#latest business ideas 2024 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tarotwithlove · 4 months

Text

PICK A CARD ⋆ get to know your future child

reminder that this is a general reading and messages found here may not apply to everyone. take what resonates, leave what doesn't, and don't force anything if it does not fit.

BOOK A READING WITH ME · BOOK A 2024 YEAR AHEAD READING WITH ME (GENERAL OR NSFW) · LINKTREE · 18+ PATREON · TIPS ♡ tips, bookings, and feedback are highly appreciated!

GROUP ONE

cards · two of swords, six of swords (reversed), ace of swords, king of pentacles, knight of wands (reversed), eight of wands.

channelled songs · in our small way by michael jackson. ttg by kiss of life. demolition man by simon dominic. gucci flip flops by bhad bhabie.

my dear group one ♡ the child that is coming through for you is likely a boy. this is someone who likes accounting, finances, and investing. they are business-minded -- though you could also say that they are somewhat greedy, obsessed with money, and would do anything to make a quick buck.

your child wants to be rich. they want to be a millionaire. and they know that they will be.

your child is highly driven and highly proactive. they do not need someone to tell them what to do before they go out and do it. from a very young age, they know who they want to be and what they want out of life, and will do anything to rightfully shape their life as they see fit. they will wake up early in the morning and go for a walk or run, or go to the gym, then come back and work hard at their school work, business, or other responsibilities.

your child will also, again from a young age, start picking up side jobs and part time jobs. anything so that they have their own flow of income. and not to buy the latest this or the newest that, but to save and invest. to put into their plans.

you may sometimes look at your child, at how disciplined and focused they are, and wonder how you made a child like this. a child with such a good head on his shoulders, who knows themself and who sees the bigger picture when, at their age, you may have been aimless and lost.

your child forces you to change your whole lifestyle. you become a more active person. you will rise earlier so that you have breakfast ready for him when he gets home from his morning workout. you will educate yourself on finances, accounting, and other aspects of business, not only so that you can keep up with him but also so that you can be a good business partner to him --- because you may also get wrapped up in his business ideas, and may quit your job to start working as his manager.

your child may be a bit overconfident and arrogant, expecting things to always go his way and difficult to reign in or teach lessons especially about the consequences of his actions, but when it comes to you he loves you and is devoted to you. in fact, it may be why he works so hard; because he wants to give you the best life possible.

GROUP TWO

cards · the devil (reversed), the sun, eight of swords, five of cups (reversed), seven of swords, eight of cups.

channelled songs · applause by lady gaga. hate it or luv it by central cee. sky by spillage village. howl by florence + the machine.

my dear group two ♡ the child that is coming through is likely a girl. one who prioritises their physical appearance and physical fitness, over anything else -- to the extent where they may have an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns, something which is caused by and worsened by their sport of choice.

this child is athletic, either being a runner, cheerleader, or gymnast, and is incredibly devoted to this sport. they want to be the best in this sport, the best in the world, an olympic winner or something similar.

they want to be recognised and will do everything in their power to make this happen. sacrifice anything.

they may be a child of divorce, who may find it hard to open up to you about certain struggles they face and certain fears they have. they love you, but feel that you fundamentally do not understand each other. that you don't listen to them. that you love them, but that you do not love them enough. thus, your child will bottle up their emotions and internalise a lot of their anger.

they may have anger issues, often exploding in anger when things don't work out as they expected. or when they lose.

this child hates to lose, but they like to fail and be challenged, because they like to push themselves to grow and get better. they love that feeling of succeeding at something they trained day-in and day-out to; to land that specific trick, to cross that specific line, to achieve a specific goal.

they love the cheers of the crowd -- the applause, the awe -- they do something with their body that no one has seen be done before.

this child may be very rigid with themselves. they may ignore a lot of their feelings -- especially around your divorce and other issues within the house -- and focus all their attention and brainpower on their sport and their body. this is the only thing they have complete control over, so, of course, they will give it their all.

and as rigid as they are with themselves, they are as rigid with others. they hate people who lie, even small lies, and may feel like you are often lying to them or keeping things hidden from them. even if you are doing this because you think you are doing what's best for them -- for example, not telling them just how difficult your marriage actually was, but not realising they already know and are just waiting for you to be honest and upfront with them.

the relationship between you and your child is complex. you will often butt heads and argue, and things you do with well-meaning intent only succeed in driving the wedge deeper and deeper between you two.

this child teaches you when to walk away. you may have a difficult, painful, marriage, and for the sake of your child alone -- despite how much you love this person, and how much you want to try and make it work -- you decide to leave. you learn when to move out of comfortable environments, so that your child may have better coaches and better access to competitions. you learn when to argue and when to drop the subject entirely. you learn how to breathe and to let go, to love someone when they push you away because you realise that this is when they need it the most.

GROUP THREE

cards · ten of pentacles (reversed), the hierophant, page of wands, ace of cups (reversed), eight of swords, the devil.

channelled songs · planet girl by jooyoung. pansy by taemin. breathe by umi. lost in the citadel by lil nas x.

my dear group three ♡ the child that is coming through is one who is more expensive to raise than you initially thought or expected. this is likely not your first child, but the circumstances of their birth and their disabilities might make raising this one more demanding than raising your first. and it is likely that this child may have developmental issues, dyslexia, or a brain injury -- may experience a major head injury as a child or may have been deprived of oxygen in the womb or during labour. for some, your child may have a degenerative disorder, with their condition getting worse over time.

whatever it is, specifically, it is something that makes it difficult for your child to navigate the world as any other person would.

this child requires more of your time and attention. you may have to home-school your child, or go above and beyond in order to get them into a specialised school that is equipped for their specific needs -- at least, for the beginning of their schooling career.

your child may feel that they are separated from the rest of humanity. that they cannot connect with others, or that others just do not understand them; as if there is a glass wall between them and everyone else -- even between them and you, their other parent, and their siblings.

they may feel entirely trapped, and like they will never live the life they want because of their disability -- or disabilities.

they are a generally clumsy child. though they like to dance, to sing and hum along to music and make up their own songs. they love classical music, and will want to play classical instruments but wonder if they’ll ever be able to because of their body’s limitations.

your child will get tired easily and, thus, will get frustrated easily. they may feel like they’re behind; like they’re failing at the simplest thing -- being alive. to self soothe, they may often sit in the sun or in nature, and cuddle and play with their pet cat.

cats and/or lizards may also be their favourite animal(s).

you may sacrifice a lot for your child, just to give them a leg up in life and ensure that they are not held back by their disabilities. this sacrifice may also include the relationship with your other children and the attention that you can give to them.

GROUP FOUR

cards · king of swords (reversed), knight of pentacles, ten of pentacles (reversed), eight of cups, the fool (reversed), the tower.

channelled songs · break my soul by beyoncé. headfirst slide into cooperstown on a bad bet by fall out boy. understood by mick jenkins. drowning pool by bbymutha.

my dear group four ♡ the child that is coming through for you may be one born from a loveless relationship or from a one-night stand. from their conception, this child changes your life completely; sending your life in all directions of upheaval.

this person may be significantly wealthy or famous, or they may have a particular image to protect. and will, thus, choose to silence you with money. they will leave you with the child but will send you a large amount of money each month to make sure you are both financially taken care of. you will be set for life.

your child will grow up used to the comforts that you yourself may not have had while growing up. they may be a bit spoiled, but not to the extent where they are selfish or greedy. it may be better to say that, because of the way they are raised, they are a bit sheltered.

this child will always help others, wherever and whenever and however they can. as you will often have a fully-stocked fridge or pantry, they will often ask you to pack an extra lunch so they can share it with a friend who either never has lunch or never has nutritious lunch. if they can pay for someone else to attend a field trip, they will.

they may feel as if they do not deserve the comforts they have been granted in life, especially because these comforts are given to them by someone who doesn’t even want anything to do with them. someone who thinks that throwing money at a problem makes it go away.

as soon as they can, your child will leave home and try to make a life for themselves; to build wealth of their own -- wealth they feel like they actually earned, instead of wealth that was just handed to them.

rather than going the traditional route of college or university, they will rather prefer to gain experience in the world itself. if they do decide to go to college or university, it will be later in life. for the most part, they will travel. they will enjoy backpacking and hiking, and what starts as a hobby or as a way to see the world and find themselves will turn into a successful blog and, then, into a career as a travel journalist.

this child will do anything possible to broaden their horizons, constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. they will dislike people who are willfully naive and ignorant, who are so caught up in dreams and fantasy that they do not see the realities of life.

#**#tarot #pac #pick a card #tarotblr #tarotonline #tarotcommunity #tarotcreator #witchblr #witchythings #witch of color #divination #spiritualism #spirituality #channeled message #channelled message #channeled reading

171 notes · View notes

gentlebeardsbarngrill · 2 months

Text

03/13/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew; Leslie Jones; Erroll Shand; Ruibo Qian; Dominic Burgess; Adam Wheatley; Kristian Nairn; Queerties; Fanspotlight: Cast Cards/Our Flag Means Fanfiction; SaveOFMDCrew /Billboards/trucks; Still Fighting; Max Madness; SchadenFreude; Articles; Watch Party Reminders; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

== Leslie Jones ==

Congrats to Leslie for her NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Short Form Series!!!! SRC: Leslie's Twitter

== Erroll Shand ==

It's Erroll Shand's birthday! please pop over anywhere you can find him and wish him a Happy Birthday!!! Thank you to @youvebeenricked on Instagram for sending him so much love!

Erroll Shand's Instagram

= Dominic Burgess! =

Our dear crew-mate @iamadequate1 got a Cameo from our very own Jeffrey Fettering (Dominic Burgess!) It's absolutely ADORABLE. You get to meet his cats and fish, and he's just the sweetest man alive-- please give it a watch!

Wanna send your cat pics to Dominic since he shared his cats with us? If you have twitter please add them to the thread below. Thank you to @ouibek for this lovely idea!!!

Ouibek's Twitter post

Speaking of Dominic, he also recently posted an interview he did, please read it when you get a chance!

= Ruibo Qian =

Our pirate queen Ruibo posted some very lovely pictures today, and the message of: 🎼🎶♾️ SRC: Ruibo's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

New music comes out Mar 22, you can pre save it here!

== Adam Wheatley ==

Production Designer and Supervising Art Director Adam Wheatley has dropped some seriously awesome set designs! OFMD Twitter has been having a blast. Check out the full catalog here. Thank you to @adoptourcrew for bringing it to our attention!

== Queerties Results ==

Our Flag Means Death and Vico Ortiz both received Runner Up for the Queerties! Thanks so much for everyone who voted!

== Fan Spotlight ==

Thank you to @melvisik for yet another cast card! This time it's Bronson Pinchot, our very own Ned Low! I totally forgot he was in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I really need to go rewatch that! Thank you dear for another great card!

== Our Flag Means Fanfiction ==

Our darling crew-mates over at @ourflagmeansfanfiction have a new episode out, this time featuring Stede! On top of that, the #RhysDarbyFaction got a shout out 😭! Please check them out on Spotify or their Instagram!

== Save OFMD Crew / Billboards / Trucks ==

The AppleTV trucks were parked outside Apple today! On top of that, the SaveOFMD Crew sent some love out to David and the rest of the Cast & Crew for all the things they've done for us!

== Still Fighting ==

A lot of fans are still fighting the good fight. Even if we aren't getting OFMD s3, they're sticking it to the man, David Zaslav for stealing our Love, OUR JOY!

#FireDavidZaslav has trended two days in a row, and he's certainly getting some nasty press.

@screenjunkies made a call out to what a horrific job David Zaslav has been doing! Visit Honest Trailers | The Year 2023:

youtube

= Dont Stream On Max =

Are you still interested in causing Max some grief? There's a discord server where several fans are getting together to notify each other and make plans on how to polite menace max. Please reach out if you'd like a link!

= MaxMadness =

So today, Max thought it would be fun to post a really shitty bracket for shows and movies on their platform. They were pitching things like Citizen Kane to eventually be up against Shark Week. If you'd like to see the dumpster fire, feel free to visit their Twitter or Instagram.

Our crew-mate @iamadequate1 decided to make a Max Fan Favorites of our own! This time with cancelled shows! You can vote on this thread below on Twitter!

== SchadenFreude ==

WB is still having a rough time.

== Articles ==

Why is Wall Street Unimpressed with WBD Streaming Profits? Password-Sharing Crackdown Next in Zaslav’s Plans

== Watch Party Reminders ==

= Wrecked =

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 15: Lube As A Crew =

Our dear friends over at @astroglideofficial are hosting one last Lube As A Crew, with all of Season 2 in one go! Starts Friday March 15th 12 pm Noon PST ( 4pm EST, 8 pm GMT)

Mar 17: Pirate Radio/The Boat That Rocked Watch Party!

Sunday the 17th of March at 7:30pm GMT / 3:30 pm EST / 1:30 pm CST Hosted & Graphics by @Tillychmo

Watch Party Hashtags:

PirateRadio

AdoptOurCrew

SaveOFMD

OurFlagMeansWatchAlong

== Calendar Reminder ==

Tomorrow is #TheoryThursday! Our crew deserve a happy ending. Let’s give them one! Post and tag us with your favorite fics or art that have happy/feel good endings. They can be your own!

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies! How are you holding up today? Are things any easier this week? If not, that's okay. It's okay to still not be ok.

It's already hump day, and here we are, still kicking. I feel like I've been having lots of ups and downs. Distracting myself with silly things that make me laugh help a lot. Talking with you all on the crew really helps too.

What makes you laugh? Is it puns? Or goofy pictures? Is it unhinged comments, or maybe schadenfreude?

Whatever it is that makes you laugh-- please laugh today. Turn on a special (there's plenty of Rhys Darby specials on youtube or prime video). If that's not your speed, and you want to reach a goofy fic, look up something on ao3 with the weirdest tag you can think of.

Laughter can make us feel so much more alive when we're feeling down, and I hope you get some today.

Remember that you deserve to laugh, and enjoy life. Life will continue to get better, and even when it has ups and downs, you can always laugh, and there will always be bits of joy in the world. You all are my joy. Every day I get by with witnessing all the wonders this crew accomplishes.

You're awesome, and you're kicking ass <3, and you deserve the best. Night Crew. Sending hugs and love.

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Tonight's lovely gifs feature... more hand action! Darby is courtesy of @jodegg! Taika is courtesy of @ofmd-ann!

#daily ofmd recap #daily ofmd recaps #ofmd daily recap #ofmd daily recaps #ofmd #our flag means death #rhys darby #save ofmd #taika waititi #dominic burgess #erroll shand #leslie jones #ruibo qian #finish our stories #long live ofmd #kristian nairn #Adam wheatley #Spotify #Youtube

66 notes · View notes

brightlypainted · 6 days

Text

I went completely bananas and wrote a full analysis of Joker Out and JO fandom stuff and situation... idk

Hi baby boos!

I’ve seen some confusion regarding JO’s latest announcements and social media activity (or lack thereof) so I've tried to analyze the current situation with a critical eye 🤓

I don't use Tumblr much so you're probably more familiar with my Twitter but I got suggested to post this here for easier reading (and... better audience in general 👀)

Long rant under the cut:

Before I begin I must point out that these are my opinions and theories. I have no idea how JO’s communication and management is being organized right now, I’m just making assumptions based on my perception as a fan 🤷‍♀️

(also I’m a communication graduate but my studies and current job cover this sector only tangentially so I may not know how some/most of this works…)

Let’s start with comparing last year’s situation to the current one: one year ago the boys were riding high on the wave of enthusiasm, having had a successful ESC (despite the ending placement) and having gained a lot of attention as fan favorite competitors ✨

A very high % of the growing fanbase, esp the international one, was coming directly or tangentially through ESC and how do you maintain that attention once the contest is over? you increase your social media presence and you start planning international concerts. which they did!

This constant exposure to content made the fandom flourish: we were all witnessing how easily people from everywhere could join and already feel at the very center of attention, both because JO’s communication was being very active and successful and also thanks to fanmade organizations like JokerOutSubs, group chats, old time Slovenian fans sharing juicy pre-ESC content, etc. I'll be grateful forever

We had a past year that could be divided into 2 halves in terms of communication: it all went extremely well until more or less the end of 2023 (last tour dates in Spain) and then started gradually becoming very odd and chaotic all through 2024 until last month’s complete draught

We know that they mostly tend to manage their online presence on their own, so ofc during breaks and during very busy times is harder for them to find good content to share. They had also been very clear about needing time off their phones all through the London era and the album recording in Hamburg, so that didn’t come as a surprise for fans 🤷‍♀️

But having very sensible, personal reasons to quit/decrease social media presence has unfortunately no meaning in communication, where the laws are very simple: once you stop sharing, you stop existing

I don’t want to criticize their choices, because they are entitled to their privacy and offline time. I’m just pointing out that this very long, hiccup-y period probably could have been avoided with better management and with the presence of a smm/pre-planned sm communication 🙃

It also unfortunately happened concurrently to the new ESC season, which was bound to “organically” erode part of the fandom anyway, and to an EU tour that, although successful, has still highlighted a lazy/bad management and yet again a communication that made little to no sense at times (es. the whole campaign that subtly asked people to go to more than one concert, which clearly made fans with less financial and logistical possibilities feel ‘lacking’ and ‘inferior’) 🙄

In their defense, the tour was to establish a fanbase more than gaining more fans and exposure, so pushing for getting more of a loyal than an occasional fanbase wasn’t completely wrong an idea… it just backfired

And it did because the greatest part of their international fanbase is made of very young people who aren’t financially independent and whose interests are bound to be fleeting and shifting ESPECIALLY when they aren’t constantly met with content production/consumption

Let’s also not forget that having completely shifted their attention to international waters at the expense of the Slovenian/regional fanbase has been very risky. We still can’t tell if the gamble was successful or not

It’s never a good idea to ignore/neglect your hardcore supporters, the very people that helped you raise to your current standards. it’s true they are the most loyal, but they are also very easily the ones that could feel more betrayed

I also think it’s very risky trying to shift the fans’ content consumption out of social media and into a (controlled, easier to manage, ofc) site like Openstage for two main reasons: as said before, complete disappearance from socials means communicational suicide and until now, the “dedicated content” directed toward fans on the site has been… too bland and generic (sorry)(they can learn how to improve that)

Openstage has other very interesting uses tho, firstly the early access to ticket sales and secondly the tracking of international fan presence, which was pretty clearly the main goal and reason why they opened the site in the first place... so it’s not ex ante a bad communication choice, just (until now) one that has yet to show its potential and usefulness

So what now? I think it’s time they make a few considerations and sensible choices to maintain what’s currently the status quo and in order to tackle festival season in the best way

They need to keep their international presence by opening their fanbase to a new kind of fans: festivals bring exposure to bands from a very specific type of fanbase, more interested in music than in contents. If they manage to capture the interest of Sziget people, for example, they could gather a new type of international fanbase less interested in the “social media” content consumption and more in the “I wanna see these guys play again, somewhere else, maybe a show of their own” way

(which, to be completely fair, could be the best choice to cure their current crazy/shifting/confusing fanbase state, giving them more peace of mind, more privacy and a more “normal” rock band experience than the one they had in the past year… that we can all agree has been pretty bad at times)

I personally think this summer season must go in the quantity direction (gaining more new fans) and at the same time in the quality direction (less shows, bigger stages) and this is why some of you are disappointed in seeing so little shows compared to last year or to the SYS tour... I get it

Many of us, me included, won’t be seeing JO live for the whole summer season, and I’m aware that is disappointing, but I hope this analysis has helped you put things into perspective and consider maybe one of the possible reasons why this next phase for Joker Out is being organized this way

I’m still hoping they’ll find a good compromise with their social media communication, because right now I really feel that being the main issue with the gradual but constant drop in traction (please boys hire a smm. i adore jan’s sad edits and the unhinged video and stories like the next person but serious work has to be done too)

Ending the rant on a note of hope: I wish to see you all enjoy the summer and the content to come and I hope for the boys to have a successful, fun season full of new experiences, new music, new people, fresh ideas for the future. I’m honestly very excited for what’s to come! 🌻

#joker out #bojan cvjetićanin #kris guštin #jan peteh #jure maček #nace jordan #long post #analysis

53 notes · View notes

cryptidghostgirl · 3 months

Note

heyhey! You said you had a request but couldn’t see it and in case it was mine here i am once again humbling asking you to feed my delusions. I am the same person who asked for the one with the fake dating trope and the one where reader spawns into the lobby :))

But i am here now going for a more angsty route! >:) Granted, this is more of an OC x Alastor but im describing it more generic for the populace BUT HERE GOES

right before “Cover me” reader kept silently glancing over at Alastor which was on the dance floor, subconsciously making him approach her. He goes of course they have a (Important for later) conversation like “I havent seen you around here. Are you new around town?” “Just moved in actually~” “Well, Id love to give you a tour someday, the names Alastor” and he kisses her hand “Ah a charmer, ill have to be careful around you” (OR A MORE ELEGANT CONVERSATION THEN THAT I SUCK AT DIALOGUE) then theres the knife and gun scene and the team up

And then they get together after about a year or two and I dont wanna say theyre legally married but eventually use wife and husband terms because its more fancy and gives them more respect in eyes of others but they have been together for around 5 years at this point.

but then the events of 1925 happen where readers twin brother dies because some bastards set fire to his house and Reader has an argument with Alastor before eventually going alone to avenge her brother (theyre like “theres too many, youll die” “so be it!”)

Reader kills them all (duh) but because it was January and extremely cold she eventually gets hypothermia and during the delusions it gives she stumbles and gets impaled on an abandoned rusty fence spike and dies :3

Alastor find her and gives her a proper burial and 8 years later in 1933 while visiting readers grave he gets shot canonically

But these 8 years gave reader enoigh time in hell to establish her own dominance and due to the life she lived and the death of hypothermia- she gets turned into a sort of blizzard demon. Around 180 cm with black limbs, white fluffy hair and fluffy ears and a white tail as a sinner form and for the demon form im thinking of the faceless Room Guardians by Anyaboz on Instagram (incredible artist btw) with ice powers like summoning weapons and ice spikes and ice touches and moving freely (like Kindred’s wolf in League) in her blizzard. Taking over half the pentagram like this-

Until 1933 when Alastor pops up in hell, does his demon business and eventually wants to check out these frozen parts and goes into a bar very similar to the one they met and sees reader at the table and then THEY HAVE THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION THEY HAD WHEN THEY FIRST MET (maybe with the knife and gun scene too hehe) and theyre both like “i forgive you” or smth idk maybe they just have a silent agreement- either way.

After they met the blizzard stops and no one knows why or who did it :>, readers identity as the blizzard demon remaining a secret

BTW I LOVE YOU FOR MAKING MY DREAMS COME TRUE- if you want more i have a ton of ideas because brain rot- (also lil side note i kind of imagine reader as albino because it would fit my ocs lore a bit more- but keeping it basic would fit everyones ideas of their own reader so! do what you please you already made my day better by reading my ideas come to life :3))

yes!! i did see yours and it is currently in third place for requests i need to fill so ill probably get it done by this weekend, early next week at the latest. it’s just taking me a bit because i’m in midterms rn and also i want to make sure i get in all the details :) i think it might’ve been a request for alastor’s mom reader x lucifer?? i recall getting one about that but can’t seem to find it anywhere. long story short,, your request is in progress and i will post it as soon as i have the time to finish it up :)

UPDATE: This piece has officially been posted as of Friday February 23rd, 2024.

Frostbite (Alastor x Reader)

#hazbin hotel #alastor #hazbin alastor #alastor the radio demon #fic writer #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #request things #request one shot #asks #answered asks

59 notes · View notes

bananaofswifts · 4 months

Text

01 - Taylor Swift

No one in the music industry wielded more power over the past year than Taylor Swift, who made history at stadiums, movie theaters and on the Billboard charts, leaving even the most seasoned executives speechless. While they’d long celebrated her staggering popularity as a singer, songwriter and performer, her force as a strategic business leader suddenly came into sharper focus — and industry veterans took notes as they watched some of her bravest and most innovative business risks reap remarkable rewards.

At 34, she is one of the music industry’s most charismatic and influential leaders — and she rewrites the rules.

“The piece of advice I would give to the other executives on this list is that the best ideas are usually ones without industry precedent,” Swift tells Billboard. “The biggest crossroads moments of my career came down to sticking to my instincts when my ideas were looked at with skepticism. When someone says to me, ‘But that has never been done successfully before,’ it fires me up. We have to take strategic risks every day in this industry, but every once in a while, you have to really trust your gut and take a flying leap. My rerecordings are my favorite example of this, and I’m extremely grateful to my team and fans for taking that leap with me because it absolutely changed my life.”

Sage advice for an industry in which instinct has largely been supplanted by metrics and data analysis.

In December, Time named Swift its 2023 Person of the Year. In September, after encouraging her 279 million Instagram followers to vote and linking to vote.org, the nonpartisan nonprofit said it received over 35,000 registrations. She appears on the cover of this issue of Billboard and in the No. 1 spot of our annual Power 100 issue because her force across the business of music is now unparalleled — and because she models commitment to innovation that the rest of the business will need in order to tackle the big challenges ahead.

Swift’s gambles have paid off handsomely over the past year.

Her massive The Eras stadium tour, which began in March after she controversially put all the tickets on sale at once, crashing Ticketmaster and sparking mass hysteria, grossed an estimated $906.1 million in 2023 and is poised to become the highest-grossing global tour of all time before it wraps in December, according to Billboard.

The Golden Globe-nominated Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film, taped during her six-show run at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., in August, has grossed over $261.6 million worldwide since its October opening, according to AMC Theatres Entertainment. In January, the publicly traded movie-house chain announced that the film’s box-office take made it the highest-grossing concert/documentary picture ever released, surpassing Michael Jackson’s 2009 This Is It. Once again blazing a new path, Swift made a groundbreaking distribution deal directly with AMC Theaters instead of linking with a film studio.

Swift has shaken up the catalog market, too. When Scooter Braun infuriated her by acquiring the master recordings of her first six albums through his Ithaca Holdings and then sold them to investment firm Shamrock Capital at a profit, Swift rerecorded the albums with loving precision and added bonus tracks to the new releases. They performed phenomenally well, as she deftly used her tour to promote them. When her latest rerecording (and 14th studio album overall), 1989 (Taylor’s Version), spent its fifth week at atop the Billboard 200 at the end of 2023, Swift beat Elvis Presley’s record for the most weeks at No. 1 by a solo artist. Her industry market share last year was 1.72%. If she were her own genre, she’d rank ninth for 2023 — bigger than jazz.

“She’s the smartest artist I’ve ever worked with,” says Messina Touring Group’s Louis Messina, who promotes Swift’s tours and has worked with her since 2005. “She outworks everybody and she has always had this vision. If you’re around her, you can’t help but believe in her.” —Melinda Newman

#taylor swift

53 notes · View notes

anogete · 4 months

Text

Hi. Update of random shit in case anyone cares.

The scary test I was stressed over in the fall when I was posting my last fic? It was the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) exam. Yes, I passed it. The designation requires a bachelor's degree, so I had to go back to school to finish my last 10 classes. Then I had to take 7 more classes that are pre-reqs for the exam. Then I spent probably 700 hours attempting to cram everything you could think of related to personal finance (my god, there is a metric shit ton) into my head. The designation also requires 5,000 hours of experience in the planning field (which I thankfully already had). By the time I passed the test, I was no longer proud of the accomplishment, just relieved to have it behind me.

Work was intensely busy in November and December. I got little reading and no writing done.

I have a WIP featuring the Darcy/Rumlow pairing that has been languishing on my computer since 2020. To be honest, I've mosty forgotten what the conflict driving the plot was going to be. I think I was trying to tie it into the events of Wandavision. Took place after the show and had Monica Rambeau and Darcy kinda sorta working together and trying to figure out what, if anything, crossing the barrier that Wanda had thrown up did to them. Of course, Rumlow is alive and scarred and back with the good guys. And also really annoyed that his recent gunshot wound stuck him on desk duty watching the nerds complete their physicals as part of employee onboarding. Darcy doesn't want to have gym class with Rumlow, and Rumlow doesn't want to be there either but he's also kinda into the sassy brunette who tried to sweet talk him into passing her without making her run a mile. In the chapter or two I did write, the banter between Darcy and Rumlow was so fun, so I'd love to go back to it and try to move it along.

I got sucked into reading Draco/Hermione fanfic recently. Blame those damn Snow edits from the latest Hunger Games movie. Guys, I have never read those books or seen the movies, but blonde Tom Blyth is looking like the fanfic Draco of my dreams. How dare. This rabbit hole led to me deciding I needed to write a Dramione piece. It's maybe 6 pages and has gone nowhere even though I have a vague idea of the plot. My muse is struggling.

I found my old folder of all the fic I wrote in the past 20 years. There are still a couple hockey fics I haven't posted to AO3. There are also Anita Blake fics (I was a hardcore Anita/Edward girlie) and Harry Potter fics (don't cancel me but I used to write Snape/Hermione; NO student/teacher stuff though). I think I have an old Doctor Who fic featuring Nine/Rose (yes, I'm a Nine girlie). And a very old Forgotten Realms fic that paired Catti-Brie up with Jarlaxle. Look, I don't know. It was ages ago. With the exception of the hockey fics, I do not think any of these are of the same quality I've posted on AO3, but I've been toying with the idea of trying to clean them up and posting them so more of my work is archived together instead of spread over various fan sites. Does anyone have any interest at all in reading this shit? Like, at all?

I decided 2024 is going to be my book binding era. I bound isthisselfcare's Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love a couple weeks ago. I did all the typesetting with the help of some macros. Printed it, folded the signatures (the booklets that comprise the book), sewed them together with waxed linen thread, glued the text block together with some mull, and used chip board and book cloth to make the case. It feels and looks like a book, y'all! I could do a better job with lining the signatures up when punching the holes for sewing and with the measurements on the case, but overall I am pretty proud of it. If anyone is interested, I can link a nice tutorial series on TT and/or post progress pictures I took during my book binding experiment. I have to say, it's exciting to have the ability to put my fav fanfics on my physical bookshelf.

#fanfic #mcu fanfic #darcy x rumlow #anogete #dramione #snamione #hp fanfic #bookbinding

56 notes · View notes

plasticflwrs · 16 days

Text

⠀⠀ ⠀┈─ GASP OF AIR ⠀⠀／ ⠀⠀ an oh deurim & oliver song story ( 2024 ).

"And then I was looking at my old friend John: / ... and I saw him, / and he: (and this was almost unbearable) / he saw me see him, / and I saw him see me." — The Affliction by Marie Howe.

WORD COUNT. 2.6k. WARNINGS / NOTES. surprisingly, nothing major! they drink a bit of wine on the balcony and talk like they're in an episode of nbc's hannibal. mentions of: alcohol, oliver's poor mental health, dysfunctional relationships, shin yeonghui (derogatory).

The balcony door slides open behind Oliver and he pauses for a moment. There was an unwritten rule of the balcony: do not interrupt someone out there alone. They all did their best thinking leaning against the wall or in the cheap beach chairs from the local furniture store or using it for uncomfortable phone discussions. It was rude to walk out there without at least texting the other person before and, for once, he had his phone off of Do Not Disturb but had not felt any incoming messages. He always kept his phone close and right now, it sat under his left thigh as he looked out at the Seoul skyline, a bottle of cheap wine, and some cheap glass on the table next to him.

He doesn’t turn around. Instead, he hoped that whoever entered his personal space would get the message and go back inside, realizing that he was not in a good mood. He hadn’t been in that mood lately with the upcoming comeback. He was nervous about the record and was already being asked by the higher-ups about what would come next. His songwriting notebooks and fountain pens sit untouched next to him, the blank page mocking him as he taps out the same melody over and over again.

There was something there, he just couldn’t find it yet.

Instead of leaving, they sit down next to him and he can tell just by the hair color that it’s Deurim. Jiyeon and Salem had both dyed their hair similar shades of blonde or orange, he wasn’t sure which, and Junyeong had a shorter haircut. Deurim, for the first time since debut, had lightened her hair to a light brown rather than her usual black and Oliver thought it looked nice. Deurim always looked nice.

They weren’t that close. She liked to stick her nose in Oliver’s business when it had nothing to do with her and had gotten into some fight with Jiyeon a few years back, so he tended to stay away from her. A part of him pitied Deurim. She had no friends in Plastic Flowers and had missed the formative years—the trauma bonding years as they called it—and was thrown into fame with little preparation. Even he, coming back from a few months of Boston, was rattled by how quickly they went from absolute nobodies to the biggest idol band in all of South Korea. They were breaking records set back in the early 2010s like it was nothing and still, they managed to top themselves with each album.

The fans had gotten used to her presence but she remained the least liked member due to her late joining. They were protective over their favorite band and still saw her as an outsider despite her contributions to the latest albums and how quickly she had picked up the pieces broken by Minghui.

Of all the decisions made by Shin Yeonghui, this was one of the few she had gotten right.

He had seen some of the trainees before his departure and she was the only one that stuck out from that generation. Stardom came naturally to her, as if she was born to be in front of the camera, and was shameless with the character she showed for the fans. They had never seen the real Deurim, the one with the sharp tongue and ability to silence a room with a look, and had a completely different idea of her. Sometimes, Oliver commended her for it. His idol persona and his real personality were slowly blurring as if they were becoming the same, and that scared him.

“Are you sleeping out here or something?” she asks, sitting down next to Oliver and pouring herself a glass of wine. He wasn’t sure where it came from but accepted it even with a weird look cast in her direction. “Kicked from Jiyeon’s bed?”

He scoffs and takes a long sip of his drink. “Can’t be kicked from something I was never in.”

“Oh c’mon,” she laughs, bumping her shoulder against Oliver’s as if they were friends. “You’ve been single for two years and haven’t tried anything with Jiyeon? She’s, like, obsessed with you.”

His relationship with Jiyeon is something that Oliver likes to keep private. There were too many emotions surrounding everything and sometimes, it even confused him. That was his best friend, the one person who had always been by his side, and he never wanted to ruin her with all of his issues. Instead of answering, he takes another sip, emptying the glass and refilling it without even thinking. Rather than going for his usual vodka or soju, he subjected himself to the tasteless cheap wine from the local convenience store to avoid a hangover or getting too messy. He thought the peach flavor advertised would make the drink better, but it was just as bad as he remembered. He didn’t know how people liked this stuff.

She hums and nods slowly as if pretending to understand something. “The silent treatment?” She leans in closer to him, placing a hand on his, a familiar gesture, and considers him for a moment. Deurim studies him like a painting in the Louvre, eyes dancing between facial features and she finally smiles as she leans away, out of his personal space. “Wanna know what I think?”

“I bet you would’ve told me either way,” and he doesn’t mean the sarcasm that leaves his mouth without thinking or the slight stumble to his word. Deurim looks at him again as she just shrugs in response, still looking at him with those dark brown and attentive eyes. “Whatever—sure,” he agrees after a beat. “What do you think?”

He’s heard plenty of theories over the years, from friends and gossip articles alike, about his personal life. Many people believed that his relationship with Salem was only for cameras, that he had an awful superiority complex, and was mistreating staff backstage. The woes of fame, he always told himself, were the constant speculation about his life. That’s why the balcony was so great—a way to interact with the public without truly interacting with him. He still heard the ambient noises of the city and could people watch with ease, leaving him to his best thinking and memories of sitting in the Boston Common with his mother on the weekends and having a picnic.

Of course, he’s one of the few people that knew the true stories of all the rumors. He knows the truth, but, hearing what other people believed was always interesting. Deurim had front-row seats to some of their greatest behind-the-stage moments and had a different point of view from the rest of the world. She didn’t know the truth about them, but she was a step higher than the regular popular culture consumer. She knew many things they would never, but she didn’t know everything about them.

“So you do pay attention to me,” she hums, letting the end of her sentence linger before speaking again. “I think that you’re scared.”

“Scared?” He repeats.

“There’s so much history with her,” she says the word ‘history’ like it was something annoying, scrunching her nose and tilting her head to the side. “I don’t even know how you stomach it at this point.”

Oliver shrugs, trying to think of the right words to describe the relationship he has with Jiyeon and Salem. It was all confusing at this point as they all refused to talk about what was going on and they seemed more than happy about leaving Oliver behind. They were often going out together and many nights, he heard them talking in either of their rooms about anything and everything. A few times, his name had even come up, but he couldn’t stay to listen to it. He knew he made many mistakes over the past few years and hearing it out loud always messed with his head, so he tried to avoid their conversations about him, no matter how curious Oliver was.

“It’s not that weird,” he lands on and it’s the truth—he wanted nothing more than to rebuild that friendship back up and avoid any weirdness in the dorm. Even if they would only be living together until September. “She’s moved on.”

“Moved on,” she scoffs. “What are you? Delusional?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You can’t be that stupid, Oliver,” she states, lips pursed and looking at him like he was stupid. His eyebrows furrowed, not understanding where she was going with this. “She’s never going to give you up.”

“We’re best friends. Of course she’s not going to give that up,” Oliver retorts with a frown.

“But do you wanna be more than friends?” Deurim finally asks.

Oliver pauses. He’s thought about it before, but never in depth. He loved Jiyeon, but it felt more familiar to the way he loved his older sister, Ivy. Sure, he wanted the best for her and to see her happy, but that didn’t mean in a romantic relationship and he had told her that before.

“No,” he lands on instead, keeping it short and sweet to avoid saying anything he would regret. Deurim was good at using words against other people and he didn’t want to be the cause of another fight when things were going back to normal. Well as normal as they could be for them. “I’ve never thought of her like that.” There’s a second statement that lingers in the back: that he never wanted to hurt her. When it came to Oliver and relationships, things always turned for the worst and he didn’t want that for Jiyeon.

Oliver wasn’t sure if it was real, but each time he blinked, it seemed like Deurim was moving closer to him. He had never looked at her this closely before and his gaze danced around each of her features, taking all of them in at once, before landing on her lips. She notices within an instant, because, of course, she does. Deurim has always been the observant type and loved to people-watch from this very same balcony over the weekend. She smiles at him, one that feels more real than the others but doesn’t make any more movement towards him. Oliver had never noticed her smile before.

“What?” She asks. “Is there something on my face?”

Oliver shakes his head, “No… I’m just seeing you for the first time.”

Deurim gives him a weird look at the choice of phrasing. He had looked at her before and knew what Deurim looked like, but this was the first time he was paying any attention. He had been so focused on his issues and the other members that he never gave her a chance. He sided with Jiyeon without even listening to Deurim’s side of the story and suddenly, that felt unfair to her.

“You’re seeing me?” She stresses the word just like Oliver did as if trying to understand what he was trying to say. She even considers it for a moment before asking, placing her right hand onto Oliver’s left, “And what does that mean?”

Oliver isn’t even sure what he’s trying to convey. “This is the first time I feel I can understand you.”

She nods, humming and his breath gets caught in his throat as Deurim moves even closer, her hand moving up towards his shoulder. He could feel the warmth of her hand, sending a shiver down his spine as the air around them charged with anticipation and time slowed. He knew where this was going as he looked into Deurim’s eyes, which held something he couldn’t place at that moment. Her touch was gentle yet firm, grounding him to the present moment. In usual moments like this, his mind is running with anxiety and wondering if this was the right move.

“I’ve always been here,” she finally says, her voice barely above a whisper. “But you never saw me. I’ve always seen you, Oliver.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Deurim replies, a smile gracing her lips as she glances down at Oliver’s own. “We all have moments of blindness. You’re seeing me now and that’s what matters.”

He finds himself nodding without noticing, his brain struggling to catch up with the rest of the moment. It was like a breath of fresh air as he looked at Deurim and saw something new, something good. It had been a very long time since he had felt like this. The last time had been back with his family in Boston during his forced hiatus and spending time with them always brought good feelings. They were walking through the Common and it felt right like it was where he was supposed to be. It reminded him of the early days of Plastic Flowers and his relationship with Salem, the easy days and the ones that were spent in fits of laughter rather than ignoring each other.

He’s always been an emotional person—something that his father didn’t like about his oldest son but served well in the career path that he chose. He acts on his emotions without much thought and that explains how he ends up here, with his hand on Deurim’s chin as he brings her into a kiss. It’s chaste for a moment as if both of them are waiting for the other to make the first move and deepen it. He begins to pull away and looks closely at Deurim’s face, trying to understand what she is thinking.

That’s the issue with Deurim.

She didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve like the rest of the members of Plastic Flowers and it was almost impossible to read her most days. She had perfected that stone-cold stare, the look of indifference, and often avoided letting the others see her at her lowest. He’s only ever seen Deurim’s real emotions once and it had been when they won best band for the first time at a major award show. It hadn’t been long after she joined and he understood the emotional relief of seeing the tangible success, holding that trophy in her hand for the first time as she thanked the fans, tears falling easily from her eyes as she hugged each one of them.

However, it seems that Oliver caught her off guard. She blinks almost owlishly at him as if she hadn’t seen this coming. The hand that had rested on top of his moved and pulled him back into the kiss, moving from his cheek and into his newly dyed hair. They stay like that for what feels like hours, trading kisses with ease, even though he knows it’s only been a few minutes at best. His hands wander to her waist, holding her close and smiling through the entire thing.

As Oliver pulls back once again, the melody from earlier suddenly comes with lyrics and it’s as if Deurim has inspired him once again. He hasn’t had a muse since his relationship ended and it takes every part of him not to leave Deurim’s space in favor of grabbing his notebook from where he was previously sitting. He doesn’t move, instead cupping her cheek again to look at Deurim. He isn’t sure how he missed this.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asks, lips swollen and red and smiling at him.

“Nothing,” he says with a shake of his head. “Nothing. I just feel good.”

“Good.”

Deurim is leaning in again and it feels like the entire world is behind them as Oliver meets her in the middle, happy to just remain in this moment for the rest of time.

13 notes · View notes

iwanthermidnightz · 4 months

Text

1) Taylor Swift

At 34, she is one of the music industry’s most charismatic and influential leaders — and she rewrites the rules.

Sage advice for an industry in which instinct has largely been supplanted by metrics and data analysis.

Swift’s gambles have paid off handsomely over the past year.

#taylor swift

23 notes · View notes

softboynick · 4 months

Text

several sentence sunday (2/11/2024)

tagged by the lovely @captainjunglegym <3

i have no idea where the hell this idea came from but here's a snippet from my latest WIP. it's just a silly little haha that i have aptly named, two sugar babies and a funeral - you can probably figure out why:

Alex stares and stares some more. There can’t possibly be– No way. He takes in the head-to-toe Fendi, the nearly see-through patterned button-up, the black leather wide-legged pants, and the pointed heeled boots—a cunty little outfit no one has any business wearing to a funeral for a rich, white dude. There is also no fucking way that this guy can afford all of this without a little spending money from daddy. He knows that it’s a fucked up thing to think about a complete stranger when the guy is probably grieving, too, but he barely knows this person, and Alex is still a fucking little shit who loves to instigate and make people squirm. Before he can take the words back, though, Alex is already blurting out: “Did he give you money, too?” Even through the dark lenses of his sunglasses, Alex can see the man looking at him like a deer caught in headlights. He lets him have a moment to sputter in his disbelief. “Wait. Wait a minute.” The man pushes his sunglasses into his blonde hair, revealing bright, round, hazel eyes—like fucking Bambi—and a very confused look on his face. “What do you mean ‘too’?”

tagging @henrysfox @tinyarmedtrex @priincebutt @taste-thewaste @england-would-fall (obviously no pressure) + anyone else who wants to share!

#firstprince #rwrb #red white and royal blue #my fic

15 notes · View notes

newbusinessideas · 5 months

Text

Top 10 Best New Business Ideas For 2024 - Game-Changing Ideas

🚀 Looking for the next big thing? Dive into these Top 10 New Profitable Business Ideas for 2024! 💡 Explore your potential and turn ideas into success. Ready to start? CLICK LINK for the full list! #BusinessTrends #Entrepreneurship#newbusinessideas2024

Starting a business is an exciting and challenging journey that starts with an idea. And, every year, thousands of businesses are initiated, because, as technology is enhancing business growth and changing customer preferences. So, it is important to explore innovative business ideas that meet emerging trends. And, the upcoming year offers a range of opportunities across different industries,…

View On WordPress

#2024 business ideas #b2b business ideas 2024 #best business ideas #business ideas #business ideas 2024 #business ideas for 2024 #latest business ideas 2024 #new business ideas for 2024 #profitable business ideas #profitable business ideas for 2024 #small business ideas #top 10 business ideas #top 10 online business ideas for 2024

0 notes

bunnybananasims · 5 months

Text

Introducing to you the latest planner for all of you creative Simmers: The Unofficial Sims Planner 2024!

This is what I've been working on for the past weeks, besides being busy with real life & work 😁

Are you looking for that Sims planner that's right for all your Sims content creation and gameplay, that caters to all Sims games?

You have come to the right place!

The Unofficial Sims Planner 2024 is a printable and fillable digital journal where you can easily document all your important ideas & goals, and your Sims saves' details & gameplay. This one was heavily inspired by The Sims 3, but you can also use this for your Sims 2 or Sims 4 games.

The theme for the planner is COLOR. I see The Sims as this very bright colorful game that makes everyone happy and creative, whether with storytelling or building. Whenever the words Color or Colorful comes up, I always see the colorful and bright screenshots from The Sims community, both gameplay and builds. You all keep this game alive and make it always colorful.

This digital product is available on my small Etsy shop Bunny Banana Studio. Shop my planner now!

This is gonna be a long post, so keep reading to learn more about this planner 😄

This exciting 200+ page journal includes the following:

- Simmer profile with DLC, mods & custom content list sheets

- 2024 calendar & notes pages for your content creation planning & goals

- Household & individual Sims profile sheets to document their important details

- Sims calendars, where you can plan your households’ lives & track their activities, goals & accomplishments

- Sims household rotation sheets that are made simple to track your whole town / neighborhood

- NEW! More pages to document more Sims details

- NEW! Cleaner & bolder design, so everyone can be inspired with Sims gaming and content creation. More fun, less distracting design.

- NEW! Lot and career record sheets to keep track of your town’s needs and industries. We gotta keep the whole Sims economy and town afloat HAHA 😂 I, myself, love documenting my lots to see and know what my town still needs, and taking notes of the careers of my Sims population. I love them spread out to different industries to give my Sims more variety and co-workers LOL

You’ll get this instantly after purchasing, However, there will be no refunds due to this being a digital product. Please feel free to leave a review & rating, & share this to other Simmers looking for that digital planner catered to all Sims games.

---

Also, I wanna share that I'm doing this mostly for fundraising for the masters studies I wanna take late 2024, especially for the down payment that is due January. I was supposed to go this year, but because of financial difficulties, I deferred to next year. I really wanna earn enough money and prepare for this, as this has been my dream for a long time. I have no luck with finding a good-paying job for many months, so I thought of this venture. I love The Sims so much and I wanna work on something I'm passionate about and with something I'm knowledgeable and good at.

Thank you very much, and hope you'll consider helping me. If you can't buy my planner, that's OK. You can share/reblog this, or tip me on my Ko-fi or PayPal if you love my content. 😊

Thank you very much for making it this far and reading this. Hope you all have a happy holiday and a prosperous 2024! Keep on Simming!

Shop my Planner now!

#The Sims #The Sims 2 #The Sims 3 #The Sims 4 #digital planner #digital journal #Sims planner #Sims journal #planner #journal #digital sims planner #digital sims journal #design #graphic design #sims merch #sims merchandise #bunnybananasims

16 notes · View notes

skippyv20 · 2 months

Text

Balmoral & Buckingham Palace Limited Tickets

Hi Skippy & Friends-Pilgrim here with a few international travel tips for those from Montedeceito, Ca about booking reservations and tours for families. It seems KCIII has invited the entire world to visit his family’s favorite retreat AND the world is interested, so tickets are going fast. The Castle Internal Guided Tour is already sold out so the W. LA tourists will be clueless about any historic facts. The Afternoon Tea Tour is also booked and is only an adult experience…so no invisible kids running around there, even if they are make believe ex-royals.

Oh dear-the Balmoral Expeditions are also sold out. But the Mews Gift shop is open so the ILBW can go rip off ideas for her latest HomeGoods business flop opening with no merchandise available for those stupid enough to give her their credit info. It is important to note that Castle tickets are non-refundable unless there are major government restrictions no matter how loud you shout!

As for accommodations, booking one of the quaint cottages to stay in, they are almost totally blocked out through December 2024. Good luck trying to hook up with other family members who want to avoid you like the plague anyway.

Also, since your egotistic heyday when you demanded to have your own office and living quarters inside Buckingham Palace back when you were acting like a bigshot intimidating staff, friends & family, you can now take a tour to see what they never allowed you to experience. Guided tours are set to open this summer making this a nice add on to the Balmoral excursion. I am sure your old room in Soho House will be dusted and available when and if you are in town.

PLEASE don’t make the mistake many tourists do by thinking the 5 Star luxury Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh is the actual castle. Remember, your favorite royal monitor runs this town now. Just saying…you may want to detour this city entirely.

You know what Mr & Mrs Carparkle? You should just stay in your own dark hole, keeping your heads low of flying debris. Forget fake PR events propping up your nonexistent credentials. No amount of paid for, word salad, fake articles, filled with shoulda-coulda-woulda phony baloney announcements will work either. You are yesterday’s leftovers on burnt toast and we all know it. Ciao for now…

Love it!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

14 notes · View notes

himebushou · 1 year

Text

For @chippuyon! Because this ask you answered made me go a bit emo, lol (warnings for violence and character death).

Survivor

Two months after the world ends, the new year opens with more explosions, flares crackling and hissing as they soar through the sky, unravelling darkness, peeling it apart with claws that are red, pink and blue. Rei watches the spectacle impassively. One hand is curled around a celebratory drink – the other forced its way through clusters of dead flowers to grip the balcony railing.

Was Miri allowed to stay up late? Is she sitting safely on her mama’s lap or being cradled by her grandmother? Is Miri’s grandfather kissing the top of her head? Have the family made plans to go somewhere special to give thanks? What will Miri wear? What sweets will she eat to usher in 2024?

And what wishes would Kazuki have made, were he still alive?

“Here’s the latest,” says Kugi Kyuutarou, passing a set of materials across the counter. “He had the sense to leave Japan for a while, but he’s back now, wrapping up business in Nagaoka. I estimate that you have a three-day window.”

“That’s more than enough,” Rei returns. “Thanks as always, Kyuutarou-san.”

Kyuutarou tips his head back – studies Rei silently. Finally, Kyuutarou asks, “How long will you continue? You’ve already sent a message. Sooner or later, someone will decide that it’s time to retaliate –”

“Then it’s kill or be killed,” finishes Rei. He sips his sugary tea, gaze fixed on the seat to his left. Mercifully, Kyuutarou falters.

It’s funny, Rei thinks as he makes the journey home. He never realised before that he always sat on Kazuki’s right whenever they were at the Mistletoe Café – Rei closest to the door, poised to drag Kazuki to safety in case there was an attack. And, he notes, he did the same at home, too – always sat in the same spot at the dining table, eyes trained on the door, prepared to dispatch any intruders who broke in.

A black cat pads into view and rubs its squashed face against his ankles.

“I have nothing to offer you.”

The cat purrs, refusing to believe.

Nagaoka takes half a day. Less than that, maybe. It turns out that the tried-and-tested tactic of shooting from the front still carries its weight; there’s no need to devote energy to memorising building schematics – not when people are stupid, predictable. The hitman has the wherewithal to plead with Rei, ask the new boss to spare his life, Before he can finish swearing his loyalty, Rei plants a bullet between those desperate eyes, bile coating his tongue, fire filling his throat, grief curdling his stomach.

Idiot Kazuki. He’d always behaved as though he was more competent than his skills allowed, rejecting the idea that he specialised in plotting and planning and scheming, even on the occasions when Rei had pointedly said, “That’s your role.” And so, the fool had turned his back on a target that wasn’t quite dead, leaving the choking Suwa Shigeki with ample opportunity to finish what he’d started.

Kill or be killed. Rei had wanted to rip the mansion apart, brick by brick; Kyuutarou’d intervened at that point, saying that if Rei really wanted to expunge what was left of the Organisation, he’d need funds, he’d need assets – would have to rely on all of those things that it was supposed to be Kazuki’s job to take care of.

How selfish!

Without Kazuki, the house is a cesspit.

Takeaway boxes litter the living room, biodegradable containers interspersed with empty cans and cigarette butts. Rei doesn’t know how the room gets in such a state (he only eats at the dining table, after all), but it’s beyond salvation now, and he’s consigned himself to the understanding that he’ll most likely die here someday, when someone finally loses patience and smashes through a glass pane to find Rei sleeping in what was once Kazuki’s room, the cold bathtub forgotten. Oddly, the faintest hint of Miri and Kazuki’s fragrances still linger in that space and it’s comforting; it’s almost enough to make Rei tell himself that they’ll return from daycare at any moment, Miri armed with a new plasticine friend, a little safari creature she’ll insist likes eating mushrooms…

Kazuki will vacuum. He will sweep the floor. He will scold Rei for eating trash and living in trash; he’ll swap out the fries and pizzas for homemade soups and grilled fish. Rei’s mouth waters. Strange. It’s bizarre to comprehend, at a time like this, just how much he loved the decadence of Kazuki’s cooking.

Rei puts on an apron. Gloves. Attacks the dining room first – sorts through cupboards, discards anything that’s expired. His hair is tied back (these days, his hair is always tied back). He’s making progress. He’s making amends. He’s –

Hopeless.

Under an array of cereal packets, Rei discovers a letter from their electricity supplier. The payment’s overdue. The correspondence is a threat and a reminder that Kazuki, unkind Kazuki, flaked out yet another thing that was his to take care of.

Is there a point anymore?

And if there is, why can’t he find it?

Killing and killing and killing, the targets lined up like clay pigeons… Kugi Kyuutarou expresses concern far too often for Rei’s liking. Work is too easy but life is too hard and there is nothing in between. Rei’s heart rises and falls, an arrow that shatters mid-flight. Over and over again, men beg for his benevolence; they lean against the heart they know was stamped out of him, pray that they will be spared by the part of Rei’s psyche that makes him human.

Wednesday. 10 February, 2024.

Three swollen months.

Rei sits on the earth, cross-legged, and stares at Kazuki’s headstone for a while. Kyuutarou had managed all the details – engravings, placing Kazuki next to his wife – all that sentimental stuff that Rei had never learnt to think about.

The cemetery is peaceful. Birds twitter. The wind breathes. No one questions why Rei remains motionless for several hours…

Miri’s held in a deathly grip; her eyes are stretched and her mouth is hanging open. “Rei Papa, save –”

Suwa Rei’s efficiency is unmatched. He holds intricate knowledge of the human body, knows how to yield a fatality and how to allow a man to walk away. He can strike a target from a distance of almost half a mile; he can zero in, splinter any bone of his choosing with a single bullet. He does not waste ammunition. And yet, years of training – years of discipline – desert Rei when he spies a sick, victorious grimace cross Ogino’s face. Rei twists his arm, points his gun and shoots.

And shoots.

Keeps firing until Ogino’s features are unrecognisable – reload – keeps firing until he’s torn through each gap between Ogino’s ribs – reload – keeps firing until the tide thins, the bloody waves roaring in his ears drowning, turning into Miri’s screams. Her pink sweater is soaked. Her pale face and soft hair are flecked with crimson.

Rei sinks to his knees. When Miri sobs into his neck, he can scarcely console her.

It’s over.

It’s dark. Rei’s neck and shoulders hurt. As he sits up, he scrapes his forehead and the tip of his nose against Kazuki’s headstone. Ah. Rei wonders if he’s scraped his skin.

He looks up at the stars. They’re far away and they’re dead but they keep burning, fuelled by determination that they don’t deserve to possess. They outnumber and outshine the moon. And they have offered solace to billions, over the years, symbolising infinity, promising purpose.

Kazuki did his job, this time. He made the world safe enough for Rei to sleep – to give Rei a chance to dream.

#buddy daddies #buddy daddies fic #suwa rei #kurusu kazuki #unasaka miri #death cw #POURING ANGST ON TOP OF ANGST #i'd say 'enjoy!' but i'm not sure if that's the right term for... this

57 notes · View notes

steelbluehome · 6 days

Text

"Stan . . . is at his greatest whenever he taps into this marriage between a swollen superiority complex and paralyzing insecurity that make up the fabric of the reality TV star turned unlikely President of the United States"

The Playlist

The Apprentice’ Review: Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump? It Works! (click for article)

Rafa Sales Ross

May 20, 2024 3:22 pm

Five years ago, Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi broke out internationally with the Oscar-nominated “Border,” a thorny little beast of a fable about love, complicity, and guilt. His latest prods at some of the same themes, although the thorny little beast at the center of “The Apprentice” is far from a fictional creature of fables.

Abbasi’s newest chronicles the rise of former American president Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan) through his relationship with lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Before diving into the fatidical first meeting between the two men, the director makes an important disclaimer about the film that is to come: the people you will see on-screen are real; their stories might have been fictionalized. Then, he cuts into a very factual piece of footage: Nixon’s infamous 1973 speech at the height of Watergate. The grainy tape shows the soon-to-be-fallen president sternly claiming: “I’m not a crook!”

This on-the-nose initial parallel brilliantly sets the tone for the two hours ahead, a ride that does away with subtlety without leaning into overexposition. Said ride begins in a swanky members-only club in New York, where the overconfident Cohn gravitates towards a meek, unsure Trump. He brings him under his wing, first offering to help get him out of a discrimination lawsuit filed against his family’s property development business and later stepping into a much more fatherly position. His advice ranged from Bribery 101 to the clauses that should be added to his pre-nuptial agreement.

The crucial decade separating that initial meeting and the tragic demise of the relationship between the two men encompasses many of the main tidbits we associate with the Trump of today, from his unstoppable quest to build a phallic-shaped empire at the heart of the Big Apple with his Trump Tower to his troubled marriage with Czech-American model turned socialite Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova). The cinematography follows this transition, going from the lush, grainy texture of ’70s film to the washed-out hues of ’80s camcorders.

When the project was first announced, many were skeptical of the idea of a biopic about one of the most contentious public figures of modern times starring a hunky Marvel alum and eyeing a big premiere at a glitzy film festival. While all these concerns remain true, especially given this is an election year in the US, Abbasi manages to thread the lines between tabloid fodder and veiled endorsement with great skill. There’s a running comic vein throughout the film that flirts with mockery while bypassing the pastiche, like when the camera catches a glimpse of an empty-brained Donald as he sits alone at the big boys’ table, with no big boys to play with or when the broad man bumps into the slim, cool Andy Warhol at a party he has no business being in, his ineptitude making him feel smaller and smaller while his ego begins showing the first signs of inflation.

Stan finds in Strong a great match. Abbasi’s latest sees the “Succession” actor play a Roy once more, although this time he is not as much the plagued victim of daddy issues as his benefiting perpetrator. The big, boisterous Roy of the early ’70s is much, much fun to watch, and when the larger-than-life scammer disguised as a prosecutor begins suffering the consequences of AIDS, Strong plays him with a pained reticence that is at once greatly moving and deeply effective in its understanding of how the illness affects the dynamics between the duo. Cohn was a closeted gay man for all professional intents but led a very open life with his younger partner, who also died from the complications of AIDS.

With “The Apprentice,” Stan continues his run of lining up weird, big-swing projects of the likes of “Fresh” and “A Different Man” to shake off the ghost of Bucky Barnes. The bet pays off. Stan plays Trump without an overreliance on the frazzled blonde wig and increasingly pronounced prosthetics. The actor is at his greatest whenever he taps into this marriage between a swollen superiority complex and paralyzing insecurity that make up the fabric of the reality TV star turned unlikely President of the United States.

Trump’s reaction to Cohn’s lifestyle is one of the most interesting (and formative) aspects of the evolution of the central relationship. While at first young Donald emulates Cohn in all major aspects of his life — from copying the prosecutor’s number plate to leaning more and more into the orange-hued pleasures of fake tan — Cohn’s frailing health nags at the mogul, not necessarily because it is a physical reminder of his mentor’s sexuality, but because it makes him look weak.

Weakness, of course, has no space in the life of Donald Trump. No longer the whining mentee of his much savvier friend and pumped to the nines with diet pills filled with amphetamines, Trump morphs into a delusional broken radio, one stuck on the audiobook for his best-selling business bible “The Art of the Deal.” There is, of course, a fear that a film like “The Apprentice” might pose a dangerous chance to endear this buffoon to audiences. Alas, the Trump at the center of Abbasi’s sleek satire is the same Trump already etched in the cultural consciousness — an incompetent, disloyal, criminal fool. That, one hopes, will only cater only to those already indoctrinated. [B+]

#the apprentice #sebastian stan #donald trump #jeremy strong #roy cohn #maria bakalova #ivana trump #ali abbasi #the apprentice review

2 notes · View notes