#Swift profit generation

[how-the-feathers-have-fallen]

Me, fighting tooth and nail against my irl friends who are sw*fties: yeah well, maybe I want my sad girl music to have a 3 minute guitar solo and distorted audio after the second verse of vaguely gay lyrics have you considered that ?!

[marketingprofitmedia]

Make 1K Every Day Fast And Simple Income Generating Proven Strategies for Success

To earn $1,000 every day, adopt proven income generating strategies that yield quick, significant returns. Seek out systems with a track record of financial success and user testimonials.

Making money quickly and consistently is a common goal for many, and reaching a target of $1,000 daily is an ambitious yet achievable objective. A multitude of online opportunities claim to offer the secret to financial prosperity, but discerning the legitimate from the too-good-to-be-true is crucial.

My Best Recommended & Proven Way to Make $100 Daily — Watch THIS FREE Training to START >>

Unlocking The Potential Of Daily Earnings

Unlocking the Potential of Daily Earnings is about turning each day into an opportunity. Imagine adding an extra $1,000 to your bank account daily. Such financial boosts can lead to a significant change in lifestyle and savings. Successful strategies exist. Follow them and you could see your income grow day by day.

Identifying High-profit Niches

Finding the right niche is critical for daily high-income potential. Look for industries with a huge demand but low competition. Do this by:

Researching market trends using tools like Google Trends.

Analyzing profitability through affiliate marketing platforms.

Spotting gaps in markets through customer reviews and forums.

Niches like health, wealth, and technology often promise better returns. Always ensure the niche aligns with your passion and expertise.

The Power Of Compound Earnings

Compound earnings can significantly increase your income over time. The key is to reinvest your earnings. See the power of compounding:

DayInitial Investment ($)Return Rate (%)Total Earnings ($)11,000101,100301,0001017,449

By consistently reinvesting your profits, small gains transform into large sums. Whether in stocks, savings accounts, or reinvestment in your business, compound earnings work.

Strategies That Deliver Results

Want to hit that 1K mark daily? Embrace strategies that work. Focus on tried-and-tested methods to generate income efficiently and effectively. The right strategies convert your efforts into steady earnings. Let’s dive into some powerful avenues for your financial breakthrough.

Leveraging Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing offers a passive income stream. It’s simple: promote products and earn a commission for each sale. Start by choosing a niche you are passionate about. Next, find affiliate programs that fit your niche. These programs give you unique links to share. Share these links on your blog, social media, or email newsletters. When someone buys through your link, you get paid.

Join affiliate networks to find products to promote.

Understand your audience to offer relevant products.

Create high-quality content that adds value and includes your affiliate links.

Creating Digital Products

Digital products have high margins and unlimited potential. Think of ebooks, online courses, and software. They require upfront work but can earn money repeatedly without additional costs. Identify what you’re good at. Develop a product that solves problems or provides knowledge. Market your products online using social media, your website, and other platforms.

Type of Digital ProductDescriptionPotential IncomeEbooksWrite and sell your expertise.HighOnline CoursesTeach skills you’ve mastered.Very HighSoftwareCreate tools that help others.Scalable

Offering Freelance Services

Freelancing lets you capitalize on your skills. Millions outsource tasks and projects daily. Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr connect freelancers with clients. Whether it’s writing, graphic design, or web development, you can offer services worldwide. Set competitive rates. Deliver top-notch work. Build a strong profile. Sustain a client base that trusts your expertise.

Set up profiles on freelancing platforms highlighting your skills.

Build a portfolio showcasing your best work.

Network to nurture client relationships and get repeat business.

My Best Recommended & Proven Way to Make $100 Daily — Watch THIS FREE Training to START >>

Strengthen Your Online Presence

Want to pocket an extra 1K daily? A powerful online presence is your secret weapon. Dive into strategies that catapult your success. Let’s explore!

Building A Persuasive Social Media Profile

Start with a smart profile picture. It’s your digital handshake. A professional headshot builds trust.

Write a bio that pops. In just a few words, tell your story. Make every word count.

Highlight your skills, what makes you unique.

Update regularly. Keep your achievements fresh.

Engage them. Post content they love. Respond to comments. Keep the conversation lively.

Effective Blogging Techniques

Create compelling headlines. Make them curious. They’ll want to read more.

Know your audience. Write what speaks to them. Solve their problems.

Use short paragraphs. Make it easy to read.

Include images. A picture says a thousand words.

Optimize with keywords. Get found on search engines. But keep it natural.

Call to action. Tell them what to do next. And make it stand out.

Maximizing Passive Income Streams

Earning $1K every day can seem like a dream, but it’s doable with passive income. Passive income streams require upfront effort or investment, but can pay off continuously. They are a key strategy for steady earnings without day-to-day work. Let’s explore some proven methods.

Investing In Dividend Stocks

One powerful revenue source is dividend stocks. Companies pay you just for holding their stock. Here’s how to get started:

Choose established, reliable companies.

Invest in diversified industries for safety.

Reinvest dividends for compounding interest.

Over time, the right portfolio might generate substantial daily income.

For clarity, here’s a simple comparison:

Stock TypeFrequency of PayPotential ReturnsHigh-yieldQuarterlyHigher risk, higher returnsBlue-chipAnnualStable, lower returns

Real Estate Income Opportunities

Real estate is another great way to earn passively. You can earn in two main ways:

Rental properties provide regular monthly income.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) offer stock-like ease with dividends.

Both ways can help in hitting that $1K daily goal.

Here’s a snapshot of real estate income potential:

Property TypeExpected IncomeProperty ManagementSingle-family homeDepends on locationPossible self-managementMulti-family complexHigher potentialOften requires a manager

My Best Recommended & Proven Way to Make $100 Daily — Watch THIS FREE Training to START >>

Automation And Scaling Up

Embracing the power of automation and scaling your businesses can transform the quest for making 1K every day from a dream into reality. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Leverage these strategies to multiply your revenue streams efficiently.

Incorporating Automation Tools

Time is money, and automation tools save you both. Automate mundane tasks. Discover tools that align with your business goals.

Email marketing software crafts and sends emails while you sleep.

Social media management platforms queue posts for optimal engagement.

Use accounting software for instant invoicing and expense tracking.

Simple integrations bring big impacts on efficiency. Select tools offering comprehensive analytics. This helps you understand what works for your audience.

Expanding Your Income Channels

Expand beyond one revenue stream. Diversify. More channels mean more opportunities to earn.

Start an e-commerce store. Sell goods related to your brand.

Create an online course. Share your expertise.

Explore affiliate marketing. Recommend products and earn commissions.

Each channel should fit your overall strategy. They must also resonate with your target audience. Observe market trends. Adapt and scale these channels as needed.

ChannelPotential EarningsEase of ScalingE-commerceHighMediumOnline CoursesVariesHighAffiliate MarketingLow to HighHigh

Review the performance of each channel. Reinvest profits for further growth. Success in scaling means careful planning and execution.

Adapting For Consistency And Growth

The journey to making 1K every day is an exciting challenge. The key to success lies in adapting for consistency and growth. You must navigate through changes and keep up the momentum. Let’s dive into strategies that can help you stay ahead of the game.

Adaptability In Market Trends

Staying ahead means knowing the market. Adaptability is about making quick changes. Here’s how:

Research — Keep an eye on market shifts.

Learn — Embrace new skills that the market demands.

Innovate — Try different methods to stand out.

Flexibility helps you use new trends to your advantage. It turns challenges into opportunities. Change is constant, and your strategy should be too.

Maintaining Growth Momentum

Growth is essential. Here’s how to maintain the momentum:

StrategyActionSet GoalsHave clear, measurable targets.Analyze DataReview your progress regularly.OptimizeAdjust strategies based on performance.

By setting goals and analyzing data, you make informed decisions. Optimization ensures your tactics stay effective. A strong foundation leads to sustainable earnings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I Make $1000 Daily Online?

Yes, with the right strategies, such as affiliate marketing, freelancing, or e-commerce, earning $1000 daily is possible online.

Q. What Are Fast Income-generating Methods?

Quick income can be made through high-commission affiliate programs, dropshipping, or offering in-demand digital services like web design.

Q. Is Passive Income Achievable Quickly?

Building passive income streams like dividend stocks or rental properties typically takes time, but some digital products can yield faster results.

Q. Are There Proven Strategies To Make Money?

Absolutely, proven money-making strategies include investing in stocks, starting a blog with monetizable content, and creating online courses.

Q. How To Start Earning $1k From Home?

To earn $1K from home, look into remote jobs, begin freelance writing or graphic design, or set up a home-based business online.

Conclusion

Embracing these strategies can unlock the door to consistent financial growth. Forget long hours and complex methods; here’s a path to a simpler yet effective income boost. Start your journey towards earning $1k daily — your potential awaits. Take action, refine your approach, and watch success unfold.

Let’s make prosperity your new normal.

My Best Recommended & Proven Way to Make $100 Daily — Watch THIS FREE Training to START >>

Thanks for reading my article on How I Increase My New Website from 0 to 1000 of Daily Visitors Step-By-Step Guide

Affiliate Disclaimer :

This article Contain may be affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at NO ADDITIONAL cost to you if you decide to purchase something. While we receive affiliate compensation for reviews / promotions on this article, we always offer honest opinions, users experiences and real views related to the product or service itself. Our goal is to help readers make the best purchasing decisions, however, the testimonies and opinions expressed are ours only. As always you should do your own thoughts to verify any claims, results and stats before making any kind of purchase. Clicking links or purchasing products recommended in this article may generate income for this product from affiliate commissions and you should assume we are compensated for any purchases you make. We review products and services you might find interesting. If you purchase them, we might get a share of the commission from the sale from our partners. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended.

Source : Make 1K Every Day Fast And Simple Income Generating Proven Strategies for Success

[fuckyeahdindjarin]

Prima Nocta

Marcus Acacius x Virgin!F!Reader oneshot

{ Main Masterlist }

Rating: E (18+ only)

Summary: Tomorrow, you will marry your husband-to-be. But tonight - it belongs to his father.

Word count: 6k

Warnings: DUB CON only due to nature of prima nocta, both parties enthusiastically consent, twist on prima nocta, unspecified age gap, loss of virginity, dirty talk, oral sex (F receiving), fingering, dry humping, unprotected sex, unrealistic descriptions of first sexual experience, all manners of historical inaccuracies and linguistic anachronisms sorry not sorry, ignores the events of the movie so you can consider this an AU, Marcus is widowed and has a son, shall we call this bfd: Ancient Rome version lmao

Notes: I'm a bit rusty for sure, but I had the absolute best time writing this oneshot. It's a departure from my usual themes to say the least, but once this idea took hold of me it never let go. I know prima nocta is meant to be invoked on the wedding night, but I like the idea of it being the night before so I made it so 🤷🏻‍♀️ Gorgeous dividers by @firefly-graphics as always.

He thought he had gotten away with it. Having lived more than fifty winters in the capital and outlasting eight emperors, he regrets to confess that he is still none the wiser. 

It would have been such a clever manoeuvre. Palming off a generous but very much unwanted gift from the emperors, and marrying off his son in one fell swoop. 

He should have been suspicious of their swift assent to his proposal. In his eagerness to bow out of their audience, it had been convenient to dismiss the flash of malice in their eyes.

And in the snake pits of Roman court, no misstep goes unexploited.

He is not proud that he is caught off guard by the emperor’s closest advisor who intercepts his walk home from the armoury, even less so of his ineloquent response to the missive handed to him.

‘What is this?’

‘Urgent word from the emperors, sir.’

Cold sweat prickles the back of his neck as he stares unseeingly at what is scrawled on the parchment.

‘I cannot,’ he blurts out, indignance rising fast and hot in his chest. ‘I will not.’

‘You think it wise to twice refuse the emperors’ generosity, general?’

General. To him, the culmination of a lifetime of service and sacrifice. To them, an instrument of bloodshed in war, a plaything in peacetime.

Desperate, he tries a different tact. ‘The right of the first night belongs to the emperors. I dare not commit sacrilege.’

‘It is not sacrilege if it is freely bequeathed upon you, general.’

There is no mistaking the warning lilt in the last word, and he has no answer.

‘The hour grows late. You had better not keep the bride waiting,’ says the advisor with an air of finality before retreating into the shadows.

Marcus shudders at the cold that settles into the empty space, fingers stained with ink from the now crumpled dispatch. 

He remembers nothing of the remainder of his short journey to his quarters. As the front door swings open, he realises there is something in the night air that is out of place.

Sea salt.

You are here. 

Would you be demure? Frightened? You are of royal lineage, a lady of the small but proud coastal kingdom strong-armed by Rome into an unequal treaty for its profitable trading posts, in return for the mercy of not being razed to its fertile grounds.

And now, you are lowered to marry a general’s son. 

Worse, lowered to have your virginity taken by his father.

Candlelight spills from the crack underneath the door to his bedchamber. Marcus takes a deep breath, and pushes it open.

You hear him. The swish of fabric, the slide of leather soles on marble.

The general is here.

Your hand in marriage is part of the terms of the treaty, and the missive that sent for you announced your match as the widowed hero general. You had him cast on the wretched journey from your home as one of the domineering, brutish soldiers now garrisoned at your family’s kingdom - only to be told on your arrival that you will be marrying his son instead.

Relief at the news that your future husband would not be decades older than you is instantly snatched away by furtive whispers of prima nocta.

Your future father-in-law will take you first.

The humiliation is bitter on your tongue. You are Rome’s to marry off, hers to give to whomever she pleases -

But she won’t break you.

The door creaks. You stand tall and hold your ground.

He sweeps into the room with an air of well-worn authority, the cloak on his back dark as the shadows that nip at his heels.

The candles flicker when he sheds the heavy robes with a smooth sweep of his arm.

You stare, in a manner that would have had your lady-in-waiting tutting. But you are alone, very much so, with this man not ten paces from you.

General Marcus Acacius. 

He is older, certainly old enough to have a son your age. But you had not imagined him so - strong, for the lack of a more imaginative word. His shoulders are broad under his wine red tunic, and you can see the muscles in his arms flex as he clenches and unclenches his fists at his sides. From where you stand, you can hardly see any silver in his dark curls.

Marcus unflinchingly assesses you right back. 

No, you are decidedly not demure. Or frightened. Far from it. 

You are defiant, even as you observe him with evident curiosity. Your head held high, a telltale sign of your noble breeding, mouth set in a stern line while your eyes burn bright with a proud fire. 

Judging the silence has gone on long enough, he breaks it with a formal, ‘My lady.’

‘General,’ you answer steadily.

The door slams shut belatedly behind him, and you flinch - the first glimpse of weakness you concede. 

Marcus breathes in, delivering his next sentence with as much composure as he can muster. ‘I expect you have been informed of the - formalities that we are to perform tonight.’

You grind your teeth so hard you are astonished that your jaw doesn’t crack.

Your virtue is just a formality.

Refusing to dignify his question with an answer, you nod once. 

He watches you wordlessly, and you meet his gaze. You thought you would find something else there, not the regret that you see.

Turning away from you, he reaches for the amphora on the table. 

‘Wine?’

‘Yes, please.’

The wine is drunk in silence and moderation. Him at his desk, you perched on the end of the bed.

As you sip, pacing yourself, you observe the general discreetly from across the small distance between you. 

To say that you are disconcerted by his behaviour would be an understatement.

You assumed that he asked for this - for the perverse pursuit of deflowering his son’s bride-to-be while eschewing the unwanted responsibility of a wife. 

Yet, watching him stare pensively into his goblet, lips pursed in a pout that is almost sullen, you are not so certain anymore. 

When you bring your drink to your mouth to find it empty, you clear your throat. ‘I have to wake up early tomorrow morning - for the wedding.’

The general starts before collecting himself, drawing himself up to his full height as he sets down his cup with a heavy clunk. ‘Understandably, my lady.’

Then he moves, charting a course across the room, licking his thumb and index finger to douse the candles dotted around the space.

The thought comes to you unbidden - he has thick fingers. And big hands. 

Your cheeks tingle with heat.

Soon the chamber is cloaked in darkness, save for the candles next to the bed, the warm light pooling in the most inviting manner on the soft surface despite your trepidation. You long to rest your aching feet. 

He comes to a standstill on the other side of the bed, as if waiting for you to take the lead. You cannot decide whether you are thankful for him not imposing on you, or frustrated at him for not taking the lead in what is very much unfamiliar territory.

In the end, the desire to get off your feet wins out, and you gesture at the bed. ‘Shall we…?’

‘Certainly.’ He bends down, you assume to take off his sandals. You do the same, toeing off the soft leather slides the maids had you change into when they dressed you.

Once barefoot, you climb in with as much grace as you can summon, acutely aware that you have an audience. Your knees sink into the mattress, and you’re relieved that it is stuffed with feathers, luxuriously giving under your weight. Shifting primly, you find your back against the headboard, cushioned by equally soft pillows.

The general follows suit, the frame creaking as he eases onto the suddenly too small bed, strong shoulders brushing yours as he settles next to you.

You stare hard at the back of your hands, the only way to stop your gaze from wandering to the span of his fingers splayed wide on sturdy thighs, or lower to the bony ridge of his knees - gods, you must be unwell, since when have you been drawn to knees?

You are still questioning the state of your sanity when the general, who has been nothing but unperturbed and composed since he stepped into the room, stumbles over his words in a manner that is neither, as if he had held the question behind his teeth for too long.

‘Are you - are you absolutely certain - in no doubt - that you are… untouched?’

His question stings like salt in a festering wound. Indignant doesn’t even begin to describe the retort you spit at him. ‘Yes, I am. Are you?’

Peering at you sideways, his eyes widen at your outburst, and fear briefly flits across your heart that you have overstepped.

 But then, he surprises you with a smile. ‘You bite, don’t you?’ 

You let your shoulders sag, too far gone to hold onto your facade. 

‘It’s been a long day, sir,’ you admit. ‘To be frank, I just want to get this over with and forget it ever happened.’

He pauses at your confession, as if weighing his options. Then he shifts, and says, ‘The reason I ask if you were untouched is because, if you were not - we could have just pretended we did this.’

You frown. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I did not invoke prima nocta, it was imposed upon me. The emperors are displeased that I turned down the betrothal, this is their way of punishing me for my ungratefulness.’ 

Oh.

As much as you didn’t want this either, your pride suffers to hear him describe it as a punishment.

‘I know…’ you stumble, halting to steel yourself. ‘I know I am nothing like the women here in Rome. I spend too much time in the sun, and my hands are rough from working with horses -’

‘Why do you say that?’ he interrupts you.

You look away. ‘That is why you do not wish to marry me, is it not? And why you do not want this - why you do not want me.’

The general sits up, palms on the mattress to support his weight, the lines on his forehead deepening with a frown. ‘No, that is not the reason. You are young, you deserve a husband who can build a life with you in the years to come. Not a washed-up widower.’

The bitterness in his voice turns your head. 

‘You’re not washed up, from what I hear.’ Somehow, you find the courage to add boldly, ‘Or from what I see.’

Letting your eyes trail unabashedly over his broad frame, a thrill chases through your blood when you notice his Adam’s apple bob with a tight swallow. He’s so close that you know you’re not imagining the heat seeping into your bones.

Silence stretches between you, charged with a consciousness that creeps in and spreads. Two souls from different worlds and stations put in a situation in which neither of you had a hand. This may not be how you imagined giving away your virtue - far from it - yet your stomach twists in anticipation.

You glance upwards, only to find him already watching you.

Something has shifted when you so bravely reached out and tipped the balance with your words. He can tell that you are not one for flippant flattery, and it takes him a moment to collect himself, harder said than done with the blood roaring in his ears.

When he speaks, it comes out in a much lower register than he intends, so much so it sounds like a secret. 

‘You say you just want to get this over with. But I can - I can make it good for you. It doesn’t have to be something you want to forget.’

Your eyes widen and your lips part, and heat blooms almost uncomfortably in his chest. ‘You would do that for me?’

‘I will serve you in whatever way you ask of me tonight, my lady.’

Never have mere words, albeit delivered in such a delicious baritone, moved you so. You came in expecting to have your virtue stripped from you, the same way Rome callously stole you away. Where you thought humiliation and dishonour awaited, this man is offering deliverance and devotion - if only for one night.

Your throat tight with emotion, you nod in lieu of a spoken answer.

Marcus is deliberately slow in his movements, wanting you to feel safe in his presence. ‘How much do you know? So I know what I need to teach you.’

Despite yourself, shyness rears its head and you mumble, ‘I’ve - I’ve heard stories. I know what… happens… between a man and a woman in the bed chamber.’

He nods reassuringly, making you feel less of a fool for the juvenile answer you gave. ‘And has anyone touched you before?’

There’s no mistaking the lurch in your stomach as your heart hammers violently. ‘No. No one. Never.’

The protector in him stirs, summoned to duty, warring with the desire that seethes under his skin like the unholy flames of Vesuvius. He fears it is a quickly losing battle. 

Reading the desire in your endearingly open face, Marcus reaches over you to settle one hand on your hip as he leans close, his breath warm on your cheek.

‘Have you ever kissed a man?’ he rasps. 

You shake your head, eyes fixated on his mouth, framed by a tidy moustache. He is so close that you can see his beard is flecked with silver.

You swear the general is leaning into you, and every inch of you is on tenterhooks, enraptured by his proximity -

‘You should save it for your husband.’

You barely forestall the whine of protest that teeters on the tip of your tongue, pinching your lips together, but his lopsided smile tells you that he knows. 

‘I can kiss you elsewhere though.’

‘Oh,’ you inhale shakily when he dips to mouth at the side of your neck, landing on your pulse point in a suckle. Your whole body arches off the bed, hands gripping the sheets, head spinning at all the sensations that are new to you - the burn of his stubble, the cool trail his lips leave behind -

Then the palm on your hip pulls you into him, sprawling you against the wide cage of his body, your breasts pressed against his broad chest. The dress they put you in is thin, and the fabric rubs against your pebbling nipples as his kisses travel daringly low.

‘Am I going too fast?’ he pauses, voice strained.

Breathlessly, you shake your head.

‘If you want me to stop, or wait, you say the word. Understood?’

‘Yes, general.’

Two words he hears daily from his men, and yet from your lips, they unleash a dangerously feral side of him.

More. Is the only coherent thought that remains. 

Impatient hands reposition you so that you are astride him, and he groans when you slot flush in his lap. He watches your eyes widen at what you feel between your legs. Your dress rides up, and his blood rushes south at the bare expanse of your inner thighs on his skin. 

‘I want to see you,’ he speaks plainly, palms squeezing the dip of your waist. ‘May I undress you? Please?’

All decorum flees you, and you might have chanted yes, yes, yes to his question.

Dropping your chin, you watch his thick fingers nimbly undo the knot holding the front of your dress together. The silk capitulates like water, tumbling down in delicate drapes around your waist, baring you to his heated gaze.

‘You are beautiful,’ he declares with a solemnity that steals your breath.

And it is easy to believe him, the way his dazed eyes trail over your breasts, before his hands follow. Calloused palms, which you are sure have held many a sword in triumph, now cup your tender flesh in reverence. 

Your head lolls to the side as he teases you, but when he rolls his hips upwards, your eyes snap to the pained expression on his face. You’ve heard ladies in court whispering over wine about length and girth, but nothing could prepare you for the thrill of feeling a man’s undeniable desire for you.

Instinct guides you, moving your hips so that you are grinding against his length, seeking relief from what is building deep within you.

‘Do what feels good,’ the general murmurs encouragingly, palms on the small of your back to let you take control.

And just like that, you are thrown back to one summer’s day in your youth. You were bathing in a rock pool, under the spray of a waterfall in perfect solitude when you accidentally slipped forwards on the smooth stone surface. The unexpected sensation between your legs ripped through you like lightning on a clear day. And you chased that feeling, hips undulating until you shuddered and cried out. Knees trembling in the aftermath, you never dared to seek it out again, but neither did you forget.

And now, years later, you finally know what had transpired. Pleasure. And this time, under the general’s hooded gaze, you pursue it with single-minded determination.

Marcus wishes you knew how beautiful you are in this very moment. Breasts swaying in tandem while you rock back and forth on his clothed length, eyes glazed, every whimper from your swollen lips making him throb harder for you.

‘Good girl,’ he rasps, throat tight. ‘Take your pleasure. Take what you need.’

And when he sucks your nipple into his mouth, you wail, tipping forward at an angle that unexpectedly takes you apart.

The waves that wash over you are more intense than you remember, and you are sure that has to do with the man holding your hips to his as you buck, and the warm swirl of his tongue against your breasts, sucking and nipping as you come down from your high.

‘That was not your first time,’ he states as a matter of fact when the white noise in your ears finally fades.

‘It happened once, a long time ago, and I didn’t understand then -’

‘And now you do.’

‘Yes, general.’

This time, he lets loose a moan at your words. ‘I can feel your wetness through your dress.’

Confused, you look down, and your cheeks burn when you spot the dark patch on the delicate fabric. ‘Oh, I -’

‘It’s natural,’ he assures you. ‘The wetness makes it easier for -’

It dawns on you when you feel his hardness twitch under you. Oh. 

‘It - you feel -’ you stutter, struggling to comprehend how the girth of what you are sitting on could possibly fit inside you.

Taking your hand, Marcus presses a chaste kiss to your palm, eyes warm and open. 

‘We will take it slow. I will use my fingers first, to prepare you for me,’ he explains patiently. ‘I promised I would make it good for you, did I not?’

‘You did.’ 

And you have complete faith in him.

Your knees knock into each other hopelessly when he slides you off his lap, and he has to bodily prop you up against the pillows. Sinking into the soft feathers, you watch him kneel between your parted legs, and you feel so safe even as he towers over you. 

‘May I disrobe you?’

You bite your bottom lip, and nod. 

Except it’s not a disrobing, it’s nothing near as civil as that. The general rips the rest of your dress clean down the middle, rendering you completely bare beneath him.

Marcus knows should be ashamed of his brash behaviour. But how could he when you react so viscerally, jaw slack as your chest heaves in unmitigated desire? 

His gaze shamelessly trail over every curve and dimple, from the breasts he has tasted to where your knees are demurely closed, and knowing that he is the first - the only - to have laid eyes on you makes him impossibly hard. 

It matters not that you are not his to keep. This will always be his. 

‘You are exquisite,’ he professes, voice tight. 

You duck your head, more shy of his compliments than being nude before him. ‘You don’t have to.’

Sliding a finger under your chin and tilting your head until you meet his gaze, he assures you, ‘I mean every word.’

Then he moves down the bed until he can rest his weight on his elbows, and you startle when rough palms glide over the outside of your thighs, stopping at your knees. 

He pauses to give you time. ‘Are you certain you wish to continue?’

Your answer is a confident yes.

Then, as if opening the shell of Venus, he delicately pries your knees apart, and his breath hitches as you are revealed to him.

He is aware that he’s staring like an imbecile, words failing him. As the silence stretches on, you become self-conscious.

‘General,’ you demur, moving to cover yourself.

Shaking his head, he finally says, ‘Forgive me, but you are perfect.’

Then he looks up at you with such intensity that has you struggling to catch your breath, and without breaking eye contact, he bows his head - 

And closes his lips over you there. 

You are wholly unprepared - no one has ever gossiped about this in court. Your hips buck violently off the bed, but Marcus holds you down with reassuring hands, suckling on the pearl between your thighs with gentle laps of his tongue.

‘Oh, oh, oh,’ you stuttter, torn between watching the man wreak the most devastating pleasure on you and averting your gaze.

You’ve only ever known worship to be pious, and yet, this most vulgar adulation is the closest you’ve been to the gods.

His beautiful curls brush the sensitive skin of your inner thighs, catching the candle light as he moves, and the crook of his nose - so proud even with the scar on its bridge - draws patterns on your skin as he stakes his claim where no one has ever touched you. 

You quickly realise that what you felt just now in the general’s lap was insignificant and thin in comparison. This pleasure is all-consuming, something divine that has you weak and trembling all over. All you hear are slick, wet sounds of tongues and lips, and your own whimpers between garbled groans.

Marcus feasts on you, unapologetically. Flattening his tongue, he tastes you in broad sweeps, moaning into your sweet cunt as you writhe above him, your needy mewls driving him to the edge of madness. You taste like fig - the earthiness of the purple peel, ripe sweetness of the pink flesh.

Then your hands wind into his hair, pulling him closer, ankles hooking over his shoulders. He groans harder, the sound rattling in his ribs as you soak his beard. Surrendering any last vestiges of shyness, you rock against his tongue, nails scratching his scalp as you whine louder into the night air. 

Moans that will echo long after you’re gone.

The thought alone hardens his resolve to mark you unequivocally. You’re close, your pliant body quivering and breaths coming in shallow gasps now. He peers up at you, but your eyes are sealed shut and upturned at the gods, your breasts heaving.

Gently, he eases one finger inside you, and he grunts at how easily he slides in. You barely react, and so he pushes back in with two, coaxing a cry from you. Your cunt clenches as he gently thrusts his digits in and out, stretching your tight walls. 

‘Oh gods. Oh gods,’ you pant violently.

You’re close, so close. He wants to warn you of what is to come, but it feels like sacrilege to tarnish the moment with words. When he feels you begin to quiver, he laves at your clit harder, burying his fingers inside you to the knuckle, until he feels you crest and break. 

‘Gods, oh gods - Marcus!’

The cry of his name catches him off guard. He nearly loses control right there and then, as you ride out your high on his fingers, but by some miracle he holds out through gritted teeth. He devotes his attention to kissing his way up your body, from the slick inside of your thighs, to the side of your hip, making you jump when he sucks on your sensitive breasts.

You stare at his mouth with wild, dark eyes, and him at yours, but he vowed to leave your first kiss to your husband. Girding his self-restraint, he asks, ‘Are you alright?’

‘Yes, Marcus.’

His cock twitches at the sound of his name on your lips. He wants to hear you say it in all manners of ways - whisper it, gasp it, scream it. And by the cheekiness in your smile, it’s clear that you know what he’s thinking.

Your eyes drop to where his hardness is pressed against you. ‘Will you teach me how to please you, general?’

He swallows a groan, the animal in him rattling the bars of its cage. He replies diplomatically, ‘I will teach you how to teach your husband.’

In one smooth tug, he shucks off his tunic, then his loincloth, and he tries not to be self-conscious under your watchful gaze. Pulling you against him, skin on naked skin, he smears kisses along the side of your neck, smiling at your answering shudder. In return, you run your lips and scrape your teeth over his collarbone. 

Taking your hand and pressing a kiss to your palm, he slides it all the way down his chest and wraps your fingers firmly around his throbbing cock, his pained moan in your ear.

Eyes wide, you marvel at the size of him in your grip. ‘You are so big.’

Marcus curses through clenched teeth. ‘You are an insolent girl.’

With a wicked glint in your eyes, you correct yourself, ‘You are so big, general.’

If he wasn’t so aroused, he would have chuckled at your cheek. Instead, he growls, ‘Such insubordination.’

Tilting your head to one side, you grin. ‘And how would you discipline me, sir?’

He lets the silence linger for a beat, allowing anticipation to build as one big hand splays over your ass, hot lips brushing the shell of your ear. ‘I would deny you my cock, my lady. Let your sweet cunt weep for me, empty, not knowing how good it would feel to have me deep inside you.’

You are unsure if you are more shocked at the explicitness of his words, or at the gush of wetness that has you pressing your thighs together. If you had to wager a guess, he is just as affected as you by the way his length pulses in your grasp.

Marcus smiles as he takes in the way your body reacts to him. ‘But how can I deny such a lovely, desperate creature such as yourself?’

A sob escapes you. ‘Please, Marcus - I’m yours to take.’

With that, all self-restraint abandons him, and his lips crash into yours. At the back of his mind, he knows you deserve a better first kiss, something gentle and sweet. But to your credit, you seem to take it in stride, winding your arms around his neck with a deep groan as he deepens the kiss. Opening up your mouth, he sweeps his tongue against yours, making sure you taste yourself and the pleasure that he had wrung from you.

When he reluctantly pulls back for air, you hum, ‘I thought you said I should save that for my husband.’

He all but snarls, ‘Damn your husband.’

The possessiveness in his tone sends you reeling, and his resolve wears even thinner when your cunt brushes against him, so wet and soft, begging for him. 

‘I cannot wait any longer,’ he declares.

You bite your lip beseechingly. ‘Please, Marcus, I cannot either.’

He braces himself above you on strong arms, until all you can see is him, backlit by the soft candlelight. Beholding his beauty - the wisps of gray at his temples, the scar lining his cheekbone - your breath catches at the tenderness in his eyes as he stares down at you.

Holding the base of his cock, Marcus notches himself at the entrance of your cunt, trembling as he holds himself back. 

‘I will go slow,’ he assures you. ‘If it hurts, you tell me to stop. Understood?’

Your mouth dry, you can only nod. 

Holding your gaze, Marcus rolls his hips ever so slowly, jaw slack when he breaches you, inch by tortuous inch.

He is barely inside you and you already feel so unfathomably full.

‘Marcus,’ you gasp when it gets impossibly tight, nails digging into his broad shoulders.

He stops, and whispers encouragingly, ‘You are doing so well for me, taking me so beautifully. Just breathe.’

In between his patient, languid kisses, you unfurl, and Marcus gently pulls back, before pushing into you, deeper this time.

When you cry out, he shushes you, brushing the wet corners of your eyes with his lips. ‘Does it hurt?’

You shake your head. ‘No, it’s just - so much.’ 

‘I know, I can feel how tight you are gripping me,’ he mumbles into your neck, throbbing inside you while he holds himself still as you adjust. ‘Brave, sweet girl.’

When you find your voice again, you give him cheek. ‘I am a woman now, general.’

He smiles at you - a warm curl that crinkles the corners of his eyes endearingly - and claims your lips again. Feeling the tension seep out of your body, he thrusts shallowly so you can learn the movement of his hips. When he hits a spot that makes your jaw drop and your hips buck, he pulls all the way back, and drives himself to the hilt in one smooth motion.

And with that, you become a part of his soul, and his yours. His chest swells with the fiercest possessiveness and the greatest honour all at once, despite knowing that the circumstances that brought you together will inevitably tear you asunder at the break of dawn.

‘Marcus!’ you choke on a sob, throwing your head back, your walls clutching his cock in a merciless grip.

‘There she is,’ he grunts, mouth scraping the shell of your ear. ‘Say my name like that.’

And you do, over and over again, as he fucks into you. His pants land harshly in the crook of your neck with every thrust, hands greedily squeezing all the skin he can find - the curve of your ass, the dimple in your waist, your thigh to hitch it over his hip.

Looking down at you, eyes drunk and unfocused as you stare back at him, each squeeze of your wet cunt around him, every breath from your lips feels sacred.

He is seized by a sudden need to know. ‘How does it feel?’

Your eyes soften, and he shudders when you cup the side of his face to bring his nose to yours. ‘Divine.’

Marcus loses himself in you, in the wet squelch of your cunt around his length, the way your tightness takes every thrust. Words of praise that he doesn’t even hear tumble from his lips and onto every inch of skin he can reach as you cling to him, scraping your nails down his back and digging into the meat of his ass.

Pitching forward to press a hard kiss to you, he says, ‘I want you to fall apart for me again.’

‘Please, Marcus, please.’

Pushing himself up to his knees, still buried deep inside you, he spreads your thighs obscenely wide over his hips, and he moans at the sight of your cunt so full of him. With hooded eyes, he sucks on two of his thick fingers and brings them between your legs, carefully drawing circles on your clit, knowing that you are already sensitive from cumming twice for him before.

Your face twists in agony as he builds you towards another climax, patiently weaving the web of pleasure that wounds you tighter and tighter until your spine feels like it will snap in two. ‘Marcus, oh - don’t stop, don’t stop, oh gods -’

He bares his teeth as he feels you start to clench around him. ‘That’s it, that’s it. Cum on my cock, let me feel you, give it to me.’ 

Your peak crashes into you relentlessly, and as you are swept away, you can only wail and thrash, while Marcus curses and stutters unintelligibly above you as he spins out of control.

He had every intention to pull out, but it is as if some higher power is determined to foil his plans. With a guttural roar, his hips snap flush against yours, big palms grasp you so hard by the waist that you squeal, and he spills into you in hot gushes, once - twice - and again until he is spent.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

He doesn’t know if he said that aloud or if it was a trick of the mind. All he knows is that he eventually collapses bonelessly onto you, skin fused together with sweat and cum as your breaths become one in the crisp night air.

It is him who breaks the stillness, his old bones creaking when he stirs to relieve an ache in his back. His softened cock slides out of you, prompting you to whine in protest. He grunts when he looks down to see his cum dribble out of your cunt, leaving a pearly trail on the inside of your thighs.

When he meets your eyes, there is no awkwardness in the silence. ‘Forgive me, I didn’t mean to spill my seed inside you. That was reckless.’

Your heart skips a beat at his admission, and you can’t hide the pride in your voice. ‘Do I make you reckless, general?’

He tries and fails to be stern in his answer, the tenderness with which he brushes his nose on your cheek giving him away. ‘I know better than to encourage your insolence with an answer.’

You are far from discouraged though, quite the opposite. Knowing you have this man - who commands armies of thousands - at your mercy is a siren’s call.

Peering at him from under your eyelashes, you curl one leg around his waist. ‘Do you want to be reckless again?’

He huffs, but a smile breaks through. ‘Have you ever been told that you are a cocktease?’

You hum teasingly. ‘I have never heard that word before, but I like it.’

‘You do?’ he breathes against your lips. ‘You like being my cocktease?’

‘Yours, general.’

Marcus is astounded when he feels himself harden again, and he moans as you press open-mouthed kisses down his neck. ‘What spell have you cast on this old man, my little cocktease?’

You grin, letting him ease you onto your back so he can settle between your thighs again. ‘The kind that lasts until dawn.’

Eventually, morning must break, sure as the moon turns and the sun rises. In the golden rays of day, you will wed his son in ironic, virginal white, showered in rose petals. He will look on from the side in his finest ceremonial robes of red, as you walk away from him and into your new life as someone else’s wife.

But in the velvety folds of this night and many more to come, safely ensconced in the deepest corners of his memories, in lands far away, in war and in peace, there he keeps you - where you are not.

More notes: Thank you for reading! As usual, comments/reblogs/asks would be very much appreciated 🥰 I hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I loved writing it!

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

if you ever did an in-depth post about ‘you need to calm down’ i would love to see it because that is my most-hated taylor swift song. like why are you comparing your beef with katy perry to homophobia 😭😭😭

As a lesbian- I have a lot of feelings pent up about "You Need to Calm Down" and all of them are negative.

At the songs core- Swift is showing herself to be horribly ignorant. Are we really all going to accept her propping up the idea that homophobia is the same as having a public disagreement with another celebrity? Not only is she negating the power dynamics that often exist within the propagation of homophobia, by insinuating that homophobia is the same as a disagreement between equals in society, but she is also trivializing it down to a simple disagreement over career related bullshit.

Not to mention that she is NOT an ally- I cannot stand the people who think she is a left-leaning, feminist, LGBT advocate. It's like they have created a fanfiction concept of Taylor Swift in their heads.

She profits off the LGBT community when it is most beneficial- but when legitimate rights are being stripped away, she is silent.

Taylor Swift is really good at commodifying social trends without actually risking anything. She waits until it is safe- then pretends to speak up for people's rights, when, in reality, she is just finally able to turn the social trend into part of her brand. Therefore, she gave a stupid line in the song "Welcome to New York" (2014) about how New York City is somehow a utopia of gay freedom (not true but whatever), and then in "You Need to Calm Down" she was profiting off the excess of emotion and democratic enterprising seeping off the US Election cycle.

Her first use of this profit-first tacit happened in 2014- what happened in 2015? The US supreme court legalized same-sex marriage. Swift simply saw the social trend- and captialized off a topic about which the youth were passionate.

The second time, in "You Need to Calm Down" she published this song in 2019- firmly within her faux activist era, and well-aware that the youth were interested in politics. This was right before the 2020 US election- she once again saw the increase of young people paying attention to the ideological split within the country- bearing in mind her target audience skews young, progressive, and American, she pounced on the opportunity to capitalize off their impulse towards supporting ideological-progressive media. As we all geared up to vote down the conservative-leaning Donald Trump, who aligned himself with right-wing religious ideologies standing to threaten the previous supreme court decision on Same-Sex rights, Swift swoops in with a silly pop-beat and a fake country accent to pretend she is the savior of the young and gay.

If it wasn't so shady- it would be a brillant use of rhetorical analysis to sell product. Capitalism has made a cynic of me- I fear.

Swift saw the fear of young LGBT people- during an election cycle-and decided to profit off that fear not through distancing herself from them, but by pretending to care. Notice, again, how she only mentioned gay rights during these very specific cultural conditions which allow her to somehow make a profit off ideologically aligning herself with one side of an issue or another.

Personally, I find fake care even more heinous than outright hatred.

Once again- in this current year she is using the endorsement of a US presidential candidate to further her own brand and try to re-affirm her place within the general rhetorical circles of "progressive and therefore morally upstanding individual" to the youth.

It's all a calculated move to shake-off whatever negative press she got through her associations with right-wing Footballers and keep her prime audience of young Americans.

I have much more to say on this topic- but for now, this is where I leave you. I have to go eat lunch.

[mariacallous]

The US Department of Justice has sued Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, for abusing their alleged monopoly in the ticketing market to trample competitors.

Filed on Thursday in the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit focuses on Ticketmaster’s long-term exclusivity contracts with many of the largest music venues, making it the predominant ticketing service available to concertgoers. The firm secures these deals in part by “threatening and retaliating against venues that work with rivals,” the DOJ alleges.

In the complaint, the DOJ accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which acts as a promoter for hundreds of high-profile artists, of exploiting their relationship to establish a “self-reinforcing flywheel” that blocks competitors from gaining a foothold. Live Nation parlays its exclusive promotion deals into exclusive ticketing deals with venues, the DOJ claims, which are left with no practical choice but to go with Ticketmaster, for fear of losing access to sought-after acts represented by its parent company. The DOJ is seeking to break up the joint organization.

“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” says attorney general Merrick Garland in a statement. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation–Ticketmaster.”

In a lengthy statement provided to WIRED, Live Nation disputes the DOJ's allegation that it and Ticketmaster wield monopoly power. “The DOJ's lawsuit won't solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows,” the company says. “Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues, and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin.”

The charges brought by the DOJ mirror allegations made previously against Ticketmaster in two ongoing private lawsuits.

In December 2022, Ticketmaster was sued by hundreds of Taylor Swift fans, who brought a case in response to a high-profile ticketing debacle that reportedly left them queuing for hours to pay for tickets that they had been assigned under an early access program, with many ultimately unable to claim their allocations. The incident led to a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on consolidation in the ticketing industry and, reportedly, helped catalyze the investigation into Ticketmaster by the DOJ.

In their lawsuit, the Swift fans accused Ticketmaster of abusing its dominant position to impose “higher prices in the presale, sale, and resale market for concert tickets.” The company has “effectuated this anticompetitive scheme by forcing fans of musicians to use Ticketmaster exclusively to buy concert tickets,” the lawsuit alleged.

In the second case, a class action brought in 2022 on behalf of Ticketmaster customers in the US, Live Nation and Ticketmaster were accused of abusing the complementary relationship between their services to overcharge consumers and sustain their monopoly. “Live Nation controls the vast majority of the big national touring acts and, either explicitly or implicitly, coerces concert venues into selecting Ticketmaster as their ticketing service provider on pain of losing high-value acts,” claims Adam Wolfson, a partner at Quinn Emanuel, the law firm representing the plaintiffs.

This type of conduct, known as tying, was explicitly forbidden under the consent decree imposed upon Live Nation and Ticketmaster by the DOJ as a condition of their 2010 merger. “Our allegation is that they did it anyway,” says Wolfson. “Ticketmaster’s behavior is an open secret—everyone talks about it.”

In a corporate blog post published in March, Dan Wall, executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs at Live Nation, rejected allegations that Ticketmaster is driving up the price of tickets. The face value of a ticket is decided by the artist, he wrote, while the service charge—from which Ticketmaster draws its cut—is set by the venue.

In a call with reporters, a senior DOJ official described this line of defense as a “red herring” in the context of the alleged antitrust violations. “Our position is that removing the chokehold that Live Nation has at all levels of the ecosystem will be beneficial with respect to the way prices are set.”

A problem common to antitrust disputes, says Bradley Justus, an antitrust attorney at law firm Axinn, is the difficulty in distinguishing easily between practices that amount to anticompetitive behavior and those that might be considered sensible business strategy. The DOJ will argue that the exclusive deals entered into by Ticketmaster are categorically anticompetitive. “The antitrust question is: How extensive is the scope of those agreements? Are they truly so broad that another competitor couldn’t enter and scale?” says Justus.

The DOJ claims that the terms of the contracts mean that “venues cannot consider or choose rival ticketers or switch to better or more cost-effective ticketing technology.” The effect, it claims, is both to stifle competitors and minimize the pressure for Ticketmaster to improve its own product, to the detriment of concertgoers.

Although the DOJ has petitioned for Live Nation to be broken up, it has not outlined the specific structural changes it will go after, nor any injunctions it may try to impose with respect to the company’s exclusive contracts. “A breakup is absolutely on the table, but it’s important not to put the cart before the horse. In antitrust cases, any remedy has to be specifically tailored to the violation found,” a senior DOJ official told the press. “Based on the allegation that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have exerted control at every level of the ecosystem, aspects of the company need to be broken apart in order for competition to flourish in the live music industry.”

[etherealsworldvision]

Let’s Soothe Your Mind

Before I begin the reading I’d like to take a moment to talk about Save The Redwoods. They’re a non-profit organization who is committed to protect and restore redwood forests. If you’re interested do check out their website and if you’d like to further your support here is their donation link.

Divider Credits: @ianrkives & @plum98

New Song Discovery for the Reading: Reservations – Dugong Jr, Julia Lostrom, Keelan Mak

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3

🚨 P.S.A 🚨 : I do not give personal readings! Disclaimer: this is for entertainment only!

Added Description: all my readings are timeless and meant to reach those who resonate to the messages.

[ General Messages: Rain; Autumn; Libra and Leo Seasons, “My love do you ever dream of candy coated raindrops”- Candy Rain by Soul for Real, Longboards (Skateboarding and Surfing); Raya the Last Dragon; Dewdrop; Spicy (foods); Avatar the Last Airbender; Fire Flakes; Honeydew; Drinks; Tantrums; Saturn Hour; Saturn Placements and Aspects; (Smithsonian) Museums; 1010; Kendrick Lamar; Trouble - Taylor Swift; Caught Up; Cheat; Exclusion; (Reaction) Memes; Distrust; Camping; Tents; Connections; Frustration; Online ]

Pile 1

[ Cards: Justice; Moon Reversed; Ace of Wands; Seven of Cups Reversed; Two of Wands ]

Confirmation Messages: Gojo & Geto; Anxiety (Playlist); “Get off of me/Ew get away,” (directed towards emotions feeling stuck to your body or feels like “bugs” crawling on skin); Anxiousness; Nervousness; Shadow and Bones (?); Shadow Hunters; Slowing Down; Chaotic Energy; Out of Control; Bugs; (Breaking) Habits; Messy Thoughts; Strategic; “Playing it Cool”; Patrick Star?; Hares; Hates Feeling Emotions; Pink Flowers (Real or Artificial); Systems Down; Mewing (?)

Something new might have happened or you feel like this is the universe (or whoever you believe in) giving you something. This energy feels like Carl and Cindy’s interaction (from Jimmy Neutron). In this case you’re Carl and Cindy is the universe lol. Maybe you were in a rut or had a cycle of “unfortunate events” in regard to circumstances or people.

If you’re asking for clarification: You have free will — it’s up to you whether you want to continue what you’re doing or not. I’m not sensing anything “bad” or “malicious” intent in regards to what/who you’re inquiring about. There’s this sense of catastrophizing new things. There’s also this feeling of “too good to be true”. I don’t know if you said/thought/felt this: “I need a fucking break” is strongly coming in.

So now that you have this break — it’s almost like you don’t know what to do or how to proceed. It’s as if you’re holding a globe but you don’t get to actually go anywhere. Maybe at one point you did get experience with this, only to be let down? Either way having no control is what’s scaring you and causing this anxiousness (especially if this deals with a person).

What’s coming in for those who are iffy about proceeding: “let them, just let them because you are your own before and after meeting this person”. This can also deal with a situation too — as in this doesn’t define you. There is no need to punish/blame yourself for being afraid/ not taking this offer. It just means you weren’t ready and that’s okay. Go at your own pace.

For those of you who want to proceed with this situation/person then you’ll have to let down your walls bit by bit. Again it’s okay to go at your own pace or ask to slow down. The same applies: “let them”. The door is always open so let them or “let you”. You can always set it down and move to the next one. It’s okay.

Bonus Question to Ask Yourself: “What did I keep doing that keeps hurting? Why do I keep repeating this behavior?” - by WNRS

So that’s all that I’m getting for pile 1. If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading this, I really appreciate it. If this resonates let me know. I am supporting you through and through 🧡!

Pile 2

[ Cards: Three of Swords Reversed; 3 of Pentacles Reversed; 6 of Swords; 5 of Pentacles Reversed; 9 Of Swords; 3 of Wands ]

Confirmation Messages: Courage; Charli XCX (Brat album); The Sun; Music; Concerts; Celebrity; Billie Eilish; Air and Earth Placements; Careless; Responsibility; Overthinker; New Things; Success; Moving On; 55; 66; 333; 9; Truth; Waiting; Patience; Releasing Judgement; Let it flow; Getting or Wanting Numbers? Holding Back; Calculated Risks; Chappell Roan; Doechii; Temptation - Raveena; Gemini; Aries

So I’m feeling like you’re releasing this heartache (for some it could be from your past?) I don’t know why, I pulled a clarification and it’s the 10 of Cups and I heard “No that’s so scary, Boo Feelings and Happiness!” So maybe you’re afraid of things working out because you were always let down in the past.

I feel like this can be about a connection (?) — there’s a lot of air coming in which means social lives. This may have come when things just started to calm down or in the midst of healing? To be honest this pile’s energy tends to overthink a lot. Like I feel like there’s this thing where you’re scared of saying the wrong thing which makes you take a step back only to make the overthinking worse. Maybe you’re asking friends what to do because I split the deck and saw 3 of Cups.

For some reason I feel like you need more reassurance so I’ll just pull out more cards for you. So I got the 2 of cups and the Eight of Wands (reversed), Judgement, and the Emperor. The first thing I’m picking up is that: you two may have opposite personalities or are awake at different times because we have two blue cards and two gold cards.

I’m also getting that the pace is painfully slow despite things going smoothly. It’s like you want to take control but you’re aware it won’t go smoothly if you rush it. For some of you there’s this thing of being afraid to take the “lead” or being pressured by society to take the lead.

(Side note: I don’t know who needs to hear this but there’s no hierarchy in a connection. There’s no, “who wears the pants” or whatever heteronormative stuff that gets constantly pushed into connections. What makes a connection work is when both people see each other as equals and accepting of one another)

You’re going to hate me for this but…it takes time and teamwork for a connection to work out. So yeah, go at your own comfortable pace (not a pace society tells you to go by) and enjoy the present time. For some reason I really have to “hammer it in” to take your time; let this connection take its time. Let things fall into place all on its own and if you feel called to do something (meaning the timing is right) then by all means take that initiative.

When you let things slowly progress you will also get a better understanding and feel of this person, from there you can see if you want to proceed or not.

Bonus Questions to Ask Yourself: “When have I given too much of myself in a relationship (could also be platonic)? What did that look like? What lesson did that leave me with?” - WNRS

That’s really all I’m getting, to be honest this reading is so chaotic and so long even though it barely reached 5 paragraphs. If you made it this far thank you so much, I appreciate it. I’m wishing you luck and please take your time!

Pile 3

[ Cards: Queen of Pentacles; 7 of Swords; Justice; Five of Cups Reversed; 8 of Pentacles; 7 of Cups; 7 of Pentacles ]

Confirmation Messages: Horror Games; Paranormal; Libra; Yellowjackets; Birds of a Feather; Unrequited; Nevada; Winter; Baby Powder; Scents; Insincerity; Friday; Outcasts; Water(falls); Late Spring; (Couples) Therapy; 777; (Down by the Water) PJ Harvey; Library; Goth (Music); Unknown; Earth Placement; Situationship; Clear Mind; Tiredness; “Success is the Best Revenge”; Lana Del Rey; Distractions; Cheating; 1:23

You may have left a connection or felt this person was dishonest. I think what made it worse is outside advice (which is ironic because y’know we’re here lol). Perhaps someone gave you the, “time heals all wounds” or “it’s okay! Just get pretty and focus on your job!” Only to feel dread, I’m not going to lie. I don’t know if you put a limit to your sadness because there’s this sense of, “I should be over this by now.” I feel like some of you did achieve this success/glow up you wanted yet still feel grief.

Honestly, it’s okay to grieve as long as you want to. There is no time limit to feel grief and sadness. Realistically speaking, grief stays with us. Grief can come in the form of memories popping up or when you feel nostalgic — that’s a part of grief and that’s okay. All we can do is look at them and see them for who they are and what they did. (Now, I’m not excusing their actions at all!) For example; it’s one of those things where someone waits for years to get closure only to get nothing and in the end they accept they’ll never get it.

I know this may sound bitter and for some bittersweet, but let the grief flow. You’re not crying over “spilt milk”, for all we know it’s not just spilt milk! Maybe it was milk you got with your hard earned money and now you don’t have milk because you just spent the last portions of your money so you can wipe your ass! So no, it’s not just milk! (lol sorry I just hate when the 5 of cups gets that connotation — there’s always something deeper to it.)

Look, distracting yourself out of emotions via deep diving in your work isn’t always the best thing to do. Sometimes you need silence (no music or sounds!) and sit with yourself. Really sit, lay or something with yourself and be vulnerable. Sit with that feeling for just a minute (not drown in it) because it’s asking to be acknowledged. Acknowledgment is a key to acceptance and with that comes the healing.

I feel like when you do acknowledge your grief, come to terms with the situation/person for who they are it’ll make the healing process bearable. I’m not saying it’ll be easier and you’ll be happy at a flip of a coin. I’m just saying because of this acceptance you may find you’re not doing your work/hobbies/goals for the sake of revenge but because it’s for you. You’re doing these things because you love it or for your own happiness/fulfillment.

Bonus Question to Ask Yourself: “What’s my favorite song at the moment? Why do I love it so much? (Play it for yourself)”. - by WNRS

Alrighty Pile 3 that’s all I got for you, thank you so much for reading until the very end! I appreciate it. I'm giving you some peace and love 🧡.

[taytaay131313]

DEBUNKING THE “KARLIE BETRAYED TAYLOR BELIEF”

Disclaimer: this post is taken from Reddit and it was put together and posted by this user : OddDragonfruit6179 I just made it into Tumblr post.

This is for people who might be new to Gaylor side of the fandom and to those questioning the “betrayal” surrounding Taylor Swift and her masters and Karlie Kloss. This is also an answer to anonymus messages about the line in the song It’s time to go believed to be about Karlie Kloss / When the words of a sister come back in whispers that prove she was not in fact what she seemed not a twin from your dreams she's a crook who was caught.

PSA - Personally, I exist as a Gaylor because I love interpreting Taylor's Queer themes that don't specifically revolve around certain muses & the beautiful way they can exist on their own. I am also not 'Late-Stage'-Anything, haha. But, saying that, it's amost impossible to ignore the elephant (or Giraffe) in the room when it comes to Karlie & Taylor's storytelling since Reputation. It seems there are some very firmly-held beliefs about 'what happened' (including Gaylors), and a lot of them revolve around the idea that Karlie 'betrayed' Taylor during the Master's Heist era of June/July 2019, 'feeding information to & siding with Scooter Braun' - which are often used to debunk Gaylor interpretations as a blanket shut-down. Given the latest drama with Selena & how she recently spoke up about slandering Taylor on TikTok, it reminded me of how we have a lot of evidence from both Taylor & Taylor's inner circle that this was probably not actually the case, and how quickly rumours & interpretations get adopted as 'fact' without any proof - something I think Taylor's also tried to get across with her music, too. I wanted to do a little deep-dive into this side of things to remind us all that we simply cannot believe everything we hear - there's always a lot more to celebrity stories than the loosly-held general beliefs :)

What was the big 'betrayal' in 2019?

If you're new here, welcome! The supposed 'betrayal' revolves around Taylor's Master's Heist in summer 2019, when Scooter Braun (millionaire celebrity manager) bought Taylor's entire back catalogue of music, leaving her without ownership of all her previous music. Taylor was at a turning point in her career, having just ended the 13 year contract that she'd been tied into since she was 15, and was just about to release her first fully-owned album 'Lover' She wanted to buy all her past music, allowing her to have full freedom & ownership going forward - yet it was allegedly sold to Scooter from underneath her, meaning he would be the one profiting from all of her life's work from Debut to Reputation & leaving her without any ownership rights of all her past work. (This is now why she's re-recording her 'Taylor's Versions' of her past albums.) How does Karlie tie into this? Karlie had been a huge part of Taylor's life since 2013. As Gaylors, most of us believe they were much more than friends & Karlie was the main muse for Reputation (2017) & multiple songs on Lover (2019). Karlie had signed with Scooter Braun in 2015. In 2016, Scooter was involved in the Kimye 'Taylor Swift is over controversy', being included in a photo Justin Bieber posted online to taunt Taylor (which Justin later said Scooter had nothing to do with). As she was Scooter's client, Karlie was immedietly caught up between Scooter Vs Taylor rumours, leading her to tweet this:

In early 2017, as the Kimye drama grew, Taylor stopped sharing her private life on social media. From 2017-2018 she releases Rep, goes on tour, ends her contract with Big Machine & begins working towards releasing Lover. All the while, rumours are consistently following both Taylor & Karlie about 'whether or not they're still friends' because they'd not been seen together. A lot of people believe they were still in each other's lives (there are multiple masterposts going into the possible romantic side of things), but the narrative is all over the place: In March 2018, Karlie tells the NY Times: 'don't believe everything you read' & that she and Taylor as still 'very close'. In July 2018, Karlie announces that she's engaged to Josh Kushner and Taylor doesn't publicly comment. In August 2018, Karlie attends the Rep Tour & is brought to the front pit when Taylor sings 'Dress'. In October 2018, Karlie has her first 'wedding' with Josh (up for personal interpretation if this is Lavender or not) - Taylor doesn't publicly comment. The same month, Karlie's YouTube shows her apartment is still full of photos of Taylor & her family/friends (not Josh):

In the first half of 2019 Taylor is finishing writing Lover, which include themes indicative that she is extremely up/down, full of anxiety & has push a 'lover' away: "I'm terrified if you ever walk away" (Cornelia Street), "We were crazy to think this could work, but we might just get away with it" (False God), don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you" (Cruel Summer), " jump from the train, I ride off alone" (The Archer), " blew things out of proportion, why'd I have to break what I love so much? I need to say hey, it's all in my head, I'm the one who burned us down, sorry that I hurt you, I don't do this to you, I don't wanna loose this with you" (Afterglow), "Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts, I look through the windows of this love, even though we boarded them up, chandalier's still flickering here" (DBTC)

What actually happened in Summer 2019?

Taylor begins promoting the release of Lover. In April 2019 she unveils a butterfly wing mural which looks extremely similar to Karlie's butterfly wings from the VS Show where they met & then continues to be ridiculously gay-on-main. She releases You Need To Calm Down, where she's the Sherriff of the Gay trailor park with Bi hair, and ME! on Lesbian Visibility Day... there's endless flagging in clothing/theming. She was getting very 'loud'. Many people believe she may have been leading up to 'coming out' officially, either with the album and/or the Miss Americana documentary that was in the process of being filmed. On 23rd/24th June, Karlie has her second 'wedding' (a big party). Taylor doesn't attend. Scooter does (he's close friends with Josh).

Within a week after he's at this party with Josh & Karlie, Scooter then flies to Nashville and completes the sale of Taylor's masters. The sale is partially funded by the Carlyle Group, who is in business with Kushner Companies (Josh's family's business).

On 30th June (the following weekend), Taylor announces that the Master's Heist has happened & how distraught she is. Lots of celebrities speak up against Scooter & many of his clients (Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber etc) speak up in defence of him. Karlie remains silent & doesn't make a statement either way.

On 3rd July, Perez Hilton starts stirring shit by saying that 'Taylor is no longer close to Karlie because she found out Karlie was telling things about her & her career to Scooter! It began circulating that 2 of Taylor's close friends, Ashley Avignone & Claire Winter had liked the tweet, 'confirming' that this was the case to those that follow gossip sites. Karlie is then photographed at events/lunches/trips with Scooter multiple times throughout the rest of 2019 - further ‘cementing' this idea for fans.

The final blow for this theory came when Taylor released Folkmore (2020): in the song 'Time to Go' she sings "When the words of a sister come back in whispers, that prove she was not in fact what she seemed, not a twin from your dream she's a crook who was caught", which many fans immedietly assumed was about Karlie.

Where are the cracks in all this?

Taylor's other friends: Obviously, social media is only a partial glimpse of a story, but it is very suggestive of behind the scenes information. The reaction to the current Selena controversy was what reminded me of her friendship with Taylor, after she stuck up for Taylor on a video of Hailey Bieber. Selena's been very close to Taylor since they were teenagers. In October 2019, shortly after the Master's Heist, she did an interview where she was in tears talking about how important her friendship with Taylor was, and how much she loved her & her family:

...so she would've been very much on Taylor's 'side' if Taylor has had an awful betrayal from Karlie, right? Yet in November 2019, just 5 months after the Masters Heist , she's very publicly supporting Karlie, too:

..and they have both consistently continued to support eachother ever since, right up to Selena's latest birthday:

In terms of social media, many of Taylor's current close friends & people she's worked closely with continue to follow Karlie (despite following a very limited number of people). This includes Taylor's oldest childhood friend, Abigail (who only follows 285 people - Karlie still follows her back), Haim The Band, as well as Danielle & Alana Haim on thier individual accounts, and Sadie Sink:

Karlie also continues to follow Taylor herself and Taylor's brother, Austin:

We also have two more of Taylor's very close circle, Ryan Reynolds & Gigi Hadid, liking posts about Karlie's 30th birthday in 2022:

What about Perez Hilton's claims? Baring in mind this is the ONLY 'evidence' that exists to support this story, I tried to find the original tweets about 'Karlie telling things about Taylor to Scooter', and low & behold: they're ALL gone. That includes Perez's & the 'Taylor Swift Updates' tweet that was supposedly liked by Taylor's friends. Gone, deleted, non-existent. Why would they have been deleted if they were true & Taylor wanted that story out there? Who made sure they were, from all accounts involved, and only those? Interesting.

What I did find, however, was some tweets and likes from the same friend, Ashley Avignone, discussing how none of Scooter's clients have been able to speak out against him or leave him because of their contracts (this would include Karlie):

What about Karlie 'siding' with Scooter & continuing to work/hang out with him? There were definitely pictures of Karlie continuing to spend time with Scooter after the Masters Heist. However, she was under contract. She never defended him or tried to reason about what he'd done. In fact, she left Scooter as soon as she possibly could. She hasn't been seen with Scooter since 2019 & she signed a new contract with a different manager in 2021. It's also relevant to note that Taylor's other close friend, Ed Sheeran, was also managed by Scooter at the time & didn't speak up publicly either. Taylor reportedly attended Ed's wedding in September 2019, yet Ed continued to stay with Scooter & publicly party with him well into 2021 (so, clearly, if there is an issue with Karlie it wasn't just because she continued to work with Scooter in 2019).

Last but not least, the music:

Throughout her albums since the Masters Heist, Taylor has consistently written about heartbreak & betrayal in different ways. Although 'It's time to go' has been grabbed by many fans as 'proof' that Karlie betrayed her, but most stories just aren't that simple. Taylor is a storyteller. One song doesn't equate to every emotion/situation that Taylor was feeling. As many of us do, I believe there's a clear arc of Taylor painting a picture throughout multiple songs, of how she thought she had been 'betrayed' & the pain of that, but later realising she was just blaming the person she had loved in order to get through it all. Others have done amazing, full analysis of these songs, but in terms of 'betrayal' specifically: In Hoax we see the raw pain of feeling hurt by the one she loved alongside what happened with the Masters Heist (this song is full of Karlie references & Taylor very clearly says she was writing about both love & the Masters Heist in the LPSS): "My eclipsed sun, this has frozen my ground / You know I left a part of me back in NY / You know it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart, but what you did was just as dark, darling this is just as hard."

In Closure, we see that she's harbouring a lot of anger & isn't ready to move forward or past her pride: "Yes I got your letter, it wasn't right the way it all went down, looks like you know that now / I know that it's over, I don't need your closure / I'm fine with my spite / Guilty, guilty, reaching out across the sea that you put between you & me"

In Coney Island, we begin to see her taking accountability for her own role in the relationship breaking down in the first place (which ties in with Afterglow): "Sorry for not making you my centerfold / It gets colder & colder as the sun goes down / What's a lifetime of acheivement if I pushed you to the edge / Did I leave you hanging every single day / Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray?"

In Happiness, we see this accountability clashing with the hurt she still feels about the way it all ended, but ultimately acknowledging she can't make Karlie the villain (suggesting she never actually was one) & wants to forgive her whatever role she did play (when she's ready). Hope she'll be a beautiful fool who takes my spot next to you, no sorry, I don't mean that, I can't see facts through all of my fury / I can't make it go away by making you the villain, guess that's the price I pay for 7 years in heaven / All you want from me is the green light of forgiveness, You haven't met the new me yet, but I think she'll give you that"

Later, in The Great War, we see a continuation of reflecting back on the same themes - telling the story of feeling hurt & betrayed, shutting the other person out, but realising the other person was also being equally hurt by it all / was never the person she should've been blaming: "Cursed you as I sleep-talked, tore your banners down, took the battle underground / I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone" (processing her pain through putting an end to the loudness of Lover & writing Folkmore). "Somewhere in the haze got a sense I'd been betrayed/ telling me to punish you for things you never did, so I justified it" (Taylor's acknowledging once again that the other person hadn't actually done what she thought they had) "You drew up some good faith treaties / Tears on the letter / My hand was the one you reached for" (could be a callback to the letter' in closure & suggests the person was trying to make peace). "Your finger on my hairpin triggers, soldier down on that icy ground, looked up at me with honour & truth, broken & blue, so I called off the troops" (icy ground could be a callback to 'you have frozen my ground' back Hoax).

So where does that leave us?

Who the hell knows? No one does, but I love reading all the theories when the rest of the music is tied into it all! But in regard to there being a 'betrayal', given how there was never any concrete evidence that Karlie did anything wrong in the first place (& how the only tweets alluding to it have mysteriously dissapeared), the continual association with Karlie from some of the closest people in Taylor's life, Karlie leaving Scooter at the first chance she got & the arc of the 'thought i was betrayed but I was really just heartbroken & being dramatic' story from Taylor, I am now a firm believer that there wasn't a 'big betrayal' from Karlie in regard to the Master's Heist.

The rest of it is all up for guesswork. Taylor definitely felt betrayed by something at first. We know there were already break-up songs on Lover written before the Master's Hiest which suggest Taylor was the one to push her lover away, yet they were still dappled with hope that she'd get them back. Potentially, Karlie had already been pushed away & had sought security in her long-term partnership with Josh/decided to marry him. After the engagement & 1st wedding, this is when we see Taylor's very 'loud' Lover Era - could this have been an attempt to 'prove herself' to Karlie & make a statement about what she was willing to do? However, Karlie was already comitted to Josh & had gone through with the 1st wedding. Within a 1 week period of June 2019, Karlie doubled down on going through with her 2nd wedding to Josh & her manager bought Taylor's Masters, making it extremely risky for Taylor to continue to make a career-changing choice of 'coming out' (if that's what she'd been intending to do). Could it have been orchestrated by Scooter (& Josh?) in order to keep Taylor closeted? Could Josh have been involved financially in order to put a stop to the rumours about Karlie after they'd already comitted to marriage & keep his business deals/ family connections safe from speculation? Could Karlie simply have been trapped in the middle of all of it & torn between her loyalty to both Taylor & Josh, causing an already heartbroken Taylor to 'kick the cat' and initially put the blame on Karlie for the way it all happened? (If you factor in the possibility that both Karlie & Josh might be closeted & had eventually comitted to a consentual Lavender Marriage, it makes the risk of Taylor exposing them even bigger. Josh was tied up in Billionaire conservative circles & relied heavily on his business partnerships in the Middle East & Asia, as well as pressure from the Trump side of the family. We have no idea what kind of pressure he & Karlie may have been under behind the scenes).

Who the hell knows - but if Karlie had directly, intentionally been involved in such a big betrayal to Taylor, I HIGHLY doubt her best friends/family would be having anything to do with her.

Folkmore shows a clear theme of working through different, conflicting emotions, & then in Midnights we're back to seeing the Karlie-coded songs being portrayed as a big, authentic love (not one that was hate-filled or hurtful)...so at the very least, I'm definitley on the team of believing they have worked through whatever they needed to & have drawn a line under it all :) + a little update since the Eras tour started we have seen some of Karlies friends attend the show such as Derek Blasberg (her long time best friend), Cara Delevingne…Gigi Hadid revealed she will attend the Eras tour and go to as many shows as she can and she was just recently seen with Karlie in Mumbai. I hope this post made some things more clear for everyone not knowing this side of the story.

[joesalw]

All of Taylor's albums were tailored to the most popular aesthetic at the time. She didn't make shit popular, she just adapted. Especially when she made the transition into pop music.

True. She's currently jumping fences with rep as well. Making it out to be a goth punk moment and using trendy words like 'female rage'. The album has the most romantic songs she's ever written. C'mon now. The whole record is electropop with some R&B elements thrown into the mix.

She portrays 'Lover' as her social justice warrior era. 'If I was a man, then I'd be the man'. Yeah, we've seen it Taylor. Miss 'me becoming a billionaire is good for the world because I'm a woman'. She makes herself out to be this 'feminist girl's girl' when in reality it couldn't be further from the truth. She's not a feminist and she doesn't want to be the woman that's advocating for women's rights and leads the path for the future generation of women. She wants to be the man at the top. Her motto is literally 'gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss, greenhouse gases'.

Another thing is her queer allyship. She's mentioned it when and only when it was profitable to her. During her tour she hadn't said a thing when the number of states signed anti-trans bills and the state of Tennessee where she says she lives *according to her own documentary* banned drag. I don't think she said anything about the anti-abortion legislation either. Her activist era started and ended in 2019.

Don't get me started on her position regarding the BLM movement. She only posted something because her own fans started calling her out and then declared that she's 'ferociously anti-racist'. She positioned herself as an advocate *by herself* and then immediately dipped when it stopped being as profitable. If you don't want to be dragged for your silence about social and political crises, don't proclaim yourself as an activist. Simple as that.

I've also seen the video on Youtube about TS being a narcissist (someone posted it on your blog earlier I think). And the guy in the video brought up her guitar teacher. So I looked him up and found an article where he talks about his experience with the Swifts which he got sued for later. According to the man, Taylor's mother was interested in him teaching her daughter how to play country music and was just a stage mom in general. And TS says that she'd been begging her parents to allow her learn how to play guitar and that she's self-taught. She wants her success story to be a rags to riches so bad I can't even.

She's a woman with an extremely fragile ego where millions of people could be praising her and a single negative comment would set her off. She can't handle any form of criticism, break ups or inconveniences like a grown woman simply because she doesn't have enough emotional intelligence to do so. Her being surrounded by yes men also doesn't help the situation. If i were her, I'd rather invest in a good therapist rather than 2 PJs. She drowns herself in work and relationships so she doesn't have time to go inwards and sit with her thoughts.

I kinda feel bad for her, honestly. She's been in the industry since she was 15 and her success was almost immediate. She doesn't know what the world's like because she's been sheltered her whole life and then had other people do things for her. I don't think she has many real friends as well. By real I mean people who aren't afraid to tell you the truth and are able to call you out in your face. Instead she has a bunch of people who appease her afraid of pissing her off and ending up on her bad side and as a result her vanity grows and she completely loses any sort of perspective whether in her friendships, romantic relationships or maybe even her own family.

I also wonder what she thinks about her fandom pirating her concert film instead of paying to rent it. I sort of hope that her fans are starting to wake up to her conning schemes. I mean, you've already made a shit ton of money from the theatre release, why charging 20$ more to RENT IT?Not even buy it. Or is it another narrative about how 'no one can own my work but me'?

This woman sells well but her cultural impact is almost nonexistent. She hadn't done any good for the world causes or inspired several generations of performers like Michael Jackson has with his philanthropic endeavors and incredible performing skills. The artists like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake (bleh) and The Weeknd were hugely influenced by MJ. These artist create their own unique legacy and impact on their communities. Especially the ladies. Gaga's been an avid LGBT+ advocate since the beginning of her career and created a foundation that focuses on issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development. She also participated in anti HIV and AIDS campaigns, spoke against immigration laws in the US, contributed to 2011's earthquake and tsunami relief campaign in Japan. Beyoncé's a huge advocate for the black community and black women especially which always finds its way in her work and visual art in particular. She's been platforming black culture and history for her whole career (2016 Superbowl and Coachella performance are the brightest examples of black american culture and releasing her Lion King album to showcase African artists' excellence). She also has a foundation where she provides black youth scholarships, clean water for communities abroad and housing to families in need in her home state.

What exactly makes Taylor Swift's cultural impact? Thousands of tons CO2 emissions? Music labels putting a clause in the contract so the artists can't re-record their material for 10 years now instead of 5? Making several versions of the same CD or vinyl so the sales are bigger? Mind you, that's all excessive plastic and paper. Some countries and US states are banning gas stoves. Her position regarding artists being paid during the early days of streaming (when the platforms were launching with a free period tial) was right but no one really benefited from it but her. She was shitting on Apple Music, then they offered her money, filmed an ad and released her 1989 Tour DVD exclusively on their platform. She shat on Spotify, then when LWYMMD came out, she was all over their biggest playlists all of a sudden and recorded Spotify Singles later on. Spotify's always promoted her every release like a motherfucker shoving her in every corner of the platform. Especially for the past 3 years. She doesn't have any memorable outfits or unique style to be called a fashion icon either. She's not a trailblazer she thinks she is. She is only popular because a lot of people *mostly ww* who peaked in high school see themselves in her. She's average in everything she does, her writing topes are also the same (only now she started using compound or uncommonly used words to mask it) but she's extremely commercially successful so that those people can see themselves in her. She doesn't have unique music style or chameleon-like discography like Gaga, Bey, MJ, Madonna, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus or Nelly Furtado. She doesn't have a unique singing voice like Bjork, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Janis Joplin, MJ or Bob Dylan. She's no instrument prodigy either. And swifties say that 'Michael couldn't play any instruments'. Well, he was an exceptional beatboxer. She can strum 4 guitar chords and play basic piano, that's it. She doesn't have an outstanding dancing and/or vocal skill.

What is she gonna be remembered for? Her numerous relationships with famous men? While that might be misogynistic or sexist to some degree, she's the one who makes her relationships the centre of her music and public persona and brings them up even 10 years after they ended. Her public feuds with men and women that she can't get over years after? This woman is certainly can hold a grudge and is extremely vindictive. The leader of a parasocial cult that blindly defends her bigotry? I believe so. I don't think I've ever seen a fandom as toxic and as hive-minded as swifties. And again, it's Taylor's own creation. She's the one that constantly says 'look closely for the easter eggs' in her content making her fans theorize on every aspect of her life, or 'if you're very loyal I might invite you to MY HOUSE and you can listen to the new album early, we'll take pics and I'll bake you some cookies'. Of course they'll follow your any order. I'm glad I escaped.

Oof, I'll stop here. That's a very long one already

sorry hehe

.

[fictional-detective-tournament]

Fictional Detective Tournament!

Rules:

Please only submit characters through the attached form.

The submission deadline is October 22nd.

As the name suggests, no real people. If you have an ambiguous where it’s someone playing a character in a roleplay, feel free to explain how they count as a fictional character and not as the real person playing them and I will consider it.

I will accept different versions of Sherlock Holmes on top of regular Sherlock Holmes as long as they’re intended to be different from regular Sherlock Holmes. (Ie Fate/Grand Order Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty the Patriot Sherlock Holmes, etc.)

I am aware that this tournament has been done before. I do not mean to disrespect anyone who has run this tournament before. I simply would like to run one myself because I love detectives and want to spotlight some of the lesser known ones that I love, as well as ones that are submitted.

Please do not submit characters from media where an author who is openly problematic is still alive and actively profiting off of the work. (Harry Potter, Rurouni Kenshin, etc.) This is my first time trying this, so I don’t have a banlist prepared, hence the broadness. I will look over characters after submission and if I feel that a piece of media could fall under this, I will ask for further opinions.

I will also take characters who aren’t explicitly referred to as detectives if they spend a lot of time in the media they’re from investigating and or trying to solve a mystery. There will a section in the form for justifications and explanations if necessary.

Characters based on real people are allowed as long as they aren’t meant to actually be the real person they represent.

No OCs. Otherwise I would be tempted to include my *7* detective OCs. But feel free to tell me about your detective OCs in the asks and maybe I’ll run that sometime.

Please denote if the character you want me to accept is from an 18+ source. I will accept them if there are SFW pictures of them, I would just like to know so that I can be careful when searching and can tag the polls with them accordingly.

Characters auto accepted because they are the host’s blorbos: Lord El Melloi II/Waver Velvet, All the detectives from the ADA from Bungo Stray Dogs plus Yukito Ayatsuji from Bungo Stray Dogs Another, the main quintent from Tantei Gakuen Q, Lady Love Dies from Paradise Killer, Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa from Detective Conan, and the main characters of The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels (Please read this book.) However, I will accept propaganda for these characters! If I don’t get any, I will write some myself, but I appreciate hearing other people gush about characters I love.

Please be respectful of everyone involved. People being rude in the tags will be blocked.

The form is here!:

About the Host!

I’m Zero! My main blog is at @zero-on-the-clocktower . I’m 19 and use any pronouns. I love detectives and mysteries in general and am happy to give you recommendations if you’d like.

[mystical-blaise]

Hey! I was wondering; do we have your permission to email sjmaas legal team & tell them about the copyright infringement about the book binding of your fanfics as well as contact the archive of our own legal team for support so the sjm team doesn’t go after you for writing said fanfic? Or would you prefer to go another avenue?

Etsy has a ridiculous policy that only lets you report copyright infringement if you are a part of the team of the people in question (obviously not with sjm team). I figured they (the sjm legal team) would be swift but I wanted to get your permission.

Hi Anon, while I appreciate the support, DO NOT under any circumstances, go to the SJM team. You know, unless you want them to start potentially going after SJM-based fanfiction online. I don't want that; you don't want that. Here's the thing about fanfiction: It's a derivative work, and generally no one cares as long as (1) no one is making a profit from it* and/or (2) the original works in question, or author, isn't harmed or their works haven't been harmed by the derivative take.**

(*Which is why for artists to make a legal profit from copywritten characters, it's best practice to get licensing **See why Anne Rice said no to fanfic)

Fanfiction at its core is using published characters in a different way than the author. The author and/or publisher still owns the rights to the characters. So, no, a fanfiction author whose works have been posted/sold/etc cannot claim copyright infringement. The legality here is that no one is allowed to profit in any way, without permission or licensing, from a derivative work. Charging more for just the book binding supplies itself, where one makes no profit but simply makes themselves whole, is where the whole thing is illegal. Now, the fanfiction authors themselves may not get punished for it, but we also do not want this online. All we can do is try to get the listings pulled and get the store shut down.

If you want to help, which is appreciated, all you can do is keep reporting. And if you are going to report this to Etsy; DO NOT REPORT IT FOR VIOLATING COPYRIGHT. REPORT IT AS ILLEGAL AND AGAINST THEIR POLICIES. ALSO REPORT THE STORE AND NOT JUST THE LISTINGS.

Thank you. Disclaimer: I am not a copyright lawyer, but that is my understanding of derivative works.

[earworms-daily]

Day 6: Eat Your Young - Hozier

Listen Here

Honey, I wanna race you to the table If you hesitate, the getting is gone I won't lie, if there's something to be gained There's money to be made, whatever's still to come

Song Fact Book

Released March 17, 2023

When I tell you this man is Irish, you better believe it because this song references a piece of satirical writing by Johnathon Swift very heavily.

A Modest Proposal is a writing in response to the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852) that suggested if there is no other way for the Irish to survive, it would be better for them to eat their young than let them live in such a terrible world. There are six ways suggested to eat their young. It was meant to be an inflammatory piece and bring people's attention to the horror of the hunger and desperation they lived in.

I could ramble on for a while about the history of the Irish Potato Famine, but I'll leave you with this: the song doesn't focus as much on the systemic destruction of a people group, but rather critiques the mindset of those in charge and how they decide to use those with less power and consider the loss of life inevitable and nothing less than the people's faults.

My Thoughts

This came out the very week that I finished reading A Modest Proposal so you better believe I played it on repeat until I'd figured out the meaning of each lyric and memorized every chord so that I could recognize it within a few beats of it being played. I had also researched the Irish Potato Famine pretty heavily a few months before the song was released so this really was the cherry on top of a hyper fixation of the year.

We could examine all the lusty undertones of this song, but I wanna talk about the social commentary going on here because I only noticed the lust after the horror.

Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young

Like holy shit this is some grotesque imagery

And it all really comes back to the military industrial complex of things where there's war profiteering and the "young" are brought into the military to continue feeding this machine and die in favor of raising a profit.

"Skinning the children for a war drum" -- generally when you skin a creature, you also plan to eat it so continuing on with the cannibalism motif here which feeds into the idea of the military industrial complex literally eating their country's young and using them up until there's nothing recognizable left

"Seven new ways that you can eat your young" -- in A Modest Proposal there are six ways listed to eat their young, now this implies that there's been a new way discovered since then, but also potentially plays into a theme of the seven deadly sins as gluttony, lust, and greed seem to be some of the major elements at play here

"Throw enough rope until the legs have swung" -- plays off the phrase "give them the rope that they'll hang themselves with", which is a fancy way of saying that if something potentially constructive or helpful is given to help those less well off, then they'll find some way to use it to harm themselves which is quite frankly untrue, but is reflective of the mindset carried by those Hozier is critiquing

[awlimagines]

The Flirty Changeling (First Meeting)

@kinokoshoujoart

Claire straightened to observe her field. The enormous expense of land past the tiny bit she managed to till was overgrown with stumps and large boulders. A frown creased her face at the sight. Gustafa had told her not to rush into doing everything in her first week. After she passed out and found herself at the clinic, Claire was forced to admit the older man was right. Everything didn’t need to be done immediately. Her tools required upgrades to clear the field without hurting herself. The young woman had a start on that. The General Store and other farmers had assured Claire that the turnips would be easiest to grow and sell. 

She had spent the last few days following Gustafa through the mountains, learning to forage and increase her profits. Now, Claire wanted a break. She had always dreamed of visiting town and making friends. Seeing how the green-hatted musician spoke of blending perfectly fine into the community gave her some confidence. Claire hesitated at the edge of her new home despite her enthusiasm and eagerness. The cobbled street extended far into the distance, leading to danger. Her every instinct screamed to remain away like her mother always taught her. People like her couldn’t be prosecuted for being different and loved by the Fae if she kept to herself. 

Long blonde locks shook the thoughts away as Claire forced herself forward. She had already visited the General Store and met four other families in Forgotten Valley. Admittedly, she had Gustafa to soothe her nerves for each encounter. Claire didn’t want to keep relying on him. She could stand on her own feet and do well for herself. Besides, she couldn’t keep using him as a crutch when there was no telling when the musician would move again. Claire didn’t desire to travel. She wanted a steady home with friends surrounding her. Walking into town was the first step in the process. 

Claire soon felt overwhelmed wandering the streets. Thankfully, the town was much smaller than she had read of the city. However, the thought did little to ease her anxiety. Her mother’s warnings and threats of a swift death should anyone discover her secret swam freely in her mind. As she took a shaky breath, her blue eyes caught sight of the neat sign indicating the library. Her feet made a direct path to enter. She had met both Basil and Mary in the wilderness surrounding Forgotten Valley. The father and daughter duo had been very welcoming, and unless Claire was mistaken, Mary tended to the library. A familiar face would be a welcome sight. Not to mention, she would love to see all the books they had. Claire’s home with her mother only had the same three books, and the young woman was eager to view more. 

Walls and shelves were lined with neat, orderly rows of books, though the room seemed devoid of people. Claire glanced through the shelves, searching for the bespectacled Mary. It wasn’t until the sound of voices trickled down that she noticed the stairs. Once at the top, Claire glanced down the aisle to her left to locate two others. She recognized Mary. The young woman sat neatly at the top of a ladder. A rag for dusting the shelves and books lay forgotten on the shelf beside her. Mary’s braid hung loosely over one shoulder as she frowned at the person below her. From their voice, Claire could guess a male spoke to Mary. His blonde locks sat nestled atop dark brown roots. From her view of his back, Claire figured the young man must be important. His white pants and vest he wore shone brightly with their immaculate cleanliness. The blue top had lines of golden thread accenting the bottoms of his sleeves. 

“C’mon, no one comes into this place. You could take a break and come hang out with me, is all I’m saying,” the young man persuaded, a hand resting on his hip as the other beckoned Mary to leave her perch. His words only seemed to sour the librarian’s mood further as her frown deepened and eyebrows furrowed. 

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Claire politely announced her presence.

“Oh, Claire! I’m so sorry; I didn’t hear you come in!” Mary exclaimed, clambering down from the ladder as the person speaking with her turned. Claire faced a flawlessly tanned young man whose golden eyes perfectly matched his hair. He flashed a brilliantly white smile as his eye caught her own. 

“Claire, this is Rock. He lives on the other side of Forgotten Valley, past Mother’s Hill. His parents run the Lei-Over Inn. Rock, this is Claire; she took over the farm here,” Mary introduced them before scowling at Rock. “You see, we have visitors to the library, and you’re interfering with my work.”

“It’s nice to meet you! A goddess has to favor me to have sent another beauty to keep me company! We should all go and have some fun instead of being cooped up indoors,” he happily chirped, immune to Mary’s mounting frustration. Claire’s blue eyes darted between the two as Mary opened her mouth to give Rock a piece of her mind.

“That sounds great! I’ll come by tomorrow to go through the books when you’re not so busy, and I haven’t had much chance to look around,” Claire quickly interjected, hoping to diffuse Mary’s tension. She had but a moment to register a flash of relief cross the other woman’s face. Another look Claire couldn’t quite place quickly replaced it. Was it pity? She didn’t have the chance to ponder further as Rock spoke. 

“Really?” His golden eyes widened, and his mouth hung open in shock. The sight made Claire think briefly of a guppy gasping for air before the young man recovered. “I mean, yeah! Of course, you’d want to! How could you pass up on spending time with a catch like me? Let’s go!” 

Claire found herself being steered from the library quickly. It wasn’t until they both stepped from the building that they paused. Rock stood alongside her with a frown, seemingly lost in thought. It didn’t seem the young man had any plans for if Mary or anyone else agreed. Claire fought down the giggle that rose in her throat at the thought. He looked like a puppy that unexpectedly caught something and didn’t know what to do next. 

“Would you like to walk and talk? We can go where the wind takes us?” Claire offered. 

“I like the way you think! Yeah, we don’t need plans!” he grinned widely before strolling toward her farm and Mother’s Hill. “So, how long have you been in Forgotten Valley? I don’t remember hearing about another cute farmer moving in.” 

“Barely more than a week,” Claire answered. She hadn’t been aware there was another new farmer in the area. But before she could ask more, Rock spoke again. 

“Oh, wow! So, you’ve been here for about the same amount of time. Did you take over a family farm, too? Well, Pony is sharing the land with Takakura—something about her dad being buddies with him and buying the farm together. They have a cow, and she seems focused on planting crops and getting a sheep. Ugh, she’s such a workaholic, honestly. Are you like that too?” 

“I was advised not to try doing too much at once. So, I was exploring the town during my free time.” 

“Oh, you should come visit our side then! Lou makes a great curry, but there’s no room at our inn unless you want to share a bed with me,” he teased with a wink. Claire jolted at the suggestion like a prey animal finding itself in the sights of a predator. She quickly searched for a way to change the topic without hurting Rock’s feelings. 

“So, um, what do you do for work? Do you help at the inn?”

“Work?” Rock grimaced at the question. “I don’t believe in working yourself to the bone for things that won’t matter anyway. I think we should all focus on enjoying life, and that’s what I do every day! I’ve thought about starting a fashion magazine to help Forgotten Valley improve their looks, but it sounds like a lot.” 

“I think you would make a great fashion magazine! Your outfit looks amazing, and I could certainly use some help,” Claire mumbled the last bit. Her overalls were comfortable and great for working on the farm, but walking next to Rock made her feel underdressed in comparison.

“Yeah, it’d be top tier if I did it. But I wouldn’t stress too much about your style. Not many people can pull off overalls like that. Most people I’ve seen in them don’t look half as cute. H-hey! Why is your face turning red?” Rock asked, his carefree demeanor slipping into anxious worry. 

“I-I just didn’t expect to hear such a nice compliment; thank you,” Claire murmured, pressing her cool hands to her face to fight the embarrassed flush. 

“Oh, uh, sure. Well, it’s about time for dinner, and Lou will miss me if I’m not there. I can’t go hungry all night, haha,” he forced a laugh before maintaining a leisurely walk as he fled the young farmer. He was far more used to the local population of eligible bachelorettes rolling their eyes in response to his compliments or advances. They certainly didn’t demurely avert their eyes or blush in response. Rock wasn’t sure how to respond or treat someone so sincere toward him. As the blonde struggled to rid himself of a rising blush on his cheeks, he figured it might be worth revisiting her to see if this was some weird fluke.

[jonathantaylorthomas]

Cutting out the middleman could be lucrative for the musician. Swift’s camp will receive roughly 57% of ticket sales, with theaters keeping the remaining revenues and AMC taking a small distribution fee (much less than what studios would have charged). As for exhibitors, many feel it’s a generous deal, noting that Marvel movies receive roughly 65% of box office profits.

Based on the “Eras Tour” movie’s massive pre-sales, Swift’s camp will receive at least $60 million, a sum that should climb even higher beyond opening weekend. That’s to say nothing of home entertainment. After its theatrical run, Swift can carve out a separate deal there — and may even choose to self-distribute again, where she could partner with a company like Apple to release the movie on iTunes.

How Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Concert Film Scrambled (and Saved) the Fall Movie Season

[lowcountry-gothic]

Critical Race Theory, by Jonathan Harris.

A 24”x 36” oil painting on canvas, Critical Race Theory depicts a non-specific white male rolling over images of Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Malcolm X with opaque white paint, in a gesture that boldly and beautifully illustrates the white-washing of black history. While many artworks from TRIPTYCH have continued to appear in the media and on social platforms since the start, when Harris posted his Critical Race Theory towards the end of November, it took a swift, fiery and continuing trip around the world; sparking conversation, support, and even infuriation across at least four platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. The painting’s viral journey began when The Other 98%—a non-profit focusing on social justice—posted the image before their 6.5 million followers; Black Lives Matter OKC picked it up and garnered thousands more hits and shares; and interest groups and the general public, from around the world, are continuing to share, follow, and passionately respond to the painting. Moved by the viral reaction to his painting, Harris shared that he was deeply disturbed by all the news surrounding Critical Race Theory being taught in schools. “There have already been schools removing race teachings, even as the debate goes on,” he states. “I believe that removing teachings about this country’s history and race is a beast that will never be full. If you allow some to be removed, they will want to remove more & more…eventually even historical figures like Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, and Malcolm X might be removed altogether,” Harris adds. “The road in the background of the paintings represents the road that African Americans have had to travel just to get this far, only to have our histories—our stories—potentially erased.” The artist fears that the CRT argument bodes poorly for the future and opens the door for history to repeat itself. The painting has struck a nerve with viewers who share similar concerns, and even garnered opposing responses from MAGA platforms. Its message has been both powerful and timely, and helps demonstrate the impact and importance of art in our lives.

[beardedmrbean]

The Justice Department and 30 states filed a major antitrust lawsuit Thursday seeking the breakup of Ticketmaster owner Live Nation Entertainment over what they allege is the company's unlawful dominance over the concert ticket sales industry.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, accuses the company of creating a monopoly over the live entertainment market that has harmed music fans, artists and promoters around the United States through higher prices and frustrating consumer experiences.

"The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "It is time to break up Live Nation."

"For too long, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have unfairly and illegally run the world of live events, abusing their dominance to overcharge fans, bully venues, and limit artists," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "When companies like Live Nation control every aspect of an event, it leads to bad blood -- concertgoers and sports fans suffer and are forced to pay more. Everybody agrees, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are the problem and it's time for a new era. Today, we are taking this important action to protect consumers and force big companies to stop abusing their influence and get in formation."

The sweeping lawsuit is a product of a more than two-year-long investigation into the company that has come under growing public scrutiny since late 2022, following a fiasco over presales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.

Ticketmaster, which controls more than 70% of the market for ticketing and live events, crashed during the first day of sales, leaving millions of fans out of luck or seeking higher-priced tickets on the secondary market.

The Justice Department's lawsuit accuses LiveNation of seeking to lock out competitors to protect what the company dubs its "flywheel," described in court documents as "a self-reinforcing business model that captures fees and revenue from concert fans and sponsorship, uses that revenue to lock up artists to exclusive promotion deals, and then uses its powerful cache of live content to sign venues into long-term exclusive ticketing deals, thereby starting the cycle all over again."

Live Nation did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the lawsuit, though its president, Joe Berchtold, has otherwise defended the company's business practices -- including during a contentious appearance before Congress early last year.

Live Nation released a statement Thursday following the lawsuit, saying, in part, that it's "absurd to claim that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are wielding monopoly power."

The lawsuit "blames concert promoters and ticketing companies -- neither of which control ticket prices -- for high ticket prices," Live Nation said. "It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than primary tickets cost. It blames Live Nation and Ticketmaster for high service charges, but ignores that Ticketmaster retains only a modest portion of those fees. In fact, primary ticketing is one of the least expensive digital distributions in the economy."

"The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing. Live Nation in no way fits the profile. Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than elsewhere, and frequently lower. And even accounting for sponsorship, an advertising business that helps keep ticket prices down, the company’s overall net profit margin is at the low end of profitable S&P 500 companies," Live Nation said.

"It is also clear that we are another casualty of this administration’s decision to turn over antitrust enforcement to a populist urge that simply rejects how antitrust law works," Live Nation later wrote, in part. "Some call this 'anti-monopoly,' but in reality it is just anti-business."

MORE: Justice Department to announce lawsuit against Live Nation over ticket prices: Sources

Among the practices singled out by the DOJ are allegations Live Nation exploited its relationship with the company Oak View Group that the lawsuit says describes itself as a "hammer" for Live Nation and has avoided bidding against the company for exclusive agreements with artists and major venues.

The company, according to the Justice Department, also allegedly carried out a pattern of threatening potential competitors seeking to enter the concert promotions market and creating a climate where venue owners would fear entering into contracts with Live Nation-Ticketmaster's rivals.

Live Nation-Ticketmaster is also accused of using lengthy exclusive contracts with venues that the lawsuit claims prevent them from switching to better or cheaper ticketing systems, and, in certain instances, allegedly blocked venues from even being able to use multiple ticketers for events.

Live Nation was already under a consent decree with the Justice Department after it approved its merger with Ticketmaster during the Obama administration in 2010 -- under conditions that included prohibiting the company from threatening concert venues that opted to use competing ticket firms. That decree was extended in 2019 after the department found the company violated its conditions.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of aggressive antitrust efforts by the Biden administration, which has brought similar enforcement efforts challenging companies like Apple, Google and Amazon over what it alleges are clear anti-competitive practices that have served to harm American consumers.

[rexcaliburechoes]

i don’t think diamant and alfred’s a-support is particularly out of character // literally no one asked

pardon for the typos and occasional salty tone; i really don’t have the energy to sift through every single line diamant says at 330 am, but i needed to get this out of my head because people in general seem to misunderstand why diamant says what he does and what his genuine intent is/could be and i think it deserves some expansion upon. thoughts under the cut:

i actually wanna start in their b-support because i think that adds some important context.

diamant: It's funny... I never thought I'd end up crossing swords with a rival prince outside of a battlefield. [...] It's nice to think that the two of us will come out of this war as friends. alfred: Hate to break it to you, but I'm not so sure that's possible. Things won't always be like this. diamant: They won't? alfred: Afraid not. By the time the war's over...we'll be even better buddies! diamant: Haha! I like the way you think, Prince Alfred.

i think it’s very important to note alfred’s response here. i don’t think he’s a stupid as fans tend to think he is. sure, he can be an airhead, and is definitely a muscle-focused brute, but he’s just as much the crown prince as diamant is. i see a lot of people, in general, downplaying how he actually behaves in game for the “cute uwu sunshine flower boi“ trope (this is a post for another time). “i’m not so sure [we’ll still be friends post-war] is possible“ is such a grounded in reality line. alfred is thinking forward to the future- a future where brodia and firene don’t consider each other allies. it’s possible he was alluding to his illness, as well, saying that “i will die before we truly consider each other best friends“ (this is another post for another time).

of course, he can see diamant’s concern, and recovers rather quickly.

to that end: we know that diamant is much more fragile than he really lets on. it’s emphasised throughout the game. there are so many examples of this textually- explicitly, even!- that are very obvious in his character traits.

diamant, to leif in their a-rank bond: The truth is, I’m not as confident as I may seem. I’ve never told anyone that─not even Alcryst. 

diamant, to ike in their a-rank bond: Improving my kingdom, surpassing my father as king… I’m not sure I can actually do all of that. 

diamant and lucina’s a-rank bond conversation quite literally outlines the anxiety he has in regard to his kingdom’s welfare:

diamant: If Brodia’s remaining forces fall, the kingdom could be destroyed. I can’t bear that thought. lucina: I know how hard it is to leave soldiers behind. For their sake, we must claim a swift victory. Brodia will not fall into ruin, Diamant. Never will you suffer the same anguish that I did. diamant: Thank you, Lucina. That’s reassuring. You may never claim a throne…but you are a great leader.

and that’s not even every single instance in his bond conversations with the emblems, or in his supports.

and... wait... doesn’t that remind you of something?

alcryst, in his c-support with diamant: I can't offer an even match—my skills pale in comparison to yours—but I'll learn what I can. How am I supposed to win against the prince of Brodia? Yes, I am a Brodian prince, but I'm not THE Brodian prince. I'm not you, Diamant.

gee, it’s almost as though the anxiety runs in the family.

but what does this have to do with his a-support with alfred?

well, if there’s one thing that seems to set his anxiety off (aside from his perceived perfection, which is a topic i’ve already covered enough as it is already), it’s the potential of war between the different countries of elyos, and how that directly conflicts with his moral statement on how war is bad and only profits those in power. he can’t help but harp on about it every chance he gets:

framme: Prince Diamant… You said you wanted to bring peace to the world, but… Is that really true? Then why does Brodia keep attacking Elusia? I read the histories of both kingdoms. There are helpless citizens in Elusia that fear Brodia. When you talk about ending war, do you really mean conquering Elusia? Is that peace? diamant: Brodia…is a kingdom of warriors. It does have a regrettable history of seizing territory by force. And it is true that some people in Elusia have been hurt by─and have grown to hate─Brodia. That’s an undeniable part of my kingdom’s past, but I won’t let it be part of our future. It may not be easy, but I mean what I say. There will be change.

timerra: Hey, between you and me…do you think peace is really possible? diamant: Ah. That’s a big question…and one I often worry about myself. Ultimately, as leaders, I think it’s our duty to believe that peace is possible. If we won’t fight to secure that kind of future for our people, who will? 

diamant: Brodia has a lot to answer for. Offering a token like that gem is the least I can do. ivy: It's true. Brodia has invaded our lands many times. I often wonder how my people would have fared without that suffering and bloodshed. diamant: My father was focused on our kingdom's affairs when he began expanding our territory by force. That singular focus is how things have always been done in Brodia...but that needs to change. My father is no longer here, but his influence remains. Change will take time. If there's an easier way, I haven't found it yet.

and so on.

okay, so why does he worry about breaking the non-aggression pact in the first place if he’s so adamant about keeping peace between the countries of elyos?? his support reads:

diamant: As you know, the kingdom of Brodia prioritizes military might above all else. Our kingdom is home to many ambitious people. That might explain those priorities. Our culture also teaches that it's honorable to gain things by force. Thanks to Queen Ève, our two kingdoms have signed a nonaggression pact. However... alfred: You're saying you can't promise it'll last. diamant: That’s right. alfred: What do you think will happen? diamant: I have my own hopes, but I won't just force them upon my kingdom. The will of my people must come first. I have to fight for whatever future serves them best. 

so what’s the big deal? he practically says “hey, uh, yeah, about that non-aggression pact... sorry, but we can’t promise we won’t try to attack you in the future“

but i ask for you, dear reader, who’s gotten this far, to turn your attention to his and citrinne’s support chain.

citrinne: [the nobles are] eager for a response. I've been sent here to ask you directly about your stance on future military campaigns. These nobles are acquaintances of my family. As a noble myself, I can't ignore their demands. diamant: ... [diamant’s textbox pauses here before continuing to the following text] War is profitable. The nobility is expecting to line their pockets for years to come. I, on the other hand, do not intend to wage any wars during my reign as king. citrinne: I'm so glad to hear that. The nobles won't like it, but you can leave them to me.

this ends up getting diamant (and citrinne) into hot water in their b-support:

citrinne: The nobles did not care for your response. I must be cautious in my exchanges with you. Rumors are quickly spreading that my family has been colluding with Brodia’s future king. 

naturally, this gets all nice and wrapped up in a cute little bow in their a-support:

diamant: Don’t panic. I didn’t mention you at all. I made it clear that I won’t wage any wars, but will prioritize a prosperous future for Brodia. That should put a stop to the rumors, right? No more whispers of collusion.

now, i know the focus here is on the accusation of collusion citrinne has levied at her, but i think it’s important to note that the nobles did not care for diamant’s response. furthermore, his end note explicitly discusses how the nobles dis not like diamant’s plan for brodia for the future:

As the new king of Brodia, Diamant ordered a halt to all invasions and worked to reform his people's attitudes on Elusia. Some nobles resisted Diamant at first, but his vision for the future earned their favor. By exporting ore, Brodia was able to shift to a booming, trade-based economy.

let me emphasise this: the nobility does NOT like diamant. at the very least, not at first. he even says how he regrets having to lean on the nobility for financial support... but unfortunately, he will have to burn that bridge when he gets there in terms of dealing with having this held over his own head as brodia’s crown prince.

diamant, to alfred in their c-support: I was drafting requests for funding to send to Brodia's nobles. Our military needs support. Any loans will be used as political leverage in the future. I'm worried...but out of options. 

through this series of textual evidence, we are presented with two facts:

diamant is just as anxious as alcryst about his rule as king and how he envisions fostering peace as his father’s son (he’s just much more apt at hiding it than alcryst).

the nobility does not like him, in spite of his status as crown prince.

so, inevitably, when alfred steps wrong as says “yeah... we’re not gonna be best friends forever“, diamant is very prone to going into overdrive and overthinking this singular sentence... which snowballs into “i don’t think brodia will honour the non-aggression pact“.

diamant’s thoughts and worries about if he will actually be able to lead brodia into a peaceful future- profitable for his country, without relying upon being aggressive in war- quickly spiral out of control because, even if he knows logically it is not true, it doesn’t mean that he recognises it emotionally. alfred tries to reassure him, and it works, actually! it works by breaking him out of that spiral and reminds him that “not everyone wants war, and there will be plenty of opportunities to be loved by your people in peace times, too.“

alfred: I understand. I'm in the same tight spot. That said, everything'll be fine. You've got nothing to worry about. diamant: How can you be sure? alfred: Well, I mean... Everyone from Brodia seems so nice. I can't speak for the whole kingdom, but all the Brodians I've met were nice enough. I don't think they'd want a war over nothing. I think things are gonna work out. I trust the good folks of Brodia that way. diamant: You trust in the goodwill of others? Even the citizens of neighboring kingdoms? alfred: People are people, no matter where they're from. Is trusting in them so bad? diamant: Haha. No, it's not bad at all. In fact, trust might be the most important quality for a leader to have.

"people" can mean "the common people", but given how diamant struggles with the noble court... he likely means the nobles that want to use his need for funding as leverage against him, who want to pit him and citrinne against each others, who don't share his profitable future without war.

alfred can recognise that diamant is having a tough time worrying over his status as prince- about if he'll be liked, if he will rule well, if anything fleeting will ever last- because he understands him as a crown prince to another crown prince. they may not have the same exact struggle, but alfred intimately knows the impermanence of promises, legally binding or otherwise (this is a post for another time).

this is not out of character in the slightest, for either of them. this is a layered interaction exploring the exact minutiae of how both of them perceive the world: one through fleeting impermanence and acceptance, and the other through anxiety and sheer stubbornness,