#like a box of macrons

[bookpillows]

i read a few very slim novella and short story collections over the weekend but Moore's Self-Help is too good to read all at once

[shojizbae]

Too Sweet

Spencer Reid x reader

It was no secret to the team that you had a sweet tooth. Anytime you walked past an ice cream shop, your eyes lit up with unbridled joy. After a hard case, you always came into the bullpen with a box of sweets. Donuts if you solved a case under five days, Hush Puppies if there was a fallen family, or maybe some Snickerdoodles if there was arson. They were always the same pink bakery boxes with a cellophane window.

Today was no different.

"Good morning!" you signed songed as you skipped into the bullpen and too the right to the kitchen.

"What treats have you cooked up today mama?" Derek rubs his hands as he closes in on the kitchenette

"Oooh, sweets!" Emily smiles and skips over to the counter

"They're macarons."

"Ugh, those nasty almond cookies." JJ giggles as she snoops around the box

"No those are macaroons." I correct and hold a raspberry-pink macron at her. She bites it playfully out of my hand and laughs with me. She wipes the extra creme out of the corner of her lip and thanks me.

"Woah those are delicious." she goes back to her office.

"What diabetes are you giving us today." Hotch tosses a file on the counter as he walks by.

"Pistachio, raspberry, or lemon?" I smack Emily's greedy hand away as he goes back for a fourth and fifth.

"Pistachio." He leans back to look in the box "Those look professional."

"That's what happens when you have an existential crisis and take a baking course while completing your doctorate and feel like no man would ever want to marry a woman with more degrees than 'wifely skills'." You rattle mindlessly

"Well, that was our daily depressing moment of (Y/n)!" Derek chides like a sports announcer.

"Where's Reid?"

"An that's our daily 'first Spencer question' being the tally!" Emily holds a ghost microphone up.

"C'mon,"I put my hands on the counter and leans my hips forward, "I'm not as obsessed as you think I am."

"Oh, just only a little." Emily placates. The two return to their desks to grind through the many stacks of folders. I picked up the box and reorganized the disheveled cookies. I sauntered over to his hunched back. Dr. Reid, my work husband, was mangled over his desk scratching down details of a past case on a legal pad. I sit on the right side of his corner-shaped desk.

"Good Morning Spencer," I chide. He jumps slightly with the high timbre of my voice.

"Uh good morning Agent (L/n)," He clears his throat a few times.

"I made macrons," I held up the box "Would you like one? I made some with lemon, pistachio, and raspberry. Take your pick." I brandish the box once again.

"That's alright I haven't had any real breakfast yet."

"op how about some fake breakfast?" I pick up a light yellow circle and shake it twice in my hand.

"No that's really ok," but before he can protest I force half the cookie past his lips and all that he can mutter out is a disgruntled, mouth-filled groan.

"Did that taste real to you?" He sassily holds up a finger as he chews and swallows.

"That was rude." He states but takes the second half of the treat from my hand and finishes it off. A bit of the filling slings to his lips and I slide my thumb over it

"You've got a little something-" My speech is caught when his brown eyes meet mine. He looks nice below me. His eyelashes are thick but his eye bags drown out his cool amber eyes.

"Sorry," I clear my throat and lean back on the desk. "Would you like some more?"

"Yeah, can I have the pistachio one?" He rolls around on his chair. He takes a bite of the cream-filled delectable. "Woah you have a real knack for this. It's like all the ingredients want to be together. It just takes you to make things right." He gives me that dorky smile and I lose all sense of restraint. I dive in and hold his chin while I kiss him. I pull back with the fear that I stepped out of bounds.

"Come here." He tentatively holds my jaw and his kiss is much nicer than mine. He releases me and I scan between each of his eyes. "You had a little something."

[trolagygirl2022]

Lisa+Frederic reading

their current bond at the moment -> Knight of Pentacles rev, The Lovers, 5 of Swords, 3 of Wands, Queen of Wands, King of Wands, 6 of Cups.

I've been keeping an eye on them every now and then and it makes perfect sense now! Like what 104935259 of readers have said, this "relationship" is mostly for business, but there's more. I see her trying to assimilate to his culture. This explains her hanging out with macron's wife and all. If they ever marry (which I find EXTREMELY UNLIKELY) she'll have to be a "model asian" to his parents. His parents aren't accepting, I see them looking down on her (Bruh the words "dirty monkey " came up??? Yeah that really shows his parents views and such). I see them looking down on her not only for her race but how she makes money (Her little dance thingy in the cabaret popped up, that really gave them a bad impression). I see them trying to make things work but... it's so mfking awkward. I literally can't! There's no chemistry here honestly, it's like middle schoolers in a play that are forced to be a couple. The Queen of Wands is definitely Lisa since she's an Aries, but Frederic? Does he have major fire placements?? (Or that could be his parents or something). What I can confidently say is that this isn't going anywhere and his parents aren't going to budge. I also see them clashing too, there's almost no compatability here ong..

are they endgame -> 8 of Cups, Queen of Cups, Wheel of Fortune, Queen of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles rev, King of Wands, 10 of Pentacles, 6 of Cups rev.

Honestly, no. Even if she gets with him, she's going to want to leave. Lisa is someone that is very proud of her heritage but if she stays with that family, she's going to be very depressed. One thing Lisa (and a lot of Aries placements) dislike is being put into a box and being told what to do. She has a very strong connection to Thailand so if she stays it's just a waste of time. Again, his parents are racist freaks. They won't be comfortable with the fact that they may have half asian grandchildren. At the moment she thinks she struck lucky and is attracted to the wealth, but she'll learn that not all glitters is gold. It's going to be a tough lesson too. She'll be "humbled" a lot and a lot of her dreams will crumble. They'll restrict her on what she can do and she'd going to get very sick of it. Lisa, please wake up from your delusions and get with that future spouse 😭😭

[mariacallous]

In recent days, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has capitulated to the far-right anti-immigration agenda of Marine Le Pen. In July, in an electoral pact with the left, he sought a firewall against her. Now he has turned rightwards, giving her an effective veto over prime minister Michel Barnier’s new government.

By the end of the month, the Austrian Freedom party (FPÖ), founded by two former members of the SS, Anton Reinthaller and Friedrich Peter, is expected to form an anti-immigration,pro-Russian government. It will cement a new hard-right axis across Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, and more importantly, Italy, where step by step the far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni (who met Keir Starmer on Monday), is accused of taking control of the press and the judiciary.

The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has just won the east German regional elections in Thuringia and came second in Saxony. This is despite Germany’s domestic intelligence agency listing the AfD in three states as an “extremist” organisation, reflecting concerns about the Holocaust denial and links to far-right political violence of some of its members – and their invoking of banned Nazi slogans, for which the party’s Thuringian leader, Björn Höcke, has twice been found guilty in German courts.

But while Germany’s centre-right opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, who last year supported coalitions with the AfD in local government, has now refused to enter any national or regional coalition with the AfD, he has come closer to much of its anti-immigration agenda. He now wants “to talk about the issue of repatriation” of existing residents.

Now Höcke is openly mocking what he calls the “dumb firewall” against him, forecasting that it will not last. And last week the German coalition government reacted to the AfD’s success by tightening control of its bordersin an effort to curb irregular migration.

Another lurch rightward came with the decision last month by the Dutch health minister, a member of Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party, to refuse requests from African countries for urgent help in the fight against mpox, even when the Dutch stockpile runs to 100,000 boxes of unused vaccines – many of which will pass their use-by date next year.

The spectre haunting Europe is not communism, as Karl Marx once wrote, but far-right extremism. And not much is left of the cordon sanitaire that was to keep out the far right. Europe now has seven governments with hard-right parties in control or in coalition, with Austria likely to be next, as once-immovable barriers to contamination are swept aside by centre-right appeasers.

“Breaking point” was the slogan on a poster that Nigel Farage deployed in 2016 during the Brexit referendum campaign, portraying bearded and dark-skinned migrants appearing to march in droves towards us. The exact same photograph was later replicated in Hungary, with the caption changed from “Breaking point” to “Stop”.

Similar slogans include “Stop the invasion” (“Stop invasione”), used by Matteo Salvini’s Italian League party; and “Close the borders” (“Grenzen dicht”), adopted by German far-right groups the AfD and Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West).

A few years ago, when the now-imprisoned former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon attempted to form a global coalition of anti-globalists, he managed to herd together a number of Europe’s rightwing leaders, from Nigel Farage to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. He was involved in setting up an “Academy for the Judeo-Christian West” in Italy. And Trump’s “America first” Republican party is now one of many to adopt the “my country first” slogan.

Spain’s far-right Vox party has used “Primero lo nuestro. Primero los espa��oles”; Italy’s League, “Prima gli Italiani”; Hungary’s Fidesz party, “Nekünk Magyarország az első”; Germany’s AfD, “Unser Land zuerst”; Austria’s FPÖ, “Österreich zuerst”; and the Swiss People’s Party, “Die Schweiz zuerst”.

Outside Europe, “Önce Türkiye” (“Turkey First”) is promoted by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party. The far-right Japan First party marches under the banner of “日本第一” (“Japan first”). “India first” has been adopted by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party.

Variations on this theme include “Polska dla Polaków” (“Poland for Poles”),used by nationalists in Poland, Vox’s slogan “España viva” (“Long live Spain”), and “Brasil acima de tudo” (“Brazil above everything”), used by Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro.

In all, about 50 countries have already gone to the polls in 2024. “Fears that this year would reflect the global triumph of illiberal populism have so far been proved wrong,” Francis Fukuyama, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy and the author of the End of History and the Last Man thesis, has concluded. “Democratic backsliding can and has been resisted in many countries.”

He can, of course, point to the return of Labour in Britain, the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, the shift away from the far right in Poland and the setback for Modi in India. But the Polish and Indian results tell me no more than tolerance of rightwing extremism can ebb when the electorate finds out that the nationalist demagogues are good at exploiting grievances, but bad at eradicating them.

And so we must not forget what has happened in countries from Indonesia to Argentina, the knife-edge fight for power in the US and – what Fukuyama misses in Europe – the insidious surrender of the centre to far-right prejudice.

Of course, there are ways to frustrate the onward rush of rightwing populists. Not only did the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, defeat the right in national elections last year, but he has skilfully engineered a split between Spain’s centre-right People’s party (PP) and the far-right Vox over the fate of vulnerable child migrants. Until July the two were in coalition in five key regions: Valencia, Aragón, Murcia, Extremadura and Castilla y León.

But it was not the centre-right PP that abandoned the extreme-right Vox; it was the extreme right that walked away from the centre right. And as long as the so-called moderates continue to play with fire – believing that by keeping their opponent close, they can eventually tame the beast – they will continue to lose. Sooner rather than later, the far-right poison will have to be countered with a progressive agenda focused on what matters to people most: jobs, standards of living, fairness and bridging the morally indefensible gap between rich and poor.

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

This might be a BIG ask, but like

Could i please have the names of all the eggs that are in the summer camp event and what cabin they're in?

And if you really want (you don't have to ik it might be alot) if I could get references for them? If not I'll find the eggs by myself

I put this in the ask box because I know some people might want it too👀

Whoo boy okay o7 Some of these usernames might be a little bit off so bare with me

📘Panda Cabin:

📘Estella (Oozblob)

📘Blossom (Eternal-nyxx)

📘Floryn (Unqualified-therapist)

🟠Capybara Cabin:

🟠Castor (C0mpatcations)

🟠Macron (Prismpanic)

🟠Poll (Which-QSMP-Egg-Would)

🟡Rabbit Cabin:

🟡Áfonya (Semifontos)

🟡Ping (Hepbaestus)

🟡Soup (Grapesintomatosoup)

🟡Outdoor (Isa-ghost)

🟣Fox Cabin:

🟣Chip (Shrimpysstuff)

🟣Constance (Lilliancdoodles)

🟣Mia (Studio-stephen)

🟣Lacey Mae (Dakotahwinters)

🔵Wolf Cabin:

🔵Pepper (Pikaeggs)

🔵Ribcage (Nameless-network)

🔵Tala (Iminyourbookshelf)

🔴Lion Cabin:

🔴Vo (Keezers)

🔴Sol (Ethertheaether)

🔴Yuri (Wackytheorist)

🔴Ver (Bandana-o-the-wisp)

There's everyone! If you go through the playdate tag you'll be able to find everyones pictures, but if you can't find some of them DM me and I'll be happy to help :]

Good luck on your venture!

[welivetodream]

TSH New Years headcanon (after the epilogue)

Richard's POV

By the time Camilla and I arrived at the balcony of his house; Francis as expected was already lounging on the sofa, with a glass of red wine in his hand and looking at the dark sky twinkling with stars.

He barely acknowledged us as we sat down opposite each other, Camilla put down the box of Macrons she had bought as a gift and I opened the bottle of champagne I had bought.

Without a glance he shook his now empty glass towards me and made me pour some for him first.

"Do you not feel cold? Shouldn't you at least put a sweater on?" Camilla asked him in a concerned tone

"I was trying to die from frost bite" Francis chuckled, "I was joking" he added to me when I raised an eyebrow.

"It's ten minutes till twelve" I looked at my watch "what plan do you have for new years?"

"I have stopped caring about plans since the time Henry ended up dying"

Camilla and I exchanged looks, her lips twitched and she avoided eye-contact with me. Perhaps she too felt the same emptiness Francis seemed to be feeling. After all before I met them, they already celebrated New Years together with the others. But this year too Charles, Henry and Bunny were gone.

"How is Charles?" I asked Camilla, not really expecting an answer

She shrugged "I have no idea. He sent back the Christmas card I sent him. But he did take the money I left it in"

"Of course he did" Barked Francis, he sat up straighter to look us in the eyes for the first time

"And Julian? Do you know where he is?" I asked Francis this time, ounce again not expecting any answer

"Who the fuck cares about him now? I don't. He is probably in some private college, trying to recreate another Greek tradegy"

"I heard he is doing a world tour" Camilla said "He is currently in the Caribbean"

"I hope he dies there" Francis said bitterly

After Julian ditched our side when we needed him, we had stopped caring about him like he did to us. I did keep up with his news, despite his deeds he was still quite fascinating to me.

"do you remember the first class you had with Julian?" Francis asked me

"yes, I do" I could never forget that first class, no matter what

"What was the question Julian asked at the end of the class?"

"And if beauty is terror" I said slowly remembering the exact words "then what is desire? We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?"

"To live," said Camilla

She was perched up on the sofa with a shawl covering her head; her nose and cheeks pink with cold.

"To live forever" corrected Francis "such an ironic thing for Bunny to say, isn't it?"

He then poured the three of us more champagne.

"Here's to the New Year" he said more brightly, raising a toast "To live forever"

"To live forever" repeated Camilla and I, as we clicked the glasses together, the fireworks started.

Another year went by and we remained stuck in the past. This year, we will move on. That was my new year's resolution.

(I wish I could write better 🫠. But here's to a new year "To live forever")

[the-ballad-of-johnny-goldfiddle]

Does johnny like doughnut burgers?

no.

Does Johnny like cheeseburgers? yes! He loves steaks and red meat; Johnny believes eating simple food on the road is one life's pleasures and treating oneself is paramount to self-fulfillment.

Donuts? sounds lovely! He loves pastry in all of its myriad forms. He one time stole three boxes of macrons from a patisserie in a town he rolled through with Oskar's crew.

Johnny rides through life with a ignorance for consequences, a whimsy that others may find grading, and a mouth that runs a tab he couldn't ever wish to pay off, but even he wouldn't want to cross such a horrendous cultural boundary as that meal.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ari Drennen at MMFA:

More than one year after their boycott of Bud Light for their backing of a single Instagram post by trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, the online right have set their sights on a new and much-bigger target: the Paris Olympics. This time it’s over imagery that featured drag queens and two boxers they implied were trans. 28.6 million people in the United States alone watched the start of the Paris games, seeing athletes waving from boats of all sizes on the Seine, a tribute to a popular French game franchise, and a series of lively dances that took place all over the city. The moment that drew public ire came later in the event. At the end of a runway show meant to show off Paris’ status as a center of fashion, the models and viewers – some of whom were drag queens – posed in a tableau that many saw as a nod to “The Last Supper,” a famous painting by Leonardo da Vici of Jesus and his 12 pupils.

The online right did not like this. The next day, at least two shows on Fox News gave airtime to the blooming backlash, with one bringing in a bishop to encourage people to push back on “evil” and “gird their loins … and stand athwart this pretty clear attack on us.” By Monday, both Fox and Sinclair were discussing calls for boycotts of the entire Games. Sean Hannity said that he wasn’t interested in watching. Daily Wire host Michael Knowles – who seemed to find the thing so grotesque that he blurred images of it on his show – suggested that because the Olympics showed a lack of respect for “the true God,” he would not watch it. Harris Faulkner on Fox’s Outnumbered stated that the planners of the events had a “disease,” and her co-hosts were newly outraged that Trans Day of Visibility, which is always on March 31, fell on Easter this year.

Fired former Daily Wire host Candace Owens claimed that the event was set up as a tribute to Brigitte Macron, the first lady of France, whom she has falsely claimed in several recent episodes of her new show was born a man. Smelling blood, Alex Jones and others called for the Paris Games to be given “the Bud Light treatment.”

[...] On Tuesday, Riley Gaines, J.K. Rowling, and Libs of TikTok raised complaints against two boxers they strongly implied were trans, with Libs of TikTok again calling for a boycott in response.

As stated by NBC News, both boxers have fought as women for their entire careers and neither has said they are trans or intersex. There are zero out trans women competing in the Paris Games as a result of new guidelines. Despite these rules, U.S. women’s rugby player Ilona Maher shared that she had also received a flood of online abuse by people calling her a man.

The crybaby right-wingers are triggered over not only the opening ceremonies but also falsely insinuated that two women boxers (Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting) are “men.”

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Transphobes lose it because two sex-variant women are boxing at the Olympics

[aconflagrationofmyown]

Is there anything in the pipeline for CrawFever? I am obsessed with pretty boy Presley looking at a war widow on her lonesome with his baby blues and murmuring "gonna be good to ya, mama," in a breathy voice and a squirm of his hips. Holy fuckin shit I am thirsting after that image.

Past that I am enamored of the idea that when Elvis gets drafted all Mrs. Crawford sees is Billy, coming back cold and stiff in a pine box. So she says "no, this pretty boy is mine and like hell he gets to go get hisself shot" and marries him, following him to Germany, cradle robbing be damned. (June is happy to see her momma so fired up, even if it is a little embarrassing to hold her hand as she dresses down a man half a head taller in full dress uniform over the state of the Army when they question her presence on base)

Gentle Remidner: I’m abandoning this blog, I can now be found at @precious-lil-scoundrel

Good heavens, how long has this delicious ask been molding in my inbox like some neglected macrons? Oh my, do you know how special and dear Crawfever is to my heart? My first attempt at writing fanfic and that dynamic remains so enticing to me. In the original I stated a turn of events that would prohibit this but the image you painted makes for a fabulous AU.

I’m going nuts picturing this. Consider me properly tempted. 💋

[bulletin-sejourne-attal]

20241112 Séjourné’s Brussels Baptism: Will He Survive the Political Pressure Cooker?

Bonsoir, my friends! The Brussels rumour mill is churning faster than a Belgian waffle iron as we await the verdict on Stéphane Séjourné, France's pick for the EU’s industry maestro. His confirmation hearing may be done and dusted (watch it here, he really did look very nice), but the real test is just heating up! Think of it as a political pressure cooker, and Séjourné’s the dish du jour. Will he rise to the occasion or get burned in the heat of the moment?

A Mixed Bag of Compliments (and a Few Brickbats)

Monsieur Séjourné was calm and collected, smiling from the beginning to the end, but not everyone. How did Monsieur Séjourné fare in his grand oral? Well, let's just say the reviews are as mixed as a Belgian praline box. Some MEPs, particularly the Greens, are singing his praises, lauding his pro-European spirit and commitment to green industry. Streamlined regulations for battery factories and offshore wind farms is a satisfying promise for the renewable energy crowd, for sure.

But others, like the ever-sceptical EPP, are less impressed. They’re raising eyebrows at his lack of economic experience, muttering about his background (or lack thereof) in finance and industry. “You can recognise that he doesn't have a background in economics,” one EPP insider confided.

And then there's the Left, who are throwing some serious shade, accusing Séjourné of being out of touch with the realities of European industry. "I think he was completely disconnected from the [EU's] huge industrial needs," declared one left-wing MEP.

Macron's Man in Brussels: A Blessing or a Curse?

Séjourné’s close ties to Emmanuel Macron are another hot topic in the Brussels bubble. Some see it as a sign that France is serious about shaping the EU’s industrial future. Others worry he'll be more focused on advancing Macron's agenda than serving the broader interests of the EU.

Far-right MEPs didn’t hold back, launching into scathing attacks, questioning his legitimacy and highlighting his Macron connection. But Séjourné, ever the smooth operator, parried their attacks with well-rehearsed responses, stressing his commitment to working with all MEPs.

Trade Wars and Tariff Troubles: Navigating the Global Chessboard

Séjourné’s also walking a tightrope when it comes to trade. He's vowed to champion "strategic autonomy" – a Macron-favoured phrase that essentially means reducing Europe's reliance on China. But he's also keen to avoid a transatlantic trade war, a prospect that has some US lawmakers on edge.

And then there's the thorny issue of the EU-Mercosur trade deal – a pact that has French farmers up in arms. Séjourné has carefully avoided taking a firm stance, promising to prioritize the interests of European farmers while also acknowledging the importance of international trade. A diplomatic balancing act, indeed...But how long could it hold out, as French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, fresh from a showdown with Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, has declared the deal "not acceptable to France" and has vowed to block it? As Séjourné urges Europe to 'master its destiny, he really needed to act upon it, as Manon Aubry urged. This is a bit awkward, really, considering Sejourne was the president of the Mercosur committee when he was in EU parliament and he will likely sign and be involved in the agreement if he gets appointed as commissioner...

Political Puppets and Power Plays: The EPP’s High-Stakes Gamble

Well back to the pre-appointment saga. The biggest hurdle facing Séjourné might not be his own performance, but rather the political machinations of the European Parliament. News Sources we collected reveal a complex game of thrones is unfolding, with the EPP using its clout to push through its own controversial candidates.

Séjourné’s confirmation has become a pawn in this high-stakes game. The EPP is holding his nomination hostage, linking it to the approval of other candidates, including the divisive Italian, Raffaele Fitto. This has sparked outrage from the Left and raised concerns about the EPP’s willingness to cosy up to the far-right.

The Final Countdown: Will Séjourné Survive the Brussels Buzzsaw?

So, what’s the final verdict? Will Séjourné survive this political pressure cooker and land the coveted industry portfolio? It’s still too early to say. The sources paint a picture of a parliament in deadlock, with Séjourné’s fate hanging in the balance. The EPP holds the keys to the kingdom, and they’re playing hardball.

The EPP's willingness to compromise, the level of support from Renew and other political groups, and Séjourné's ability to navigate the concerns surrounding his experience and political affiliations will all play a role in determining his fate. The upcoming vote on the Commission lineup promises to be a tense affair, with far-reaching implications for the future of EU industrial policy. Most importantly, the challenges didn't end with his accession as EVP of the European Commission: they began and escalated from there.

[mariacallous]

From Taiwan and Finland in January to Croatia and Ghana in December, one of the largest combined electorates in history will vote for new governments in 2024. This should be a cause of celebration and a vindication of the power of the ballot box. Yet this coming year is likely to see one of the starkest erosions of liberal democracy since the end of the Cold War. At their worst, the overall results could end up as a bloodbath or, marginally less bleakly, as a series of setbacks.

At first glance, the stats are impressive. Forty national elections will take place, representing 41 percent of the world’s population and 42 percent of its gross domestic product. Some will be more consequential than others. Some will be more unpredictable than others. (You can strike Russia and Belarus from that list.) One or two may produce uplifting results.

However, in the United States and Europe, the two regions that are the cradles of democracy—or at least, that used to project themselves as such—the year ahead is set to be bracing.

It is no exaggeration to say that the structures established after World War II, and which have underpinned the Western world for eight decades, will be under threat if former U.S. President Donald Trump wins a second term in November. Whereas his first period in the White House might be regarded as a psychodrama, culminating in the paramilitary assault on Congress shortly after his defeat, this time around, his menace will be far more professional and penetrating.

European diplomats in Washington fear a multiplicity of threats—the imposition of blanket tariffs, also known as a trade war; the sacking of thousands of public officials and their replacement with politicized loyalists; and the withdrawal of remaining support for Ukraine and the undermining of NATO. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the return of Trump would be manna from heaven. Expect some form of provocation from the Kremlin in the Baltic states or another state bordering Russia to test the strength of Article 5, the mutual defense clause of the Western alliance.

More broadly, a Trump victory would arguably mark the final dismantling of the credibility of Western liberal democracies. From India to South Africa and from Brazil to Indonesia, countries variously called middle powers, pivot countries, multi-aligned states—or, now less fashionably, the global south—will continue the trend of picking and choosing their alliances, seeing moral equivalence in the competitive bids on offer.

The greatest effect that a Trump return could have would be on Europe, accelerating the onward march of the alt right or far right across the continent. Yet that trend will have gained momentum long before Americans go to the polls. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are looking over their shoulders as the second wave of populism affects the conduct of government.

The wedge issue that is threatening all moderate parties is immigration, just as it did in 2015, when former German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed in more than 1 million refugees from the Middle East in what is now seen as the first wave of Europe’s immigration crisis. This time around, the arguments propagated by the AfD (the far-right Alternative for Germany party), Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, and similar groups across the continent have permeated the political mainstream.

The past 12 months have seen European Union decision-making constantly undermined by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Hungary, particularly further support for Ukraine. For the moment, he stands alone, but he is likely to be joined by others, starting with the newly returned Prime Minister Robert Fico in Slovakia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has struck a tacit deal with Brussels, remaining loyal on supporting Ukraine (against her instincts and previous statements) in return for effectively being given carte blanche in Italy’s domestic politics.

In September, Austria seems almost certain to vote in a coalition of the far right and the conservatives. A country that has (ever since the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1955) prized its neutrality and been keen to ingratiate itself with Moscow has already been uncomfortable giving full-scale support to Kyiv. We can expect that support to soon be scaled back.

One of the few countries with a center-left administration, Portugal, will see it join the pack of the right and far right when snap elections are held in March. The previous incumbent, the Socialist Party’s outgoing Prime Minister Antonio Costa, was forced to quit amid a corruption investigation.

The most explosive moment is likely to occur in June, with the elections to the European Parliament. This reshuffling of the Euro-pack, which happens once every four years, was always seen in the United Kingdom as an opportunity to behave even more frivolously than usual. In 2014, the British electorate, in its inestimable wisdom, put Nigel Farage and his U.K. Independence Party in first place, setting in train a series of events that, two years later, led to the referendum to leave the EU.

Having seen the damage wrought by Brexit, voters in the remaining 27 EU member states are not angling for their countries to go it alone. However, many will use the opportunity to express their antipathy to mainstream politics by opting for a populist alternative. Some might see it as a low-risk option, believing that the European parliament does not count for much.

In so doing, they would be deluding themselves. It is entirely possible that the various forces of the far right could emerge as the single biggest bloc. This might not lead to a change in the composition of the European Commission (the diminished mainstream groupings would still collectively hold a majority), but any such extremist upsurge will change the overall dynamics across Europe.

Far-right parties in charge of governments will see themselves emboldened to pursue ever more radical nativist policies. In countries in where they are junior members of ruling coalitions (such as in Sweden), they will apply further pressure on their more mainstream conservative partners to move in their direction.

Conversely, countries that saw a surprising resurgence of the mainstream in national elections this year are unlikely to see that trend maintained. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s success in staving off the right was achieved only by cutting a deal with Catalan separatists. This led to protests by Spanish nationalists and a situation that is anything but stable.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s victory in Poland was at least as remarkable because the far-right Law and Justice party (PiS) government had used its years in government to try to skew the media and the courts in its direction. Expect PiS gains in June.

The most alarming result of 2023 was the return to prominence, and the verge of power, of Geert Wilders. The Dutch elections provide a how-not-to guide for mainstream politicians. The willingness of the center-right party of the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte to contemplate a coalition with Wilders’s Party for Freedom emboldened many voters who had assumed their vote would be disregarded.

In Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, the so-called firewall established by the main parties to refuse to govern with the AfD is beginning to fray. Already, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is working with them in small municipalities. Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, has dropped hints that such an option might not be out of the question at the regional level.

If the AfD gains the largest number of seats in the June European Parliament elections (opinion polls currently put it only marginally behind the CDU and ahead of all three parties in Scholz’s so-called traffic light coalition), then the momentum will change rapidly. It could go on to win three of the states in the former communist east—Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg—next autumn. Germany would enter unchartered territory.

These dire predictions could end up being overblown. Mainstream parties in several countries may defy the doom merchants and emerge less badly than forecast. Given recent trends, however, optimism is thin on the ground.

There is one election, however, due to take place in the latter part of 2024 that could produce not just a centrist outcome, but one with a strong majority in its parliament. Britain, the country that left the heart of Europe, the island that until recently was run by a clown, could emerge as the lodestar for modern social democracy. The irony would be lost on no one.

[britishchick09]

poto rewritten short stories 3/6: raoul's shadowy sleepover

in honor of read an e-book week, i'll be sharing sneak peeks of the rewrite's first short story collection (which will be an e-book exclusive out this spring)! next up is raoul venturing down to the cellars... and into some awkward snack territory! ;)

...

Raoul was excited to explore the opera house at night, but he wasn’t too keen on going to the cellars. Yet he soldiered on and followed Christine and Meg. The stone staircase seemed to go on for miles. He gripped his overnight bag with sweaty hands.

Just pretend we’re in a cave! Raoul told himself. A gray, not rocky cave with stairs and a bridge. That's definitely what a cave has.

He held onto the bridge’s railing and tried not to look down at the murky water below. Meg's excited chattering about the sleepover helped him focus. Finally, the trio made it to the wooden platform that anchored Erik’s house. Raoul took a deep breath. He had done it!

Christine knocked on the door, which Erik opened a few moments later.

"Oh!" He smiled. "Hi, Christine."

Christine smiled back. "Bonjour."

"And hi, me!" Meg added as she popped up from behind Christine. "Oh, yes. Hi, Little Miss."

Erik turned away as Raoul asked, "And me?"

"…Oh. Right," Erik glanced over his shoulder. "Hi."

An awkward silence pierced the air as everyone walked inside the house. Raoul took his watch out of his pocket and compared it to one on the wall. To his surprise, it was five minutes off! He sat on the bed and fixed it as Meg asked, "Are we going to have snacks? I'm starving!"

"I think you've had your fill of chouquettes," Christine said before telling Erik and Raoul, "She had two on the way here."

"They're hard to resist!" Raoul said.

He finished winding his watch and sat on the floor as Christine opened her basket. His mouth watered at the sight of sugary pastries.

"Don't take too many," Christine said as he grabbed a couple. "There won't be many left for me and Erik!"

"I probably won't have many a- anyways," Erik said. "I made peanut butter sandwiches."

Meg grinned as Erik brought a plate out from the kitchen and exclaimed, "Mmm! Peanut butter chouquette sandwiches!"

She set a chouquette in between the sandwich's buttery bread, smiling as she took a big bite.

"I brought some snacks, too," Raoul said as he took a box out of his overnight bag. "Marie made some sweets for the other party."

"Oh, sable cookies!" Christine exclaimed. "And are those chocolate dipped Madeleines?"

"Yep. And the pastel colored ones are macrons."

Erik took a little bite of the Madeleine. "This doesn't taste like my mother at all."

"I got a snack, too!" Meg reached into Christine's basket. "Chocolate!"

She threw little round chocolates in the air. A milk chocolate bonked Raoul on the head. He popped it in his mouth and smiled.

"Mmm, no one beats Rousseau's," he remarked. "Although Menier is close."

Erik looked up from his cookie in surprise. "Are you talking about the bars in the yellow wrapper?" he asked, to which Raoul nodded. "I- I got one of those every Christmas when I was a kid."

"So did I! I'd always sneak a bite of my sisters' chocolate when they weren't around."

Erik chuckled softly. He returned to his cookie, barely giving Raoul a glance.

It seems like we're doomed to be awkward acquaintances. Raoul thought in dismay.

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hello! It's Winter! This idea came to me very quickly...

The Zipper

He had lost his wife in the overwhelmingly large crowd of people. She had excused herself to use the washroom several minutes ago and she hadn’t returned, worrying him more and more with each passing second. The group in front of him, vying for his attention, knew they weren’t being listened to. Until he found his wife, talking to Emmanuel Macron was a lost cause. 

“Excuse me, Sir,” a guard tapped his shoulder. “Your wife needs you.” 

“Where is she?” He asked, his heart racing as his eyes scanned the room to see where his blonde goddess was. 

The guard swiftly pulled Emmanuel to the side. “Madame Macron is in the women’s washroom. She says it's urgent.” 

He reached the washroom door as quickly as his legs would take him, refusing to stop for questions from anyone who would slow him down. Emmanuel hadn't asked Brigitte’s guard for more details because he didn’t want second-hand information. And, quite frankly, he was the one who wanted to rescue his wife - not some guard who hardly knew his Brigitte the way he did.  

“Is it clear?” He asked before entering the washroom. The last thing Emmanuel needed was to be caught by a group of nosy women. The naughty headlines would write themselves. 

“Yes Sir, Madame Macron is alone.” 

For some reason, hearing that made his heart shatter. He braced himself for what he was about to discover. 

Pushing open the door, he yelled out, “Brigitte! I’m here! Where are you?” 

Slowly, the third stall door opened and he found his wife standing before him in tears. He rushed to her side fully prepared to hurt the person who did this to her. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did someone say something to you? Touch you?” Emmanuel was ready to box her guard if another man had laid even so much as a finger on his wife. 

Brigitte turned around so he could see the problem with his own eyes. His hand brushed along her backside, stopping when he got to the broken zipper. “It won’t go up?” 

“It’s ripped in two spots and now it’s stuck - all the way down. Emmanuel, I can’t go back to the party looking like this!” Brigitte cried out. The zipper had been two feet long, starting at her neck and ending at her tailbone. To add even more discomfort, the front of her dress had a nasty snag across the waistline. 

“Here,” Emmanuel removed his blazer from his body. “Wear my jacket.” 

She scoffed, “I can’t go out wearing only your blazer! I have nothing but a strapless bra under this ripped dress and skin-coloured panties!”  

“I will stand in front of you the entire night if I have to! I don’t want anyone else to see what’s mine any more than you do.” He smirked. “Besides, I’ll have our security team escort every man who even looks in your general direction out of this building. I am not kidding, chérie!” 

Brigitte chuckled at his outrageous comment. He always knew what she needed and right now, she needed to laugh at her overly possessive husband. 

Once the blazer was on and she was as good as covered as she could be, he squeezed her hand. “You’re still the most beautiful woman in the world. I am going to hate all the men staring at your long, tanned legs. Which, for some reason, look even longer in just my blazer.” 

She glanced at herself in the full-length bathroom mirror, embarrassed by her appearance. Worried for what the trolls on the internet would say tomorrow.

As promised, he stayed by her side the entire night. 

She couldn’t help but laugh every time her husband stared down a man whose eyes lingered too long on her chest or legs.

Later, when they were in the car, she placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for your blazer and for making me feel a little less embarrassed.” 

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” He nestled his face into her neck before continuing. “I can’t wait to get you alone so I can remove that blazer… and the sad excuse you call lingerie because all night I thought I was going to rip my pant’s open.” 

“You actually thought your erection would break your zipper? You have it that bad for me, huh?” She teased, playfully smacking his arm.  “Yes, chérie, I have it that bad.”

Hello Winter! ❤️

Hahaha you just kill me with your ideas 😂🥰

Imagine if Emmanuel’s erection actually had break his pant’s zipper hahaha both with broken zippers hahaha what a pair 🤭💀

Thank you so much, Winter! ❤️❤️❤️

[justforbooks]

It rained. Of course it did. It wouldn’t have been a proper coronation if it hadn’t. Brits wouldn’t have had it any other way. We were born to suffer. Keep calm and carry on.

The first guests had started arriving at Westminster Abbey from early in the morning. Among them the lucky MPs who had received an invitation. Though many Tories had been complaining it was all a stitch-up by Number 10. That Rishi Sunak had hand-picked favourites and those he wanted to get on side. Whatever. Let’s hope they had strong bladders. It was going to be a long morning.

As the cameras panned round the congregation, the BBC’s Huw Edwards desperately tried to pick out a few people he recognised. There was Ant and Dec. He didn’t know which was which but few do. Nick Cave. You can’t miss the jet-black hair. Stephen Fry behind a pillar somewhere. Jill Biden and her daughter near the back. The US president never attends these kinds of dos. President Macron wandering in, totally at home. He’s almost an honorary royal these days. In his own mind, at any rate.

Others started arriving. The lord speaker processing behind what looked like a large Toblerone. The seven former prime ministers. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss bringing up the rear. Johnson looking a right state as ever. There was no way he was going to make an effort even for this. Truss with the widest smile. She can’t believe her luck. Just 49 days in which she wrecked the country and she’s guaranteed a spot on every guest list for life. Living the dream.

Near the end, Prince Andrew and Harry. Andy was allowed a cape from the dressing-up box, Harry was in civvies. The message was clear: you can be accused of being a sexual predator. But don’t dare marry a black woman and spill the beans in your autobiography. Huw could barely bring himself to mention either of them.

Out in the Mall, Clare Balding was watching a horse walk sideways while the royal coach carrying King Charles and Camilla made its way to the Abbey. Balding pointed out all the flags of the Commonwealth countries, forgetting that many of them wanted to have their own heads of state. Then the cameras also forgot to broadcast the procession going through Trafalgar Square, where republican protesters were gathered. Nor did we get to hear Andrew being booed. This was too much lese-majesty for the occasion. Huw couldn’t have stood it.

Once the king and Camilla reached the abbey, a new procession made its way to the altar. Led by Sebastian Coe. What on earth was he doing here? He gets everywhere you don’t want him and even the royals haven’t found a way of keeping him out. Prince William, Kate and their children all looked as if they were extras from a remake of Cinderella. Then so did a lot of people. Brits like to think no other country does these occasions quite as well. Other countries may have a bit more self-worth. Still, the music was wonderful.

We’d been told that the king had wanted this to be a celebration of all faiths, but in reality this was a full-on Protestant extravaganza. Other faiths were restricted to either a one-line cameo or just a walk-on part. This was in all but name a sacred ritual, honouring Charles as the one true king and the Church of England as the one true religion.

And in truth, it quickly all began to drag a little. Justin Welby’s sermon was borderline unintelligible. Meaningless to most people. The two-hour service could have done with some editing down to 75 minutes. Still, at least it was an hour shorter than the late queen’s in 1953. Prince Louis went missing for large chunks. Lucky him. Perhaps he couldn’t be separated from his PlayStation.

“I am here to serve. Not to be served,” said Charles. Really? It didn’t look that way. The whole thing was being done for his benefit, after all. Though he did look strangely detached throughout. As if he didn’t really want to be there. As if it was all a bit much for him. He could take the trinkets but the obligations of kingship were too heavy a burden. Luckily, for once the pen with which he had to sign his name worked perfectly. Otherwise he might have snapped. The only time he looked vaguely cheerful was when the gospel choir sang.

Then we got to the real ceremony. First the anointing with holy oil that took place behind a screen because it was too sacred to be broadcast. A ritual we were told that went back to Solomon. Hmm. But Zadok the Priest always adds a touch of class. Then the Orb of Excellence, the Mace of Magnificence, the Spurs of the Surreal, the Gauntlet of Devotion, the Goblet of Fire. Or something.

Still, Penny Mordaunt was the breakout star with the Sword of Sincerity. Thank God, Truss got ousted. Otherwise we might have had Jacob Rees-Mogg doing it. The archbishop struggled to get the crown on, but eventually the king was crowned. Prince William swore allegiance and kissed his father. The one tender, personal moment of the entire ceremony. Even so, it was hard to escape the sense of the absurd. A modern 21st-century democracy reliving a medieval fantasy. It was like the royalty as scripted by Disney. Hard to take seriously. Maybe it would have made more sense in black and white.

At least Camilla looked as if she was enjoying herself. She smiled and struggled not to burst out into giggles as she was asked to hold a sceptre. She clearly thought the whole thing was ridiculous. Meanwhile the king carried on suffering in this piece of dadaist performance theatre. After more interminable faffing, the king and queen nipped round the back of the altar. Presumably Camilla needed a cigarette and a quick laugh to release the tension. Most of the rest of us were by now bored. Couldn’t wait for the thing to be over. Enough was enough.

Eventually they reappeared and headed for the exit while the audience sang God save the King. Charles stopped to thank the ministers from other faiths for being ignored throughout the service. Then into the golden carriage. Princess Anne, looking like Napoleon, leapt on to a horse. “She’s now the Gold Stick in Waiting,” Balding said excitedly. Only in Britain.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[livealittleoc-cb]

Merry Christmas Pretty Fox

😈: Merry Christmas my pretty little fox *giggles* um so I wasn’t 100% sure what to get you, I kept overthinking…I just wanted it to be perfect! I ended up making you some macrons *whispers* with help from my friend *smiles* they’re shaped like little reindeer! *shyly holds up the box and another one* I also asked my friend to teach me how to read crochet patterns and I had you a little hat, I hope it’ll keep you warm for when you go out on deliveries! *shy smile*

@thesugaredalchemists

[ardate]

looks like someone wanted an ask yk i'll actually like not shitpost on an ask for once and ask an actual question what do you think is one of the things you've done that has improved you as a person the most? not like a project that made you feel satisfied or anything but just something that taught you a really important lesson about yourself/the world that you still hold today ime interested to know :)

also if you suddenly had to fight the entire government of france where would you want to have that fight and why i lied i was shitposting in the end

It's something I had already mentioned in an ask a loonnng time ago but I can't find it so to make it Not So Long (I'll try); I don't talk about it too much, but I 'used to' have serious anger issues. 'Used to', in quotes, because it's not something I managed to just erase, but I'm proud of having worked on and managed to overcome it.

My father sure gave me many things including this. It's something that needs constant work everyday, and god knows I've been at it for a long long time, but I think I've done a great job. I even get told by people that I'm the most level-headed person they know, which is kind of incredibly funny when you live in my head, but it's also the best compliment I can get and a genuine proof of how far I've come.

As for your second question. Buddy you know I'd march to Paris 1789 style to go burn down the Elysée myself with Macron and his whole government stuck in it if I could. Or I'd kill them with my fists maybe, I haven't done any boxing in a while. Oh the colorful fantasies in my mind <33