let's do this!!!

Seocchi: How does it feel wearing this uniform?

Hiroko: No, before wearing it I was already thrilled. I was even more excited to wear it! I was jumping around just thinking of it before Seocchi came! (LOL)

Seocchi: Ahaha (LOL). So cute.... 💦but I missed your moment💦

Hiroko: (LOL)

Seocchi: As expected, won't seeing these uniforms make your heart race? Because we've always seen these uniforms!!

Hiroko: Yes! We saw them before, and now we're wearing them ✨

Seocchi: The photoshoot was fun. But for our hats....

Hiroko: Instead of holding onto them, we were holding on the baseball bats instead (LOL).

Seocchi: Because we felt it would be awkward with our hands empty.

Hiroko: We're not used to that (LOL).

DECEMBER – Seo Yuria X Yuzuka Rei

This month we have Yuzuka Rei of Flower Troupe to grace the last edition✨ Let'Sewatch the mysterious Rei-chan 👀✨

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: The costumes for today are really surreal! (LOL)

Rei: Really! When I wore it, this was more surreal than I imagined (LOL). It's Christmas when we talk about December, which is why we dressed up like that.

Seocchi: Right! I was thinking if I should do Santa or the reindeer, but she said, "But Santa Claus won't look as funny, right?" (LOL) As expected✨

Rei: (LOL). So we featured supporting characters! But I was surprised because I was surprised because I couldn't do many poses with these costumes (LOL).

Seocchi: Right! That's something we missed out💦 Because [trees and snowman] give off inanimate vibes (Iaughs).

Rei: Even if we act a lot into it, our faces...

Seocchi: Becomes emotionless (LOL).

Rei: It's rare that it was difficult to smile [in this costume] (LOL). Which by the way, I read this corner every month! But I thought, "She doesn't call me a lot....will this end without me...." (LOL).

Seocchi: Really.... (erupts into laughter). So you felt anxious over it, I'm sorry!

Rei: Nah, but this was great fun–♪

[bryan360]

No “On This Day” posting I’ll be focusing today.

Also….

‼️(NO COPYING OR PLAGIARIZING FROM ME AND ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIEND’S WORK! THAT INCLUDES OUR CHARACTERS, DESIGNS, STUFF, ETC. IMPOSTERS AND SEXBOTS ARE NOT WELCOME TO FOLLOW MY BLOG WHATSOEVER! 😡 That will be all….I mean it.)‼️

2024 Review - Seagate 2TB Portable Drive (Third/Final - Storing game(s))

It’s been a long time coming; not to mention through scheduling at the program all weekdays I’d been in. Nevertheless, I’m finally coming back to this topic for the final time. After that the second half of installing with my gaming console is done, I’m now be storing/moving one of my games from its internal storage; which I’d already got it at early January this year.

⬆️ (From January. 6th, 2024; 3:04 to 6:24 P.M)

The first one is I’d finally gotten to installed Forza Horizon 5; the same game from last year’s Christmas gift for my Xbox One system. You can thank our friend @carmenramcat of ever giving me for Christmas by surprise. Link Here

I haven’t boosted this racing game yet; not until after getting my own potable hard drive in early January 2024. There are plenty of games in it as well, but that’s gonna wait after the final part of this topic review.

So anyways, I’d managed to move this to my portable hard drive which had lot of storage needed. Just how long it will take after installing? Well from checking in actual time (via screenshots information) about 3:04 to 6:24 P.M., it’s 3 hours, 20 minutes, and 33 seconds when calculated by using calculator.net website. Wow. Sure it would make sense due to how big this racing game will be, but taking three hours or less was a bit long. Still, nothing bad happens once it’s done for my portable drive. At least I’m grateful that I’d finally got this game downloaded after months later. The transfer progress should’ve speed things up though. That being said, I can’t wait to dive in unless for further planning to share soon. Or if I haven’t gotten through FH3 progress as of yet. I’d appreciate for having my portable drive with me that I’m willing to transfer other games more. 👍

Update: So I haven’t downloaded just one FH5 updated patch just yet. Not until back in Sunday this week that I got it as well. Now it took me about from 1:52 to 2:23 P.M.; or 31 minutes and 5 seconds shorter. Not bad that didn’t take this long. I won’t be surprised that there will more updated patches for FH5 to check out, just in case.

(Back in March. 24th, 2024) (just after transferring other games that I’d save since February 3rd, 2024)

Now to get into with my other games I’ve previously transfer for my portable hard drive. During the same date of January 6th, I did the second time with 👊💥MultiVersus; a free to play fighting platform made by Player First Games. It took about few minutes than I did with my Forza Horizon 5 game within three hours or less. And then afterwards til February 3rd at 6:20 to 6:53 P.M., I got with two previous Forza Horizon titles, Rare Replay included two Banjo-Kazooie titles, Cuphead, Kingdom Hearts 3, and PAC-MAN Museum+. Talk about plenty of some along the way. Thought looks like it takes minutes for almost all games included this time. That’s good to see that it happened, right?

So anyways as I’d going back to its storage devices setting, my portable drive is about 16.1% within 1.5 TB free spaces. It’s not full enough as of yet. Though who knows if there’s plenty room to pick which I’m going for sooner or later. Other than that, I also pointed out for its internal storage had few games in it. It’ll be for another time to save, I promise.

My Experience/Overall Thoughts: ⬇️

Storing/transferring FH5 (Forza Horizon 5) (plus other games) with my external hard drive was an interesting progress to get through. It depends how many games to transferring within minutes/hours before completion. All in all, I couldn’t done it without my first portable drive that I’d wanted for my gaming console. It won’t be a matter of time before I can get a new one in the near future, but not right now. I’m happy of having a portable drive I’ll be taking care of. 🙂 If you’re curious or interested to get one of those, then it’s available on Amazon.com. It normally cost about $70, so hopefully that you still have your savings left. Link Here

See ya guys until my upcoming topics are coming soon. 👋

Tagged: @murumokirby360 @carmenramcat @alexander1301 @rafacaz4lisam2k4 @paektu

[ralfmaximus]

IANAL but this is my understanding... it's mostly first come, first serve. Judges managing any new indictments will try to coordinate with the other judges to prevent a traffic jam.

In this specific case, he's already got the stolen documents trial set for May 2024 in Florida. It's a completely separate set of crimes than the August 1st indictment of yesterday, which on the surface appears to be a tighter, simpler case. The four (4) charges describe his fraudulent efforts to override the Electoral College on January 6th, 2021 and hijack the election.

So THAT one might get scheduled before May 2024. It appears prosecutor Jack Smith structured it that way intentionally, so that DJT gets tried before the November 2024 presidential election.

Georgia is expected to indict him on yet another set of different crimes: state election interference. THAT indictment is due before September 2023, and the judge in Fulton County will look at DJT's existing trial dates and try to work something out scheduling wise. DA Fani Willis might even be okay with delaying her trial until after Jack Smith finishes, since the results of the DOJ election fraud trial can be cited as evidence in Fulton County.

On top of that there's the Stormy Daniels business records trial in New York (March 2024) and his NYC Trump Organization civil fraud case where he's accused of inflating his net worth on tax records (October 2023).

E. Jean Carroll (who won her civil rape trial in May 2023) has another civil rape trial scheduled for 2024 sometime, this one for an additional $10 million in damages after DJT defamed her yet again the day after she won in May. Wow.

And there's likely many more to come!

At least four other states besides Georgia are investigating the 2020 false-electors gambit, organized by DJT and his den of thieves. Those prosecutions, when they happen, will have to get trial dates scheduled around all the other trials. But again, the results of Jack Smith's DOJ Jan 6th case can be used as evidence for those state level trials, so I'm sure they're willing to wait their turn.

“The average US president has been charged with 1.54 felonies” factoid isn’t true. The average US President has been charged with 0 felonies. Donald trump, who has been charged with 71, is a statistical outlier and should not have been counted

[xtruss]

Germany Is At Last Tackling Its Long-standing Economic Weaknesses! Can Olaf Scholz Turn Things Around?

— Mar 15th 2023 | Berlin and Cologne | Europe | Crunch time

Windkraft Errichtung einer neuen Riesenwindkraftanlage in Voigtsdorf. mit 80 m langen Rotorblättern aus Kunststoff. Voigtsdorf Sachsen GERMANY *** Wind power Erection of a new giant wind turbine in Voigtsdorf with 80 m long rotor blades made of plastic Voigtsdorf Saxony GERMANY

“We are at a time of great upheaval,” said Olaf Scholz on March 6th, standing in front of Schloss Meseberg, a baroque castle in Brandenburg where his cabinet was holding a two-day pow-wow. This is not only because of Russia’s war against Ukraine, explained the German chancellor, but because of the transformation required by the environmental crisis. He promised to turn Germany at high speed into a gleaming, climate-neutral economy. But can he pull it all off?

This “new German speed” has become Mr Scholz’s mantra. “We already had massive weaknesses before the crisis,” says Clemens Fuest, head of Ifo, a Munich-based economic-policy think-tank. The invasion of Ukraine exposed Germany’s dependence on cheap Russian energy, its inability to defend itself militarily and the pitfalls of close economic ties with autocracies—those with China potentially as risky as the ones with Russia. Last year China was again Germany’s top trading partner, for the seventh consecutive year, with combined exports and imports of more than €298bn ($320bn), up by around 21% from 2021. Germany depends on China for the import of rare earths that are indispensable in batteries and semiconductors as well as other critical minerals. basf, a chemicals giant, is investing €10bn in a new factory in southern China. Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, relies on China for 40%, by volume, of its sales.

The economy’s vulnerabilities go well beyond those that have been brought into sharp focus by the Russian invasion a year ago. Germany has also been too slow in decarbonising and digitising its economy and in confronting its demographic problems and the acute shortage of skilled workers that affects especially the midsized companies of the Mittelstand.

Does all this mean that Germany’s entire business model is broken? Most economists do not think so, though deep structural change is needed. “The economy was more resilient than expected,” says Klaus Günter Deutsch of the Federation of German Industries, a lobby group. Last year there was talk of large-scale deindustrialisation because of the spiralling cost of energy that affected in particular the chemicals industry, one of Germany’s biggest, but also makers of paper, ceramics and other energy-intensive goods. The dax, the index of German blue-chips, dropped by 27% in the first nine months of last year, almost twice the fall in Britain’s ftse 100 or America’s s&p 500. Some pundits predicted a deep recession for Germany in 2023.

As spring approaches, the outlook is rosier. Helped by a mild winter, Germany never came close to needing gas rationing, as many people had feared. According to government forecasts, Germany is now likely to dodge a recession this year.

The panic about deindustrialisation has also abated. Energy-intensive production has declined by 13% compared with January 2022 (see chart 1), but overall industrial output has held up. That points to a rejigging of supply chains rather than a wholesale process of deindustrialisation. basf is restructuring its complex production profile to shed low-margin products, for instance. Steel-makers have already done so. “Demand for commodity steel in the German market has decreased significantly in recent decades. We focus on highly specialised steel products that very few can produce,” says Markus Grolms of ThyssenKrupp, a big steel-maker.

Rüdiger Bachmann, an economist at Notre Dame University in Indiana, predicts that the geography of German production will shift permanently. A fairly small percentage of industrial companies that use energy-intensive and relatively simple processes, such as the makers of ammonia, zinc or aluminium, will relocate abroad. But others that use more complex production processes are likely to take their place.

Yet even with fewer energy-intensive businesses Germany will need plenty of green energy if it wants to become a climate-neutral economy, as planned by 2045. Its efforts to decarbonise are lagging. Its annual carbon footprint, of nine tonnes per person in 2020, is roughly 50% higher than that of France, Italy or Spain (see chart 2). For a place that likes to think of itself as a climate leader and that has spent billions on its Energiewende, a strategy to replace fossil fuels with renewables, it is a long way to net-zero emissions.

In January Mr Scholz also spoke, in Davos, of the “new German speed” in reaching climate goals. A recent law mandates the prioritisation of expanding wind and solar power, as well as electricity and hydrogen networks, he said.. Under this new regime, approvals for electricity grids are being granted, on average, two years faster than before. This year the Scholz government has more than doubled the volume of calls for tender for onshore wind farms. The chancellor’s ambitious goal is to erect four or five new wind turbines every day until the 2030s. By 2030 fully 80% of German electricity production will come from renewables, promises Mr Scholz. It is a tall order.

The digitisation of businesses is another area where Germany has been too slow and too bureaucratic. It ranks only around average among eu members on businesses’ integration of digital technologies. Its public administration is woefully analogue. It dealt with the pandemic mostly by using the fax machine. Many states and municipalities missed a deadline last year, set by a federal law in 2017, to make almost 600 public services available online.

There is progress in some areas, especially in the private sector. According to the government’s Gigabit strategy, at least 50% of German households and businesses are to be connected to the optical-fibre network by 2025 and all households should be connected by 2030. Mittelstand companies are making progress, in particular those in the engineering and machinery industries. But the cultural shift needed to embrace the digital economy takes time. Firms’ readiness to embrace technology often depends on the age of the ceo, says Matthias Knecht, the 41-year-old co-founder of Billie, a startup in Berlin that specialises in business-to-business payments.

The final neglected challenge is the replacement of retiring workers. Germany’s working-age population is around 64% of the overall population, similar to America’s. But the largest cohorts are in their late 50s and early 60s. Firms are already struggling to fill vacancies (see chart 3). The Institute for Employment Research, a think-tank, predicts that without more immigration or policy changes, the labour market will lose 7m workers by 2035, from 46m now. But there is some potential in giving older workers and those working part-time more incentives to add hours.

Retraining the workforce is a central element of businesses‘ strategies to tackle this shortage of skilled workers. “We are planning a training programme of at least 12 full working days per worker, mostly because of new manufacturing techniques,” says René Wolf, of Ford Europe in Cologne. Higher pay would help to draw workers to the best and most productive firms, but Germany prides itself on wage restraint.

Germany needs an economic-policy Zeitenwende (an epochal turning-point) as much as it requires the one Mr Scholz has promised in its military and foreign policy. That is a huge task, given the backlog left by previous governments. Mr Scholz must get his coalition government to stop squabbling. And he needs to achieve something possibly even harder: to get his fellow Germans excited about the future. ■

— This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline "Crunch Time"

[strangelyconstructed]

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ;

                                      𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐍

             𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆                                                                 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

{  AMBER MIDTHUNDER | 25 | WOMAN  }  welcome to san francisco, MARNIE HANSEN! just to make sure, you go by SHE/HER, right? okay, great. i just have a few questions for you before i can let you go..  how long have you been here for? 3 MONTHS. where are you currently living? BERNAL HEIGHTS. what’s your current occupation? CREW at AMC THEATERS but what’s your dream occupation? POET. wow! interesting. is there a secret that we can keep between you and i? SHE FEELS LIKE A FAILURE AND SAN FRANCISCO IS GOING TO HOPEFULLY BE HER SAVING GRACE. lastly, this is a bit of a random question but … what’s your favorite song? WOMAN by DOJA CAT & that’s all they wrote, friend! we can’t wait to see you around the golden city!

𝕭𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖈𝖘 ;

𝘕𝘈𝘔𝘌: Marion “Marnie” Annalies Hansen 𝘈𝘎𝘌 & 𝘋𝘈𝘛𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘉𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘏: 25 & march 6th 𝘎𝘌𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 & 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘖𝘜𝘕𝘚: cis woman, she/her 𝘚𝘌𝘟𝘜𝘈𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠: lesbian 𝘖𝘊𝘊𝘜𝘗𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕: crew at AMC theaters/poet 𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘕𝘐𝘊𝘐𝘛𝘠: hunkpapa lakota, hudeshabina nakoda, sissiton-wahpehton dakota, thai-chinese, and white 𝘍𝘈𝘊𝘌𝘊𝘓𝘈𝘐𝘔: Amber Midthunder

𝕬𝖕𝖕𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊 ;

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥: 𝘏𝘌𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛: 5'6" 𝘉𝘖𝘋𝘠 𝘛𝘠𝘗𝘌: muscular from farming, although that is fading 𝘏𝘈𝘐𝘙: long, dark brunette 𝘌𝘠𝘌𝘚: brown 𝘚𝘊𝘈𝘙𝘚: plenty from working 𝘛𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘖𝘖𝘚: none 𝘗𝘐𝘌𝘙𝘊𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘚: ears

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: Marnie has a mole next to her eye that people tend to notice about her. Another notable feature is her smile, which she utilizes frequently. Despite how dramatic and dark she may feel on the inside, the woman smiles constantly. Partly due to upbringing, partly due to general friendliness.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭��𝐨𝐧: Marnie is very simple. She enjoys a quiet wardrobe. Despite how much she’d love to dress more towards the style she really likes, which could be considered borderline goth and borderline dark academia, she just doesn’t have the guts. Not yet, anyway. That, and, well, it seems like a lot of work.

𝕻𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖞 ;

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Very midwestern, reserved but friendly, not too flashy. She’s very simple, albeit incredibly dramatic in her own ways.

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬: + hard working, resourceful, open-minded = dramatic, tough, impulsive - closed off, nervous, doubtful

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: likes: a good book, edgar allan poe, poetry, a surprise ending dislikes: cops/etc, cigarettes/smell, uncouth people hobbies: writing/journaling, volunteering with animals

𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚: habits: crossing her arms, smiling whenever uncomfortable ambitions: publishing a book of her poems fears: never feeling like a “success”

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ; (which may be edited into a full bio later)

Marnie comes from a farming family in Nebraska.

Her parents are loving, but strict, especially her father, who always kept a tight household.

She’s spent her whole life wanting something different and feeling gulty for it.

It’s not that she doesn’t love her home and her family and their lifestyle, she does, it’s what she’s used to and it’s cozy and warm and full of love, but she just doesn’t want to continue with the farm. 

Part of the reason she feels guilty is because if she doesn’t take the farm, it’s left up to her little brother to continue it, and if he doesn’t, the family farm could be shut down or bought out by corporate farming. The other reason is just that she feels like she’s letting her parents down. She knows they’re proud of her, but they’re hurting, too.

Her older brother already left the family long ago. He was “troubled”, could never keep up with the farming lifestyle and gave his parents hell. He ran away the day he turned 18. Marnie worries that she’s hurting her parents in this way, too, reminding them of the pain of seeing another child leave.

A piece of her also feels guilty leaving because she’s no longer able to help her family economically now. Even worse, she’s the one who needs help. After a horrible natural disaster in 2019, that included a major flood and tornadoes, the second one in her lifetime to wreck her family’s livelihood, they’re still not fully recovered.

She still has nightmares about the tornadoes from her childhood, and reliving the situation in 2019 was very traumatic. Wind scares the crap out of her now.

She is tragically dramatic, lol. Like, Edgar Allan Poe dramatic, who is, in fact, her favorite author and someone whose writing inspires her greatly.

She loves writing, and wants to publish her poetry very badly.

Honestly, coming to SanFran was kind of on a whim. She’d been saving up money for awhile, so she was somewhat prepared (honestly it is nowhere near enough money), but the timing was random and she didn’t really say her goodbyes. 

She felt like she had too much baggage there and desperately needed change.

She feels like a failure because she’s letting people down. 

She never did anything that would make anyone especially proud, she’s branching off randomly, and she’s worried she’ll never get published (and worse, doesn’t even sell anything if she does).

She’s kind of heartbroken right now. She was deeply in love with someone for years. When they finally dated, she cheated on Marnie. Marnie put up with it for awhile, which just harmed her more and more. When she finally had enough, the other left her high and dry.

Marnie loves watching movies. You can find her at the theaters even when she’s off work. She’ll movie hop, sneak in and out of different movies, and get excited at new previews. Thrillers are her favorite. She thinks there’s something poetic about movies in general, and thrillers really speak to the heart of most people. Finding fear in any given situation is just human.

She’s obsessed with a darker aesthetic, though you can’t tell just by looking at her. Her brain’s imagery is if Edgar Allan Poe was an aesthetic. She likes to think she sees the world through this lens.

[sunfirekid]

“Huh, would you look at that. Guess it’s my birthday today. Man, time sure flies!” 

[intothewickedwood]

Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 7x22 Leaving Storybrooke

Omg it’s the finale! This is wild! To think I started writing my thoughts on each episode every week on April 6th, 2019. It’s been very nearly 3 years! And now here we are! It’s been so fun and I’ve loved having this little outlet to express myself. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed rewatching and analysing. What a journey it’s been. Thank you to everyone who’s read or interacted with these posts in any way! I hope you stick around to read my views on Once Upon a Time in Wonderland starting next week!  

Here we go, me writing an ouat recap one last time!

The dwarfs! Granny! Archie!

Good Lord, Margot nearly ran Grumpy over! You just know it’s cause she didn’t have her glasses on. Put your glasses on, girl!

Ha! She listened! Cause she definitely wasn’t wearing them at the start of their journey. It must have been a wild and dangerous ride to sb.  

I can’t believe Gothel and Drizella messed up her eyesight for the curse. Drizella was probably jealous of her and Alice and thought, “hmm, I know what I’ll do,…make her wear glasses mwahahahaha!”

Jokes on you, Driz! Her glasses are awesome.

Jesus! Granny was gonna straight up shoot them with a crossbow! What the hell Granny?! That’s extreme. Now they’re running at them with pickaxes! Oh my God!  

Love Alice and Robin’s little adventure.

Zelena! I missed you!

Little Robin sticking her tongue out at her older self and older Robin looking horrified lol.

It must be so weird for past!Zelena to see her grown up daughter. And I guess for Robin to see her younger self.

“… that magic bean hiding in the cupboard.” Of course there is. Rumple is screaming in the distance.

There in the snow globe! I got caught in the snow on Thursday. It was suddenly like a blizzard. It’s weird it was snowing in March but it’s not the first time that’s happened. But my poor doggy, Happi, got caught in it too and she has a cold. Luckily, she had her adorable winter coat on, and we carried her like a princess, wrapping her in my own coat like a burrito for good measure. She seemed to enjoy herself haha.  

Oh! How have I never caught this part?! Wish Rumple, or rather Wish Henry, stripped Rumple of his powers and immortality! So, Rumple’s kinda got what he wanted already. Wow, the Author is so freaking powerful that he can even take the Dark One’s power away. I always wondered how Rumple could suddenly die so easily. The only issue is that if his magic was taken, he shouldn’t have been able to rip out his own heart. And also, he probably should have taken out Wish Hook’s own heart first. Though I’m guessing that was impossible and maybe Hook’s shrunk like in Wicked with Boq.

Jared is so good at being a villain. I remember Lana was so proud. Me too Lana. Me too. Remember when he was ten???!

Where do they all get these magic-hindering cuffs from? I thought Pan made them? There even in the Wish Realm? I guess Wish Pan could have brought them with him.

But he hasn’t saved her. He’s a different Henry.

The way he grabs her arm and slashes her hand. Ruthless!

In the Wish Realm stories are written in blood and tears? I thought the Wish Realm was a happy place, where the good guys prevailed over the Evil Queen. I’ve been lied to!

I know Regina loved Robin but come on?? Facilier’s only just died! I would have preferred if she had seen Facilier in her dream, but I am biased.

Is Regina having some kinda magic dream here? Did Robin’s supposedly destroyed soul somehow make his way into Regina’s dream? Or else, how did she get the feather?  

Aww Rumple and Wish Killian bonding!  

The fact that Alice had Maui’s Hook suggests she must have wished for it. Her wish magic is so powerful and was so underutilised! She can summon things from other realms. She can summon anything! I wonder if she can summon people across realms. I would have thought she could if she just wished for them.

And now I’m sad, because, if only Killian had used Maui’s hook to free Alice straight away. *cries forever*

I love that they make it clear Alice still has magic. I think that the only additional powers she had as the Guardian were the abilities to sense the dagger and absorb the darkness.

The way Alice shakes herself as though scolding herself after she approaches her father. I’ve shook myself like that so many times. And Robin’s right there to comfort her straight away.

Oh, he is King Henry! I thought so.  

Did Wish Henry run out of ink? I guess Cruella’s hair only contained so much.

I’m still sad they didn’t make the Blue Fairy the ultimate big bad of the show. They had such an opportunity in s6, and it would have made so much sense. God, I wish she was the final villain and had a villain monologue about how she orchestrated everything and how she even played Rumplestiltskin so that he’d cast the first dark curse. She was the one who told him about the curse in the first place. God, it would have been the perfect end. In my heart she’s the big bad. I do feel sorry for the Wish Blue fairy. She’s gonna live out her worst nightmare forever. That sucks.  

Rumple is sad that the magic of the Guardian is gone, and he seems to believe that because of that he’ll never be able to get back to Belle, but all the Guardian could do was free him of the darkness. Isn’t the darkness technically gone if his Dark One magic and immortality have been taken. I guess the darkness could still live within him.

Poor Killian. Alice needs you! Stay strong, buddy!

Aww Robin asking for his blessing.

Curious Archer have been courting for 10 years. Holy bananas! It makes me wonder if there were laws in the NEF preventing them from getting married.  

And they’re both so happy! This is so sweet!

Robin: “I don’t care what we’re up against. No matter what, you are walking Alice down that aisle.” God bless.

How’s he gonna take on all those guards on his own? I guess Robin’s gonna shoot arrows at them from afar but still.  

Regina was so freaking scared. It looked like that guard was gonna stab Henry. But then, has Wish Rumple taken over Wish King George’s/Snowing’s castle? Why are they dressed like the Wish Evil Queen’s Guard’s then? It can’t be the Wish Evil Queen’s castle because that was taken over by Split Queen. I’m confused but I’m gonna go with the former option.

Snowing!!!! Babies!! You don’t understand how much I’ve missed you!!

Yeah, the table’s there. It’s definitely Wish King George’s castle. It makes sense that Wish Henry would be there but not that his guards would be dressed like the Evil Queen’s guards.

So, as suggested by the official prop books, Regina’s nightmare prison is on a rock in the middle of the ocean, Snow’s is in some desert (I guess cause her name is Snow), Zelena’s is in the Nautilus (or should we say, on the naughty list), Alice’s is to be trapped in a frozen tundra with trolls (Is she in Arendelle? Because that would be fun. It should have been trapped in the tower again because lbr that would be her worst nightmare), Wish Blue’s is in the creepy woods from the Snow White movie, Charming’s is in Neverland with the Lost Boys (which very nearly happened, of course), Wish Hook’s would be in Wonderland (Ouch! The adventure he never got to go on with Alice) and Lucy’s would be in a tower. Source, pictures and more info here: https://wicked-storybrooke.tumblr.com/post/626242962347655168

Margot holding Tilly’s hand because she must be so traumatised from being imprisoned the first 17 years of her life and now she’s facing the possibility of that again.

Killian doesn’t have the heart to tell Alice that being so near to her is killing him. I wonder if it was made worse by all the time they spent together under the curse. Maybe his heart was corrupted every time they were near each other, but he just couldn’t feel the pain from it.

Oh. I forgot Wish Rumple planned to trap everyone. Charming tells them to scatter throughout the realms so it’s not just the people of the Wish Realm Wish Rumple wants to trap. I have to wonder, to what end? And I hope Snow and Charming and literally everyone else were able to hold onto something rather than fall into their nightmare.  

Snow hope speech!  

I love Snowing so much and I’m so glad they’re here.

Oh! He poured magic on his hand and that’s how he was able to remove his heart.  

Omg Wish Henry and Regina are sword fighting! Uh oh!

Oh, Wish Rumple only opened these guys’ books, so maybe Snow and Charming and everyone else aren’t hanging onto blades of grass for dear life.

Oh my God! Margot nearly fell through! That was so scary. Thank goodness her big cousin Henry saved her.

Oh no! Alice!

Killian’s face when Alice begins to slip!

Margot yelling at her to hold on!

Papa Killian to the rescue.

Wish Rumple’s having the time of his life.

Margot is screaming! She’s so scared for Alice!

Wish Henry’s gonna kill Regina!

Nooo! She slipped!

Killian grabbed her just in time.  

Alice: “Papa, let go!” Wish Hook: “Never!” My heart!

He’s in increasingly excruciating pain every moment he holds on to her, but he would rather die than let his baby girl be alone and imprisoned again. Gaaah! Such an amazing Papa!

And she would rather live out the rest of her days lonely and trapped than let her Papa suffer. My heart’s gonna explode!

Oh, the portals opened because of Wish Henry’s anger, so when his fury subsided the portals closed. I literally never knew that.  

That was a really cool and terrifying sequence!  

I can’t believe he’s hugging her though. She still killed his grandparents and kidnapped his mum as far as he knows.  

No, Killian!

Omg, poor Alice! This is horrible.

Rumple’s so mad that his bro is hurt and that his surrogate daughter is sad.

Rumple: “I have evolved. I am ultimate Rumple on steroids!” Wish Rumple: *throws him across the room*.

She’s shielding her Papa from bad Rumple.

Noooo! She’s crying! This is so freaking heart breaking.

Rumple: “I also know you don’t do the right thing for a reward. You do it because it’s right.” Looking at you prosperity gospel I grew up with.

But how did giving his heart to Killian kill him? Not to mention Wish Rumple. The only way I can try to explain it is that it was the nature of the curse of the poisoned heart and the two Rumple’s are connected by the darkness?  

Thank God Killian’s alright!  

Knightrook hug at last!  

Bless Rumple for doing that, even though he didn’t think he’d ever get back to Belle.  

So wild how Rumple died for a version of Hook.

I don’t really understand how Henry is Rumple’s undoing but maybe they’re referring to Wish Henry? That doesn’t really make sense because he wasn’t the boy who led him back to Baelfire.

Aww Wish Hook and Regina holding hands.

Regina: “Thank you for one last lesson; that darkness can always find the light.”

Regina looks like she’s about to tlk Rumple on the lips.  

She settles for his forehead. That’s sweet.

I always wonder if that’s really Belle he sees here. She’s just a lot younger than when she died. Do people de-age in the better place? Did Henry sr. and Cora? And Belle here seems so ethereal, it makes me wonder if this is just a vision of her.

This whole idea about casting another curse was an interesting one. I feel she should have asked the people of the other realms if they wanted their realms moved. I guess she can do it without altering their personalities and memories, but can a dark curse really be good? I guess they wanted to end the show how it started, with a curse and a royal ceremony. And I do kinda like the idea of the United Realms. I want it to be a real theme park. But I did like it when it was difficult to go from realm to realm. I think overall I prefer them to be separate, but I think they wanted to keep with the theme of everyone being able to find one another.

She wants everyone she loves to gift a small piece of their hearts to cast this curse? Sounds dangerous.

Regina, this is kinda a terrible idea, hun.

It’s cool seeing all the realms again though.

They finally revealed who Lily’s dad was in the last few minutes of the last episode haha.

Wow. Wish Henry embraced Regina real quick. And it looks like he’s wearing a Sherriff’s badge, so I’m guessing Emma has accepted him as her son. I mean, he is. As far as we know there’s no Wish Emma and she must have memories of raising him.

Oh, I’m glad they showed Zelena using magic. Otherwise we wouldn’t know which Zelena this is. It’s present-day Zelena not past Zelena. Good to know.

Prince Neal’s grown up a little! Cool! So, they’re stuck back in a time where he and Robin are like, 8 or 9. So they’ve been stuck back in time for around 3 years since Regina cast the curse. If Drizella and Gothel’s curse took them back in time, why couldn’t this curse take them forward into their own time? It must have created another timeline because Zelena and Robin would already have known their futures and it didn’t seem like they were in the United Realms at the beginning of 7x11. I could be wrong though. It just would have been nice if they’d met up with their family from their own time but the reason why they didn’t do that was because Emma would be in her 60s and I guess they wanted the original main cast to be recognisable for the last episode. This could have been avoided if Lucy was born earlier. In my head they go back to their own time after this ceremony.

Wow, Regina’s becoming Queen of Everything.  

Emma!

Henry with his little sister.  

And they called her Hope, the theme of the show. That is quite fitting.

Calling each other Madam Mayor and Miss Swan. The nostalgia!

The flashbacks!!

Look at them all. I love these characters.

Leaving Storybrooke? But it won’t be for long. Storybrooke’s my home.

And that’s the end guys. God, I love this show and there’ll be many rewatches to come for me. Thank you again. It’s been totally awesome.

[xmalfoyweasleyx]

Years and years (part 1/2) - Draco Malfoy (smut + fluff)

Summary: A walk through the years of your relationship with Draco, all the ups and downs, all the passion and al the love in one story <3

Includes: a LOOOT of SMUT 18+!! more parts of smut! , also a LOT of fluffy stuff and a little bit of angst, dad!draco at the end.

THIS STORY WILL HAVE 2 PARTS!

Warnings for THIS PART: Umbridge her quill , sad Draco, the war and its injuries, alcohol, let's pretend they are already old enough for everything!!!!, masturbation, very dirty thoughts, fingering and oral (fem receiving)

3,2k words

September 1991

Y/n was nervous. It was her first year going to Hogwarts. The excitement tickling inside of her tummy was pleasant and horrible at the same time.

The castle was right in front of her, it was astonishing. Lots of other kids around her age were walking to the boats. A hard beat on y/n's shoulder made her almost fall into the ground.

"Get out of my way" she heard a little blond boy say. His hair was blonde and ashy and his eyes were like ice. Y/n already hated him. "Prick" was the only thing she answered when she quickly walked away. It made an anger boil inside the little bully. Draco already hated her too. Nobody walks in his way on the first day of school, the day he looked forward to for already 11 years. AND how dare she? Talking to him like that?

March 1995

Draco was bored. He was sitting next to the window, the only amusing thing was the view outside. It was snowing in march. Not that common for this time of the year. He messed a little with the badge on his robe, the badge Umbridge gave him. He was proud of himself. No actually he wasn't, he was just delighted with the fact that his father was going to be proud. A big plus was the fact that those stupid other houses were finally put in their place.

Y/n came out of Umbridge her office. Relieved. Finally, her tears could come out. She was holding them in for so long now. The burning sensation on her arm wasn't the only reason. Umbridge hated her. She abused her mentally and physically.

Tears rolled down her cheeks like a river, finally coming out after so long. And like it couldn't get any worse Draco Malfoy was right in front of her, and he saw her. He saw her tears and he heard her sobs.

"Don't you dare laugh at me, not this time, please" y/n begged, not even embarrassed about how pathetic it looked.

Y/n and Draco had a weird history. From the first day they met until now. It was an abnormal relationship. Of course y/n hated him like everyone else hates Draco Malfoy. And of course he hated her like Draco Malfoy hated everyone.

But there was this tension, an unexplainable one, the both of them never understood.

"What happened?" Draco asked by y/n her surprise.

"I- uh- I, Umbridge, she.." y/n stuttered confused while unconsciously rubbing her arm where Umbridge had harmed her.

Draco automatically looked at it and had a thoughtful look on his face. Then he saw the wound on her arm 'blood traitor'.

Without thinking he grabbed her arm, a shock of concern went through his body. He didn't know what happened to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

Y/n was in shock, not knowing what to say. But she wasn't the only one confused because of his sudden concern, Draco was too. It was the first time he realized how vulnerable she was. He had the sudden urge to take care of her, to make sure she was okay.

It went as fast as his first time riding a broom. Out of the blue it was like his mission to make sure she was okay, to make sure she was safe. Even though he still had that primitive hate towards her.

"Sit down, I might know something" he promised.

Y/n sat down next to him, a tear still running down her cheek.

"Episkey" Draco whispered carefully with a wave of his dark colored wand. With his other hand he held her arm still. The soft and warm touch surprised her. She imagined them cold and harsh but his fingers were the opposite. Even his eyes were soft now, the cold grey was a little more warm and blue now.

The cuts in her arm healed. Not completely, you could still see a scar, but it didn't hurt any more. "Wow, thank you Draco" she whispered with a smile. For a moment Draco's eyes softened and he felt his body warm up when she said his first name. It was an unknown feeling to the Slytherin boy.

A moment of silence followed when they looked in each others eyes. But then they realized he was still holding her hand. They both let go awkwardly and the moment was over. Leaving both of them confused.

April 1995

Y/n was already getting tipsy. She poured another shot of firewhisky down her throat while laughing with Hermione. The music at the party was loud and made y/n even more dizzy.

"Mione, guess who was nice to me today, you'll never guess" I mumbled. Hermione was of course, taking this seriously. So she kept thinking and thinking, leaving y/n impatient. "Okay I'll just say it, it was Malfoy" she tells her eventually.

"The Draco Malfoy?" she mouthed confused. Y/n nodded. "He healed my arm after Umbridge's detention" y/n confirmed. Hermione's mouth hung open in response.

What y/n didn't know was that Draco was watching her from a distance, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. He noticed how pretty she actually was. He spent the past 5 years despising the girl. From the day she called him 'a prick' until now, until he suddenly had this weird feeling. She looked hot, y/n was sexy. She had a nice ass, Draco noticed. He was a little drunk and that always made him horny.

"Okay, y/n. Believe it or not but Draco is checking you out" Hermione told y/n. She immediately turned around and saw Draco looking straight into her eyes now.

"I'm going to say hi, I think he wants me " y/n boasted full with confidence because of the alcohol. Draco was still watching her when she strode up to him. She stopped right in front of him and looked him up and down.

"Well well Draco Malfoy, you were checking me out, weren't you? You like my new dress?" she joked drunkly.

"You're drunk" Draco laughed. It made y/n furrow her eyebrows.

"I think you're drunk because you're actually laughing!" she answered mocking him. Draco smiled and took a closer look at the girl in the party lights. He never noticed her y/e/c eyes and her pretty lips. Oh how they would look so perfect wrapped around his co-

"LET'S DANCE!!!" y/n screamed, cutting off his daydreams.

Draco did something very surprising and followed her to the dance floor. Y/n swayed her hips to the music seductively, moving very very close to Draco. Of course she did that on purpose but she didn't want Draco to know.

When y/n turned around and rubbed her ass against his clothed cock, Draco was afraid he would cum in his pants already. He was used to be dancing like this at parties with girls, but this felt different. Draco tried to convince himself this was just because he was extra horny, but deep down he knew it was because of the girl in front of him.

Without thinking Draco turned her around again. He pressed y/n close to him and before he knew it their lips were pressed against each other.

Her soft lips moved slowly against his. Y/n grabbed his neck and pulled on his hair softly while Draco pushed her hips closer.

The kiss was heated and full of passion. A soft moan escaped her lips. Draco's erection appeared in his pants. Suddenly the boy realized the effect y/n had on him.

He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't ruin the reputation he worked on for years! So he searched all his willpower and pushed her away.

"What are you doing, stupid girl!" he screamed.

Y/n was surprised and a look full of hurt appeared on her face.

-

That night Draco was still horny. The mix of emotions was unbearable.

He didn't want to, but he had to.

So he pulled his pants down slowly, a big sigh left his mouth when his erection finally came free. Draco had never been this horny, especially not after hurting someone. Because he did hurt y/n, he knew that. But eventually this was normal, she wouldn't mind that much... She's used to him being like that. At least that's what Draco thought.

So he wiped the precum from is tip and sighed. Draco started to pump very slowly, a grunt of relief left his mouth.

He tried to come up with something else in his head, he tried really really hard. But the only thing that came up was how y/n danced against him, how sexy she was. He thought about her beautiful lips and how perfect they felt on his.

He imagined how it would feel if she was in front of him, pumping him slowly, with her innocent eyes locked with his. How her eyes wouldn't be leaving his, looking so so desperate for him.

He imagined how she then would put her mouth around his cock. Draco started to pump faster and faster. Because of his drunk state it felt almost real. Her warm pretty mouth...

Draco grunted loudly now, imagining how he would slap that ass of her, how he would completely destroy the girl. A soft moan left his mouth, he was imagining her boobs now. How they would bounce right in front of him.

His stomach began to tingle more and more. He was cumming very soon. His hips started to buck op when he imagined how he would just pound into her mercilessly. It was almost like he could hear her pretty moans and screams.

And with one last pump he came. Hard. Moaning her name when his head fell backwards.

He just laid there for a moment. Panting very loudly. He never came that hard.

Fuck Draco Malfoy, what's wrong with you, he thought.

November 1996

Being in 6th year for almost 3 months now, y/n and Draco only saw each other from a distance in the great hall. The only interaction they had were little glances and a lot of staring.

Y/n was still mad. How could that stupid fucking Slytherin boy just kiss her and talk to her like that and then leave and get mad?!

It was stupid.

It was stupid how sometimes their eyes met during dinner and how it made their hearts beat like crazy.

It was stupid how they still thought about each other every day because of just one stupid kiss.

February 1996

5 months later they finally talked again. Their anger towards each other was mostly gone now. It was time to call a truce now.

Y/n decided it had been enough of all this silliness. So when she bumped into Draco she decided to finally talk to him.

"Who do we have here" she tried sounding polite and playful.

"Hey" Draco said. It was now that y/n saw how tired he looked. All these months they had non-verbal conversations from a distance, but now she really saw him and how terrible he looked, almost ill.

"Draco, are you okay?" was the first question that came up in her mind to say.

Draco just nodded. The last thing he wanted was to show her how terrible he felt. His task, becoming a death eater,...

So he just decided to nod and walk away.

"Oh and sorry about getting mad at you last year" he said from a distance when he quickly walked away.

It left y/n worried and surprised. He apologized?

June 5, 1996

It was the last month of the school year. Y/n heard sobs when she walked past the prefects bathroom. Never had sobs been so recognizable. It was Draco. She knew that immediately. So she didn't hesitate to walk inside the bathroom.

Draco and y/n had been talking last months after all. What you can call talking. It were silly little talks and her friends even judged her for doing it. But the talks didn't really represent that much. Draco felt too bad and she wanted to ask what was going on but she couldn't.

The sight broke her heart. Draco looked at her with fearful eyes.

"Draco" y/n gasped "come here" was the only thing she said. The right words didn't come up in her mind so she just stepped closer to him.

She grabbed his back and pushed him in for a hug. Draco didn't fight it but also didn't hug back. He didn't know what to do. Only his mother hugged him. But y/n started to stroke his back and her smell was so comforting.

"It's okay Dray, you're safe with me" she whispered.

Draco felt calm now. After all those months he finally felt good. So he hugged her back and started to cry again.

"Yes Draco, you can let it al go now" she promised when Draco kept crying harder en harder finally feeling free and safe to let go.

They stayed like that for a while. When Draco calmed down completely he explained her everything and y/n listened. They talked for hours. He told y/n it was his birthday and no one said happy birthday to him today. After all the serious talk they even talked about more fun stuff.

Draco was happy. He hasn't been in years.

June 31, 1996

Believe it or not, but y/n was laying in Draco's bed. Summer was there and everyone was packing to go home for the break.

Y/n has been Draco's girlfriend for a few weeks now. It was a secret. She secretly came to his dorm every night and sometimes she stayed to sleep in his arms.

Y/n got to know the other side of Draco, a part she actually loved.

Draco got to know his own new side and still tried and struggled with being in a relationship now. But he was so so so in love, he realized that now.

His heart fluttered in his chest again when y/n snuggled her nose deeper into his shoulder, trying to be closer to him than before. She laid on him with the half of her body and stroked his arm lightly.

"So we're not going to see each other this summer?" she asked.

"We'll figure it out, I promise we'll see each other" Draco smiled while stroking her hair, making y/n shiver a little.

Y/n stroked up and down his chest now. "I want to try something before we leave, I want to have sex" she suddenly said.

"What?" Draco answered a little bit shocked. Not that he didn't want it he was just surprised.

"If-if.. if you don't want to it's okay, I don't know how experienced you are and..." y/n stuttered.

Draco laughed a little at the thought. She thought he didn't want this? He wanted this for so so so long now. "I want to, but we only have 15 minutes till the train leaves. And.. are you... are.. have you ever had sex before?" he asked getting nervous now.

"No, but I want you to take my virginity, did you do it before?" she asked interested.

"I'm not a virgin. No. But, you are, I don't want you to lose your virginity when we're rushed. We'll see each other this summer and I'll make it perfect, okay?" Draco assured her.

God how he wanted to fuck her there and then, destroy his little innocent girlfriend. But not when it's rushed.

Y/n looked disappointed and she really really was. It took her a lot of courage to ask this.

So Draco had an idea.

"But, I can do something else, if you trust me" he smiled while stroking under her skirt, going closer and closer to her pussy.

"You said we have only 15 minutes" she whispered with flushed cheeks.

"I can make you cum in less than that" Draco promised. Y/n bit her lip and nodded.

He started slowly stroking her clothed pussy now, making y/n gasp a little. Y/n still laid partly on him and her hand was on his chest. Draco had a perfect view on her face and she was so close, it was the perfect position.

"Do you touch yourself?" he asked while pushing her panties down very slowly, lightly touching her pussy now.

Y/n nodded while biting her lip to hold in the moans.

"You don't have to be shy princess, you can let it all out for me, okay? Now tell me what you think when you touch yourself" Draco asked huskily while drawing little circles on her clit now.

A soft moan left y/n her lips and her cheeks were already flushed. Her pussy already wetter than ever.

"I- I think about you, how you would touch me" she moaned. Draco answered with a soft moan too, not able to hold it in. He imagined how she would be thinking of him while pleasuring herself, and moaning his name.

He entered his finger slowly. Y/n gasped. "Draco" she moaned when he started to pump into her softly.

"Good girl" he praised.

"Go faster Dray, it feels so good" y/n moans.

Draco did what she told him and started to pump faster while adding another finger. "You're so tight for me baby, I can't wait to feel you wrapped around my cock this summer when I fuck you so hard" Draco grunts.

Y/n was a moaning mess now. His name left her mouth multiple times. Something he would remember for ever.

"God you're so fucking sexy y/n" he moaned. Draco was surprised how turned on this made him.

And then Draco stopped and pulled his fingers out.

"What are you doing?" she asked when Draco left her side.

"Can I do this?" he asked when going down with his mouth now very close to her pussy.

Y/n nodded eagerly.

Draco attached his soft lips to her clit, sucking on it gently. She was already very sensitive from before so a loud moan came out.

Draco started to suck harder and moaned on her pussy, sending vibrations that went through her whole body. Y/n automatically grabbed his hair and pulled harder than she meant to.

Draco absolutely loved it. It was the hottest thing ever to him, the way she moaned and how she pulled his hair but pushed him closer at the same time.

"I- I think I'm cumming Dray" she gasped.

"Yes, my good girl, cum for me" he whispered.

A loud moan of his name filled the room and her eyes scrunched shut. Y/n panted loudly. "God I think I saw the stars" she breathed.

Draco chuckled and came back up to her pulling her close to him like before. "Told you I could do it in less than 15 minutes" he joked.

"I'm going to miss you Draco" y/n said more serious now with a big frown.

"Me too. But we'll see each other again soon, I promise. I'll be showing you more than just the stars then, princess" he promised her, his heart full of love and joy. He placed a little kiss on her head.

She made a new Draco Malfoy come alive, but what they didn't know yet, is that it will get much much more difficult in the future...

❀

Okay so part 2 will have more (and better) smut in it, like promised, if you want the be tagged in it you can just fill in my taglist

Thanks for reading loves x

new taglist: @rudypankowisdaddy

[reversia]

Just saw your response to my comment about 'Día de las Velitas' I myself am Dominican/Mexican and I couldn't find anything about March 6th except for St. Colette - Patron against eye disorders, against fever, against headaches, against infertility, against the death of parents, of women seeking to conceive, expectant mothers, sick children and Patron of craftsmen. Colombia is very Catholic so maybe it has to do with that. (Ran out of space - look for Dominican/Mexican at start of my next ask)

Please forgive the delayed response, I don’t always have the opportunity to write here ;_;

Wow, it was very interesting to learn about St. Colette and whose patroness she is. Also, it is very surprising to me that there is a power outage in your country in the evening! It must be a lot of inconvenience, but it saves resources!

As for Encanto, maybe candles are already part of their own culture? Who knows. Maybe Jared Bush will confirm it for us one day.

And generally speaking, as someone who lives on the diametrically opposite side of the globe, I find it very interesting to learn about the culture and life patterns of people from other countries, especially those as far away as Latin America. More than that, Encanto inspired me to start learning Spanish! And I'm also very happy that in Tumblr I can communicate with people from other countries! It's incredibly great!

[cutiepisenpai]

Gifted

A/N: So I have finally reached season 12 and began the Spencer episode before deciding that I need to take a break before continuing so I did what I always do I procrastinated and wrote this. It may run into a series or juts a few chapter I’m not really sure. Either way hope you enjoy it. 

Spencer Reid x F!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of the unsubs crimes, beheading, possible cannibalism. other than that its fluff

Spencer was running trying to catch the elevator before it closed, catching the door in a knick of time. When he steps inside the elevator there is a woman waiting. "Which floor?" She asks but he doesn't hear her too encapsulated with her beauty. “Which floor?” She asks again a little louder, breaking him out of his stupor. “Oh.. Um the 6th floor.” he says before looking to see that the button was already pushed. “Nevermind.” The rest of the ride is silent, Spencer wants to start a conversation but for once he can’t quite find the words. Arriving at the 6th floor he motions for her to exit before him as she walks towards the BAU offices. Trailing behind he walks to place his bag at his desk as he watches her walk directly to Rossi’s office. “You’re staring hard pretty boy, she is gonna notice if you keep that up.” Morgan teases as he walks by. “Who?” Asks JJ joining the conversation as Prentiss and Garcia also walk over to find out what’s going on. Now everyone has gathered to question what is going on. “Pretty boy walked in with his eyes glued to the girl in Rossi’s office.” Morgan responds. “Oooo do you know her? Is she new? Is she joining the BAU?” Garcia rambles through her questions. As they look through the window of Rossi’s office they can see Rossi and the mystery girl hugging they are obviously well acquainted with one another. After a short talk they walk to Hotch’s office. They delve into a deep conversation trying to find out the identity of the mystery girl while teasing Spencer about his obvious crush. Inside Hotch's office, “Y/F/N it’s good to see you again.” Hotch says hugging her. “It’s good to see you too. Although I would prefer if I wasn't pushed into this job but here we are.” Y/N says having a seat next to Rossi. “Well I know you don’t want to be here but we are happy to have you. It looks like almost everything has gone through but they haven’t approved you to work in the field yet. You can join us on the next case, you just aren’t authorized to carry a weapon yet.” “Well you know it’s nothing personal I liked where I was before but I wasn’t given the choice so here I am.” Hotch leaves to announce for everyone to meet in the conference room. “Good Morning everyone this is Dr, Y/F/N Y/L/N she is joining the team as of today.” Hotch introduces her before going right into explaining the case. 

On the jet ride the team is heading to Miami where there has been a series of beheadings. Delving deeper into the case the team is discussing possible motives for the unsubs crimes. Well most of the team, Spencer is deep in a daydream about Y/N ever since the moment he first saw her his focus shifted only to her. He wasn’t one to believe in the idea of love at first sight but everytime he looked at her he would just get lost. He has yet to actually start any conversation with Y/N, he wanted to say something, anything really but the words would just get lost. “Reid did you hear me?” Hotch asks as Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ snicker at him. “No sorry what did you say?” “You are with Morgan going to talk with the M.E., Prentiss and JJ are going to the most recent dump site, and Rossi, Y/N and myself are going to the police department to get set up.” When the plane lands they go their separate ways. Morgan and Reid are driving to the morgue when Morgan calls Garcia, “Hey baby girl, do me a favor and patch in Prentiss and JJ.” Once they are all on the phone they get down to business. “What’s the 411 on the new girl?” “Let’s see, Dr. Y/F/N Y/L/N born March XX, 1985. Her father is an Admiral in the Navy, her mother is a Chief Surgeon at James Madison Hospital and she has an older brother that is a Captain in the Navy. Wow lots of achievements with this family. Looks like our newcomer rivals boy wonder in the genius department, she started college at Princeton when she was 8 and has degrees in Criminal Law, Computer Engineering, Molecular Biology and Chemistry. Looks like she has one more Ph.D. than you and she has an IQ of 198. When she was eighteen she was recruited by the DoD (Department of Defense) and worked there until she came to the BAU.” Garcia fills the team in. “Well looks like you have found your perfect match Dr. Reid, so how are you going to ask her out or are you just going to keep staring at her with that blank look on your face?” Morgan asks teasingly. A few hours later everyone is back together at the Miami P.D. office. So far there have been 3 bodies found all missing their heads, bodies dumped in back alleys around the city. Reid is starting a geographic profile while the team discusses the case, “He wants the bodies found they aren’t exactly hidden dump sites.” Prentiss says. “What do you think he is doing with the heads?” The Miami P.D. Chief asks. “He could be keeping them as trophies” Morgan starts to say. “Or he could be eating them.” Y/N finishes saying nonchalantly, not even looking up from the report she is reading. “You can’t be serious?” The Chief asks. He doesn’t receive a verbal answer, the looks from every team member is enough to answer that question. A little while later Y/N walks over to Reid to ask him a question, unfortunately as soon as she starts talking Reid’s mind wanders again. He has so many questions he wants to ask but she doesn’t want her to know that the team was snooping into her earlier. Her voice is so pleasant he could listen to it forever. He makes eye contact and she is looking at him expectedly, he should have been listening instead of just admiring her. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you.” he lies, well sort of he heard her voice just not what she actually said. “I said did you notice the pattern of the dump sites on the geographical profile.” She says pointing it out to him. How the hell did I miss that he thinks to himself. Working with her is going to be hard.

After finishing up the Miami case the team just arrived back at Quantico starting on case paperwork. It’s quiet for the most part because everyone wants to go home soon. Everyone did notice their new agent was making her way through the paperwork rather quickly, but she is also not engaging in any outside conversation whatsoever. Seemingly finished just a few minutes before Spencer, normally the first person done with paperwork. Y/N says her goodbyes for the night before heading for the elevators. “Go talk to her.” JJ whisper yells at Reid since he is done and can leave. Just like a few mornings before Spencer runs to make the elevator swinging his bag in to catch the door. Now inside the elevator he wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn't have a plan but standing in awkward silence again would just be awful. “Did you know there are six elevator related deaths per year.” As soon as the words leave his mouth he regrets it. He is surprised that instead of asking why he would say something like that while they are in an elevator he hears laughter. “Well that's one hell of an icebreaker. Not the one I would choose but I guess it works.” He is at a loss for words again, he doesn’t understand why talking to her is so difficult. “I promise I am not an idiot. I just don’t know how to talk to you.” He says without a second thought. “You could talk to me just like you talk to anyone else.” “It’s not that easy.” He says as they walk out of the building towards the parking garage. “Well if you prefer we can continue trading random information, did you know the inventor of the frisbee was cremated and made into a frisbee after he died.” She says the expression on her face is unchanging. Spencer didn’t know what to do with this information, was she expecting him to question the fact or respond with one of his own. But it's too late now they have reached there cars, she bids him goodnight stating she would see him tomorrow. 

[pixieminutes]

Uncertain | KHJ

genre: angst, fluff, mafia!au

members: kim hongjoong x reader, brother!jung wooyoung, choi jongho, park seonghwa, jeong yunho

warnings: swearing, walking out

5th July, 2018

“i’m y/n,” you smiled.

“and she is my sister! which means that if any of you lay a hand on her–” wooyoung pulled his gun out of his pocket and smiled sweetly, “there we go.”

you laughed slightly, only hitting him when you saw he’d put the gun fully back into his pocket.

“and why is she here?” a man asked.

he had a mullet, dyed light brown and his ears were full of earrings.

“that’s hongjoong,” wooyoung whispered, “our leader.”

hongjoong raised his eyebrows at wooyoung expectantly and your brother coughed, spluttering his words out.

“well– she– i– you know,” wooyoung took a deep breath, “she’s here because i don’t want her to stay with our parents. if any of you had little siblings, you’d do the same, right?”

“wrong,” jongho said, “it’s actually my little siblings who are the evil ones. if i could get my parents away, i would. but, they won’t leave.”

wooyoung rolled his eyes, “except you.”

hongjoong sighed, “she can stay. she can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with us. we have a room on the top floor and remind her she doesn’t need to clean any rooms.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, scoffing at hongjoong, “you know i’m right here, don’t you?”

wooyoung widened his eyes, beginning to drag you away by your shoulders, “ah, she’s joking hong—”

“no, it’s okay,” hongjoong chuckled, walking over so he was only centimetres away from your face, “she’s brave. i like it.”

“i’m not brave, i’m just calling you out,” you scoffed, “and sorry but, where’s my room? i kinda need a nap right now.”

hongjoong scoffed, nodding his head, grabbing your arm gently, “come with me.”

“i meant it hongjoong!” wooyoung called after the two of you.

hongjoong pulled the gun out of his pocket, not taking his attention off of your conversation.

wooyoung just rolled his eyes.

9th February, 2020

“where are you going?” you called.

hongjoong turned back to you, smiling sweetly with no meaning, “i’m going to get ice cream and frolick in the park.”

you rolled your eyes, sighing, “i was just asking.”

“i’m going out.”

“yes, but where?” you pushed.

“does it matter to you?!” hongjoong exclaimed, “jesus christ, can i not even leave without you bugging me?!”

you looked back to the clock in the kitchen, 19:14.

“fine,” you laughed dryly, “go. i won’t stay up.”

“no one asked you to.”

“be safe!” you called, “wherever the fuck you’re going.”

only three months after you’d moved in with ateez, you and hongjoong had made moves to take you far beyond just friends, despite wooyoung’s words. who was wooyoung to fight, though? his gang’s leader dating his sister was only to end in good things for him, especially with how much joy you brought to hongjoong.

brought. past tense.

since then, just under two years had passed and it had somewhat changed.

the hard, mafia leader hongjoong, who you managed to melt away until he was simply your boyfriend, had somehow bounced back.

now? you laid in bed alone, cold, and, underlining everything; lonely.

12th February, 2020

“where’s wooyoung?” hongjoong asked.

the six other members looked at each other, slight shrugs and shakes of their heads going between them before hongjoong shouted out, groaning loudly.

“where the fuck is that boy?!” he yelled, “i’ve had it with the jung family!”

“i’m here! hongjoong! i’m here! sorry!” wooyoung exclaimed, running in the room and sitting in his spot beside jongho.

“explanation?” hongjoong said simply, raising one eyebrow as he looked to the panting boy.

“there was a girl in my bed this morning,” wooyoung said, still trying to get his breath back, “it was not easy to explain why i had to go.”

hongjoong laughed cruely, “there was a girl in my bed this morning too. your sister. and just because your sister is in my bed, does not mean you get to fucking slack! do you understand?”

hongjoong’s voice was quiet, but exasperated, and it sent shivers down all the boys’ spines.

wooyoung nodded, gravely, “yes, hongjoong.”

“good,” he spat, “then we’ll continue.”

~

“what did you mean you’ve had it with the jung family?” seonghwa asked, “everything okay?”

“being particularly nosey, are we seonghwa?” hongjoong sighed.

seonghwa rolled his eyes, “no! i’m fucking worried about you, man! i don’t want your girl at home to be unsatisfying. that’s the worst thing a mafia leader could deal with.”

hongjoong scoffed, “it is, isn’t it?”

seonghwa laughed and nudged hongjoong’s shoulder, “so? care to tell me?”

“she’s just so fucking annoying,” hongjoong cried, “she’s so clingy and she always wants to cuddle?! like literally a couple weeks ago she came and climbed on my lap while i was working so we could cuddle. while i was working!”

seonghwa grimaced, “god. have you told her?”

“no. i’m trying to be a dick so i can let her down slowly. make her not want me until we’re at a mutual place.”

seonghwa nodded, the plan was cruel, but probably the best one a mafia leader could have come up with.

“what about wooyoung?” seonghwa asked.

“what about him?”

“well doesn’t it become a bit fucking awkward after you’ve hit it and quit it with his sister?”

hongjoong rolled his eyes, scoffing, “if he has a problem with it, he can leave. i’ll give her enough money to buy her own place, so she’ll be fine.”

seonghwa gasped, “wow! really? god, hongjoong, you’re so kind! i should be more like you.”

hongjoong smiled, “i try.”

27th February, 2020

“hongjoong,” you whined, leaving the warmth and comfort of your bed, seeing your boyfriend still sat at his desk, “why aren’t you in bed?”

“unlike some of us, i have to work, y/n,” hongjoong spat.

you pouted, “you stressed? you sound it. hold on, i’ll make you a warm drink.”

hongjoong went to protest, but you had already left the room. he sighed, he didn’t want a fucking hot drink, he wanted to be left alone.

you hummed as you made the chai tea, a special recipe you’d concocted yourself. using milk and spices and tea, it filled the house with a comforting smell and warmed you up to no end.

you put a couple of the egg tarts you’d made the previous day on a plate and poured the tea into a mug, walking back into hongjoong’s office and setting them beside him.

“it’s late you know,” you sighed.

hongjoong gritted his teeth, looking up at you with a piercing look.

you seemed oblivious, looking curiously round his office, you’d never stayed in here for long.

“i know you know that, though,” you chuckled, “i’m going back to bed, okay? don’t be too long.”

you approached your boyfriend, the man almost ready to burst at any second until you placed the tiniest kiss on his temple, leaving the room again, hongjoong hearing your bare feet pad up the stairs.

he looked at the plate and cup in front of him, taking a sip from the tea, a slight smile raised his lips. it reminded him of you, though he wasn’t sure why.

he sighed, leaning forward and taking a bite of the egg tart, “thank you.”

6th March, 2020

you sighed, watching your boyfriend leave again, for the fourth time that week.

picking up your phone, you pressed your brother’s contect, holding it to your ear as you walked upstairs to find the little belongings that belonged solely to you.

“what’s up!” wooyoung laughed, “i miss you, y/n.”

you sighed, “yeah, well you might be seeing me sooner than you think.”

“huh?” wooyoung asked, panic laced in his voiced, “w-what do you mean?”

a tear fell from your eye as you packed only the clothes you owned previous to knowing hongjoong, looking around your shared bedroom.

“i can’t do it,” you said, your voice shaky as you shook your head, “god, woo, i can’t— it’s like he doesn’t even know i’m here. i’m more like his maid. just for cooking and cleaning and fucking whenever he pleases.”

wooyoung sighed, unable to think of any words to say.

“every time i try and help him, i just have no reply,” you said, “i can’t do it anymore. i can’t help him. i actually think he might be heartless.”

“are you going to come here?” wooyoung asked.

he sounded fed-up, and just that thought alone made your heart sink. you felt bad. you felt so bad. but being with woo, it was just going to be better than ever being with hongjoong. you weren’t stupid.

“if that’s okay,” you said with a sigh, “i’ll find somewhere else as soon as possible.”

“it’s fine, y/n,” wooyoung said, “you coming now?”

“yeah,” you nodded, “yeah, i just need to write a note. i’m sorry if this gets you in any kind of—”

“don’t,” wooyoung said, “it’s fine. it’ll be awkward but, as long as i don’t do anything, he won’t.”

you nodded, “well. i’ll see you in a bit.”

wooyoung hummed, quickly hanging up.

you sighed, heading down to the kitchen, pulling the bag with you. you poured out a cup of homemade chai tea and the last remaining egg tart from the most recent batch. you quickly scribbled a note and left it underneath.

“ah!” you exclaimed, turning back only seconds after you began to leave, picking up the pen, “p.s. microwave the tea for 1 minute 40 seconds. that’s how you like it. y/n.”

you sighed, finally stepping out the front door once and for all. this was it. no regrets.

~

“i’m home,” hongjoong sighed, knowing that with the time on the clock you’d already have gone to bed.

he walked into the kitchen, scoffing as he saw the tea and the tart.

“what’s this?” he muttered, ripping the note out from underneath the plate, grabbing the tart as well so he could eat as he read.

hi hongjoong. welcome home i guess.

when you go upstairs, don’t expect to find me. i love you joong, i really do, but i can’t do this anymore. i try to love and care for you but all you do is push me further away.

maybe that was your plan. you’re just cruel like that, aren’t you? i should have expected it really, dating a mafia leader. still. i thought you’d changed. i guess not.

thanks for a happy two years hongjoong. i love you.

- y/n

p.s. microwave the tea for 1 minute 40 seconds. that’s how you like it - y/n

hongjoong dropped the note, looking to the tea and the tart in front of him. this was what he wanted. this is what he was trying to do, but now he wasn’t sure.

he rushed upstairs, going into the bedroom where, sure enough, you weren’t.

on every normal day he’d come home, he’d walk into the bedroom, switch the light on, switch it off when he realised you were asleep, shake your snow globe and kiss you once before going downstairs to continue work.

now, however, he could turn the light on, artificially brightening the room, and not have to turn it back off. you weren’t there.

he turned to look at the snow globe, one you’d bought when hongjoong took you to disneyland for your 100 day anniversary. it wasn’t there.

hongjoong walked downstairs limply, no thoughts running through his head as he came back in the kitchen, placing the tea in the microwave for 1 minute and 40 seconds, slowly eating the egg tart as he waited and thought.

this is what he wanted. he’d planned it all out in his head. but now it had happened, now his plan had worked and you had gone. was this really it?

...maybe that was your plan. you’re just cruel like that, aren’t you?

hongjoong swore as he crouched down, holding his face in his hands. yes, he was cruel. he was so, so cruel and now he was left to suffer in the aftermath by himself. alone.

15th March, 2020

“morning,” wooyoung said, a slight smile as he handed you a cup of coffee, “how you feeling?”

you sighed, your eyes filling with tears as you looked back on the situations of the past week. although you were the one who walked out, and he was the one who did wrong, a small part of you couldn’t help but want him to come and find you.

“not well, huh?” your brother said, patting your head slightly, “it’s okay. heartbreak sucks.”

“like you’d know!” you exclaimed.

“what’s that supposed to mean!” wooyoung shouted.

“ya! don’t shout at me!” you shouted.

“you’re doing it to me too!”

“um, guys?” yunho said, knocking at the door slightly, “y/n, there’s someone here for you.”

“for me?” you asked, getting out of bed, a confused look on your face, “well i guess i did tell nari about the situation.”

yunho shook his head, “it’s not nari. just go. i think you’ll be glad.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, watching as he walked away, before making your own way to the front door.

“hello?” you asked, seeing no one there.

you poked your head round, and saw a figure sat on the swinging chair outside. a figure you know all too well.

“y/n,” he said, “ca– can we talk? for a bit?”

you sighed, pushing the door closed behind you and walking to sit next to him.

“i guess you got my note,” you said.

hongjoong sighed, nodding, “yeah.”

it fell silent, as you saw hongjoong fiddle with his fingers and take several deep breaths, as though he was trying to psych himself up.

“i– i—” hongjoong stuttered, before sighing and trying again, “i’m sorry. i’m so fucking sorry, y/n, you have no idea.”

your eyes filled with tears again as you looked forward, trying not to let him see.

“truthfully, i did think it would be better for you to leave but then you did leave and now i don’t know why!” he said, sniffling slightly and as you turned, you could see he was wiping away a couple tears secretly, “i’m an idiot. i know i am.”

you chuckled humourlessly, staring down at both of your feet. hongjoong was wearing his doc martens, you: your inside slippers.

“and i understand what i’ve done, so i understand if you wouldn’t take me back,” hongjoong said, nodding solemly as your eyes went to his face, watching for his expression, “but it’s been over a week now. it’s been eight days. and i have done zero work because every day i get home and i cry so hard because you’re not there. and every little thing that i didn’t want you to do before– i– i miss it so much.”

a tear fell down his face and you wiped it away, giving up on trying to control your own.

“i want you to come and make me tea and pastries and i want you to come and sit on my lap while i work and i want you to cuddle me when we’re asleep and i want you to clean me up after i’ve got wounds from a mission. i want it all! i want you.”

you sighed, “you didn’t like it before.”

hongjoong sniffled, tucking some hair behind your ear, “i did. god, i did. but after that defeat from stray kids, i felt inferior and so– so i brought the mafia leader image home as well. i wasn’t being kim hongjoong with you. but i am now, i am kim hongjoong and i want you back in my life. please.”

you wiped away his tears, placing a hand on his cheek and leaning forward to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“truthfully? i’ve been waiting for you every day since i left,” you sighed, “i didn’t even take all my stuff.”

hongjoong chuckled, “i thought you did that to be cruel.”

you laughed, climbing onto his lap, the way you used to when he was working, “i missed you, hongjoong. and i don’t just mean in the past week.”

hongjoong nodded, “i missed you, in the past week, more than i’ve ever missed someone before. but... i know, and i missed me too. i’m so, so glad to be back.”

you chuckled, kissing him again, “it’s good to see you again, hongjoong-ah. don’t go away again. promise?”

hongjoong smiled, linking his pinky finger with yours.

“i promise.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The months leading up to Nov. 3, 2020 were, for Donald Trump, almost a carbon copy of what he did in advance of the presidential election four years previously: He thumbed tweets, whined at his rallies and complained to anyone who would listen that the election had been “rigged” by Democrats. Of course, after election eve 2016, we never heard another peep out of him about the dastardly Democrats and the wily ways they had rigged the election against him, because he won.

But from the moment that his network of pet poodles at Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden in November of 2020, causing a series of eruptions in the private quarters at the White House, culminated in a call to Fox executives to demand that the network reverse its Arizona projection, Trump understood that this time it would be different. He would lose.

Trump turned immediately to the courts, filing more than 60 federal lawsuits in the battleground states he lost claiming that the election had been “stolen” from him. But as one case after another went down to defeat or outright dismissal, he turned to loyalist loons like former general Michael Flynn, online conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, My Pillow guy Mike Lindell and — wait for it — the Proud Boys to push his obsession that he hadn’t lost, and that the election had been rigged by nefarious forces.

See if this doesn’t sound familiar. On Dec. 12, several thousand pro-Trump demonstrators showed up in Washington for at least two rallies, one on the Mall and the other on the steps of the Supreme Court, to protest its decision the previous day to throw out a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of Texas seeking to bar the states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania from casting their electoral ballots for Biden. The court issued a brief unsigned order on Dec. 11 saying that Texas had no “interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections” and dismissed the lawsuit. A few days earlier, the court had dismissed another suit filed by Pennsylvania Republicans seeking to throw out that state’s Biden electors, thus disenfranchising millions of voters.

Trump was watching closely. With Proud Boys marching through downtown Washington in mock-military formations shouting “Move out!” and “1776!” Trump tweeted "Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA." A bit later, he tweeted, “WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!"

He must have liked what he saw on the streets of the nation’s capital that Saturday, because seven days later, on Dec. 19, Trump was tweeting “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!" The next week, on Dec. 26, he tweeted "The ‘Justice’ Department and the FBI have done nothing about the 2020 Presidential Election Voter Fraud, the biggest SCAM in our nation’s history, despite overwhelming evidence. They should be ashamed. History will remember. Never give up. See everyone in D.C. on January 6th."

After seven hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Saturday by former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and five hours of testimony before the same committee on Friday by Rosen’s former acting deputy, Richard Donoghue, we now know that behind the scenes, Trump was very busy.

On Dec. 15, the day after Bill Barr announced that he would be leaving his post as attorney general, Trump summoned Rosen to the Oval Office and told him he wanted the DOJ to file legal briefs supporting the lawsuits he had not yet lost challenging election results in battleground states. He demanded that Rosen appoint special counsels to investigate Dominion Voting Systems, which had provided voting machines in multiple states. Rosen demurred, citing what Barr had already reported to Trump, which was that the DOJ had investigated his charges and had found no evidence of widespread or significant voter fraud.

Rosen told the Judiciary Committee that Trump called him almost daily trying to get him to have the Department of Justice declare that the presidential election was “corrupt” and announce that the department was initiating investigations of “election irregularities” in multiple states, including Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — all states Trump had lost narrowly to Biden.

Rosen continued to defer and delay on the phone, and Trump started talking with the acting head of the DOJ’s civil division, Jeffrey Clark, who was more amenable to Trump’s conspiracies. Rosen described to the Judiciary Committee five separate “encounters” with Clark over his plotting behind Rosen’s back with Trump, all of which took place between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3.

Trump became fixated on his narrow defeat in Georgia, placed a now-famous phone call to Gov. Brian Kemp on Dec. 5, trying to get him to pressure the state legislature to overturn Biden’s victory in the state. Kemp deflected, telling him that he had no power to call for investigations into signatures on absentee ballots or any of the other things Trump was urging him to do.

On Dec. 27, at Trump’s urging, Clark produced a letter dated the following day he wanted Rosen and Donoghue to sign. Aware that the governor of Georgia had rejected Trump’s entreaties, Clark’s letter amounted to a DOJ legal analysis that the state legislature could call itself into session without the governor’s authority, reject the electors pledged to Joe Biden and appoint its own slate of Trump electors. “Time is of the essence,” the Clark letter pleaded, because Congress would convene in joint session to certify the election on Jan. 6.

Rosen and Donoghue refused to sign the letter, telling Clark “this is not even within the realm of possibility.”

That didn’t end it. Clark apparently demanded a meeting with Rosen and Donohue, which took place at the DOJ on New Year’s Eve. Clark told them Trump was planning on firing Rosen and replacing him with Clark so he could carry out his plan to manipulate the Georgia legislature into appointing a new slate of Trump electors. Clark told his two bosses that he was meeting with Trump the next week to carry this out.

Instead, Clark met with Trump a day later and showed him the letter, discussing their plan for a Trumpian “Saturday Night Massacre.” Rosen and Donoghue demanded a meeting with Trump, at which they planned on telling him that the entire senior leadership of the Justice Department would resign en masse if Trump appointed Clark as acting attorney general.

Before that meeting took place, news emerged that Trump had placed a lengthy call to the Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, demanding that the latter “find” enough votes to overturn the election results in his state. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said, according to a tape of the call obtained by the Washington Post.

The Oval Office meeting between Trump, Rosen, Donoghue and Clark went on the next evening, attended by White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who advised the president not to fire Rosen because such a move would trigger congressional investigations and distract from Trump’s attempts to overturn the election. After three hours, the meeting broke up, with Rosen and Donoghue still in their jobs.

Rosen and Donoghue told the Senate Judiciary Committee that with only 17 days remaining until the presidential inauguration, they believed they had avoided a constitutional crisis. But we all know what happened three days later, on Jan. 6, when a violent mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol building and delayed for several hours the certification of the electoral ballots which made Joe Biden president.

Between the early hours of Nov. 4, when Trump first realized he had lost the election, and Jan. 6, when the assault on the Capitol dominated every news cycle until the inauguration (and beyond), Trump was all over the place in his attempts to overturn the election. He was consumed with the lawsuits being filed around the country on his behalf — but was losing them, one after another. He was obsessed with following conspiracy theories about Biden ballots being carried by Special Forces soldiers from Germany and stuffed into ballot boxes in battleground states, about mysterious computers and satellites controlled by Italy switching Biden votes for Trump votes in battleground states, and multiple other outlandish conspiracies.

But beginning on Dec. 12, with the Proud Boys march through Washington and the demonstrations on the Mall and at the Supreme Court, Trump became fixated on holding a rally on Jan. 6 that he believed could prevent the certification of electoral ballots taking place that day. Two days later, he began his campaign to get the Department of Justice to join his plan to pressure state legislatures in a handful of states he had lost to throw out Biden electors and appoint their own slates of Trump electors.

He tweeted on Dec. 19, 26, 27 and 30, all dates coinciding with his pressure on Rosen and Donoghue to use the Department of Justice to help him overturn the election. On Jan. 1, the day he met with Jeffrey Clark to discuss firing Rosen, he tweeted “The BIG Protest Rally in Washington, D.C. will take place at 11:00 A.M. on January 6th. Locational details to follow. StopTheSteal!” On Jan. 4, Trump traveled to Georgia to hold a rally, nominally in support of the two Republican candidates in the U.S. Senate runoff election, but really to put pressure on Georgia legislators to overturn the election.

Practically every move Trump made in December and January in advance of Jan. 6 was a crime. Pressuring Jeffrey Rosen to misuse the Department of Justice to support his private lawsuits was a crime. Conspiring with Jeffrey Clark to fire Rosen so Clark could send the letter to the Georgia legislature was a crime. Calling Brad Raffensperger and Brian Kemp and pressuring them to “find” votes and use the legislature to overturn the election was a crime. Meeting with his own White House staff and outside advisers to plan the rally on the Ellipse at which he would incite the assault on the Capitol was a crime.

Trump’s problem, to put it frankly, was that he didn’t start committing crimes early enough. The crimes he committed in December and January were largely impulsive, not carefully planned or focused. He exploded with tweets and phone calls and meetings and rallies.

In short, Trump was Trump, as incompetent a criminal conspirator as he was a president. The only question left to be answered at this point is whether Merrick Garland and the Biden Department of Justice will have the courage to charge him and his co-conspirators with the felonies they committed: defrauding the United States by attempting to illegally influence the outcome of the 2020 election.

If that crime sounds familiar, that is because it is the same one special counsel Robert Mueller charged 24 Russian nationals with committing in 2016, when they illegally hacked into Democratic National Committee servers, stole campaign emails and set up fake accounts to influence voters on American social media platforms. With Donald Trump, nothing is ever new. Just watch him. He’s out there right now raising $100 million to do it all over again in 2024. And the entire Republican Party is right there with him.

[This is my special Wednesday Salon column. It is open to all subscribers.]

LucianTruscott Newsletter

[theastrophilearchitect]

I started writing a book.

And I’m mad about it, because I just started this post, brought up a new tab and lost it because I didn’t save my draft.

Anyway. That’s a thing I did. Wow.

As of this moment, this post won’t be going up until April 19th, but I’m starting writing this at 10.30pm on Sunday, February 21st, 2021. I’ve done a lot in the last couple weeks, and I want to have some record of all I’ve accomplished without just letting most of it fade over the next two months.

I’ve always wanted to be an author. From when I was reading under my covers with a torch past bedtime, through the years I wanted to be an artist, through the years I wanted to be a lawyer. It’s always been there - no matter what primary career path I went down, I wanted to be an author. The last few years, I’ve been invested in becoming a biologist, and that dream really took a backseat.

In the start of this lockdown, my mental health went downhill, and some advice my therapist gave me was just to prioritise myself. It sounds simple enough, but, even in my free time, I’d been focusing on schoolwork - revising constantly for exams I’m still not sure are actually happening. (Boris Johnson is apparently making an announcement tomorrow about beginning to ease lockdown, but we’ll see) So, on Saturday, February 6th, I started an attempt to coalesce the ideas I had floating in my head into something tangible.

I’ve tried to write books countless times (not technically countless - I have all the documents on my laptop, so I could if I wanted to), but mostly, I’ve never gotten further than a couple bare plot points and some characters, maybe some ideas for subplots, before I’ve stagnated and given up.

Three times, I’ve finished a skeletal outline. Twice, I’ve started to go back over those outlines only to realise they made no sense or just seemed week, and simply not cared enough to fix it. Until now, I guess.

February 6th, 7th, and fast-forward to my week off beginning the 15th, up until the 19th, I kept developing this concept I’d managed to form, but I was struggling to establish a coherent plot. I had up until and including a midpoint (which was later condensed into just a first act), but everything after that was just a void. I began searching for some skeletal structure I could apply to it, both to work on pacing and fill in the blanks. I tried several, and got a little further, but was about to give up hope.

Then I remembered a video by Katytastic I’d watched years ago about the 3-act, 9-block, 27-chapter structure she used, and couldn’t see the harm in giving it a go. And something clicked.

You can find the video here - the structure’s detailed and easy to follow, plus she even gives an example of using it to generate a plot.

I started binge-watching her writing vlogs in the background, and even started using her same writing program, Scrivener, which just made every a thousand times easier by taking away the need to juggle a billion Word documents. It’s fairly pricey, but I’m currently using the 30-day free trial - it’s 30 days of use, not of ownership, too: if you use it every day, it lasts 30 days, but if you use it once a week, it lasts 30 weeks.

Where Kat used the 27 parts the structure broke down into as chapters, I chose to refer to them as beats, and separate chapters later.

On Saturday the 20th, I finished defining my scenes and started writing an actual draft. I wrote two scenes, putting me at a collective word count (not including notes, synopses, etc.) of 2,580 words.

This morning, Sunday the 21st, I started over. I hated my opening. I’m not going to go through the mess of today’s process, but I currently have around 80 one-line-outline scenes, split into 3 acts. I wrote a draft of my prologue and detailed-outlined (which I’m mentally referring to as zero-outlining because it’s similar to how Katytastic does what she calls a zero draft, but is very much outlining, not a draft) two and a half other chapters. Scriver also tells me how many words I wrote in total, across notes, character profiles, location lists, a document I’ve named ‘Train of Thought’ for my ramblings as I go etc.

Today, I wrote a grand total of 4,141 words, which, rather counterintuitively, puts me at a draft total of 2,598. That makes sense. Anyway.

There are a lot of unknowns in the world right now, and I have no idea how much time I’ll have in the next six months to invest in this project, but I’d like, at bare minimum, to have one complete draft by the start of the next school year in September, which gives me just over 6 months. Which is probably too much time to actually motivate myself, but that’s not the point.

A manuscript needs to have a minimum word count of 50K words to be considered a novel, so, even though my ultimate goal for this project is around 80K words, 50K is going to be my goal for this draft.

I’m being optimistic about sticking with this.

Tuesday 23/02/2021 - Word Count: 3,099 I wrote nothing yesterday; planning to focus writing solely on days off rather than work days, but last night, watching through the incredibly long queue of Alexa Donne writing videos, I came to the conclusion writing every day, even just a little, would be the best way to ensure I keep working on this, so I set myself a goal of just 500 words a day.

Wednesday 24/02/2021 - Word Count: 5,350 After doing a little bit of maths as to how long this outlining and draft would take me if I were to only write 500 words a day, I decided to boost that goal to 1,000. I got started around 1pm today, online school draining me so much I couldn’t face another two hours. I worked on and off until 6pm, and around 4.45pm, I finished outlining Act One!

Thursday 25/02/2021 - Word Count: 7,022 I continued my scene outlining into Act Two, but I hit a brick wall around the midpoint. I have to write chronologically - some people jump around, but I have to write linearly, or it feels like I’m trying to make something in a void. It just doesn’t work. I didn’t know how to get from one scene to the next - there were so many things I needed to establish to get there, but I didn’t want to backtrack. I decided to re-jig the whole thing, but, after dinner, I realised I didn’t have to, and instead, decided to just start a draft, conscious of the things I need to establish as I go.

Friday 26/02/2021 - Word Count: 8,208 Starting draft one, I rewrote the prologue I’d already written, technically putting me to my second draft of it, because I’d been thinking about it for days and just wanted to revisit it, and it was so much better. Then I moved on to chapter one, but decided I wanted to re-jig my chapters. While outlining, I’d split the whole book into only about twenty chapters, but decided to go for shorter ones for more effective divisions of the story. I got most of the way through the first scene of chapter one, but basically ran out of both time and motivation, since I hadn’t heavily outlined that scene. in total, I wrote over 2000 words today, but because I only increased the prologue word count by about 100 words, it didn’t do that much to the total count.

Saturday 27/02/2021 - Word Count: 11,050 I got some chores done Saturday morning and focused on finishing my book so I could include it in my February wrap-up, but I still had time to get some writing done around mid-day. My goal was just to hit 10K this weekend, but I though I could do it in one day. I wrote about 1,000 words before feeling a little word-drained, but took a break for lunch, got back to it and wrote 2,400 words. Though that only added a little over 2,000 to the word count, it took me to 10K! I’m 20% of the way to being able to call it a novel! We’re in quintuple digits!

And then eight hours later, I wrote another thousand words and got to 11K.

Sunday 28/02/2021 - Word Count: 13,722 I spent most of my Sunday morning writing, though it took me more than two hours to write about 1500 words, though it only added about 1100 to my count. I decided to set myself an overall and weekly deadlines to hold myself accountable. Due to the fact I don’t yet have a clue how many words this will work out as, I decided I wanted to have either a complete first draft or 100K words (which I doubt I’ll reach, but it seems like a good way to make myself finish the draft before my deadline) by the end of April. Which works out to a little under 1500 words a day, or just under 11K a week, which is perfectly doable. Bearing in mind my current word count is including outlines, but I still believe in myself.

I wrote another 1600 words later, which took me to 14K, until I deleted the 300 word outline I wrote for one scene, but I worked out my words per day for the next two months with the assumption of a 10K word count as of March 1st and a target of either a complete draft or 100K words by the end of April, so I’m nearly 4,000 words ahead of schedule. Which gives me 6,606 words to write this week, instead of 10,328. (If you couldn’t tell, I like numbers. They just make sense to me.

Monday 01/03/2021 - Word Count: 15,005 I didn’t quite hit my daily goal, but I was completely leached of motivation today, I’m ahead of schedule anyway and I was only under by less than 200 words. It’s alright. But, hey, we hit 15K! Two days after hitting 10K!

Tuesday 02/03/2021 - Word Count: 21,119 This was an insane writing day. My end-of-day target was only 16,480, and that was still ahead of schedule - if I was sticking to the 100K by April 30th, I’d only actually need to be at 12,950 today. This was the best writing day I’ve ever had. I wrote before school and during breaks, which kept both my writing and working momentum up.

I didn’t read a page of my current read, but I wrote a total of 7,681 words and increased my wordcount by 6,114 words, or literally an additional 40.75%. I hit 20K three days after hitting 10K, and am 42.238% of the way to being able to say I wrote a novel, be it a shitty first draft that won’t be complete at 50K words.

I also finished chapter three, which I’ve been working on for three days and came out ~5,000 words, and wrote chapters four and five in their entirety.

Note to self: this is day 10 of vaguely outline-drafting this project.

Wednesday 03/03/2021 - Word Count: 23,364 I've only written 490 words today, as of writing this update, but I just wanted to make note of the fact I've done some calculations, and can reasonably finish my draft this month. I'm still not completely sure how long it'll work out to be, so I can't quite work out my daily words to finish on the 31st, but if I stick to my current 1,475 words a day, I'll hit 63,894 words by the end of the month, which is a little less than I imagine this draft will be, but if I stick to that as a minimum, my first draft won't have to go into April.

I'd like to post this later this week, but I already have a post for this Friday, so God only knows how long this will be by the time it goes up. So far, I've written 1,900 words today, and I don't think I'm out of fuel yet, but I'm stopping because I need to read today, and I'd rather not burn out. I'm over my goal, anyway.

Oh, also, I'm nearly at 25K, which is halfway to a novel, but I haven't broken into Act Two yet, which means this book will be 75K minimum. I'm going to do some maths and work out how many words a day to hit 80K by March 31st. 2,030. That's doable. So I haven't read, but back to writing for like ten minutes.

I've now hit an additional 2,245 words for the day, though I wrote a total of 2,663

Thursday 04/03/2021 - Word Count: 25,415 I've decided to work out how many words I need to write each day to hit 80K by March 31st, and watch the fluctuations. (I like statistics). It should steadily go down throughout the month if I surpass it each day. Today's minimum word count is 2,023, already seven words less than yesterday's. How exciting.

The last scene of Act One was very heavy on world-building I haven't yet figured out, so I stuck what was meant to happen in brackets and just moved on, meaning I have now broken into Act Two!

I think, during the week, I'm going to focus on just meeting my minimum word count rather than exceeding it, just to save fuel for the weekends, when I can write so many more words.

And, we hit 25K! I'm halfway to a novel!

Friday 05/03/2021 - Word Count: 26,693 In complete honesty, I'm beginning to lose momentum. Maybe it's just today, but I don't really want to write and feel like I need a break, but I'm going to make myself write anyway. I'm going to make myself keep writing until this draft is done, however shitty it may end up. I really hate first drafts.

When you say 2,000 words is only 7-8 pages, it doesn't sound like that much to write per day but my god. Luckily, most of the stuff I've had to save to a Pinterest board called 'Writing Motivation' says if you write when you don't want to, it should pass instead of worsening. I wanted to hit 35K this weekend, but I'm not sure I'll have the momentum. I'll at least hit 31,270, though, which is my minimum goal for this week. I'm still over 700 words off my goal for today, but I'm taking a break because my head is foggy and there's still eight hours left in the day. Besides, 700 after dinner is easy. She says, realising she's probably jinxing it. Oh, well. 80K by March 31st would be difficult, even if I weren't going back to school soon, but that's a stretch goal. 100K by April 31st is my minimum, and I'm 9,000 ahead of where I need to be for that.

I think I’m stagnating because I’ve hit the ‘Fun and Games’ section, which I find really boring. I’m going to try to keep going with it, but I may just skip it and come back later.

Saturday 06/03/2021 - Word Count: 28,150 So, I did not get the extra 700 words in. Before dinner, some stuff I had to deal with came up, and by the time it was done, I just wanted to go to bed, so I did. Today, I'm going to try to make up for it, which I think is reasonable because it is now the weekend. I'm still kinda exhausted this morning, but I'm going to do my best, and my wrist hurts, but I'm not sure why. You'd think it would be from all the typing, but only one wrist hurts - you know what? Never mind. They do both hurt. I'm just not sure why, but it doesn't hurt typing this, so that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, to hit my word count for the day, I need to write 2,555 words, which doesn't sound like too much, but it kinda is because I'm primarily writing Act Two at the minute, and for every thousand words I write, I lose like 400 from my outline. You'd think I'd just not include my scene outlines in the word count, but it's too late for that now.

I'm thinking this over, and I really don't think trying to write 80K by the end of the month is going to be good for either my motivation, mental health, or ability to function back at school, so I'm going to stick to 100K or a finished draft by April 30th, and re-work out my goals from there, based on yesterday's word count, so I'm not making myself do catch-up today.

So, to hit 100K by April 30th, I only need to write 1,309 words each day (which will decrease over time because if that's my minimum now, I'll probably surpass it, decreasing the amount of words left etc.). That's so much less pressure.

God, I really don't want to write today. I just want to watch YouTube and Netflix and read.

Okay, so here's the thing. I've been working on this story straight for three weeks and I'm kinda exhausted of it. I'm not done with it, not at all, and I want to keep working on it because it exists, which makes it workable.

I watched a writing vlog by ShaelinWrites yesterday, and she said she writes different projects at once, alternating in week- or multi-week-long blocks. I think I might try that.

My plan with this post and the following updates was to keep updating it until the day it goes up, the day after which is when I begin drafting the next, but, since I may be switching projects for a while and this is really about the project I've decided to dub 'Bay Tree' (which is just, I guess, a pseudonym for here because while I have no idea what it would eventually be called, I know that's nothing like the title I'd want to give it) so I'd want to start a new post for a new project.

I'm now doing a little outlining instead of actually continuing writing, but I think this will help me, though I'm still not certain about whether or not I'm going to directly continue with this specific project for the minute. Instead of setting daily goals based on a target, I'm also just going to say 1,000 words a day, and see where that takes me.

I've just been outlining into Act Three, and I've met a major plot stumble, but I'm going to work that out and explain what I'm doing in my next writing update.

So, go drink some water, eat if you haven't eaten in the last few hours, stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself how wonderful you are and how much happiness you deserve, and, if you want to write a book, stop thinking about it, and go write.

[nardacci-does-art]

I like just realized it’s September already, or in my new Covidian calendar, March #6, & I wanted to start drawing spooky stuff so I wrote up a list of vague concepts to help with ideas. If anyone else wants to use these prompts go ahead.

15 instead of the full 30 because wow it’s the 6th already. Everything is awful, everyone is miserable, take your time, have fun drawing spooky stuff.

[slaminthebackofmy]

i’m gonna put my playlist on shuffle and write what the songs remind me of while i listen to them, no one asked and no one cares but i’ve had so much caffeine and sugar today that there is no way in fresh hell i am going to bed anytime soon,

this is unnecessarily long, i’m just terrified of losing memories and i need these written down

deadroses - blackbear - september 2019 when i was getting ready for school. i used a rose cleansing water and the smell of it reminds me of this song, it was super warm and i had just come back from vacation in bulgaria with my family. used to watch the sunset with this song pretending i’m the main character. one time we went to a supermarket on the outskirts of town with this blasting in the car

anxiety - blackbear - almost the same as the previous one, october 2019 when i got led lights under my bed and i was just calming down from 4 months of paranoia and sleepless nights

one for the road - arctic monkeys - weird mood in december when all i would listen to was arctic monkeys and the nbhd, spent most nights on the dining room table blasting these just quiet enough to not wake my parents upstairs, my neighbours probably wished murder was legal

miroh - skz - miroh came out about a month after i found skz so i was still new to their music and the day it came out i was kinda sick and staying home from school so i got to enjoy the full thing in peace, i spent the next few days watching finding skz and then i blasted this throughout april which was a weird and rough month oh and also i started that other writing blog

often - the weeknd - i used to blast this in the 8th grade while i played that one paper airplane flash game before i discovered the magic of headphones fkgslkjgn

sweater weather - so many memories attached to this pretty bitch, finding it first through a sam and colby vine, walking home in the 6th grade from the dentist at night, standing on my balcony and watching super strong winds bring in very dark storm clouds almost completely covering the light from the sky above, except for one small window of light, last december

fantasy - dye - i found this i think last summer but it reminds me of my childhood and watching samurai jack for some reason

rumors - neffex - i accidentally clicked on a lyric video for this while i was staring at the moon one evening and the sky in the background picture of the video was exactly the same as the sky i was looking at and it just reminded me of a mid 2000′s teenagers room in my town, like older boys i used to have baby crushes on as a kid would have a room like that, gray walls, wooden desk with a computer and a bed with gray sheets with a window right above it and moonlight shining in, a red electrig guitar mounted on the wall and a skateboard leaned against the wall

arabella - arctic monkeys - i listened to an hour loop of this for a week straight non stop in december, i specifically remember dec 21st and wrote a lot on here

do i wanna know - arctic monkeys - there’s a few with this one, firsty it’s finding this song in the 9th grade when i was going to a youth club and i started listening to it because a girl from france that was there that i had a crush on liked it, secondly, finding bts in 2018 and listening to this while staring at the stars in a black tshirt, flannel and jeans with converse(yes i was that kid) and feeling the very moist air hit the back of my neck after we just got back from someone’s house that was selling clothes from home.

i miss the old u - blackbear - a lot of these are on my balcony because i love the sky lol but this one is too and just standing on my balcony in autumn 2019 after i got back from school just to watch the sky melt into a coral pink and orange

how you like that - blackpink - summer 2020, all i did was learn to play the ukulele and struggle with an issue i don’t wanna mention, the entire summer, with this playing in the background, i got my new laptop so i blasted this on there instead of my phone like most of the others on this list, also worked out to this song a lot

fly away - thefatrat - playing transformice in 2017 for HOURS and talking to dodgy people on there

dirty laundry - blackbear - you guessed it, getting ready for school in 2019, same as most other blackbear songs

god’s menu - skz - this came out the day after i got my laptop and the day that i got my ukulele, i remember watching the online concert while i waited for my mum to come home and bring me the uke, i watched it in my room in the dark and i literally had way more fun that i probably should have but they were so hyped up it was lovely

chateau - blackbear - autumn 2019 on my balcony watching the sunset

wonderland - caravan palace - similar to how you like that, listened to this all of summer 2020 while i was struggling with that issue, i used to pace around the second floor of my apartment with this song on and strut to the beat

feel special - twice - just when school started in 2019, i watched every studio ghibli movie that summer so i associate this song with those, i used to get ready for school with this blasting, and i remember dreaming about sana sitting in the rain a few times

pumped up kicks - going home from bulgaria in 2017 and getting stuck with no gas or cash in a little border town, we got there super late and most money exchanges were already closed so we had to get money from someone’s basement:) also summer 2020 when i learned to play this on the uke and it’s super easy and still my favourite one to play

why’d you only call me when you’re high - march 2018, i was making sugar cookies with leftover frozen dough from the last time i had made them, and while they were in the oven i went out on the balcony just to stare at the stars on the west

wow - danceracha - january, gameshow, that’s all i’m gonna say, i’ve been skipping through the songs once i wrote what i had to say but i’m gonna have to let this absolute bop play through, it’s the gay in me, why is this song so good what the FUCK

faggot - msi - reminds me of my childhood for some reason i think it was played a lot in some places, reminds me specifically of when i would walk home with my mum and see people sitting in an internet cafe we passed everynight that had neon signs inside

chronosaurus - april 2019, lee know saying tick tock tick tock getting closer was stuck in my head, almost got youtube premium just to be able to download that music video, may 2019, went on a school trip and listened to this on the days leading up to it, currently waiting for lee knows tick tock tick tock getting closer to play omfg why does he say it so well sjflkfj

505 - arctic monkeys - autumn - winter 2020, just sat in my dining room playing this and staring off into space

victory song - skz - LISTEN TO THIS  승전가, jisung and chan lifting their shirts lived rent free in my mind for a few months after this came out

cherry - itzy - summer 2020, issues and dancing a lot

get cool - skz - just got into them, feb 2019, used to listen to this when i was trying to learn their names🥺

hayloft - mother mother - oooohh a recent one, late january 2021, fell in love with a tiktok girl and decided to get my life together, played geoguessr with this on loop

love scenario - ikon - may 2018 when i was just really starting to get into kpop, this was one of the first non bts songs that i loved, i used to listen to it while reading wattpad lol

snap out of it - jan 2021, gameshow, reminds me of felix for some reason

hot girl bummer - late summer 2019, crying at night because of anxiety and pretending i was okie dokey during the day

daddy issues - the nbhd - may 7th 2018, super stormy outside, it was my younger cousins birthday, i spent the day in this one oversized shirt with donald duck printed all over it pretending i was talking to my crush at the time and staring at the rain clouds

be with you - cadmium - summer 2020, pacing around my apartment and those issues and finding this song through a video about those issues, i can’t find the channel anymore:(

reckless healy - january 2020, i was doing eyeliner all the time and just vibing, i had my doggie and all i did was scroll through tiktok and listen to music

ghost - confetti - november 2020, pretending i was the main character while singing this through my entire apartment

knee socks - arctic monkeys - same exact thing as arabella

goodnight i’ve been writing for so long and i’m finally tired