#and the fact that she's now hinting at 1989???

[iheartmoons]

so thoughts on taylor releasing a book? me, personally??? i know she's about to release atyd to the world.

[taniahylian]

Paulina and Regulus

Okay, I'mma post this cuz I think I'm going insane (I probably am), but here me out. There's too many coincidences that point out to there being a connection between the two, even if don't know exactly what kind of connection.

First let's start for the most obvious thing... Paulina's blue polka dot scarf.

It's not the same as Regulus', obviously, but it is very similar. Yet, if this was the only coincidence I wouldn't be making this theory... yet here I am.

Next it's this peace sign sticker that's next to Paulina's picture at the restaurant, but also on Regulus' backpack. Again, on it's own could be just a coincidence, but maybe it's not.

In that picture it says Apple on the background, and there's an apple in that same poster, and I don't think I need to saw how this connects to Regulus. To the side there's also a vinyl disc, like those Regulus always carries with her, which wouldn't be a big deal... except we're in the 1990's, when using CD's was already a lot more popular than vinyls.

And there's also the fact that Paulina's mom married J's father, who was from a world-famous family of alchemists. How is this relevant to Regulus? Well, she's an alchemical genius. Maybe Paulina's mom had an interest in alchemy too and that's how she ended up meeting J's dad.

Now... I want to point out that, at least to me Regulus and Paulina look quite similar.

It's not a one-to-one resemblance, of course, but they look similar enough for me to think they might be related, maybe, especially since Paulina's blue scarf was a gift from her parents. That said... as funny as it'd be to say to Regulus "So you are a mother!", I don't think that's the case at all. Firstly because Paulina is French, while Regulus is British, but most importantly because Paulina is human; she doesn't have any powers at all.

Of course we don't know Regulus' lineage, so she could be only half-arcanist, and therefore she'd be able to have a mostly-human child if she married a pure blood human, but... I don't think that's the case. Sonetto says in ch1 that Regulus' talent is rated "S", which most likely mean she's either pure blood, or very close to it, so any child she had would be at least a half-blood arcanist.

That said... the dates would match. Regulus was 15 in 1966, and lets assume Paulina was the same age when she left J, let's say 1989, one year before the event takes place. That'd mean Paulina was born in 1974, and Regulus would've been 23 years old at that point. However, if she is Paulina's mom, she died very young (around 30 years old?), as we know Paulina and J became orphans soon after becoming sibilings... and, believe it or not, the fact that Regulus would die young is actually hinted at by Mr. Apple in the mini chapter after ch7.

So... it is possible that Regulus had a child with a French person, said child, Paulina, happened to be born without powers despite her arcanist lineage (like Kumar, for example), then they moved to San Francisco, where Regulus met J's father, bonded with him thanks to their shared love of alchemy, got married and then died soon after. However... idk, it doesn't seem right to me? I think there might be different kind of connection between them, although I'm not sure what.

Maybe I'm just losing my head, idk. Most likely, honestly, but it's fun to speculate XD

Anyways, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.

[pinkorchidsinspring]

Taylor swifts’ KARMA Album evidence:

Throughout the eras tour Taylor has had pink for Lover on her 7th finger as seen here:

However, in Cincinnati Taylor switched it up between n1 and n2. Taylor had Orange in place of lover.

We could just be clowning around, but this is the same woman who said:

Yeah- nope, so now that we’ve established that we can never be too curious-

Let’s stack up the evidence that karma is a thing shall we?

Her fingernail Easter egg obviously

The song “Karma” closing out every show

The orange door left on the stage at the end of the shows

Her recording at “Electric Lady Studios” all week, -electric just like how she was in light bulbs in the Karma music video.

Electric lady studios being known for producing some of the best rock albums known to man:

The fact that Taylor always fades into her eras, much like how reputation tour ended with color, but Taylor was playing electric guitar at the end of 1989 shows. Very rock esque, yes?

This iconic moment via a Vogue interview a couple months after the 1989 would tour ended, in 2016 over a year and a half before the release of reputation. “Karma is real”.

Not to mention the “bleachella” look that originated because of a vogue covershoot in April 2016. It is assumed that this covershoot was supposed to be PR for “Karma” the album, because reputation won’t come out til October of the next year. -Due to the punk/rocker vibes of all her public outfits during this era.

The clock in “The Man” music video putting (in orange of course) “karma” inbetween “1989” and “Reputation” with the word “missing” above it.

The Orange ensemble in the “look what you made me do” music video

It would make sense that it never ended up being released because of all the kimye drama, Taylor’s rep was “goin’ down” and it wasn’t the ideal time to release an album that wasn’t garenteed to kill the charts via sales like reputation did.

The reappearance of orange, especially on her album symbolizing nails could mean amazing things for karma truthers..🫢

Could Taylor be hinting at the Karma drop?

[gayloringinplainsight]

why is all of your "evidence" so contridictory? if she came out on lesbian visibility day and all her past relationships are pr beards, why does it matter the bisexual hints she drops? AND if she IS bisexual, why come out on lesbian visibility day and have so many lesbian flag themed hints? why would she be in pr beard relationships if shes openly bisexual?

I DONT CARE ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT. I DONT CARE ABOUT HER SEXUALITY. IF SHE IS OR IS NOT LGBT DOESNT HAVE ANY BEARING ON MY LIFE UNLESS SHE STOPS POLLUTING THE EARTH WHEN SHE COMES OUT. JUST EXPLAIN HOW THE EVIDENCE WORKS. NOT IN LYRICS. NOT MUSIC VIDEOS. NOT PICTURES FROM INTSTAGRAM. NOT SOMEONE ELSE'S TIK TOKS. NOT HINTS. JUST TANGIBLE PROOF.

Okay first idk why you need to scream at me. Calm the fuck down. And if you don't care about Taylor Swift then I'm not sure why you're on my blog screaming in all caps about her, but let's do this anyways cause I'm in a verbose mood.

Second, it's not my evidence, it's her evidence and her flagging, and I have eyes and a brain capable of a modicum of critical thinking.

And I don't think any of the evidence is contradictory but I kind of understand what you're getting at.

So let me begin by saying that I have no strong opinions on if she's bi or pan or lesbian or fluid or whatever. I think there was a lot of bi flagging in the 1989 era, both bi and pan flagging during the Lover era, and then there's been a lot more lesbian flagging during the Midnights/eras tour period. So if I had to venture a guess I'd say she used to identify as bi and now identifies as lesbian, but I don't feel super strongly about it and I also don't think there's really enough evidence to say for sure one way or another, only that there's more than enough evidence to be certain she's some flavor of queer.

What additionally contributes to the lack of clear answers on labelling is the fact that she does flagging on lesbian visibility day, and then mixes bi flagging and pan flagging in the same music video. But I don't think it's fair to say that if she's (for the sake of argument) bi, then she can only do bi-specific flagging. She can do any kind of flagging she wants, and that doesn't diminish the queer message she's coding. It might also be that she simply identifies as queer or unlabeled, and therefore feels free to mix and match all of these things. Or maybe her label is more complex and reliant on the split attraction model, like bi-romantic lesbian, or homo-romantic bisexual/pansexual.

To address some of your specific statements, she didn't "come out on lesbian visibility day". At least not explicitly. But she flagged very hard and said something that could be construed as coming out in a glass-closeted kind of way.

We also don't know that all of her public relationships have been PRships. They might have been, and I think a lot of them were, but we don't actually know. I think you're also asking, if every public relationship with men was PR, why would she ever flag as bi? But just because the relationships we know about were potentially PR doesn't mean there couldn't have been relationships with men that we don't know about. A great example of this is Martin Johnson, who many people think was a real relationship (and the muse for Dear John).

All this goes back to the point that she can do any kind of flagging she wants. She's not restricted to bi flagging if she's bi, or lesbian flagging if she's a lesbian. Perhaps she vacillates between labels. Perhaps her labels are more complex like bisexual lesbian. Perhaps in addition to whatever her own label is, she wants to give visibility to other queer identities.

Just because we don't know her exact brand of queer doesn't mean the evidence is contradictory. It means we don't know her exact brand of queer.

Lastly, to address your final demand where you want tangible proof except not lyrics or videos or social media posts or hints. Which is a request that's not really based in reality. Because that's exactly where the tangible proof lies. It's in the enormous pile of queer flagging that can't be explained away. It's in the performances where she sings "I want her midnights." It's in her panoply of rainbow outfits. It's in statements like "Gay pride…makes me, me!" It's in all the mv scenes of glass closeting. It's in Jack accidentally outing her. It's in the rep prologue. It's in lyrics that reference hairpin drops and secrecy and religious guilt and fear of being found out. It's in her literally telling us "I prefer hiding in plain sight." This is all queer flagging and if you know how to read it then you can read it. And if you can't or refuse to, then that's on you. If you want to wait for her to shout her identity from the rooftops before you think there's tangible proof, then feel free to wait for that day. I think it will come. But in the meantime, queer flagging IS proof. And the sheer volume and scope and clarity of it makes it tangible.

[notafunkiller]

People are already hating on the bucky and yelena ship? I mean at first I wasn't sure about it but the more I think about it I think it's cute. I will never understand people shipping bucky with Steve or Sam, they were just friends! It's also funny how they have no problem shipping straight male characters with other males but oh no don't ship yelena with a man that's not aloud wtf?

PLEASE, I am so tired of this shipping police. They hated Bucky and Yelena when the cast was announced even!

They were upset with people making Bucky x Yelena videos when Black Widow came out too just because people were excited to see Sebastian's Bucky and Flo's Yelena interracting. So many fans who want them together are staying silent on social media to avoid hate.

So basically for them it's okay: to ship Bucky with Sam or Steve even though there is no hint at all Bucky is even bi, let alone gay (especially since he was seen on dates and flirting only with women till now), to ship Kate and Yelena, WinterWidow despite MCU Nat and Bucky having no romantic connection (timeline + characters' storylines + chemistry speaking would have made 0 sense anyway)...

And of course, let's not forget they keep saying Yelena is aro (as if some aro people don't date btw) despite the fact her creator debunked this on Twitter here. Wanting representation is wonderful, but this is not my point.

They also bring up Bucky and Yelena's ages, and they are wrong again... What huge age gap, though? Cause there are around 3 years between them, and to be honest, Yelena "lived" more than him.

2024 physically speaking (and without the snap) she is 30/31 (born in 1988/1989) and Bucky is around 33.

We can't count the age in cryo or the snap since he did not live his life.

This would be Bucky's timeline (if the calculations are wrong, he'd be still be at least 31 and max 36)

(I don't count the snap in Yelena's age either)

I talked more about this whole ship shaming phenomen here.

Bucky and Yelena are so similar but also different, they are protective and kind and confused... they feel guilty and lost and they udnerstand each other on another level. Thry would not gold each other back and they could learn and build things together. They are both stubborn and very loving. They both let themselves be definied by something and need(ed) to learn how to snap out of it (+ losing Natasha and Steve). Yelena wanting to live in New York...

There is a lot of chemistry and I think a friendship/companionship changing into a relationship would be great for them.

I made some parallels between them here and here.

I find this hate r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s!

[spade-riddles]

Thought it was interesting that Taylor said she "pushed people away" after Snakegate because she thought she couldn't trust anyone. The implication being that she was wrong, and shut out people who just wanted to support her.

I understand why the girls let the feud narrative sustain itself for so long, but I can't imagine Taylor is really okay with people believing Karlie would EVER stab her in the back by colluding with Scooter. That seems like something she'd want to put to bed if she could. Riddles have hinted for years now that a reexamination of the Rep era would exonerate Karlie's reputation, and this does seem like a perfect opportunity to do that.

I don't know, even as an outsider, there's just something sickening about the fact that people are still talking shit and believing all these toxic rumors about Karlie, when we know she was actually Ms "I'll always have Taylor's back", "she built a fire to keep me warm" at this time. I'm a nobody and it makes me angry. I can't imagine how Taylor feels about it. I wonder if her comments about pushing people away were sowing seeds for a future reunion. Either to rewrite the narrative and prove Karlie stayed all along, as a loyal friend in secret, or to give us a narrative of "I was wrong, I pushed Karlie away, I pushed her into the wedding with Josh because I couldn't be brave and have faith in someone who NEVER did anything not to deserve it".

I could see us getting a song like this on Rep, something like Question?, that really spells out this whole concept in a way fans can't deny. To this day, I have never seen an explanation for that song that even halfway makes sense, if it's not about Kissgate. It's basically DWOHT, retold through time and distance. Taylor used Suburban Legends the same way on 1989 TV, so I could absolutely see this happening.

[munsonsreputation]

y’all are never gonna hear me shut the fuck up about this…but this is screaming 1989 is it NOT?!

I might be delusional but I am delusional for a REASON! this is clearly 1989 coded in some odd yet very obvious way…just bear with me here

1989 is the next re-record that might come before this year ends or possible early next year! in the karma music video there are multiple Easter eggs that hint to 1989tv but specifically the last scene….

she brings coffee to her supposed “partner” and the coffee has a design in which the clock strikes 12.

Since the announcement of Midnights, the clock has been a symbol throughout Taylor’s career — the variants of Midnights, the different editions (3am, till dawn, ect.), even the opening visual to the eras tour.

could this possibly be another tease for the clock to be used to announce 1989tv and the possible music video we could be getting??!

in the song “you are in love” she sings “coffee at midnight” and this is obviously the scene at the end of the karma music video!

while the song is loosely based off Jack Antonoff and his then partner Lena Dunham — the song is basically about two people who fall in love and it gushes about the simple and mundane life between the lovers while also acknowledging the moment they fall in love.

now I’m not saying Joe and Taylor are together or dating, but I am saying there is a possibility he could be staring in the “You Are In Love” (Taylor’s Version) Music Video!

1989 is an iconic era in itself and we were gifted with some of the most amazing, memorable, dramatic, and fun music videos (bad blood, ootw, wildest dreams, style, shake it off, blank space, and new romantics)

but what makes “You Are In Love” different is the domesticity of love and how it seems to not be so chaotic. in the song she expresses literally the different moments in which she and her partner fall in love through just living in each others lives in day to day scenarios.

EXAMPLES:

One look, dark room. Meant just for you. Time moved too fast. You play it back

Small talk, he drives. Coffee at midnight

Morning, his place. Burnt toast, Sunday. You keep his shirt. He keeps his word

You two are dancing in a snow globe, 'round and 'round

in the final scene of the karma music video we see that everything fades into the cup of coffee and ends up being served to her lover. this is symbolism in which I think means that her past with other partners seems to just fade away now that’s she’s with him because… SHES IN LOVE! HES IN LOVE! THEY ARE IN LOVE!

to receive a music video for this song specifically would mean so much to the 1989 era considering the fact that during this time Taylor was under scrutiny for her love life. we saw that depicted in blank space, a satire song she wrote based off what tabloids thought of her and her love life.

“You Are In Love” clearly talks about the softness in which her and her partner have in private. That while they may fight and argue, they talk it out nonetheless and make it work for them.

“He keeps his word

And for once, you let go

Of your fears and your ghosts

One step, not much

But it said enough

You kiss on sidewalks

You fight and you talk”

the whole point of “you are in love” is to express the highs and lows of a relationship outside of the opinions of everyone else, specifically the media.

“You can hear it in the silence

You can feel it on the way home

You can see it with the lights out”

in the lines above, it clearly has parallels to other Taylor songs in which she talks about fame and how it constantly follows her wherever she goes — an issue she has wanted to avoid when it comes to her love life. but in these lines it talks about when her and her partner are alone — just them by themselves together. they are in love and they can feel it even when no one is watching.

and where is no one watching?

in this scene where she brings him the coffee!!!! this is the dark room meant just for them! their shoulder brush as she sits down beside him! this is either his place or hers — THEIRS!

This was just a GLIMPSE of domesticity when it come to romantic love — but I’m assuming when we ✨hopefully ✨ get the mv we will see more of it! see the two of them just spending time together in a home, like in Lover mv!!!!

Now you’re probably thinking where does Joe Keery fit in all of this?! I HAVE ADHD AND I GOT OFF TOPIC IM SORRY!

we all know Taylor worked with Sadie for the atw 10 min version short film! in her actors on actors interview she discusses writing past Taylor in the film with Sadie in mind Bcs she saw her in stranger things and realized she wasn’t a romantic lead and would be perfect for the role! (Time stamp: 6:12)

knowing this information and that Taylor has definitely watching stranger things, could she possible be writing the “You Are In Love” music video with Joe Keery in mind?

Joe Keery hasn’t stared as a romantic lead in any movies / tv shows. in stranger things he only played Nancy’s love interest for 1 season before becoming the beloved babysitter we all know today. In Free Guy, while his character does crush on Jodie Comer, he isn’t necessarily the “romantic lead,” that part belongs to Ryan Reynolds. Then in Spree he plays a fucking murderer so yeah….

I’m thinking that Taylor really loved Joe’s performance in ST and possibly saw his other projects and wanted to see him in a larger role (romance wise). I personally think he would be perfect as a character in the “you are in love” music video or possibly short film!

Steve Harrington had a redemption arc but I don’t think we’ll be seeing him GRT back together w/ nance in s5 + the ending of Free Guy is left open so we really don’t know if his character and Jodie Comer’s stay together.

I know I’m probably sounding crazy or delusional but this is just a loosely based theory on what I see and know from the pics and Easter eggs! Taylor street style as of late has been giving 1989 and we all know how she also drop hints with clothing and what not so this is just a fun little thing I put together

this is just a theory so please don’t come at my neck….LOL! I know I sound delulu, but this is just all in fun and good nature as a fan of Taylor and Joe!

Let me know your thoughts and possible other Taylor and Joe collab theories! 🙈🫶🏽✨

[brightlotusmoon]

I get emails from the CBR newsletter (Comic Book Resources), and this was the latest one. Note: I have not seen "Agatha All Along" yet but it's on my pirate account.

_

Hi, reader! Brian Cronin here, I've been writing about comic books for CBR for almost 20 years now, primarily through my "Comics Should Be Good" series of recurring features (like Comic Book Legends Revealed, Drawing Crazy Patterns, and When We First Met). I've written two books about comics for Penguin-Random House – Was Superman a Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed and Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? And Other Amazing Comic Book Trivia! and one book, 100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, from Triumph Books.

In this newsletter, I'll share some of my knowledge of comic book history with you. This time around, we're looking at how the Marvel comic book universe never explained how, exactly, Scarlet Witch came to have two teenage sons in the comics. The TV series, Agatha All Along, has come up with its own explanation, which makes a lot more sense than the comic book explanation, which is logical, of course, as the comic book explanation doesn't make ANY sense.

How did Scarlet Witch's kids first appear in the comics?

Back in 1985, Steve Englehart and Richard Howell did a year-long Vision and Scarlet Witch mini-series that centered around Vision and Scarlet Witch moving to the suburbs, and trying to live an "ordinary" life away from the Avengers. Of course, since they ARE Avengers, the bad guys keep coming to THEM, and in an early issue, the heroes are captured by the the magical villains, the Salem's Seven, who prepare to sacrifice Wanda to Lucifer. There was a whole bunch of magick energy being contained by the leader of the Salem's Seven, Vertigo, and when Vertigo was defeated, there was now all of this magickal energy with no one to control it. So the Scarlet Witch takes control of it, while seeing a vision of her magic mentor, Agatha Harkness, basically hinting to Wanda that she should use the power for her own benefit.

Scarlet Witch gained a great deal of magical power

For lack of a better term, at that point Wanda essentially used the magick to make magic sperm there, impregnating her. In the next issue Wanda learns that she IS, in fact, pregnant, as Doctor Strange gives her both a medical exam AND a magical exam, as he essentially confirms that the magick created a baby inside of her. At the end of the series, Wanda gives birth to twin boys.

What happened to Wanda's children?

A few years later, during John Byrne's West Coast Avengers run (Englehart had brought the Vision and Scarlet Witch over to Avengers West Coast right before he left the book, with Byrne eventually becoming his replacement on the series), the twins, Billy and Tommy, begin to disappear whenever the Scarlet Witch isn't concentrating on them. In 1989's Avengers West Coast #52 (by Byrne and Mike Machlan), Agatha Harkness explains that the Scarlet Witch used her reality-altering powers to create the babies, using two souls she got from pieces of Mephisto.

Wanda created her own babies

Okay, so the babies were now gone. Years later, Scarlet Witch was reminded of her lost kids and she went nuts on the Avengers, blaming them for her lost kids. Basically a total mental breakdown. She destroyed Avengers Mansion and killed a few Avengers, including her former husband, the Vision.

How did Scarlet WItch's children return?

After Scarlet Witch's breakdown, the Avengers decided to disband for a while. During this period, a team of young heroes were forced to come together to answer an emergency situation the now-disbanded Avengers couldn't. The team ultimately began to be referred to as the Young Avengers. One of the members of the team was Billy Kaplan, a teenager who lived in Manhattan with his parents. He had a few different powers, including spell-casting. In 2005's Young Avengers #10 (by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, Rob Stull, Dave Meikis, Dexter Vines and Justin Ponsor), the team freed another teen named Thomas Shepherd, who looked like Billy's twin.

In the next issue, a Skrull explains that Billy (now going by Wiccan) and Tommy (now known as Speed) are Scarlet Witch's lost twins!

Billy learns the truth

Billy and Tommy eventually accept that they are Scarlet Witch's reincarnated kids. In 2008's Young Avengers Presents #3 (by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Alina Urusov) they meet up with an old Avengers villain who once thought Scarlet Witch had used pieces of HIS soul to create her children. He realized that he was wrong, and when he met Billy and Tommy, he agreed that they WERE Scarlet Witch's sons. Eventually, in 2011's Avengers: Children's Crusade #6 (by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, Mark Morales, John Livesay, Dave Meikis and Justin Ponsor), the twins meet Scarlet Witch (who is no longer mentally unbalanced) and she uses her powers to confirm that Billy and Tommy ARE her children.

Okay, so how does this make any sense?

The answer is that it doesn't, not really. The closest we have come to an answer about what the heck Billy and Tommy's deal are in the comics occurred in 2016's Scarlet Witch #8 (by James Robinson and Tula Lotay)

Some theories about the Scarlet Witch's children

There, Wanda lays down the two most realistic possibilities. Either Billy and Tommy, in effect, took over the souls of Billy Kaplan and Thomas Shepherd, or the souls traveled in time and joined them before they were being born and Billy and Tommy were simply raised by other people until their teen years. As you might imagine, either of those scenarios is rather sketchy. In both scenarios, the "real" Billy Kaplan and Thomas Shepherd had their existences destroyed for the sake of Wanda's children.

And even there, if they were just "souls," then why do Billy and Tommy LOOK like Wanda and her twin brother, Pietro? Why do they have superpowers like Wanda and Pietro? Wanda and Pietro aren't even mutants anymore, so how would Billy and Tommy inherit their powers, if only their "souls" are connected to Wanda? There can't be a genetic component because Billy and Tommy aren't genetically related to Wanda, and there couldn't be a genetic connection ANYways, because Wanda is not a mutant. None of it makes any sense.

Which is why Agatha All Alongcomes up with a third possibility...

How does Agatha All Along explain Billy as Scarlet Witch's son?

Close up of Teen Joe Lock with a blue magical headband that suggests he's Billy Maximoff (aka Wiccan) from Agatha All Along

First off, the show dispenses with the "he looks like Wanda" deal right off the bat, as Billy isn't meant to look like the teen version of Billy from WandaVision. So that solves one problem right away. They also solve the powers issue a bit, as if his powers are all magically-derived and/or telepathically derived, then just his mind alone would be enough for him to access said powers.

Finally, the show takes the approach of finding a teenager who HAD ALREADY DIED, and a spell by Wanda placed her son's soul into the DEAD TEEN's body. It is still certainly macabre, of course, but it takes away the sketchiness of Billy erasing the "real" Billy Kaplan, as the "real" Billy Kaplan was dead from an unrelated accident, so it wasn't Billy's responsibility for his death.

While the comics still have the genetic problem to deal with, otherwise, that's probably the solution the comic books should go with in the future, that Billy and Tommy took over the bodies of teens who had died. It makes a LITTLE sense, as opposed to the current comic book position of, "Eh, whatever, let's just not think about it."

-

[jewishbarbies]

Is it just me or was the Midnight Era a flop compared to all the ones before, including Red TV?

Like for real, instagram suggested me a post the other day and I had a whole 30 seconds after reading "Swift's latest album Midnights" when I was like, WHAAAAT?? And then I remembered. I literally listened to it when it came out and have been reading posts on this blog ever since but somehow I sort of had forgotten that Midnights was an actual album? This ""era"" feels like she just dropped a bunch of singles with no album attached and thinking about it now the whole release and Era in general made little to no noise compared to the past. Not talking about the paid good reviews or the fake records, what I mean is just that the Midnights Era itself fell flat right after the release. We had a couple of months between the announcement and release week where she was attending every event and her fans were all excited about the way it all seemed 1989 Era 2.0 but then the album dropped, there were a couple of weeks of the media reporting her new "record-breaking achievements" and then... nothing? Even with the tour and the gossip hints she gave through the lyrics it still baffles me how little people talked about Midnights outside of her fandom.

I think that before the He*ly backlash she was going to ditch the "Midnights Era" completely (except for the tour performances) because she lost interest as soon as she realized it made zero impact aside from the artificially boosted sales/streams and her fans, but then she decided to try and promote another single from Midnights for her damage control collab with Ice Spice. It still didn't change the fact that no one cares about this one album, I recall both Fearless TV and Red TV having more longevity in terms of general interest and they're both old material. Her popularity is definitely fading, a little bit at least.

[donnyosmond]

She doesn't specifically say it was Jo but.... we all know that it was Jo and I think the hints Mindy dropped were pretty clear. Truly D E V A S T A T I N G news not only do I not get my Facts of Life reboot featuring the OG cast but I really didn't want to learn this about Nancy McKeon I really wanted to like her. 😭 I have had my suspicions about her tho, she's blown off like every reunion and there's also a clip of her talking about how much she likes and respects Trump (it's from like 1989 but still... sus behavior).

[starmaniamania]

In case you missed it - Starmania 2022 - Acte 2

Same deal as with Acte 1 -- stuff that might be widely known or not, but which I'm writing down for future reference and so we can compare notes! :p

Needless to say, just like part 1 but also maybe even more so, this is FULL OF SPOILERS, so if you want to preserve the mystery or find out for youself etc., do not read it! :p

Y'a de la police dans toute la ville

There are two magazines, one with each Stella on the cover (I think it's the same picture as the one they use for the Stella portrait that's hanging in her villa)

Obviously the whole "boulevard du crépuscule" thing is a ref to the last scene of "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) during which ageing ex-star Nora Desmond descends the grand staircase of her own villa to get her infamous "closeup with Mr DeMille"; except she's actually insane and is being arrested and led to jail for murdering someone. This is not specific to the 2022 version but it does explain its passion for stairs in the Stella villa!

Les adieux/Le télégramme

On top of Stella's piano: some sculptures (awards?), the same portrait of her (twice I think) + an image of her sitting on a moon. I don't know if that's about anything in particular, but it always makes me think of Sabrina Lory sitting on a star in Starmania 1989.

The telegram that the maid brings has the actual text handwritten on it.

Speaking of the maid, I've mentioned it before but as far as I can tell the rule for who's playing is: Maag!Stella with Jeanne!Maid, Jeanne!Stella with Alice!Maid, and sometimes Gabrielle fills in for the maid if Jeanne or Alice aren't up to it I guess! I've never actually seen Alice be Maag's maid but I know it's happened.

The face acting of the maid is so funny always -- she goes from incredulity (at what Zéro is saying and at the fact that Stella seems taken by it) to anger, and then at the very end ("Devant la destinée...") she facepalms with the telegram in hand.

Trio de la jalousie

The camerawoman who films Cristal's message (and it's always been a woman as far as I know, for reasons that used to be unclear to me but are now obvious) is actually being stashed in the trunk of the car; one of the Etoiles Noires gets her out, and puts her back inside at the end.

The car is being driven by a stage tech

During William!Johnny days, you can still see him as an Etoile Noire in the background of Cristal's recorded message that airs during the Zéro Janvier meeting

Obvious but didn't really really compute for me for a bit, this scene shows not only the break between Johnny and Sadia, but also the departure of a bunch of Etoiles Noires who leave with her.

Meeting de Zéro Janvier

The flag bearers, who are dancers, mouth the "payapapa, zéro janvier président de l'occident" bits but none of them is mic-ed, the sounds comes from the wings, as do almost all additional vocals which are done live from the "choir cabin" or a stand-alone mic, as seen here with Jeanne Jerosme doing the Stone harmonies (I'm guessing) or Aurel during (David's Blues??)

Depending on the day and the Zéro, there are hints of violence in the way Zéro handles Stella -- he's all smiles when introducing her to the crowd, but sometimes you get a burst of anger or brutality in the way he grabs her arm and releases it, which is super chilling.

If you focus on Stella's face during the presentation of Zéro's agenda, it takes you on a real journey of realization of what, exactly, she hitched her wagon to. Big "YIKES" energy!

La procession du Gourou/Sex shops (instrumental)

Some people never appear in this scene, whether they're playing their main roles that day or not. As far as I can tell, that's Simon, Alex, Côme and Miriam. I think I've seen everyone else at least once, and some people more than seems logical (as previously mentioned, William is part of the procession even on the days where he's being Johnny, which makes no sense and has not been explained to me in any satisfying way yet :p) I've heard of Côme being in it exactly once, but frankly I'll believe it when I see it :p (it was a Sat afternoon on tour when some dancers were off and someone from the cast was in the audience, so I guess they could have been short-staffed!)

As a consequence, according to Simon himself, this scene features some pre-recorded background vocals. I guess there aren't enough people off-stage to really make it sound the way it should!

The choreography of the scene changed partway through the first tour, with Stella dancing much less and doing more of a confused "where am I, what's going on, who are these people" sort of thing. I thought it worked really well; I think it's due to Maag's physical injury which might have made it difficult for her to do the full cardio-heavy choreography.

The Gourou's magical apparition trick is very simply done by having whoever is doing gourou show up straight from the back of the stage, crouching, while the lights distract you

The Gourou and Stella share a microphone during that scene; she obviously can't dance with a mic in her hand. After this scene, the maid brings Stella her mic back at the same time as her shawl during "Le retour à la villa"

During Sex Shops you can make out the silhouette of the "agent secret" looming in the background and stalking around the stage. Dancers mime more or less explicit sex acts (I've seen people full on wanking, or making obscene tongue wags while kneeling in front of Stella)

Le retour à la villa/Ego Trip

The maid brings Stella her shawl (the same one she has over her head during the Act 1 Stella at the Underground Café cameo??)

in the few seconds of the ramp-up to "Retour à la villa," Stella usually messes up her hair more to really make the "J'arrive de chez mon coiffeur" line ultra funny.

The secret agent/maid side-show during Ego Trip: starts with awkward flirtation, sometimes born out of concern if, for example, Zero throws Stella's black dress directly at the maid. They disappear behind the stairs where the Agent takes off part of his costume/unfastens his belt, and then starts with the maid getting some nice oral on the stairs (stage left) which isn't always visible depending on where you're sitting :p Jeanne said that this was initially improv by her and Aurel which Thomas Jolly decided to keep :p Finally when they're at the top of the stairs, still fearing discovery, the maid collapses into the agent's arms.

Coup d'éclat/Plus rien à perdre

The last of the Etoiles Noires can be seen exiting the "hangar" at the beginning of the scene, implying that Johnny and Cristal really are alone in their plot.

I don't think we need to talk about The Kissing in detail; suffice to say that one of the possible combinations of Johnny/Cristal is an IRL couple and it shows by how they just, like, fully Go For It in front of God, 5000+ audience members, and their colleagues all watching them from the choir cabin. The other combinations vary between "pretty convincing stage kiss" (Côme/Gabrielle) and "no kiss" (William/Gabrielle, and I've been told William/Lilya). When I saw William and Gabrielle, she sometimes unzipped her top so he could nuzzle her neck; I've seen some butt grabbing by William and have been told of at least one forehead kiss (??).

During the bit where Johnny has his hand around Cristal's neck, Lilya and Gabrielle play it a bit differently: Lilya usually leans away from Johnny in a sort of "you're strangling me" pose, while Gabrielle initially leans back into him, sometimes closes her eyes to show she's enjoying the moment. It gives their Cristals a slightly different flavour whereas the rest of their interpretation is on the whole pretty close.

At the end of the Monopolis reprise, gentleman Johnny escorts Cristal into the car before driving off, somehow handling the driving in reverse, the singing and the mic holding!!

Monopolis hologram

The hologram is wearing France Gall's iconic gold lamé suit from her own Cristal days, but as far as I know, the pose (sitting on a stool which is really, physically present on stage) was created for the show, possibly using this tv appearance as a reference.

Marie-Jeanne taps the "frame" to "turn off" France Gall at the end of the number.

Départ de Ziggy/Nos planètes se séparent/Les uns contre les autres

Obviously there's a whole visual metaphor with Marie-Jeanne and Ziggy orbiting each other, but on different planes, and then being separated from each other by the rays of light which act like bars.

When the rest of the characters show up, they're set up as couples which reinforce the dynamics of the end of the show: Johnny/Cristal, Zero/Sadia and Gourou/Stella.

The whole Naziland bit

All of this is VERY subject to day-to-day variations, because there are so many people on stage doing so much at all times, I think they're all freer to change stuff a bunch!

There are a LOT of little easter eggs hidden throughout the Naziland bit, which change depending on which dancers/singers are on stage that day, and also I guess depending on their moods! You can spot people making out in alcoves (usually Malaika and whoever isn't doing Johnny) and being spied on by Louise; a dancer standing on his head being served a glass of champagne upside down; dancers using Ambriel or Miriam's massive black hat as a prop for various shenanigans. Some people are smoking electronic cigarettes, others are doing lines of coke (usually dancer Louis in his purple suit; sometimes Malaika), we've seen William sprinkling something into Ambriel's glass... I'm sure there's more I've never seen, and also there will be more/different ones if the cast changes!

When Zéro and Stella show up, initially she refuses a drink from the waiter and pretty much gets one shoved into her hand anyway. Then while Sadia is telling Zéro about the Etoiles Noires, Stella gets swept away by a dancer and only reappears, stumbling already, for the final "cheers" with Zéro at the end of the song.

While Zéro is getting congratulated for winning, I've seen (not every time) Ziggy come down from his DJ tower to congratulate him and get kicked away like a dog by Zéro.

Le rêve de Stella

In the transition towards the Rêve, the troupe walks upstage sort of in slow-motion and slow-dances for the first few seconds of the song; this is another moment where you can definitely spot the cast's real-life couples getting it on :p

At the end of the Rêve, Stella "disappears" through the cunning use of a spotlight being turned off (topical), a tech hanging out in the tower and grabbing her hand to guide her back into the alcove and then a black sheet being pulled in front of her to make her "invisible."

Everyone's seen Stella's shredded dress caught on the tip of the star, right? RIGHT?? We all get it? (You'd be surprised!! lol)

La mort de Cristal/SOS/Stone

During the bass-heavy transition after the Rêve, you can see Johnny and Cristal inside the structure, holding the bomb together

Sequence of events once the structure splits into halves and they get out: PREMIERES (thanks @braimee for bringing this to my attention): [missing bit I've never seen] Johnny is kneeling at the front of the stage while Cristal goes upstage with the bomb. She gets shot and falls down. Johnny scrambles to her, lifts her up in his arms (effortfully lol), she does "Au secours..." and dies. He sets her down as a high-pitched "flatline" sound is hear, and then starts SOS. LATER ON: they both kneel around the bomb -- Cristal touches Johnny on the arm -- sometimes they share a chaste kiss or she touches his face like, "hey, be careful" -- they stand up -- JOHNNY STARTS TO LEAVE ALONE WITH THE BOMB -- Sadia comes out on the structure and shoots Cristal. This makes it 50x more tragic still because to me, it means Johnny, who was only into the bomb idea to please Cristal, takes the risk on himself and leaves her behind so she can be safer, and that's what dooms her. AUGH.

Côme is right-handed and William is left-handed; their Cristals fall to their deaths on opposite sides so they can hold their mics with their dominant hands.

Not positive but guessing Johnnies pull their mics from the same place they put them back in at the end of the curtain call: a little custom pocket in the black pants. Actually @braimee reminded me that Cristal has a mic, as she does her heartbreaking "Au secours..." bit before falling over, and so presumably Johnny then uses that same mic for the song! Thanks! :D

During Stone if you're on the side you can see techs scattering the black shreds of paper in front of big fans to blow up into the smoke like "debris/birds."

The lighting/staging at the end of Stone is very similar, if not identical, as the one at the end of "La Complainte" -- you get to decide what that means to you :p

And of course, Act 1 ended in an explosion of hearts while Act 2 ends in an actual explosion #symmetry

Annnnnd I think that's it??? Please don't hesitate to let me know if you read these to the end haha, and what you thought/what I missed etc.!

[seylerlovestaylor]

(writing this in sections of easter eggs)

When I first saw this portrait, I didn’t think anything of it. But then I found this.

Not only is there 2 snakes (only one is shown above) but one is placed right next to a bracelet that says “Taylors Version” 🤔🤔

Right next to these two clues, is a clock (which could be representing midnights) but the time on the clock says 12:07… 12:07 = 12/7. Which is the date tomorrow. Now I know that this could just be a clock, but the fact that it says 12 7 which just so happens to be tomorrows date as well, and it is right next to the snake and “Taylors Version” bracelet, has to be the biggest clue yet.

________________

Another thing is she unpinned everything at the top of her instagram , which was all about 1989 Taylor’s Version. So is she making room for Rep?

________________

In a recent post, she says the words “trust issues” but she spelt it as “tRuSt iSSueS”

Can this be hinting to a snake? What is this an easter egg for?

________________

At the top of her picture, very small, is Dec. 25 2023. Why is that there? (Maybe i’m just slow, maybe it’s a hint)

_________________

Do you guys think it’s releasing or being announced 12/7? Or 12/25? What does this stuff mean? Are we clowning (again)? 🤡🐍🤔

This was a lot to write sorry if it doesn’t make sense

[whatiwillsay]

If her team has denied stuff I’m inclined to believe it’s real or at least they’re talking but I don’t know if I believe they’re “totally in love”. Though from a PR perspective you’d think she would have waited a little longer to go public with anyone for the sake of her imagine people still view her as the girl that dates guys for a few months but Taylor also seems like the type to fall in love fast and I wouldn’t doubt Matty is the same so if that’s how they actually feel good for them I guess lmao. I’m here for the content either way but I cannot see this lasting that long.

to be fair the last anon is definitely right in that her team doesn't deny every weird dating rumor that gets popular (obviously lol look at all the ones with women!) but the fact that it's coming from publications that tree has relationships with gives me pause to consider it. i

i also agree... there is ZERO good pr from this like it's too soon after joe and matty is a fucking mess. the only way i can see it being "pr" (assuming it's not just completely false and her team is choosing to ignore) is if it's just like a "stunt" (cringing at that word, late stage kaylors have ruined it) like i suggested early in that she wants all eyes on the nashville shows so she can do something big. maybe to make a political statement or announce new music/re-records. is she playing some little game to hint at 1989? like that era of people calling her boy crazy and boyfriend obsessed and saying she was dating everyone she crossed paths with? so she's bringing that vibe back and at the concert she'll laugh and say, "the more things change the more they stay the same. i don't have a new boyfriend but i do have 7 new vault tracks on speak now (taylor's version) streaming now!!!" or something?

we just have to wait and see! what i will say is something in my gut is still just telling me this is a legit rebound and there's some truth to the rumors but... i could ofc be completely wrong about that!

[pappydaddy]

i wish you would (j.m.)

a/n: i wrote another, whoops... this one is pretty short (for me) only about 10 pages, a bit longer than style. anywho, hope you enjoy this one, i think i might actually stop making a/ns on every post, let me know if anyone actually reads these! i will still make them when there is something important to say, but i don't think i need to do them all the time.

anywho (for real this time), enjoy this lovelies! i am really rooting for 1989 rerecoring next!💛

tv show/movie: outer banks

pairing: jj maybank x fem!kook!reader

not requested

style | i wish you would (j.m.) - you're here | how to get the girl (j.m.)

synopsis: y/n finally decides to tell jj that she is tired of not having a label, but the phone call goes south when jj cannot seem to get what she is saying causing y/n to hastily hang up the phone. now they both have to deal with the consequences.

taglist: @rottenstyx | @boxofsilentwords | @popeheywardssecretgf | @lexi-2004 | @i-always-come-back-xoxo | @rootbeerfaygo | @luvhanns| @thelakespoets | @lonely-simplicityty | @smarie7543*line through your user means i could not tag you lovely!

au where there was no treasure but sarah and kie mended their friendship and brought everyone together

warnings: fwb kinda gig, secret relationship (a little), angst, break-up (kinda), miscommunication, longing, heartbreak, mention of wanting monogamy

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -

 “Hey, Sweet cheeks,” JJ’s hushed voice answered the phone on the second ring. The sound of a door closing sounded in the background. “To what do I owe this pleasure? A booty call?” His voice went back to normal, JJ must have moved to a more private spot away from the prying ears of their nosey friends. 

  “I actually wanted to talk to you about that, JJ.” She gnawed on her red-painted lower lip as she stood in her room. She sat on the foot of her bed, her feet resting on the edge of her bed frame, her hands running up and down her thighs in nerves. 

  JJ hummed flirtatiously. She could see him now, smirking, that James Dean gleam in his striking blue eyes. That image right there made her second-guess her decision to have this conversation. “Do you really? And by talk, do you mean give me specific dates and times for our escapades?” The use of the word nearly made her bow out. He knew exactly how to push her buttons to make her mad and to make her weak. He only actually used big-ish (or proper) words with her. It started to make him appear more competent, then he realized she liked it in more than one way.

  “No, JJ,” She told him with a sigh. “Like actually talk talk.” She informed him clearly. JJ picked up on the slight hint of nerves in her voice, realizing the severity of the situation.

  “What’s going on, Y/N, is everything okay? What’s wrong,” He asked, suddenly on edge and alert. “Did someone say something to you about us? Did they find out about us?” He rattled off more questions when she didn’t answer in a split second. 

  “No, nothing like that,” She shook her head despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. “But what are we,” She questioned. “Like, What do you mean by us?”

  “You and me, obviously. That is what I mean by us. Our relationship-”

  “That’s what I mean, JJ. Our relationship, what is it? Are we ever going to be more than what we are? Are we ever going to actually have a relationship?” She questioned a mile and minute. She was sure on the other line JJ was blinking slowly, trying to make sense of her lighting round of questions. 

  An unsure hum sounded over the phone. She could hear the wind as she pictured JJ looking around the area. “Y/N, I thought we were cool with what we were? I thought this was working.” He spoke low. 

  A frustrated sigh came out of Y/N. “JJ, we are graduating next year. I am going to go to college. We are going to go to prom, what does all of that mean for us? Do I go to prom with someone else, do you go to prom with someone else? Can we really be okay seeing each other with someone else,” She pointed out. She breathed out for a second, shaking her head slightly. “Because I know I wouldn’t be okay seeing you at prom with someone else. I am not okay not knowing what we are,” She declared. “If you want us to be a secret, that is fine. I can be a secret. But I cannot do this unlabelled thing. I can’t do this not knowing that you are mine and I am yours thing.” 

  “Y/N-” He cut himself off with a breath. “I’m sorry, but you know how I feel about labels-” 

  “You know what JJ, you can do your non-labels with someone else. That’s what it would be like if we were still doing this or not. You would be out with some other girl and I would be forced to sit there watching it no matter how much it made my heart bleed. I don’t want to hurt like that anymore, JJ.” She quipped, pulling her phone away from her ear, not hearing JJ’s desperate attempt to get her to stop, her finger slamming against the screen where the red button was.

  “I wish you my love wouldn’t send you running.” She breathed out, her chest heavy, eyes pooling with unshed tears as she clutched her phone to her chest, a burning searing through her as she nearly hyperventilated.   

____      

  Two AM, the Twinkie drives by her house. JJ, sitting silently, watched the house as he crawled by. The light of her lamp in her room was on, telling him she couldn’t sleep. Memories of her smile lighting up whenever he crawled in her window crept up on him like a grim reminder of what he had lost. Memories of the way their hands found each other under the table when the Pogues were bumming for food from Kie’s father. 

  He thought back to the late night moments. Low voices, tender touches as they were tangled together. The sound of her hoarse but soft voice, strained from the moans and her holding back her screams that JJ wanted so badly to hear. He could almost hear her voice within the darkness of the van. Shaking his head, his foot slammed against the gas pedal - the van rattling loudly and the engine roaring as he tore off down the road, leaving Y/N’s house and the memories in the dust. “It’s all in the past now.” He muttered, his tongue pressing into the skin below his lower lip, pushing it out as he rubbed his chin as he drove straight out of the neighbourhood. 

  Frustration, hurt, sadness, and longing swelled within his heart - making him angry with himself and with Y/N. Angry with himself for ruining one of the best things that happened to him. Mad at Y/N for making him love her. For being so damn loveable that he couldn’t resist her. 

  Two AM, Y/N lays in her bed. Her lamp beside her was bathing half her room in light. Eyes locked on the window, hoping to see JJ’s face appear from the darkness. For a second, she could see his face, see his finger tapping on her window, wanting to be let in. But, alas, it was just a fragment of her imagination. 

  Yellow-tinted headlights passed her window pane. JJ. She had hoped it was JJ coming back to her just like she wished he would. She thought of him, the yellow street lights reflecting off his skin - bathing his skin in a tinge of yellow, popped into her head like a vivid dream. His blonde hair whipped around as he sped down the darkened streets, his hand clasped on her leg, thumb stroking the inner thigh as her skirt rode up. Looking over at him, the red lip prints left by her littering his neck, disappearing below his shirt.

  For a moment, she wished she had never hung up that phone like she had. She wished she could go back in time and talk it out. She wished he would come back, wished they could talk it out now. She wished he knew she didn’t hate him. She wished he knew that she would never forget any touch, any look. She wished he was here, pushing her buttons in the way he only knew how to. She wished he knew that she missed him too much to be mad at him. She just wished this was all just a dream.  

____

  Y/N imagined that she and JJ were it, but the more she thinks back to it, the more she realizes that they were just a crooked love going in a straight line down. But, no matter how doomed they were, she still wanted him sitting across from her and not Topper. Not only was it wrong that she was on a date with one of her best friends' terrible exes, but he also wasn’t JJ.

  She pulled her lips away from her drink, a red ring of lipstick left on the paper straw. They were sitting outside on the patio of The Wreck, enjoying the last bit of summer before fall came. Topper was going on about his plans for the upcoming school year, what classes he’s taking, what sports he might try to get scholarships for, blah, blah blah (that’s what it sounded like to Y/N). 

  Another reason she loved being with JJ (even if it was in secret moments stolen), he never talked to her about school and the future as much as other people do. They look at her, see how hard she works and think that’s what she only wants to talk about. They think that’s the only thing she is interested in. With JJ, they talked about things like that, of course, they are big parts of their lives, but they talked about everything. Their dreams, their hopes, but they also talked about nothing as well. They could talk about the unfairness of the division between Kook and Pogues and the resulting inequality then turn around and talk about the most random thing - Y/N remembers fondly the time that they spent most of the night talking about an oddly shaped branch they saw.

  “A scout last year said that I am a good candidate for a golf scholarship. Full-ride to Harvard baby!” Topper shook his head, chewing on his lobster as he laughed. Y/N hummed, taking another drink, glancing at her untouched plate. She had lost her appetite when she had figured out who her parents arranged the date with. Then, her appetite disappeared altogether when she spotted the blonde boy sitting inside the restaurant with none other than Bethany Stewart - an overzealous and unnecessarily perky cheerleader in their year. 

  Lips loosely around the straw, Y/N found her eyes drifting over to the window, looking at the two. She could have sworn she had seen JJ quickly turn his head from the corner of her eye, but by the way he was looking at Bethany, those wild eyes that could never be pulled away from her were now on Bethany. “Nobody is that happy all the time, life isn’t that good,” Y/N thought bitterly in her head, pessimism taking over as it usually did. “Ugh, it’s not her fault. Stop being so misogynistic and inherently negative, Y/N!” She scolded herself, looking over at Topper who barely noticed her attention veering off. 

  “But, I’ve also been told that my swimming could get me more options for full-ride scholarships-” Topper was still rambling.

  “I’m sorry, but why do you need a full-ride scholarship? You’re filthy rich, Topper! I’m not as rich as you are, I'm barely upper middle class and I’m not trying for scholarships because there are people who need it more.” She cut him off, talking for the first time past the word ‘Hi’. 

  Topper looked at her, shocked by her sudden outburst. “Uh-” He blinked, mouth agape, not used to being called out for his ignorance. “I don’t know what to say here.” He admitted, blonde eyebrows furrowed. 

  “You don’t have to say anything, Topper,” She sighed, forehead falling into her hand as she propped her elbow on the table. Eyes closed, she dragged in a deep breath before letting it out. She could feel eyes on her. Two sets. One from directly across from her and one from inside the restaurant. A swirl of butterflies and conflicted feelings ignited within her stomach at the thought of his concerned eyes on her - but she pushed it down. “I’m sorry, I just have some shit going on in my personal life and a blind date set up by my mother is not helping it at all.” 

  Topper, seeming to come out of his shock, reached his hand across the table, pointer finger lightly touching Y/N’s elbow in a way to pull her attention towards him. Startled, she lifted her head, eyes bugging out slightly. “I get it. No offence, but I didn’t really want to come on this date either. I’m still caught up on Sarah actually,” He admitted rather shamefully. “But you get it, the pressure and persistence of your parents.” 

  “I do get it.” She agreed with a slight nod. Pulling her elbow off the table, she sat up, eyes trained on the table in front of her because she didn’t trust them not to wander over towards JJ and his date. 

  “He’s been watching you, you know,” Topper spoke, making her lift her eyes to him. “JJ, he can’t seem to take his eyes off you. I feel kind of bad for Bethany, but it doesn’t seem like she’s all that upset about it.” 

  “I don’t think Bethany can be upset. She’s so fucking optimistic, I’m a little jealous,” She laughed. Topper chuckled along with her, his head shaking slightly. “I wish my brain would automatically think of the best case scenario. Or even see the best in a situation.” 

  “Look, why don’t you stay here while I go in to pay, then we go back to my place and drink away the shit going on in our personal lives? Sounds good?” Topper pushed his chair back as a smile twitched at the corners of Y/N’s lips. 

  “Sounds good.” She confirmed, watching as he walked inside the restaurant, pulling out his wallet. Her eyes followed him through the window, before continuing to land on the only blonde boy who held her heart. His striking blue eyes were on her, narrowed as he observed her before jumping to Topper - ignoring whatever Bethany was saying to evaluate the situation. 

  Sighing, she shook her head, looking down at her skirt-clad lap. “I wish you would come back to me.” She muttered under her breath, blinking back tears as they welled up. 

[demadogs]

what i think every stranger things character’s favorite taylor swift album would be

will: red. not for all too well though, for treacherous. “this hope is treacherous i like it”. his all time favorite taylor song though is right where you left me but he relates to it not just because mike is with el, but also because he misses the innocence of his childhood before he was taken to the upside down and he feels like everyone grew up and he just wants to go back to being a kid.

mike: evermore but he would never admit that he listens to taylor. listening to dorothea after will moved made him realize hes in love with him.

dustin: 1989. i feel like he’s just here for a good time and loves this kinda pop. i also think lucas would be so over hearing shake it off all the time and claim the albums probably bad but then dustin would play him new romantics and he’d be like “oh?? 👀”

lucas: folklore. this is mostly inspired by the fact that he just randomly picked up a pinecone and was walking with it.

el: fearless. she loves love story and never gets sick of it. she also loved the other side of the door before the rerecord gave it a new appreciated life. lovers a close second.

max: reputation. “if a man talks shit then i owe him nothing” do i need to elaborate?

erica: reputation. erica singing the verses to ready for it and getting really into it just feels so right.

steve: fearless. he never skips you belong with me and his favorite is thats the way i loved you.

robin: 1989. she believes wonderland is about dianna agron.

nancy: lover. she unironically loves ME! and you need to calm down. 1989 is a close second.

jonathan: evermore. hes emo for exile and the song evermore.

eddie: speak now. because theres a lot of great guitar solos. not metallica level but still iconic. haunted? enchanted? better than revenge? he can play the whole album. he also prefers the 1989 tour version of we are never ever getting back together.

argyle: folklore. getting high to a different album would give him random jumpscares like the “ra da da da da” in i did something bad or the pots and pans in closure. this ones the most relaxing and spiritual.

joyce: red. like mother like son. she stayed up until 2:00am listening to all of red taylors version on the night of the release with a bottle of wine (as did i).

hopper: debut. i feel like hopper would say her old music is better.

murray: folklore. he loves the love triangle of betty, august, and james. he also 100% believed in the woodvale theory. he probably even contributed to it and found more easter eggs that he thought hinted at it.

[9w1ft]

thanks 9wing! i fully respect your interpretations of those songs as kaylor anthems - in fact, i'm reconsidering my stance on mastermind now 😅 it always felt like blank space 2.0 to me, but your analysis has helped me to see it in a different way. i am someone who is always open to multiple interpretations of the same song, so i hope our thoughts can co-exist if they're different or even contrary! instead of blown out analyses, let me share what parts of each song made me interpret it as bearding songs.

blank space -

"i can make the bad guys good for the weekend" — image control. taylor can make swifties hate or love anyone with the snap of a finger. her beards are benefitted from being with her by gaining popularity to support their works and/or to hide their own gay rumors too. once they're 'exes,' however, they're back to being the bad guys in swifties' eyes. (exceptions excluded)

the entire "cherry lips, crystal skies" verse, to me, feels as if she's trying to impress the general public with their theatrical relationship, and not quite her beau himself.

the main line "i've got a blank space baby and i'll write your name" itself, coupled with the typewriter beat, provokes imagery of bearding contracts. fun song!

cowboy like me -

her beardin' beau is hustling for the good life with stars in his eyes. "perched in the dark" makes me think that he's pretty much a very underground celebrity if we compare fame to light (another name goes up in lights - i can still make the whole lights shimmer - flashing lights). he doesn't want love, he wants a fancy car - a materialistic perk of being a well known entertainer or celebrity. taylor herself is also ambitious and she's at a point of her life where she wants to be taken seriously, so she really needs to display herself as someone with a stable love life. that's how they show 'forever' as their sweetest con.

"now you hang from my lips like the gardens of babylon" — i can't remember who, but another gaylor pointed out that this lyric provokes the imagery of a literal facial beard.

invisible string -

now this one's a bit sad, i always had a soft spot for this song and i hate to taint its innocence! anyway.

she pretty much shows how different their lives and motivations are in the industry - she wants love, he wants money. she thinks how pretty things could be if the universe aligned them, but really, she knows all too well that's very much not the case. all of this was arranged.

however, i like to interpret the "bad was the blood" verse could be a hint at karlie and their relationship, since karlie was the first person who heard 1989. although i do not know if it would make sense, but hey! that verse actually shows similarities, whereas the first verse did not.

lavender haze -

"staring at the ceiling with you" — business meeting, sitting in those formal black spinny chairs. they're both just kind of bored and staring at the ceiling, since they could technically have that employer-employee relationship.

"you don't ever say too much" — the interviews. they're sooooooo private. he's sooooo magnificently charismatic.

"you don't really read into my melancholia" / "you weren't even listening" — i could get how this could be interpreted positively, but i'm a negative nancy so i predominantly interpreted this as him not giving a shit 😅

"talk your talk and go viral, i just need this love spiral, get it off your chest, get it off my desk" — 'for the love of god, my dude, please say something a little bit more and be more convincing, i need us to be trending and to be seen as the industry titans. got it? cool, now go practise that smiling for photos exercise tree gave you and leave my office, i now need to combat the foot fetish allegations and wipe my desk clean before tree gets here.' i have a very wide imagination as you can see.

"no deal" sounds like her rejecting a (business) proposal. i also get the vibe that her team is shutting down the marriage rumors while his team is trying to boost them? not sure, just a hunch

thanks for this! i appreciate that songs can be interpreted in different ways. i vibe with a lot of what you wrote.

i did a little thinking and in my mind here are the lines i find kaylory about these songs, along with a few additional comments

invisible string

- i just want to add to what you’ve written by saying that to me the song sings like she’s listing up all this trivia that points to joe, some of which (the yogurt shop job) was cleverly planted in an interview of joe not long before folklore was released, and she sings in the chorus “isn’t it pretty to think” that there’s some connection between us that’s actually not there.

- by contrast when the music goes quiet, and she sings in a different pace and cadence, the part that begins with all the run ins, she mentions the dive bar from delicate, past mistakes and chains, changing weather, all of which is imagery that comes up in what we consider kaylor songs. plus, she closes off the line with one single thread of gold tied me to you which i believe is both in contrast to an invisible string, and illustrative of a color very often associated with karlie. this one section of the song feels like the truth hidden within the story.

cowboy like me

- eyes full of stars (this carries over from starry eyes sparking my darkest night, from the song call it what you want, where “call it” sounds like “karlie” a lot)

- the skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up (this really feels applicable to taylor and karlie’s situation as we all have a sense of the skeletons in their closets, whereas i don’t really have a read on what skeletons joe could possibly have in his)

- that was all before i locked it down (there is a recurring theme of taylor and karlie putting their public relationship on lockdown starting in fall 2016, the thing with the gold heart locket, the love lock bridge in paris etc)

-idk man, the gardens of babylon line conjures up a… different kind of garden 🙈 in a sort of wear-you-like-a-necklace sorta way, if you catch my drift

lavender haze

- talk your talk and go viral (karlie has had more than a few viral moments in recent years, whereas i cant recall a single time joe has ever said anything memeable)

- i get the bearding interpretation of this song for sure because of lyrics like all they keep asking me is if i’m gonna be your bride which point to the you being who the public assumes taylor will marry. and the points you bring up work with this interpretation well, i think it’s a solid way to listen to the song and i’m not opposed to it,

-what makes it kaylory for me is taylor’s explanation of the song as a part of album promo. how she talks about how it’s been hard for her and her lover dodging weird rumors since 2016, and how lavender haze is about wanting to do anything to protect a love. she also references a mad men episode where john hamm’s character talks about wanting to have a relationship with ‘betty’ — a name kaylors have associated with karlie for some time now (karlie’s middle name is elizabeth). there are other things about the song that fit into a particularly kaylor interpretation i have but i get the feeling it’s my own little silly interpretation so i think i’ll keep to myself.