#anyway the point is swifties i finally get it

[television-overload]

I finally saw Air Supply in concert last week and I haven't been the same since

[astonmartinii]

i will always love you | max verstappen social media au

pairing: max verstappen x fem bodyguard reader

what he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with his bodyguard? this IS a rom com

MASTERLIST | TIP JAR

f1insider

liked by user1, user2 and 45.925 others

f1insider: red bull have confirmed that max verstappen will have a bodyguard for the rest of this season after increasingly aggressive fan activity towards drivers at races. what do you think about it?

view all comments

user3: i completely understand that it’s insane that it’s gotten to the point where he needs a bodyguard …. but like JEALOUS

user4: i pray there’s never any need for her to do her actual job

user5: f1 need to sort it out i agree

user4: i meant because i would be no better than a man im sorry god but i want to watch her fight someone 😫

user6: this should’ve been done so long ago but i’m glad they’ve finally made the step

user7: what i find crazy is that people can afford a paddock pass and wanna fight the drivers ??? what a waste of money GIVE THEM TO ME

user8: i’m being completely serious when i say … any punk ass influencer tries to film max in the bathroom i want this bodyguard to shoot them with a gun

user9: no i agree

user10: and when i do it on purpose so she can beat the shit out of me ??

user11: choke

user12: she look familiar to any of you?

user13: i thought i had seen her before but like i just can’t quite recall

user14: swiftie here! she was taylor’s bodyguard for a couple years so you probably have seen her in paparazzi photos or something

user15: taylor swift and now max verstappen i need her agent

user16: the thought of that massive hunk of a man cowering behind her is killing me

user17: it’s killing you? it’s getting me excited this is so romance book coded

user18: you people’s obsession with putting people in “relationship” is the worst thing to happen to the sport

user19: i agree! (they would be unbelievably cute)

user20: i’m glad to see we’re all being very serious about the state of the sport where a driver needs a bodyguard and not the fact that said bodyguard is visually appealing

user21: sky i will deal with your bias if you give us the visual on her

user20: jesus wept

yourusername

liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris and 120,399 others

tagged: maxverstappen1

yourusername: new job, same friendship bracelets

view all comments

user22: WE FOUND YOU

user23: hi mother !!!!

user24: we miss you serving face with taylor :(

maxverstappen1: you were a bodyguard for TAYLOR SWIFT ???

yourusername: you didn't read my CV? you had the last say on me being hired?

maxverstappen1: i let GP read them and he's never steered me wrong before

yourusername: that seems irresponsible

maxverstappen1: ANYWAY my point was going to be ... can we still get eras tour tickets?

yourusername: i can see what i can do

maxverstappen1: what if you just called taylor up?

yourusername: do NOT reference the kardashians if you want tickets

maxverstappen1: noted :3

user25: i can't have anything in this life ??? what do you mean you've worked with taylor and max?

user26: she looks so hot with a gun i'm starting to think the NRA are on to something

yourusername: absolutely not get out of here with that shit

user27: oh she educated as well? will you accept my hand in marriage?

maxverstappen1: 🤨

landonorris: and if i said you could guard me all night

yourusername: it's kinda my job to guard max all night

landonorris: but you'd rather guard me 😉

yourusername: i doubt you'd pay me as well as max

landonorris: i can pay you other ways 😉

maxverstappen1: lando i will break your fingers one by one

user28: max is out here like SHE IS MY BODYGUARD

user29: him being possessive... idk where to look but both of them - mark me scared AND horny

user30: TOO REAL

maxverstappen1

liked by schecoperez, fernandoalo_oficial and 1,452,099 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: simply lovely to be back on the top step in brazil, @yourusername you're clearly my lucky charm

view all comments

user31: max does a generational drive and immediately gets on instagram to flirt with his bodyguard

user32: he's so real for that because look at y/n

user33: i once thought swifties were crazy for being so obsessed with her but now i am just as bad lol

yourusername: nuh uh that drive was all you big boy

maxverstappen1: heheheehehe

maxverstappen1: did i make a good first impression?

yourusername: a very good first impression ;)

maxverstappen1: are you proud of me?

yourusername: very proud maxy

maxverstappen1: :3 thank you <3

user34: what in praise kink did i just read?

user35: i know he's done it in a very public forum but just leave them to do whatever they gotta do

user36: i know this man saw her in a suit and with a gun and fell to his knees

yourusername: well... close enough!

landonorris: idc about all of that ^^ i'm still going to shoot my shot

yourusername: is me rejecting you luck or talent?

landonorris: HUH ?????

yourusername: i may just be a bodyguard but i still have working ears 👍

user37: okay so she does serve more than just looks ...

user38: she's got a fan in me now

charles_leclerc: let me just sit back and observe

yourusername: you good?

charles_leclerc: i am sitting back and observing

yourusername: you are observing very loudly

charles_leclerc: i am just watching max embarrass himself, this is very healing for my younger self

maxverstappen1: RUDE

yourusername: he's not embarrassing himself if it's working?

redbullracing

liked by maxverstappen1, schecoperez and 2,451,045 others

redbullracing: statement regarding today's incident.

view all comments

user42: sorry red bull but i want that video tattooed on my eye balls

user43: i am so unbelievably hot and bothered after seeing that video

user44: red bull i'm afraid you'll have to take that video out of my cold dead hands

landonorris: i didn't realise the paddock came with dinner and a show today

oscarpiastri: lando they tried to kill max...

landonorris: well he was never in any actual danger with y/n around

oscarpiastri: do you ever read the PR briefs?

landonorris: PR whats?

oscarpiastri: this is starting to make a whole lot of sense

user45: they'll try to cancel lando for this but like he's being real

user46: no because why was george russell and kimi antonelli literally in the back of the footage eating LITERAL POPCORN

user47: i've never wanted to be two people so bad

maxverstappen1: i lived bitch

yourusername: MAX????

maxverstappen1: because of you, i'm forever in debt to you <3

yourusername: just doing my job :)

maxverstappen1: so you didn't just do it because of your undying love for me :(

yourusername: i think that would be inappropriate

maxverstappen1: THAT'S NOT FAIR, THEY CAN'T TRY AND KILL ME AND YOU CAN'T SAY YOU HATE ME IN ONE DAY

yourusername: oh maxy, do you need a cup of tea

maxverstappen1: and a hug ????

yourusername: yes, even a hug

user48: oh to have max that pathetically down bad for you

maxverstappen1

liked by charles_leclerc, yourusername and 2,309,773 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: can you people stop thirsting over my girlfriend please - i may not be able to fight but she can

view all comments

user49: HE HAD ENOUGH

user50: i mean i too think thirst comments from my literal friends would throw me over the edge

user51: he was like winning in brazil is not enough i gotta watch my gf beat the fuck out of someone and then publicly claim her

yourusername: you're puffing out your chest in the paddock when all the girls on the internet are thirsting over you - if anyone should be jealous it's me

maxverstappen1: but you're so much better than anyone else i am horrendously in love with you

yourusername: HORRENDOUSLY

maxverstappen1: i have never felt anything like this? im scared???

yourusername: no need to be scared baby i'm in for the long ride

yourusername: and i can and WILL protect you

maxverstappen1: i need to report a hostage situation? it's me in my bedroom - i need to be saved

yourusername: you're so cheesy, you're lucky i love you

user52: i have another hostage situation - it's me in this comment section

user53: watching them be in love is like torture to me i'm so lonely

user54: they need a trigger warning i fear

maxverstappen1: @landonorris @pierregasly @olliebearman suck on that

landonorris: LEAVE ME ALONE

pierregasly: don't hate the player hate the game

olliebearman: why did you say fuck me for ????

maxverstappen1: i've seen those looks ollie don't lie to me

yourusername: babe i think he might just be scared of me

olliebearman: WOMEN IN POSITIONS OF POWER SCARE ME I'M SO SORRY Y/N

yourusername: no worries ollie! max is just possessive

maxverstappen1: ugh duh! you're the best thing that has ever happened to me, obviously i want to keep you to myself

yourusername

liked by olliebearman, maxverstappen and 342,067 others

tagged: maxverstappen1

yourusername: and iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii will always love you! sorry it had to be done - whitney houston is a LEGEND

view all comments

user56: of course she knows that song, she's basically living that story

user57: OF COURSE SHE KNOWS THAT SONG IT'S ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SONGS EVER ???

yourusername: and you can bet your ass the red bull garage have been singing it non stop since i arrived

redbullracing: singing is our passion

maxverstappen1: they'd have to kill me to keep me from you DEADASS (pun intended)

yourusername: and that won't be happening because i'll be there to protect you

maxverstappen1: i'm not opposed to watching you deal with a problem in the paddock

landonorris:WHY WAS I MADE THE BAD PERSON WHEN I SAID I WANTED TO WATCH ???

maxverstappen1: because it was my life that an attempt was made on ?

landonorris: and?

maxverstappen1: AND?

landonorris: it would've made winning the championship much easier ?

yourusername: nuh uh i would jump into that red bull and win out of spite

maxverstappen1: it's true, i've been training her up

landonorris: you gonna let me have anything

maxverstappen1: nope :P

yourusername: nope :P

user58: oh they're so annoying 😭

user59: true ride or die couples are so irritating

user60: i still wish i was them

danielricciardo: i get fired and you get a girlfriend ??? how is this fair

maxverstappen1: idk what you want me to say, i'd never give y/n up for anything

danielricciardo: not even a red bull maxiel reunion

maxverstappen1: sorry buddy, maxiel is dead

danielricciardo: EXCUSE ME?

yourusername: sorry daniel, there's a new sheriff in town - should've charmed max when you had a chance

maxverstappen1: try as he might, he'd never be you

yourusername: awwwww considering your massive teenage crush on him... i love you!

danielricciardo: so fuck me then?

fin.

note: TWO IN ONE WEEKEND WHAT?

[djarinbabysnotes]

Prologue Preview: Self-Indulgence

Pair: College Matt Murdock x Female Reader (she/her pronouns)

Tags: ANGST, friends to potential lovers, insane yearning to the point of miscommunication, (requited) unrequited love, meet-cute, slow-burn, jealousy, somewhat follows most of canon, eventual smut

Word count: 942 words

Authors note: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE accept my apology for not writing a fic since 2023. Times got tough but I finally got my diploma and it's been sitting on my kitchen counter since. Who cares, right? But fanfiction writing is back on my arsenal, and so is Daredevil. College Matt, you've had my heart from the beginning.

I've had this fanfic idea for so long about Matt Murdock falling in love with a singer??? I'm a huge swiftie and I think Matt Murdock's stupidity lines up with several Taylor Swift songs. My self-sabotage king. Anyway, most of this will be based off of Taylor Swift songs and I've curated this Spotify playlist a long time ago to map out the plot. So here we are. Concrit is appreciated, and please do reblog.

Coming to your nearest Ao3: "Self-Indulgence"

For the rest of my works, please do take the time to visit my Ao3 masterlist. Thank you!

Law school.

It was a metaphorical ditch.

Matt often found her words poetic, almost optimistic with a level of sadness that lingered deep within; like a heartbeat that faltered every few hundred seconds, unsteady, and maybe he was always the cause of it.

She wasn't just some girl from college or grad school, no— The coeds from Columbia flirted with him until he politely declined, and Foggy would send him a subtle kick to the back of his shoes in disappointment, and a split second of indecision would go through his head until he would backtrack and shyly ask the girl to join him for a drink. The cheap Irish whiskey would linger on his lips until it got smudged with the chemical taste of said girl's lipstick. A sock on his and Foggy's door would stay until the early hours of the morning, until said girl found her way out of his life for another one to step in.

Those girls were easy to talk to, or at least it was for him.

When Matt Murdock met her in Columbia, one semester into his undergrad, it was nothing short of a lucid blur; She had the kind of heartbeat that stood out from the crowd as she weaved through the footsteps of students that didn't even spare her a glance. In a way, he felt unique to notice her, special even. She mistakenly dropped a book in front of his feet and he had to pretend to trip over it— And just like that, she fell into his trap. And he was somewhat delusional for it.

An accountancy undergrad, spoonfed by her parents who had plenty of wealth on their belts that he could only imagine a portion of. She wasn't the type to complain often, but she wasn't the biggest fan of having to go to law school by force. He knew half of his criminal law class were bored out of their minds and only wanted to pass each final for bragging rights to their Wall Street parents who originally wanted their children to go off to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford, but didn't make the cut. He knew he was one of the few who'd actually pursue law after passing the bar, and he was doing everything that he could to make it happen.

It was smart of him, of course, to keep two people in his corner to keep him in check every time he felt like he was slacking. The two, of course, were often the opposite of being responsible; Foggy Nelson kept his optimism every time he'd come back to the dorms with a hidden stash of cheap tequila in his back pack, and she— of all people who shouldn't be in love with cheap alcohol— was a big fan of avoiding extra credit. In a way, their own ways of loosening up kept him busy in trying to get the three of them back on track, and the system worked.

She found her way past the uptight dorm hall marshalls every time, flashing them a polite smile and subtly holding up her advanced law books while holding onto his or Foggy's arm. The ruse of a study session always ended up with a new addition to Foggy's glass bottle graveyard on top of a dresser, mingling with the colorful miniature dinosaurs they they once bought with a dollar for a pack after one of their drunken nights. The dorm room wasn't luxurious, but it felt homely even with the smell of Foggy's cheap body spray and the bin that had always smelled of Chinese takeout leftovers. Sometimes, the smell of her empty energy drink cans would also linger in the room for days until the trash gets emptied out, and if he focused hard enough, her perfume would also linger on the walls.

It was stupid. Crushes were for high schoolers, and he was past the age of yearning for a girl who occasionally called him dude with a displeased tone every time he'd say a lame joke. Her faux disappointment with his humor would always end with a slight chuckle falling from her lips, and that was usually a sign of his victory. He knew she was pretty based on the skipping heartbeats from some of the undergrads that would pass by on campus grounds, and she wasn't opposed to flirting with all kinds of people. It was only flirting for her, and nothing more. She didn't sleep around, which was a relief for her safety around campus, but her affinity to find the nearest stash of alcohol at every party was almost a talent. She didn't, however, fail to hand him a drink as well. Thoughtful of her to not leave him hanging, but thoughtless after her fifth glass of anything with a suspicious scent to it.

He found it endearing.

On the walk back to the dorms, she'd have both arms occupied with holding onto him and Foggy while singing some tune that almost made her sound like an angel. She was full of talent, that much he knew of, and she definitely had several options in the entertainment industry to fall back on if law didn't pan out. Foggy was one to encourage the drunken hymns by joining in with a less graceful rendition, and Matt— he'd be the one giggling through his inebriated state until he found the comfort of his own bed.

In short, the path to law school would fall into the list of things he wasn't particularly fond of, but some if it was easy— Having his friends made it feel easy.

Even if he wasn't sure of how it would all turn out.

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

Mat’s dancing to Taylor making him a Swiftie. Do you think mat and squeaks went to any of the eras tour concerts?

OH BOY DID THEY! They actually go to a few concerts because squeaks is a big swiftie and so is mat ☺️ i’ll talk a little bit about each concert they went to broken down by venue!

may 26-28 at metlife

squeaks is low key glad they’re out of the playoffs by this point so she can go to the shows without worrying about a schedule interference with the games

they don’t go to the show on the 26th because that’s mat’s birthday but they go on the 27th and 28th

squeaks is so mad they miss getaway car and maroon and jack antonoff as the special guest but it’s mat’s birthday so she won’t make him go to a show on his birthday

the 27th is the saturday show and they go with a whole group of their friends (def syd and marty, noah and alexa, whoever else you think may want to go) - they’re in a suite for this show since it’s a big group

squeaks is in a full on costume, dresses up and has the time of her life

mat and the guys are in pink heart shaped glasses and colorful feather boas

surprise songs are holy ground and false god

mat fake proposes again during love story because he’s so drunk and the fans around them are losing their minds bc they end up getting recognized a bit

the 28th is the sunday show and they go alone for this one

it’s a little more chill because they get semi-decent seats, choosing to be more in the middle of the crowd

surprise songs are welcome to new york and clean

squeaks dances her ass off during the whole concert but mat manages to get his arms around her for some of the show and they sway along together to the slower songs

they trade friendship bracelets with the fans (squeaks was manic, stress making bracelets during the playoffs to keep herself from actively losing it too much while watching the away games)

since they’re in metlife and in a more recognizable space, they do get posted to social media a bunch at both shows, and squeaks low key loves it because she gets to see the really cute pictures and videos the fans took

her favorite is a picture someone took of mat’s forearm wrapped around her collarbones and him pressing a kiss to her temple during the lover set

july 13-14 in milan

they go to the milan shows because they’re already in italy for ryan’s wedding so why not?

and also squeaks is DYING to see the ttpd set in person

the 13th is the saturday show and the surprise songs are a mashup of the 1 and wonderland & i almost do and the moment i knew

the 14th is the sunday show and the surprise songs are a mashup of mr perfectly fine and red & getaway car and out of the woods

squeaks freaks out that she gets to hear getaway car finally

they’re both more chill at these shows because they didn’t bring a bunch of like outfits since they were there for the wedding

both are in like more casual linen outfits, squeaks in a lilac two piece set one night and a short little white linen dress the other

they both trade friendship bracelets (because squeaks made a whole bunch before they left)

beau and emma join them for one of the shows and everyone makes fun of mat for his extreme knowledge of taylor lyrics

these shows they’re more like “under the radar” because they’re in italy and not as noticeable so they act a little sillier and goof off and are just really lovey and touchy

december 6-8 in vancouver

obviously these shows haven’t happened yet in real life, but you bet your ass squeaks goes to them

at least one show anyway

liana’s back in canada for december to see everyone and spend the holidays with the family

mat is obviously in the middle of the season so he gets bummed that squeaks flies up to vancouver to spend time with liana before the barzals fly to long island for christmas with mat and squeaks

tickets are squeaks’ christmas gift to liana and they have a blast together

both get all dressed up and trade friendship bracelets with fans and send mat pictures and videos of the show

squeaks hangs around vancouver for a couple of weeks before heading home to make sure everything is ready for christmas

general swiftie headcanons

squeaks is a big lover/folklore/evermore/midnights/ttpd girlie

mat loves 1989 and red

squeaks loves the little easter eggs taylor leaves for fans but she’s not like big on trying to solve the clues (she does clown and is convinced taylor was gonna announce rep tv on london night 8 and every time she says taylor’s announcing rep tv, mat says “again?”)

they both agree that taylor and travis are adorable together and squeaks tries to see if there’s a way mat or any of the guys can finagle a way to play golf with travis so she can become friends with taylor

the closest she gets to that is going to a giants/chiefs game at metlife

mat definitely wears a friendship bracelet squeaks makes for him (what it says is up to you guys, i have an idea of what it might say, but all ideas are valid)

[avonne-writes]

Carry You Home

A post-war kitty Gale (cat shifter Gale) drabble written for the "LCAPT fic off" game initiated by @middlingmay. And it’s a gift for @butdaddyilovehim99 💕 Featuring the most Gale-looking cat pic ever. Thanks @swifty-fox for brainstorming with me! (On AO3)

The sticky seed of some unfamiliar weed sticks to the fur on Gale’s legs, but he ignores the uncomfortable tugging sensation and just keeps running. Away, far away, anywhere but here. He’s done with this whole charade. To hell with it all. John can go find some other fool who can stand his goddamn womanizing.

Gale doesn’t care that it's only a facade. Sometimes, he wants to be the one being wooed and not watch John flirt with someone else. He thought... He thought they would go on a date, just the two of them, to the pretty creek in the woods close to town. All the exciting, cheerful sounds of the forest, the clear air, enough space and privacy for Gale to shift back and forth when he wanted. But John had to ruin it by chatting up three women who were on a walk.

They could have let the ladies pass and waited to be alone again, but John just had to do it, didn’t he? Maybe he didn’t want to be alone with Gale at all. He could have been looking for an excuse to cut their date short all along. Instead of laughing and walking with Gale, he charmed those girls until they were drawn to him like moths to the light, and Gale, sour in his disappointment, was left to trail behind until they finally parted ways.

Then, the fight. That terrible fight. It wasn’t too decent of Gale to snap the way he did, but it hurt so much to watch John flash his best smile at the girls, to touch their arms under one excuse or another, the way he should have touched Gale instead. Gale's tired of it. He can’t stand it anymore, to see the affection that's meant to be his given to another while he’s right there.

John didn’t understand - or didn’t want to - so, Gale shifted and ran away. It didn’t take more than five seconds and he was out of John's sight. Being small makes it easier to hide among the bushes. To disappear. He doesn’t matter anyway. He’s no one. Perhaps, he won't ever shift back again. Why bother? He’ll just live the rest of his years as a wildcat, nothing but the forest and the freedom of no expectations. He can live alone and -

"Gale!" John's cry interrupts Gale's thoughts. "Gale, please! Come on, doll, don't do this to me."

Gale stops to crouch low in the underbrush, his heart pounding wildly. His coat is too bright and clean to hide him among all the greens, browns and greys around, but he’s covered by a few thick shrubs and wide leaves where he is. He curls his fluffy tail close to his body and waits. He won't be spotted unless he moves.

"I'm sorry, okay?" John tells the forest plaintively. The canopies above them whoosh in sympathy. "I didn’t mean to hurt you, sweetheart, I didn’t mean it like that."

What you meant doesn't change anything, Gale makes a low, angry sound that John, thankfully, doesn't hear as he jogs down the path in front of Gale's hiding place.

"Shit." John mutters under his breath and runs a hand through his curls. At first, Gale thinks it's because of Gale not folding to his pleading, but a moment later, he sees the fake, wide smile that appears on John's face.

"Egan? That you?" An unfamiliar voice calls, and Gale is alarmed to see a stocky, middle-aged man with a camera approach John from the opposite direction they came from.

"Frank, buddy, the hell are you doin' out here?" John says and clasps the man's outstretched hand in greeting.

Frank launches into a long-winded story about bird watching and photography, and how his wife kicked him out of the house just to get some peace. From his vantage point under the shrubs, low on the cool forest soil, Gale can see John nodding along politely, but his eyes keep darting to the woods, searching for a flash of white that gives Gale away. After a while, Frank notices too.

"Everything okay?" He asks John, concerned.

"Yeah, just looking for my... my cat." John replies awkwardly, putting his hands on his hips the way he always does. Despite his pain and anger, Gale feels a tinge of fondness at the sight.

"You brought your cat out here?" Frank frowns. There’s something like pity in his expression, which makes Gale huff in irritation. Everything their generation does is chalked up to the fucking war, isn’t it?

"He likes going on walks with me." John says, fully turning away. "Gale!"

"Gale? Like your roommate?" Frank asks, his eyebrows trying to meet his receding hairline.

John falters for a moment, embarrassed that he slipped up in his panic to find Gale. "It’s a joke."

"Oh." Frank's face smooths out and he barks a laugh. "Let me help, the two of us will find him faster."

"Oh, I don't want to keep you."

"Nonsense." Frank claps John's shoulder. "My wife says my eyes are so keen I should've been a detective."

John chuckles good-naturedly. "If she says so, Frankie."

Frank walks towards the woods on the opposite side of the path from where Gale’s hiding. "What does your cat look like?"

John sighs. "Cream-white fur, white paws, bushy tail. Piercing blue eyes. As big as a small dog."

Sounds about right, Gale notes with satisfaction. He glares daggers at John. He hopes he can feel it.

Frank whistles. "Must be one mighty creature."

Gale preens. The sad look on John's face is especially vindicating.

"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen." John says quietly as he starts walking along the treeline again. "He's my best friend, you know. My partner. I just wish I knew what's going on in his head. It’s so hard to read him sometimes, and I don't realize I've done something wrong until it’s too late. I just want to make him happy, keep him safe."

An ache swells deep in Gale's chest and rolls through his whole body until the bitterness of his anger fades away to the illusion of salty tears. He can’t cry in this shape but he wants to. He wants it to rain down over his cheeks in big, fat drops, over the scars, for John to wipe and kiss them away, to whisper promises he can’t keep and tell Gale he loves him more than anything. He wants that, still - it hurts, but he wants it. As his impulsiveness vanishes, he realizes that life in the forest wouldn’t suffice. He would always long for Bucky.

"Sounds like a marriage." Frank snorts, shaking a few bushes that sends nearby critters running across the fallen leaves. Gale hears them scurry away from where he is.

"You bet." John laughs ruefully. "Feels like one too."

The cry escapes Gale’s throat before he could clamp down on the feeling that sparks it. It's a quiet, sad little meow but it stands out from the forest's low buzz regardless.

John's head whips up in his direction. "Gale?"

No use hiding anymore. Gale pushes himself up and walks out of the underbrush like some kicked pet, putting his paws on the path hesitantly because he’s not sure yet if he's ready to forgive everything or not. His tail rises in greeting, but when John darts towards him with a beaming, relieved smile on his face, Gale hisses at him.

"I'm sorry!" John raises his hands placatingly, then, in a quieter voice, "I'm sorry, doll."

"Oh my! What a beauty!" Frank exclaims when he spots Gale, his expression one of wonder.

Feeling shy and wary, Gale rushes over to John and weaves himself around his ankles, putting his front paws on John's right boot as he stares the stranger down. He doesn’t know where the hell the guy knows John from, doesn’t care - he just wants him to leave them alone, to give him a chance to shift back and let John give him a proper apology. He’s so focused on keeping his eyes on the man that he forgets he's angry long enough for John to stroke his head. But when the touch reminds him, he growls.

"Don’t be like that." John nudges him, then reaches lower to remove the spikelets stuck in Gale's fur. Irritated beyond belief, Gale bites his fingers, satisfied when John winces, but the hand doesn’t move far - it slides over Gale's back and combs at his fur.

"Hi Gale." Frank crouches down a few feet away, cooing like an idiot. Gale gives him a disdainful look. Honestly, this is the worst thing about being a cat. Interacting with people who want to touch him. "You weren't kidding when you said he was pretty. Never seen such a gorgeous cat in my life. What a unique colour. His fur is immaculate. And look at those eyes! Damn."

"I know." John says, all affectionate. If he thinks that's enough to make up with Gale, he’s sorely mistaken. "Sky blue."

Gale leans against John's leg. A part of him enjoys the praise. People always tend to heap it on him in this shape but never say anything when he's in his human form. His mom, for example, when he still lived in Wyoming. The only exceptions to that are Marge and John, the only people who saw the value in giving him compliments no matter how he stood in front of them. Gale learnt to take appreciation where he got it, even if it was received as a cat. Frank, of course, is unaware that Gale, the cat, and Gale, John's roommate are one and the same, but his words of awe feel good. Gale extends his legs in front of him and stretches, showing off his looks.

"If I were you, I would put a collar on him." Frank says.

"Nah, he's pretty good about comin' home to papa." John replies, a teasing note in his voice. For that, Gale reaches up to drag his clawed paws over the leg of John's trousers until John yelps and pushes him off. Frank laughs.

"Boy, my wife will be so jealous." He shakes his head, smiling. "Can I pet him?"

Gale’s answering noise of warning comes instantly.

"Ah, he doesn’t like strangers, sorry, Frankie." John says for him. Good. At least that much of Gale's feelings he does understand.

Frank waves him off and stands up. "I understand. I would love to photograph him, though. Proof for the missus." He winks.

John chuckles. Gale tilts his head back to glance at him and finds him looking back. Something he sees in Gale's eyes encourages him to reach down and scoop Gale up into his arms. It’s easier to let him than to protest.

"Why not?"

---

About a dozen photos later, John finally tries to say goodbye to Frank, but they're unlucky - the man decides to go the same way John's headed. He must be lonely, Gale figures, but it doesn't make it any less annoying that for lack of a graceful way to get out of the situation, John starts walking with the man while holding Gale in his arms.

It's comfortable, at least. Holding Gale just right in both forms has always been one of John's special talents. This time, Gale's paws dangle over his arm and his head rests in the crook of John's elbow. Since John can’t exactly put him down when he has just caught Gale after he ran away, it’s no use fighting it.

Resigned, Gale relaxes. He’s just a cat now. Loved and cherished openly where everyone can see. Something precious John can hold tight right where his heart beats, and no one bats an eye.

It’s bittersweet, but Gale will take it. The fight seeped out of him somewhere between John calling him his partner and the first apologetic caress over his silky fur. Gale tunes the conversation out and just drifts on the sense of peace and safety he feels in John's arms as the gentle sounds of the forest ripple around them along the path. After a few minutes, he falls asleep.

He doesn’t know how much time passed when he wakes up, but he’s still lying in John's arms, still warm against John's chest, but Frank is, at last, gone. They're almost at the edge of the forest, close to where their truck parks.

"Jesus Christ, finally." John blows out a noisy breath and swipes his thumbs back and forth over Gale’s fur. "Coast's clear if you wanna shift back."

Gale lets his eyes slip closed again and doesn’t move a single other muscle. He can feel John trying to lean over him to see his face better.

"Did you fall asleep?" John rocks him. As a reply, Gale moves his head in a way that looks like he’s saying no. It makes John snort. "Are you still mad at me?"

When no answer comes, John presses his face close to Gale. "Let’s talk about it."

Another shake of the head.

"What, you want me to hold you the rest of the way?"

Gale nods.

John laughs, sweet and rumbling against Gale's body. "All right, doll. I got you. I'll carry you home."

Although he knows he shouldn't, Gale purrs.

[genericpuff]

someone responded to me on reddit with their own theory as to what's going on with the eisners so i'm gonna share it here because it's worth reading 🍵

like there's definitely the aspect of it being a Webtoons Originals at play as well, I obviously can't feasibly prove that WT's is paying out the Eisners for their wins and that's not an accusation I wanna be throwing around willy-nilly, but the brand affiliation alone almost definitely factors into it all (and it definitely doesn't help the Eisners seem legit when they keep awarding the same comic 3 years in a row).

There was also a comment I found in the /r/comicbooks sub from the perspective of a former judge-

Considering how much work it would take to properly read the entirety of the nominees - as most webcomics are long-form and will require starting from scratch - I wouldn't be shocked at all if the win came down to "well we know this one won last year, and it has 6 million subscribers, so yeah, that one". Again, I don't want to accuse the judges or the organization of anything, but I do think at best the results of the judging are going to be affected if not outright stunted by the process itself.

All that said, it doesn't take a genius to look at how LO has fared over the last three years and understand that even from a purely objective point of view, nothing about the comic stacks up against the other nominees. It's dumb af because I'm seeing some people arguing "well there were only FOUR other nominees, which one do YOU think should win? you don't read those other four comics?? well then OBVIOUSLY LO deserves the win!" because... no? That's not how that works? It's such a strawman argument to justify defaulting the win to LO just because people on IG might not have ever read a comic like Matchmaker or Asturias before. Just because the people complaining about the LO win might not be familiar with the other nominees doesn't mean those nominees aren't bringing more to the table than LO. Which a lot of them very much are. Shit, Evan Dahm alone has been creating comics online since like the mid 2000's (??) he's an incredibly prolific creator with a lot of successful works under his belt, but apparently LO should get the win anyways... because LO's readers have never read 3rd Voice before? Come on. This is like that time when TOOL beat out Taylor Swift in their album release sales and a bunch of Swifties were upset because they had no idea who TOOL was, meanwhile all the dedicated middle aged dads were over the moon to finally see some recognition for a classic band that absolutely 100% deserved the spotlight after going so long without a new album. Swift has more than enough victories under her belt, she'll live lmao

At best this was definitely the "retired athlete on their way out" win, as a pal so gracefully put it-

And really, that last sentence really does get across the essence of LO in a nutshell - it's celebrated for being a story that never really existed to anyone who never actually looked closer. A lot of the things that the comic is praised for is often made up by an audience of people projecting their headcanon into what they were reading, because without it the comic had nothing to say. LO has to be good, because that's what they were told from day one, because if it wasn't good it certainly wouldn't be advertised this much or winning all these awards or getting all these merch opportunities or getting all this 'jealous' hate... right?

[quin-ns]

Can you maybe write something with swiftie!reader?

I thought this sounded so cute and since I saw a couple tiktok edits of JJ to this song, it’s the one I ended up referencing 🥰

Style (JJ Maybank x Reader)

John B realized his mistake the moment he handed you the aux cord, but it was too late. You plugged your phone in and pulled your go-to playlist up.

You were in the passenger seat so it had been something he’d done without thought, but as Taylor Swift’s voice came over the speakers, Kiara leaned between the seats.

“See, now why would you do that?” she questioned John B

“Hey! Her songs are really good,” you argued, looking back at Kiara.

“They are, but you play this one way too much.”

You rolled your eyes at Kie and opened your mouth to speak, but JJ crammed his way to the middle to be able to lean over your seat. The action made you smile, especially when he backed you up.

“Let her play what she wants,” JJ jumped in. “Besides, I like this one. “Style”, right?”

“10 points to JJ!” you cheered overdramatically, mostly just to watch Kie roll her eyes.

You noticed the sly grin appear on JJ’s face right before he asked, “Do I get a prize?”

That look he got when he was only focused on you crossed his face. You loved it.

You grabbed his chin lightly in one hand and pulled him in close enough for you to be able to press a kiss to his lips.

“You guys are gross,” Kie grumbled, moving to sit back in her spot.

“Please don’t make out in front of us,” Pope requested a little uncomfortably, finally making himself known.

“Jeez, Pope,” JJ drawled when the two of you parted. “It was just a kiss, not making out. When we do make out, you’ll know.”

Pope cringed at the implication while you jokingly swatted at your boyfriend.

While you had control of the music, you only played Taylor Swift. You let a variety play out, but went back to “Style” more than once.

At one point when you played it a second time, even though he was sitting behind you, you realized JJ was humming the tune and occasionally muttered out some of the lyrics to himself.

It brought you joy, and that was partially why you ended up playing it yet another time. You knew all the complaints were non-serious, so you didn’t see a problem. Besides, you put up with their music tastes all the time, they could handle it.

Later, when it was just the two of you lounging out in the hammock while the others resided inside the Chateau, JJ brought it up.

He was laying on his back with his arm wrapped around you. You laid mostly on your side next to him, your head on his shoulder.

“Why do you like that song so much?” he wondered, probably realizing he hadn’t asked before.

You knew exactly which one he was talking about. You tilted your head up and found him looking down at you. You smiled to yourself, knowing exactly why.

“Parts of it make me think of you,” you admitted. JJ didn’t say anything, waiting for you to explain. ““James Dean daydream”?” you recited, gauging his reaction. ““Long hair slicked back, white T-shirt”?”

As your luck would have it, to further prove your point, JJ was wearing his favorite white T-shirt. You pinched the fabric between your fingers and that caused him to look down at himself.

JJ’s brows pinched together. “My hair’s not that long.”

You chuckled at how he analyzed the lyrics.

“Long enough,” you replied lightly, shrugging your shoulders in spite of the angle. “And it’s not the whole song, because our relationship isn’t in danger like that—it’s not, right?”

You weren’t asking him genuinely, you had a joking tone that he could easily identify.

“Absolutely not,” JJ still answered with certainty. “You and I are perfect.”

“I second that,” you agreed, snuggling a little closer to him. “But anyway, a few weeks ago I heard it after we hung out and that part…” you trailed off, watching him watch you.

You loved the interest JJ showed as you spoke, even over something as small as a song. It made you feel more listened to and cared about than you ever had before.

“I don’t know, it just made me think of you,” you concluded, not having a more complicated reason like he was expecting.

“It is a pretty good song, and if that means I’m on your mind, then I approve,” JJ beamed.

JJ cupped your face in his hand and leaned down to press his lips to yours. You grinned against his lips before letting your eyes slide shut and kissing him back.

JJ rolled you beneath him, his lips moving against yours with dominance.

You had an afterthought about before in the van when Pope accused the two of you of making out. You hadn’t been before, but you were now. You really hoped this one wouldn’t be interrupted.

The next time you all were in the van, JJ rode passenger since you all took turns for the most part. When John B handed him the aux cord, a smile broke out across your face the same time Kiara rolled her eyes dramatically and Pope sighed when his chosen song came on.

“Seriously, dude? You too?” John B asked, more amused at his friend playing Taylor Swift than annoyed.

When “Style” got to the chorus, JJ looked over the seat. He gave you a smile in return before sitting back down properly.

“What?” he questioned with a shrug, facing John B. “I like this one.”

[riacte]

subjective + critical (NOT CRITICISM) wild life thoughts (no spoilers for winner, spoilers for finale gimmick)

Sorry for being back again. Anyways after watching Wild Life, I came to the conclusion that it's very... Grian. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING. In a way, it's always been very Grian (understandably so because it's his server and he picks the cast)— server wide event that gives everyone an opportunity to be involved, mechanics that toss you around haphazardly, random factor for funsies— I've watched Grian's minigames since HC6 Tag, Demise, etc, and there's a Grian-ness that I can't explain but I feel and recognise with my soul. This isn't Grian crit, I respect him massively for coming up with engaging gimmicks, I loved Demise 1, he definitely changed the scene of Hermitcraft 6, etc.

I previously talked about the experimental nature of Life series and how the emotional investment in Third Life was somewhat unintended. Wild Life is an experiment that's giving the expected results of Third Life— Grian-esque experimental gameshow about hanging out with friends and reacting to insane shit flung at you. The finale gimmick is all of the wild cards (seemingly individually chosen because of fun factor, no wider theme that connects them) together at the same time. It's fun! It's dramatic! It... doesn't have to have a deeper meaning!

Then comes the fandom's Swiftie tendency to connect everything (it's me, I'm the Swiftie), which is an inevitable and fun part of engaging with media. Famously, the LimLife winner symbolism debate. Coincidentally, the first three winners fit into celestial symbols, but it starts to fall apart with Martyn. But we love connecting stuff and making up symbols/blessings/curses, so we stuff Martyn and the following winners in anyway to honour them.

But there comes a point in which hyperanalysing everything sometimes feels like a stretch. This is a natural part of the life cycle I suppose. You can't recatch the lightning of 3L in a bottle, much like how All Stars Blue Bats doesn't hit the same as MCC9 Blue Bats. Wild Life is perfectly entertaining on its own, but to me it feels weird that it's tacked onto the Life series, like it's an afterthought. It has all of the cast so far, we get a lot of nostalgia bait, existing duos, but... it personally, subjectively doesn't feel like The Life Series TM. Like, it sure is A Sequel and Continuation of the plot but it feels like a Beach Episode. It's fun to watch! And... yeah!

And then you start to think. So maybe it's us who've been assigning a lot of Meaning to the first generations of Life series and now with Wild Life, it's finally reached its intended vibe of Fun Experimental Grian Gameshow. I remember someone said "what you're missing in the OG Life series was never there in the first place" and I see that viewpoint, it was like a collective hallucination. I'm gonna spitball if Wild Life was written by the fandom with attempts to "script coherent themes":

Fixed six sessions, first five gimmicks refer to previous five seasons, sixth sessions is every gimmick all at once

Clear "wild life" theme, which would keep the snails and superpowers probably, add possibly Origins, and cast members are encouraged to play into the theme (like BigB this season)

Dice theme, something about rolling 1-6, ties in with people starting with 6 lives

And we got the Gameshow. Individual gimmicks are quirky but don't seem really tied to each other. And there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just have a bunch of fun ideas and throw them into a pot. But the fandom expects to have something to work with due to the meta starting from 3L. Even if it doesn't fit perfectly, it's fun to make it fit! That's why we do analyses and symbolism! It's the bread and butter of fandom!

This is where I bring up the Life Seriesification of Hermitcraft, which is probably related in ways I cannot fully explain. The Life series isn't just a fun gameshow, it's a JOB. It brings you clout and views and fandom relevance and fandom propaganda which brings you views and income. The Life hermits have generally become a closed circle, with exceptions like Ren who hangs out the most with non-Lifers. The fandom's desire to connect Life series meta becomes so overwhelming that it seeps into non-Life series stuff, prominently HC, and the non-Life hermits start to get sidelined. Okay, it's more like Life series meta is interesting, so your Lifers become more interesting, so you care about them more, so you care about their HC POVs more. It's a weird reinforcing circle. And if you step out of it for a while (Ren), your clout decreases (Ren), and even when you come back, you kind of.... don't get the same level of mainstream attention anymore even though your personal fanbase is going insane (Ren). (BigB also gets sidelined, although that is a different discussion.)

Anyways it Isn't That Deep and the main reason is probably The Novelty/Interest Is Gone. That and the segmentation of the HC fandom, which I am absolutely guilty of. I don't "need" to post or watch popular POVs because I get to know about them through osmosis anyway. So I end up only "caring" about a few POVs.

I am aware this doesn't make a good deal of sense and I'm sorry for being a party pooper of sorts. This is not criticism, just trying to analyse it through a critical lens.

Life series can keep on being a gameshow. It can be whatever it likes at this point. I'm just sick of it invading Hermitcraft fandom and tilting the balance overwhelmingly in favour of the Life hermits. It's suffocating.

Final reminder to myself, but replace "yourselves" with "Life series fandom":

[teardropsonmyheartstrings]

OK, I've been debating over this for ages...

Who of you guys is familiar with Stationhead?

I've been listening almost religiously for months now, and I've got questions.

For those who have never seen this name:

Stationhead is an app that can be linked to your Apple Music or Spotify account and allows streaming playlists, so you can share them with others in real time. It includes a chat function and some other little bits and bobs. Artists--including Taylor--occasionally use it for listening parties, where they stream a specific playlist, and fans go nuts in the chat. All good fun. Taylor Nation has an account they use for those listening parties, and they are usually announced beforehand via instagram, etc.

Whenever there is no active listening party, there's still a Swifties channel. There's a whole syndicate that shares the responsibility of keeping the music playing there. They can stream music simultaneously, but only one gets featured "on air" on the channel at any one time. I can't really determine whether those individual hosts are fans, or what, or how they got into the syndicate. But I did notice two things: 1) Just before a listening party, a certain host called "swiftiesss13" tends to take over the channel. Basically while everyone is gathering and waiting for the main event to start. 2) There also seems to be a default host that plays whenever no one else from the syndicate is active. That would be taylorswifties13 (LOVE the 1989 icon 😉).

Please note, that these are all just my observations. I know nothing about the behind the scenes that are going on. If anyone here knows more or thinks I'm spewing utter nonsense, PLEASE fill me in!

Now.

The thing I feel kinda weird about sharing, but which I really would appreciate thoughts on... So, on that default station, the host taylorswifties13 has been playing the same playlist for several months now. I BELIEVE the most recent changes to the playlist occurred around mid November. Specifically, Nov. 15th, IF I'm not mistaken. I'm going by text messages I sent to my friend back then, and my fuzzy memory/awareness of what came before then, because up until then, I'd been listening for months, but hadn't known what to look for. First of all, let me share the playlist that has been in place ever since then:

Note, that since I have no way of knowing for sure, my staring point of Begin Again is perfectly arbitrary. As for the colour coding, red indicates songs from the The Eras Tour setlist. That's 21 tracks out of 47, so close to half. In addition to that, we have tolerate it, which used to be on the setlist, and Florida!!!, which was part of the TTPD set for four shows (London and Miami). I wasn't sure whether to count the latter as a setlist song, or a surprise song, but I'll mostly count it as a surprise song. The tracks in green, are songs she played on her final leg in USA/Canada. Any tracks with an asterisk (*) were surprise songs during the European leg of the tour. Please don't be too confused by all of my annotating and colour coding; it’s all a bit silly on my part, but maybe it's helpful to someone else..? Dunno.

And here's the "juiciest" bit about it all

...assuming I haven't lost you by now.

If you would please direct your attention to tracks 35 and 36:

Gorgeous (track 34) ends, This Love starts playing, but STOPS just a few seconds into the actual verse. If you look at the progress bar, this is exactly how long the song is meant to play. I once tried following it up by adding this song to my Spotify favourites (which you can do via the Stationhead app), but it only gave me the proper version. Very odd. Anyway, I was so puzzled over this almost straight away, but it took me several more months (last week) to think of checking the runtime. Here it gets a bit so-so.... because it's 38 seconds. But not sharp. It's NOT 39 seconds, but it's also not exactly 38. Still. Very strange, kinda tantalising, not quite precise enough for my liking and YET so UNCANNY. On a stopwatch that doesn't show the milliseconds, it certainly WOULD be 38 seconds... 🤷‍♀️ If you are wondering about my reaction time: I also isolated the exact snippet of the track in video editor, and it was under 39 seconds. The whole thing is compounded by the fact that the original Fearless plays right after. The original. EVERYONE in the chat keeps complaining about the "stolen" version. Ok. I get it. But also, why does no one else find it weird?! They are raging, but no one is questioning. In a playlist with ONLY TVs, except the two reputation songs which have no TVs yet. In fact, there's ONLY two rep songs and NO Debut songs. The host is otherwise very mindful of their curation.

For me, the odd skip, followed by this odd OG version immediately brought ONE thing to mind:

This was from Karlie's snapchat stories. It entered the lore officially, when Taylor referenced it in her The Man music video, on the graffiti wall.

Why I think it's relevant and it all fits together?

* This Love (a 1989 song, contains lyrics like "this love came back to me" etc) plays for only a short time, which should raise eyebrows on it's own, but arguably, it also runs for 38 seconds. * OG Fearless (rather than TV) is another way to make you stop and think, but it ALSO is the version that actually was out when the mirror thing happened. There were no TVs yet.

ANOTHER ALSO. The "We Are Fearless" mirror thing happened November 16, 2016. Remember when I THINK the playlist changed to THIS?! Mid November 2024 (15th). At first I thought it was 16th, but I live in Australia, so my 16th isn't America's 16th yet early in the morning, which was when I discovered it. (Dang! 🤣) Anyway, close enough? I want to say "take this with the hugest grain of salt" because I didn't quite have my shit together back then. But in favour of this being odd: I knew about the mirror, I didn't know when exactly it happened. When I searched my text history to find the dates for when I became aware of all this, I STILL didn't know when the mirror thing happened. I found that date on my phone first, before googling the video of the mirror writing, which then conveniently came with an actual date. I was shocked. It just fit too well.

Ok, so far so good.

But I'm still at a loss. As I mentioned before, everyone regularly complains about stolen Fearless. NO ONE ever asks why This Love is cut off. I question on the daily whether I'm just going nuts. Isn't it happening to ANYONE ELSE?! But it has to, as the playlist is streamed. It would mess up the entire timing from thereon, if it didn't happen to everyone at the same time. I'd think you don't have to be a Gaylor to find it strange?!

Oh, and a wee bit more Kaylor...

This really is a minor thing, but did you notice track 22? It just so happens to be the Kendrick Lamar version, as in NOT the exact version from the Eras Tour, but the one from that lovely music video, which features our girls boxing their hearts out 🥵 Not very demure, but feels VERY mindful, no?

I have one last thing to add:

I can't exactly send in evidence for this, as the playlist is super long, but y'all are free to waste some time and fact check me if you don't believe it... the entire playlist runs for 3h03 min (and once again a couple of extra seconds, so not perfectly on the dot, but for a whole playlist that's to be expected). What's that in MINUTES, you may immediately wonder? 183. Thank you very much 🙈

BUT WELL...

Let's think critically here for a moment... I'm either delusional, or this playlist does have "KAYLOR" written all over it. Cool. Fun. BUT HOW DO WE KNOW, that this playlist isn't just made up by one of us? Unfortunately, we don't. Or at least I don't. If any of you could elucidate, I'd be totally thrilled! Things that make me have a wee bit of faith:

It appears to be the default playlist on the Swifties channel

The tracks are very mindful of the TV situation, just like playlists that are coming from a more officially official source: NO Debut, as little reputation as possible, but then the odd one out Fearless OG

This is where the surprise songs come into play: the ratio of non-setlist tracks that were actually played during the America leg of the tour as surprise songs is a bit higher than what I'd expect to be chance alone. I've since tried to come up with random lists of songs and compared them to the actual surprise songs to kinda test this. I fell very short with some, came rather close with others, never quite reached the exact same number, let alone higher. I could be totally wrong, but this list of songs, that was first aired just a few shows into the American leg, contains a suspicious number of surprise songs. Almost like the curator knew that some of them would be played. Dunno. I'm aware that this isn't good evidence, but still something I noticed.

To sum it all up.

This has been driving me insane. I don't know if I see patterns where there are none, or if I see them alright, but the source is just another Kaylor having fun with it. Any thoughts, comments, insights would be MORE THAN WELCOME. What do you think? Is this something random, or is Miss Taylor having a jolly good time messing with us?

[chaosfairy18]

It was dark when Bumlets came to himself, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he grabbed for his phone on the nightstand. Just a few minutes from 2a.m. so far too early to be awake. Usually he wasn't a light sleeper, so something must have been off, but what?

He carefully felt around in bed, finding Swifty's arm a bit away from him and, where Skittery usually lay between them, only the empty bed.

Yes, his boyfriend had said he'd come to bed a bit later and Bumlets had fallen asleep way quicker than usual and hadn't checked, but Skittery had to have come to bed at some point... right?

Quietly, he got up and went through the house, trying to see some light, indicating where his boyfriend might be. He wasn't in the bathroom, nor one of the kids' rooms, nor the kitchen. Or the balcony, luckily. That mostly meant he was smoking, which meant he was stressed enough to do it, knowing that Bumlets couldn't stand the smell or could keep himself from coughing when he had smoke near him.

So most likely it wasn't bad, Bumlets just had to find him.

Finally he found a small light in the living room, accompanied by the quiet peaceful music of what he thought was Skittery's newest farming game. That explained it.

Getting behind where his boyfriend was lying on the couch, far too engrossed in the console in his hand, Bumlets slung his arms accross his chest and kissed his head before resting his on top of Skittery's. "It's getting late Mica."

Skittery only slightly startled before melting into his touch. "I just gotta do two more days, Gabriél invited me to a date then and I'll forget it tomorrow if I quit the game now."

Bumlets hummed, watching Skittery run around a town and into what he assumed were some mines. "But it's already two a.m. And Swifty and I miss you."

That did make Skittery blink up at him, looking confused. "No, it can't- two, really?"

"Yeah, doll. Seems while seducing that 'Gabriél' you forgot all about us."

That did make Skittery look affronted. "I'd never- no, I'm just- he looks like you and Vince and I just-" He hunched up his shoulders, but still cuddled further into Bumlets' arms. "I just want to finally get to the marriage phase because if I do I kinda marry you two again."

Bumlets smiled, kissing his cheek. "And that's very cute that you want to marry us again, but we'd still love to sleep with you now."

Skittery sighed, but Bumlets could see him run to his little digital home and go into bed, saving the game. "Yeah, okay. You can remind me of the date anyways."

"We'll see if I'll support you marrying someone else."

"It's basically you."

"Mhm."

Skittery fell asleep almost as soon as he'd crawled in bed and Swifty had sleepily put his arms around him.

For Bumlets it took a bit longer, but at least he now knew that both his boyfriends were here.

[9w1ft]

I have always struggled to contain my anger toward the people who clowned her so hard for the beginning of that era and the "spelling is fun" stuff. I know she gained a lot of new fans during Rep, and Lover was a drastic 180 tone and vibes wise, but Lover was the first album she released under Universal. We now know that under Universal, she has almost complete control creatively, so Lover was almost a re-introduction, the first thing she wanted to say to her fans with her newfound freedom, and as far as she knew at that moment, everybody hated it.

People clowned her so hard she changed her lyrics, the one part of her music she cares about the most. It just breaks my heart to think about everything she was probably going through at that point. Her fans can't even handle a fun campy joyful song how are they going to handle anything more than that?

I'll always adore Lover because I feel like more than most of the rest of her work, it is exactly what she wanted us to hear and see of her at that moment when she could finally say and do what she wanted. Regardless of who the songs are or aren't about, it was her we were supposed to see, totally and completely, and I will always love it for that.

i’m not so well versed in the chart community but at the time it felt to me like a lot of the hate stemmed from it being a sort of comeback single but not charting well, and blaming that on what other chart tracking fandoms were teasing them for, the so-called childlike aesthetics and lyrics. there’s also this thing where a lot of her fans think she picks bad songs to be singles (that there were better choices). i think, had she followed through by coming out, the song would have gotten a proper reconsideration by critics, and in doing so, the chart obsessed side of the fandom would have relaxed. of course this is all superficial and doesnt get at the key issue which is a lack of appreciation for and reception of taylor’s art by a big portion of her own fanbase, people interacting with the idea of her rather than considering her as a person, etc, though i also remember reading thoughts from fans on tumblr who were not chart obsessed but rather saw ME! or the “hey kids!” line as insulting to their tastes or intelligence, and i guess people are entitled to feel how they feel, but i think that some amount of that is connected to a lot of longtime swifties having been in the trenches fighting for her and her reputation and working to prove the quality or seriousness or craft of her work to other people for years, despite being made fun of for listening to her or being a fan of her.. to some of these people, ME! probably felt like it was unrecommendable or tough to defend criticism of their own personal tastes, and they felt like taylor did them dirty. i’m not saying i agree with any of this or that it is a good thing. it’s just my attempt at understanding of some of the critiques of it.

i think in general, and this goes for so many things, there is a cross-party division in the community that nobody really talks about, whether you are small g gaylor or swiftie, which is a level of cringe tolerance. on both sides of the community, there are people who have a very low tolerance for cringe, and people who have a very high tolerance. by cringe i mean, sensitivity to perception of the self by others. i would go so far to say that most gaylors and swifties could get along with some segment of one another, so along as their cringe levels are in alignment. both sides of the fandom have people who theorize heavily and people who hate the people who theorize because they find it cringe to do so. and it’s a spectrum. but anyway, i think that in some ways ME! is another example of the tensions fans sometime have with their own public perception.

i love Lover so much both as a collection of work and as a greater project for reasons similar to what you said. i felt like she was really tapping in to a mode that was about enjoying herself, embracing insecurities but in a fun way. forms of art like collage, mix and match fashion, gaudy things, camp-adjacent things, unbridled by a desire for sonic cohesion, etc etc, makes lover a real standout for me in the same way rep felt. and in some ways i like that ME! went over so many peoples’ heads because there’s less of a dissonance i feel when listening to it as opposed to some of her more critically acclaimed music that is popular but equally meaningful. i think ill forever lament how popular midnights got simply because people wanted to hop on the bandwagon, if that makes sense. anyway. there are plenty of issues with being drawn specifically to perceived underrated material, too. all of her work deserves love.

time goes on and lover continues to be a very stable (well streamed and often bought) album with longevity (cruel summer turning into a mega hit), an maybe one day ME! will get its place again in the sun

[joesalw]

You really can't write this shit lmao...

TS's friend group consists of Miss 'idc about genocide and continue to employ a bloodthirsty zionist CEO for my makeup brand' and Cara D who's great grandfather created the Black and Tans which is a terrorist organisation that killed Irish people during the Irish War of Independence. A group that also sent their people to kill Palestinians in favor of establishing the state of Israel. Last night these 3 went to Ramy Youssef's (who Taylor probably met at the "Poor Things" premiere) comedy show in NYC and 100% of the proceeds would go to the Gaza relief fund. The thing is, Selena and Taylor are getting all the credit and praise for Ramy's activism. I've been a fan of her work for the past 10 years and her recent activities have turned me off of her completely. The turning point was that pathetic TIME interview.

I've always thought of her as this well-read individual who can masterfully express herself whether it would be public speaking or writing but I couldn't help but cringe while reading that article. She tries too hard to appeal to gen z and younger millennial crowd when she herself is practically pushing 40 atp. I feel like all of her 'intelligence' came from being around Joe Alwyn who's a notorious bookworm. The fact that she describes her Rep era as 'goth-punk' was the first strike, the 2016 hate train as a ' career death' was the 2nd and the whole patriarchy delusion she went into just hit the final nail in the coffin and I was like 'nope, not doing this shit anymore'.

I know that swifties have been comparing her to Beyonce lately saying things like 'well, Taylor writes her songs' or 'Beyonce can't read' and talking about how she doesn't give interviews so people don't know that she's dumb. And as a comparison I've found her Harper's Bazaar interview that she gave when she turned 40. And good God, I've slept on this woman for way too long. In the interview she talks about building her work ethic from an early age. The dedication of her life's decades (First decade was dedicated to dreaming, the teens were about the grind, the 20s were about building a strong foundation for her career and establishing her legacy, the 30s were about starting her family and prioritizing her own life over her career). She started her own management company at 27, in 2013 she started her charity foundation in which she helps hurricane relief, education, supporting minorities businesses, families with housing needs, water crises, pediatric health care and pandemic relief. She talks about expanding her business ventures beyond music industry, talks about setting boundaries in the world of celebrity culture, about her friends being a group of strong independent women, about the importance of mental health. She also says that she's most inspired by her parents ("My mother has always been my Queen and still is. She has always been so strong and is filled with humanity", "No matter how tired she was, she was always professional, loving, and nurturing."; "My father constantly encouraged me to write my own songs and create my own vision. He is the reason I wrote and produced at such a young age."). That woman is so well-spoken and genuine you can't help but feel warm while reading it and she doesn't feel the need of throwing unnecessary 'smart people' words to seem that way.

Reading Taylor's "Person of the Year" profile and Beyonce's 'Entering 40s' interview were completely different experiences. And as a result, one of them lost a fan and the other gained one. I wish Tree Paine would stop Taylor from giving these interviews because everytime she does, she comes across as tone-deaf, out of touch, mentally stuck overgrown teenager, try-hard bratty diva who can't stand being not the only one praised.

Anyway, I'd recommend to read the full interview and watching her new film. I've watched it yesterday and got the urge of turning my life around. That lady is truly such a light.

Taylor's friend list also includes 'Mr. and Mrs. plantation with slave cabins on the property wedding', 'a sex offender and a SA apologist as the newest addition', 'Ms. "I assaulted my own sister", ' an insecure and whiny music producer who likes to stir drama on Taylor's behalf'. And not to mention that she's dated a nazi this year and her newest flavour of the month is a fatphobic jock with a double digit iq, her father is also an avid republican voter. I think the people she surrounds herself with tell about her more than she does herself.

And concluding with two cents about Joe Alwyn. I'm glad she's out of his life. While I was a swiftie I've watched his interviews and he always came across as a very gentle, calm, well-spoken and a bit introverted man. And she's... well, her. I also think that she'd held him back in her job in regards of producers and directors not wanting their work to be overshadowed by 'Taylor's BF is in this' articles. I'm hoping he does more projects in the future or maybe dips his toes in writing and directing something because clearly he's a talented writer.

Sorry for the long rant, had to get it out of my system <3

I love reading your rants, keep it coming. they are so on point.

[imtheiliad]

hmmmm oh i have a question

what's the love story between you and amelia sjdksd you guys are so cute together

tell me whatever you feel comfortable with

heheheheh any excuse to talk about @singlethread hehehee and i have been meaning to go through my archive for this

so basically i kept seeing her with 911 related things, and then i got more into the swiftie side of tumblr too and they were also everywhere there, we became mutuals, she sent me their buddie ppt for swiftie ppt night (an immaculate work of art) and then we started chatting in DMs and asks and discovering that we are really fucking similar (one instance of this) and wanted to then send videos of rosa and juni so we exchanged numbers. and then for their birthday i wrote them a fic -- mind you i am oblivious at this point. i then sorta realized that i had a crush in like march or so and hopped on the dating apps again to try to combat it which got me three dates with someone but i was not comfy with them after that. so i deleted the apps again. and i get distracted by some other life stuff including realizinf that i need to fucking quit my job, so i deal with that. (all through out this amelia and i are sending each other asks about kissing each other etc etc) anyway-- July 2nd hits, Amelia is attending the Eras Tour, i'm watching a grainy lives stream as usual, and ms. swift begins to play ivy -- which is a very special song to amelia and i post this, why you ask? because i was crying over the fact that she was getitng to hear it live, and that i was by extension watching that happen through the stream, and that i was singing it with her too. i was down very bad. (still am btw) and then i said this and this

now-- its the end of september, crush night -- the pivotal moment. i reblog this and answer this ask amelia makes polls about dating tumblr mutuals etc etc -- moral of the story: we are dumb!!! (there are so many other posts if you go to my archive btw) anyway @loveaffairmaimyou finally got sick of us and dm'd me asking who my crush was and at this point i kinda figured it was mutual and was very much freaking the fuck out. we finally talked to each other about it. and history was made

and i didnt implode because i visited her for new years and got kissed (lots)

[twilasversion]

So I saw this review of the deluxe tracks for Short n' Sweet and I have to say I ~absolutely~ agree. That being said, just to add *my opinion* that Bad Reviews really doesn't work as a closing track to the album for me.

Especially as we know Needless to Say exists, is missing from the tracklist and would be the PERFECT closing tack. Like that was my initial reaction when it was released back in August last year: "This should have been the closer". But after the 2 final slow, sad songs on the standard tracklist, Lie To Girls and Don't Smile, I could understand why it was initially cut. But with these bonus tracks added there's really no excuse? Like it makes sense chronologically/thematically for Needless to Say to come straight after Bad Reviews?!

Like the Deluxe album (I would've preferred she kept the Short n' Sweet(er) title or Short n' Sweet(est) in line with emails i can't sent fwd: over simply Deluxe, but I digress), is 17 tracks longs which is a really weird number for an album? It's not even a physical copy thing because CDs can contain up to 99 tracks and 12" vinyls can hold between 4-7 tracks each side, so having the extra final track that would bring the total up to an even number would actually make more sense? Like I don't get it? I suppose it was the less popular of the 2 bonus tracks she put out last summer, but even then I really can't see the issue with adding 1 more track to the deluxe edition? If a track really needed to be cut from the record, cut one of the other tracks we hadn't heard yet. It's not like Needless to Say is an emotional love ballad about an ex and she no longer feels that way, it still rings true to the general experience of being a public figure and goes hand-in-hand with the themes brought up by 15 Minutes.

I'm assuming she's pulling a 'Taylor' (whom I LOVE, this is a Swiftie fan page and I know she's not the only one to do this) of stringing out the releases so people have to buy multiple copies of the same album to get the complete set of songs. In terms of streaming I don't want to have to make a playlist to have the complete setlist either, surely in terms of streams it's got to make more sense to have one record with all the streams rather than have your streams split across multiple releases anyway?

The whole multiple Midnights releases and the fact Taylor had to put out a 1989 (Taylor's Version) Deluxe (which still doesn't contain the full tracklist, where is Sweeter Than Fiction? And same goes for Fearless (Taylor's Version) and If This Was A Movie) still rubs me the wrong way. It negates the entire point of the (Taylor's Version)s from the listener's point of view, to have the complete collection, the ultimate deluxe edition of the record with better quality vocals/production (whereas the point for Taylor is obviously to reclaim her masters and also of course, money/reintroducing her back catalog to a new generation).

If I were to rework the tracklist, it would look like this:

Taste

Sharpest Tool

Please Please Please

Good Graces

Bed Chem

Coincidence

Espresso

Dumb & Poetic

Slim Pickins

Juno

Lie To Girls

Don’t Smile

15 Minutes

Busy Woman

Couldn't Make it Any Harder

Please Please Please feat. Dolly Parton

Bad Reviews

Needless to Say

To me, 15 Minutes and Needless to Say work as the bookends of the deluxe album and both discuss themes of fame and its fleetingness, being caught up in it all whilst held in contempt of the court of public opinion - but from different perspectives! To make a comparison to Taylor Swift, an almost I Can Do It With A Broken Heart-esque song and a Nothing New/Castles Crumbling "I'm too soft for all of it" style song. Busy Woman and Couldn't Make it Any Harder are also two faces of the same coin, discussing Sabrina's public perception and private reality of her sexual life. Please Please Please (feat. Dolly Parton)and Bad Reviews, not to intrude on Sabrina's personal life, are both presumably are about her relationship with Barry Keoghan - how she felt whilst dating him, hoping she knows better than her friends and family and not wanting to lose her pride and ego vs the harsh aftermath. Additionally, Needless to Say also works thematically/chronologically after Bad Reviews, as it's not just her friends and family who raised concerns about her dating Keoghan but the general public/her fans as well - and who are we to comment on what life decisions she makes, especially those concerning her private life.

I agree with the singles she chose and the general view that Bed Chem and Busy Woman should be singles, although because of Please Please Please having a feature with Dolly Parton - that was always going to get a music video. I think what they did with it 'kill off' Barry Keoghan's character (keeping in line with the theme that men never survive the Sabrina Carpenter Cinematic Universe also, presumably to save face somewhat on Sabrina's part) was the right call to make. I'm not sure if they could make a music video for Bed Chem and have it still be relatively PG-13, so I think a clip from the Short n' Sweet Tour performance would well here. And then a general tour/2024 recap video for Busy Woman as she's been so productive this last year (clips from the show, behind-the-scenes, rehearsals, costume/set design, general memories, Award shows, interviews, pop-up events, perfume launches) - thus a Busy Woman.

Anyway that's my rant for today, let me know what you think and if I'm barking up the wrong tree entirely here, please let me know *POLITELY* how I've got it wrong and I'll put my hands up and apologise.

[differentnighttale]

The Problem with Swifties ;An in-depth essay on Taylor Swift and her Toxic Fandom. An extensive essay.

Swifties are the diehard fans of Taylor Swift for decades since her award and exploded with numerous songs and singles, but Swifties have a history of pushing people back from the Fandom and making people dislike Taylor herself.

  Last year ,a Charlie XCX fan tweeted a photo of himself with a sign about Swifties.Yes,he shouldn't have written such a sign, but did he deserve to be dox online? No,hell no. They found where he lived, his school. And his country of origin that's not okay and he was a teenager. That was extreme backlash from swifties who called themselves powerful and not to be messed with. We could agree that the guy is wrong and doxxing is worse.

  In late 2024, David Gohl's daughter tweeted about Taylor's plane use, and then swifties attacked her with threats about 🪦and 🍇 threats and even homophobic remarks about them all because someone criticized Taylor's private plane us age ?That's not okay just because she's critiquing a celebrity is not a bad thing and you should be up and arms over someone who doesn't know you exist. Toxic swifties are of course ruining a Fandom due to extremeness of the fans.

Everyone knows the term girl's girl and how the term has been revamped for the worst, or it varies on certain community you orbit. Girls girls mean a girl who uplifts girls, supports them with hobbies, earning from them, feeling joy from them and is positive and does not put girls down for what they like and over a boy but a pick me girl is a girl who's the exact opposite: Doesn't support girls, looks down on them, not positive ,puts them down and wants male attention. Why did I bring this up? Cause there's a discourse around it :Every time I see a video with Swifties on Taylor Swift and girls are commenting on not liking them. The first thing people say is that their pick Mes. This throws me into the roof, the wall and whatever. It pisses me off.One: I am defending their actions but highlighting on it. Sure, most people who comment are pick me and others are just haters who live to hate but that's not always the case. Most people are tired of Swifties, over hearing Taylor Swift and all the drama and the extermity of them which puts people off which is valid. But some of their reasoning's Swifties not the commentors is that their doing it for male attention, hating her cause wll everyone hates her and that their pick mes who ecomposes all what I said initially. Girls can have different tastes and interests, girls are not a monolith, not liking femimine thing and stuff doesn't make you a pick me, you are only a pick me when you put other girls down.

This is slight diversion from the outline that I planned, and I am going to dip my toes it.Some examples on why a girl might be put off by the fandom or being a pick me: Some fans get hella defensive when you say you aren't interested ,lose their minds or say you aren't into her new music or she's not your type of artist which is 💯💯valid. Others say that you must hate woman, not saying is a stretch or false because of the type of hate she gets, Taylor but still that's very wild to tell other women which is very sexist and a gross generalsation.Again ,to the obsessive fans,doxxers and overall immature girls. And make er their whole personality. Stop celeb worship. Most hate Taylor herself for only speaking on politics when ia convenient, flying numerous times on her jet and how her fandom babies her like Shes a grown woman, not a baby.To "White" feminism to the Swifties literally baby. To Asylums like that's all sorts of messed up and even Romanizing about the 1800s, if you know the meme. You know it.

Well anyways this is FAR too long, and I stand by my points. I would post the last and final part when I'm ready.

Happy reading.

[romana-after-dark]

AHHH OH MY GOD NO IM THE LAST ANON AND IM WASNT BEING SARCASTIC IM SORRY!

I'm also the same anon that gave you the really long reviews of tww and the alternate ending to tww a few months ago, so clearly, I can ramble a lot too.

I sent those reviews during the drama you referenced in your last response... so if you don't remember them cos you had other things on your mind, then nvm.

Anyways, I was just asking, cos I'm really eager to read it! I love everything about tww, but I still want to read the dark romance version you said that you're writing. (and I hope that after you publish stolen lullaby you leave tww up cos I want to be able to reread it... but obviously thats your choice)

Sorry for the confusion lol. I usually read most stuff as sarcastic as well, so I understand what your thought process must have been when you got my last ask. Sorry, I didn't consider that other people might have that issue too. I assumed that was just a me problem.

Anyways, I'm really excited for both books! Your writing skills and work ethic are admirable 😅👍🏻

ITS TOTALLY OKAY!!’

I just wasn’t entirely sure and I was a little on guard, but I like to assume the best out of anonymous messages so I just rolled with it!

I do actually very much remember your in-depth reviews and sometimes I go back and find them because hearing that people actually pay attention to the themes and the details and stuff like that and not just wanna eat. The smut really makes me happy.

Probably the wrong way up because it’s all gonna be different enough I think and I don’t want people to buy stolen lullaby because they can’t read the wrong way. Plus, I wanna be able to see all the nice comments and content that people made about it because that genuinely makes me so happy.

It all started just because I wanted to double in a little bit of non-con, but the story became so much more to me sorting out relationships with Joel Tommy Lorenzo little when and how they all interact with each other, made me fall in love with writing in a way that I can’t describe

If you’re curious, the title comes from Taylor Swift, my tears ricochet. I’m not a Swifty and I don’t listen to a whole lot of her music, but the playlist has a lot of Taylor Swift. That song just so fully encapsulates Joel and little ones relationship. I don’t know if I’ve explained it to you yet or on here, but the title references several things references ones innocent stolen at such a young point in her life by her dad the things that Jamie forced her to do. it references Joel, who, in the story will be called Abel and how the loss of his daughter affected him. People have also drawn connections between Joel’s wires, getting crossed with his need for parental authority and his lost for little one is created a fucked up mismatch of everything in his head of how he views her. And finally, of course, is referencing the fact that little one, or Clementine in the story, will never get to raise her child, and those lullabies have quite literally been stolen away from her because of Joel.

Thank you so so so much for saying such a nice things about me and my writing.

If you haven’t yet, I put up a bonus chapter that kind of explore Lorenzo jack and Tommy’s dynamics for my one year anniversary. I can’t remember if you read that or not, but that will give you a little hint into character stolen lullaby.

Appreciate you so so so much!