#how folklore evermore midnights and TTPD are connected

[kellykswift]

Mass coming out theory vs. Taylors work

So I d like to add my 2 cents to this excellent post, done by @daisyswift3

DISCLAIMER: I know that her art has other references / meanings as well like for example the ones about her muse etc. But I am ONLY focusing on the mass coming out theory connecting to Taylors work

I think this mass coming out theory is true and the first "public" easter egg was this interview in 2021 - when Taylor promoted RED TV. She is talking about easter eggs and jumping in the water.

WATER. SEA. OCEAN. - keep en eye out for those. She already told us in 2021. So i digged into it because it totally makes sense in 2024 - also with the latest events, posted by @daisyswift3

When the theory is correct and the plan of the mass coming out started around 2020/2021 – then we need to take a look into Taylors work. In this interview she also said that she recently hid her secret codes in the capital letters of her lowercase lyrics. So folklore is the first album with ONLY lowercase song titles. Maybe this mass coming out thing was just an idea first, but by the end of 2021, when RED TV was released, the plan fall got more specific.

So lets start with FOLKLORE

We know that Taylor is an excellent cone artist (aka cowboy like me). Maybe the lowercase thing was just an idea at first and the plan was not specific yet, therefore she only dropped the hint in an interview in 2021.

When Folklore was released, she made sure we believe Folklore is pure fiction written from different perspectives. But she also said in an interview when asked about it (one of the few she did for Folklore):

My world felt opened up creatively. There was a point that I got to as a writer who only wrote very diaristic songs that I felt it was unsustainable for my future moving forward. So what I felt after we put out Folklore was like "oh wow, people are into this too, this thing that feels really good for my life and feels really good for my creativity… it feels good for them too?"

— Swift on how Folklore changed her creative process moving forward, Apple Music 1

What if the original plan of a mass coming out was established during this writing process? The tortured poets, where Taylor is chairman … they existed in 2020.

Here are the songs containing water, sea, ocean imagery either in lyrics or in actual images.

BONUS:  mentioning of poets the first time in the lakes (and she made sure we get it because she released the original version of this song on July 24, 2021.

Remember the whole Woodvale thing?

… none of it was accidental.

The 1: Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

cardigan: Leaving like a father, running like water

The Last Great American Dynasty: They say she was seen on occasion, pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea

My Tears Ricochet: And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves

Seven: Feet in the swing over the creek

Peace: I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm if your cascade, ocean wave blues come

The Lakes: Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die

Hoax

This is me trying

August

Exile

So lets move on to EVERMORE

To be honest, I am not so sure how Evermore fits into the narrative. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t acknowledge it, although it’s an amazing peace of art!

My guess is, that she made another HUGE hint to TTPD. It was released on Emily Dickinson's birthday.

… so does this sound familiar?

Also I think Guilty as sin is related to Evermore: I keep these longings locked in lower case inside a vault (Gold rush for example).

Water

So WATER. SEA. OCEAN.

willow: I’m like the water when your ship rolled in that night

gold rush: Eyes like sinking ships on waters so inviting, I almost jumped in

Long Story Short: And my waves meet your shore ever and evermore

Marjorie: Long limbs and frozen swims, you’d always go past where our feet could touch

Evermore: I’m on waves, out being tossed

Coney Island

Happiness

No body no crime

Carolina – released on june 24 2022 – this whole movie is basically on water.

O Carolina creeks running through my veins

Carolina: It’s between me, the sand, and the sea

Also very TTPD themed:

Oh, Carolina knows Why for years they've said That I was guilty as sin And sleep in a liar's bed But the sleep comes fast And I'll meet no ghosts It's between me, the sand, and the sea

Cassandra:

So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst And tried to tell the town So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

Guilty as sin

Someone told me There's no such thing as bad thoughts Only your actions talk These fatal fantasies Giving way to labored breath Taking all of me We've already done it in my head If it's make believe Why does it feel like a vow We'll both uphold somehow?

TSMWEL

Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed? Were you writing a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy? In fifty years, will all this be declassified? And you'll confess why you did it And I'll say, "Good riddance" 'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden I would've died for your sins Instead, I just died inside

The ghost in Anti Hero

I just love the ghost, that’s why I put it here.

So flash forward to midnights. My assumption is, that since the pandemic has been over, and she was able to tour again, she wanted to do one LAST TS the brand heist (because speak now diamond heist music video was a hint to that) and create the biggest thing possible. The Eras tour. I haven’t looked much into midnights but the main hint for the mass coming out theory is the last scene in her tour: the Truman show paralells.

Here is the post to this analysis:

https://www.tumblr.com/kylieswift31/757073433557352448?source=share

I know it sounds crazy but I think the whole TTPD concept started already around 2021 before midnights was released.

If you wanna fall down the rabbit whole, here are also some amazing connections:

[herejusttosufferalong]

(Re: About Joe Alwyn, Similarities with Nic, and Acquaintance with Luke Thompson)

Response to your shock about Ratty Healy : Hahaha as a swiftie myself I SIDE-EYED tay so hard when she had her rebound with him, like gurl he's nasty and disgusting with all of his past troubling behaviors no matter how sweet he might appear to you.

If you wanna know a glimpse of JoeTay relationship, it was officially started in September 2016 and ended in early April 2023.

They first met at Gigi's bday party (April 29th 2016, References: High Infidelity-Midnights, Gorgeous-Reputation, Dress-Reputation), then met gala (May 1st). She previously and was still dating Calvin Harris- long story short he was a D, she wanted to leave him. I didn't know what prevented things to go further between her and Joe but in met gala she also met Tom Hiddleston and danced together. They had a brief getaway car moment or rebound (Getaway car-Reputation), officially known to public from June to September.

Then Joe and Tay started their relationship on September 28th (Ref: September - Cover by TSwift).

2016-2017 was the hell of year for Tay because of the whole Kanye Kim drama and lies. The whole world turned their back on her and she was at the lowest point of her life. She disappeared for a year then came back with a new album Reputation released in 2017.

Albums that give us many insights about her life and love story with Joe are : Reputation 2017, Lover 2019, Folklore 2020, Evermore 2020, Midnights 2022, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology 2024.

He had part of writing and producing some songs with Tay in Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights in the pseudonym of William Bowery.

In TTPD, songs about Joe are So long London, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, loml, The Black Dog, How Did it End, and Peter.

I'm sad when people have to refer Joe only as Taylor Swift's Ex. He's a talented, low profile, and private actor. He's rarely active in SM. (Alwyn keeps his personal life private, which he described as a "knee-jerk response to the culture we live in". GQ labelled Alwyn a "notoriously low-key actor".)

Alongside with Paul Mescal, he is one the male leads of Sally Rooney Novel Adaptations. Paul in Normal People and Joe in Conversation with Friends. (I really would like Nic to have a project with him. Maybe another Sally Rooney adaptation would be great😭 *manifesting*)

Some of his projects are The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Harriet (2019), The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021), Stars at Noon (2022), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), Conversation with Friends (2022), Kind of Kindness (2024), TBA projects: The Brutalist and Hamlet.

He is also friends with Lukey T. He ever talked about him in interview.

Similar with Nic, he is very vocal about activist/social movements and always stood on the right side of history. Nic came from her background as an Irish people and her late Dad with his humanity and military works to keep peace in middle east. Joe family also has deep connection to activism, particularly in Palestine, his late great uncle is a peace activist and patron of the Palestinian solidarity campaign. And both are private about their personal lives. But Joe is really silent and not chronically online as Nic.

I just love when Nic has so many connections and fully booked. She deserves it. And I would like the same things to happen to Luke too. They both deserve the best to not put their talent in waste. I wish my parents all the best.

DAMN ANON

Are you on his payroll????

No but seriously thank you for sharing 💜

I know nothing about the guy but I have seen multiple movies listed above with him in it

Will have to rewatch and check out some of his other work 🥃

[zot3-flopped]

"She's never really appealed to lgbt fans though"

Me and a few of my queer friends got into Taylor around Lover/Folklore/Evermore. I liked 1989, because of the connection to Harry, but I became a genuine fan of hers during this time when she was lowkey with Joe. Since I never paid attention to her before her relationship with Joe, I didn't know just how obnoxious she really was. If she gained any lgbt fans in recent years, she definitely lost them after matty and now travis. Midnights and TTPD were an awful departure from her songs that made me a fan and her personality has turned me into a hater 💀

She hasn't done anything special for lgbt fans since the Lover era. Does she even pick up pride flags or is she another Louis Tomlinson?

[tslightninginabottle]

We Are Reputation

Or, An Argument For The Reformation of Community Subculture

Two Days Ago The Tortured Poets Department for Taylor Swift dropped. I have friends who like Taylor Swift. I have friends who love her. I’ve tried to explain to them what this album makes me feel and the more commentary I see online from Twitter, Threads, TT… I feel like, while no one needs my opinion, I want to say it online. So this post is going to be long. If you don’t want to read it, if you don’t care, scroll away. It’s anonymous, because at the end of the day, I doubt I’ll come back to this blog.

I've shifted between posting or deleting for days. This is not very well edited. It's mostly rambling and I understand that. Some points may be connected vaguely. It might seem like I'm contradicting myself. It's messy and raw, and I'm just tired. But if I’m going to do it at all. I’m going to do this as right as I can.

Thus it’s in the form of an academic essay. Unlike other Academic essays, it is not riddled with an intense amount of quotes or sources. This is an opinion piece. But I think for the sake of the TTPD release, the structure is very… fitting.

Introduction (I.E. the TLDR for those of you who don’t understand how an academic paper is structured)

Taylor Allison Swift, has been Taylor Swift (capital T, capital S, with the TM brand symbol) since the age of 16 years old. She has gone through a cycle of expectations three times, and now she is tired. She is begging her fans to listen, and many of them refuse to do so. She is capable of creating great art with great vulnerability, we as fans are no longer equipped to handle it. Ultimately there is a chance that she is afraid of shaping her own ability, because of us. The only way we as a fandom can change is if we redefine our community now before it’s too late. And if she stops after album 13 it will not because she does not want to, it will be because we have destroyed her. 

Taylor Swift (TM)

For those who are reading this, and have made it thus far, chances are you know who Taylor Swift is. Whether that means you know where she grew up (Christmas Tree Farm), when she moved to Nashville (14), the names of her cats, her mother’s medical history, secret sessions, VMAs, easter eggs, accidents, eating disorders, a myriad of too many details that we know about a person we have never met, and the loves of her life. Whether this is friends or relationships, you probably know, all of their names. How each one came and went in her life. Through songs and through tabloids, screaming her name, screaming their names, trying to defend her honor when the world calls her childish for only singing about the heartbreak. You know. Thus, this message is to you: for all you know about Taylor Swift, have you stopped to think of who Taylor Swift is? Truly? Not projecting your own thoughts onto her. How using your long list of check boxes and check marks and “I’ve been here this long and I’m a better fan because I know this much.” Have you, do you, know her? Because I don’t. 

When I got my first iPod in 2006, I had five songs on it that I bought with my own money: Thnks fr th Mmrs, Umbrella, Fergilicious, Our Song, and Tear Drops on My Guitar. In 2008 I had my who family memorize the lyrics to YBWM because we listened to it too often. I saw the 2009 VMAs happen live on television. In 2010 I was screaming Mean in the shower when I had no reason to; I was happy. In 2012, I got my choir to sing a mashup of IKYWT. In 2014, I was racing down the aisles of Target at Midnight to get 1989. I was a bystander during Snakegate. I was sitting in my car in 2017 reading potentially my favorite prologue I’ve ever seen. Then I was subsequently let down by the album as a whole. I was likewise disappointed in 2019. When Folklore came out, it was the first album I ever sent to my non-tailor swift friends. They loved it. I did it again with Evermore. Midnights came out and I sat in my living room with my brother and his girlfriend, screaming, talking, the first listen party I ever had where it was not just me alone. When TTPD came out, I was alone again. 

Don’t come for me and say I’m not a real fan. It’s okay to admit disappointment. I never expected her to change to my will, however. I never yelled about it online. I simply accepted that it wasn’t for me and moved on, waiting to hear the next thing to see if it was. I stood by her, not because I loved her or I idolized her, but because I resonated with her, and sometimes that resonating wasn’t perfect but I accepted that. 

Or maybe do call me a fake fan. I really don’t care what you think of me. I just need you to know that I’ve seen this. I know this. I know what you know, if not more. But all the same, despite me reading the tabloids, reading the magazines, having the posters, listening to all the music, I have never thought I actually knew Taylor Swift. And yet… 

There are people online right now, being critical about this album. Some say it sounds bland, the same as what has come before but not as electric and ground breaking. Some say she needs an editor. Others say she is trying to recreate catching lightning in a bottle and failing. There are those online who are giving the paternity tests to the songs right now, proving to me that you never bothered to actually read, let alone understand what TS is saying to you. 

You were too focused on  “If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that-right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.” That you MISSED: “I had become the target of slut-shaming-the intensity and relentlessness of which would be criticized and called out if it happened today. The jokes about my amount of boyfriends. The trivialization of my songwriting as if it were a predatory act of a boy crazy psychopath, The media co-signing this narrative. I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt. / It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hand out with. If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him. And so I swore off hanging out with guys, dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the victorian era.” 

Go reread the Reputation prologue for me real quick. Or actually better yet, here:

Here’s something I’ve learned about people. We think we know someone, but the truth is that we only know the version of them they have chosen to show us. We know our friend in a certain light, but we don't know them the way their lover does. Just the way their lover will never know them the same way that you do as their friend. Their mother knows them differently than their roommate, who knows them differently than their colleague. Their secret admirer looks at them and sees an elaborate sunset of brilliant color and dimension and spirit and pricelessness. And yet, a stranger will pass that person and see a faceless member of the crowd, nothing more. We may hear rumors about a person and believe those things to be true. We may one day meet that person and feel foolish for believing baseless gossip. This is the first generation that will be able to look back on their entire life story documented in pictures on the internet, and together we will all discover the after-effects of that. Ultimately, we post photos online to curate what strangers think of us. But then we wake up, look in the mirror at our faces and see the cracks and scars and blemishes, and cringe. We hope someday we'll meet someone who will see that same morning face and instead see their future, their partner, their forever. Someone who will still choose us even when they see all of the sides of the story, all the angles of the kaleidoscope that is you. The point being, despite our need to simplify and generalize absolutely everyone and everything in this life, humans are intrinsically impossible to simplify. We are never just good or just bad. We are mosaics of our worst selves and our best selves, our deepest secrets and our favorite stories to tell at a dinner party, existing somewhere between our well-lit profile photo and our drivers license shot. We are all a mixture of our selfishness and generosity, loyalty and self-preservation, pragmatism and impulsiveness. I've been in the public eye since I was 15 years old.   On the beautiful, lovely side of that, I've been so lucky to make music for living and look out into crowds of loving, vibrant people. On the other side of the coin, my mistakes have been used against me, my heartbreaks have been used as entertainment, and my songwriting has been trivialized as 'oversharing'. When this album comes out, gossip blogs will scour the lyrics for the men they can attribute to each song, as if the inspiration for music is as simple and basic as a paternity test. There will be slideshows of photos backing up each incorrect theory, because it's 2017 and if you didn't see a picture of it, it couldn't have happened right? Let me say it again, louder for those in the back... We think we know someone, but the truth is that we only know the version of them that they have chosen to show us. There will be no further explanation There will be just reputation.

You don’t know Taylor Swift. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read her lyrics and you’re sure. I don’t want to hear another person say “She’s giving us her diary.” She is curating it. Editing it. She is a poet. She is shaping her image into exactly what she wants it to be. She is showing us the worst parts of herself on purpose, because it feels as if she is tired of hiding the full maltifaceted person that she is.

However, she is a marketing genius. She is a billionaire. She is not the girl next door, your very best friend, the girl you’d give your kidney to. You don’t know her. You don’t know anything about her relationships other than what she says on her songs — and the tabloids that are like 90% wrong anyway. We only know what she is giving us, analyzing the lyrics and coming up with more incorrect conclusions than correct. You don’t know her. You only know her reputation.

And every time you chant. Reputation! Reputation at her concerts, in the comments, in the theories, the more feral you are over it, the more you prove her point. At this point, it feels like people care more about her reputation than her. And it seems as if she’s tired of explaining it to us, because all we care about is the show. “Breaking down, I hit the floor. / All the pieces of me shattered / as the crowd was chanting “more!” (TTPD, ICDIWABH)

The Cycles of Hate

We all know the story of reputation. Snakegate. Kanye. Kim. The social media blackout. The comeback of a century. The KYS. I wish Taylor Swift was Dead. She’s just a bitch. I knew she couldn’t be trusted. 

Fun fact. That was Taylor Swift after 1989. Taylor Swift during the Era’s tour could eat that Taylor for breakfast. Her fame is astronomically bigger, full on universal. If you didn’t know this, IDK where you’ve been, but it’s the truth. We’ve seen her grow from that It Girl Popstar. To THE Generation defining popstar. Taylor Swift was named Artist of the Decade for the 2010s because she was the artist of the decade. And to the haters out there, this post is not meant for you. I don’t want to hear it. You can in fact walk down the street and start the song Love Story and people will know the song. Even in other countries. People know Taylor Swift (TM). 

In the cycle of popstars, newer shiny popstars often replace the older ones. And Taylor Swift, one day, will be no exception. The difference is, unlike most of those other women and men— I’d dare to say that none have gone through the torment that Taylor Swift has. In 2009, after the VMAs, the world turned against Taylor. Publicly and through the media, people were criticizing Kanye West. But Taylor said herself that she thought people were booing her on the stage. There were think pieces about how she ‘wasn’t good actually.’ This is when the true hate train began for Taylor Swift. The: she only writes about love and boys. The: she dates too many of them. The: she doesn’t write her own songs (even though her whole brand was built on it). When Taylor Swift released Speak Now, it included the song Long Live. Based on the lyrics, Taylor thought this album could be the end of her career. “Will you take a moment? / Promise me this / That you’ll stand by me forever / But if God forbid fat should step in / And force us into a goodbye / If you have children someday / When they point to the pictures / Please tell them my name.” 

I like to tell my friends that I see Taylor Swift has having three cycles in her career so far. We are living in the third. This isn’t based on music genre, completely. Because for argument sake, Taylor has touched on many subgenera. But it is based on Main Genre, and the cycle of vitriol towards Taylor Swift —i.e.l over saturation. 

Cycle 1: Debut - Red; Country

Cycle 2: 1989 - Lover ; Pop

Cycle 3: Folklore - TTPD; Folk/Folk Pop

The Cycle goes as follows: Taylor Swift has massive world breaking success after catching lightning in a bottle. People get outraged. She has to respond, in order to defend herself. The world gets more angry and irritated. TS is everywhere. There are horrible things being said online, everywhere in every way. People want her to DISAPPEAR. She writes an album for herself, and the fans cherish it. Then she says, it’s time for something new. The Cycle repeats. 

To most, non-fans, that I have met or seen online. They seem to agree that Taylor has only ever had three “good” albums: Fearless, 1989, Folklore. What do all three have in common? They were smash successes. Before Midnights, they were the only three that won AOTY. People around the world know their songs. She has been given critical acclaim for them by people who don’t listen to Taylor Swift. They are all sonically cohesive. They are all lyrically creative, and musically engaging. And, most importantly, they were genre defining (at least for her). 

I ignore Debut here, because Debut was her setting the ground work, and while Debut and Fearless are similar and close, it was not Debut that started the cycle. Debut started her career. For this reason, Debut classifies as an Album 0. It is the album zero, ground zero by which the whole cycle was built. 

In the Cycle that I’ve defined, after the smash success for Album 1, there is a string of vitriol and some sort of incident. She then writes an album response either to it, or about it, trying to prove herself as an artist and that she deserves what she has and where she is: Speak Now, Reputation, Midnights. Each one of these albums are Taylor Writing to prove herself, as being allowed to exist, and create art, her snapping back in some way. This may be the most esoteric in regards to Midnights, but the concept is the same. The big vitriol after Folklore/Evermore was that she could write deep songs, but not deep pop songs. So she made a concept album about the sleepless nights of her past and made an anthology of well crafted lyrics and considerations, thoughts and prayers, and proved she could do it. Midnights shouldn’t have gotten AOTY. It was good, a world wide smash success, but that’s because she has a bigger fan base no than she did years ago. It wasn’t lightning in a bottle. It wasn’t genre defining. It was a good pop album. But ultimately, Midnights is an Album 2, it is a continuation.

Now many people may say, but Evermore was the album after Folklore. It wasn’t. It was written at the same time as Folklore. She didn’t have time to process anything. It is, for all intents and purposes, a double drop with Folklore. The two are one, the same mindset. Midnights was different. 

In the case of Album 2 it is, or was, always a failure. Before Midnights, at least, with both reputation and Speak Now, even though she poured her heart out and made excellent music, and yet for some reason it did not receive the same accolades or awards — or maybe was even ignored by the general public. She did not catch lightning in a bottle again. I would argue this is the same for Midnights, but the difference is that her fan base is so much larger than it was before. 

Now, after Album 2, there is always the ramp up. The actual over saturation. It grows and grows and grows and the world begins to fully hate Taylor Swift. Yes, I know Snakegate had everyone turn against her, but look at the way people said things to her during the Lover era. Once again she thought it was the end after Reputation, that her career was over. Red, Lover, and TTPD are Album 3s, or the “this one is for the fans” album as the fans like to say. The “You don’t get it because you don’t understand Taylor like I do, album.” The Album Taylor writes for herself. Red was the only breakup album. The heart wrench album. The sing it and scream it in your car album. Lover was, at the time, unapologetically, a be you album. The be in love, be happy, it’s okay to be “me” album. TTPD is the I’m falling apart, please see me album. It is the I’m going to have to be okay on my own album. The I’ve healed and move on from this part of my life, but you don’t know me, album. And each and every time general society says it is not great, fans say that they simply don’t understand it because they’re not fans. 

Rinse Repeat.

Album 1: The Critical, Genre Smash Success. Album 2: Is the Critically overlooked Concept Album. Album 3 is the: This one is for the “Fans” (herself), Album that is critically panned. 

Dear Reader

Right quick, go reread the lyrics for dear reader for me. Follow that up with YOYOK and ICDIWABH. Come back to me when you’re done. Good? Let’s go. 

Are you listening yet? Are you hearing her yet? Taylor Swift fans are realizing this now, but TTPD was written for Taylor and it was written for us. The fans. We don’t know her. We don’t know her life. She is begging us, on her knees. Crying to us. She is messy. She is far from perfect. She makes bad choices. She is not a good person. She is simply a person and she is asking us to stop the idol worship.

“Please. / I’ve been on my knees. / Change the prophecy. / Don’t want money. / Just someone who wants my company. / Let it once be me. / Who do I have to speak to. / About if they can redo. / The prophecy?” 

And you may say, but that song is about love. It is. It’s about us. The greatest love Taylor has ever known. She said that. To us, at the Eras tour. We are the longest relationship she’s ever had. We’ve been there with her through the good and the bad. The ugly and the sad. The beautiful and the change. 

“You, who saw that I reinvent myself for a million reasons. And that one of them is to try my very best to entertain you. You, who have had the grace to allow me the freedom to change.”  (1989 TV)

But are we?

“This is a story about coming into your own. And as a result… coming alive. I hope you know that you’ve given me the courage to change. I hope you know that who you are is who you choose to be, and that whispers behind your back don’t define you. You are the only one who gets to decide what you will be remembered for.” (1989)

What is the legacy we are currently leaving behind for her?

“I want to be remembered for the things that I love, not the things that I hate, not the things that I’m afraid of, not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night. I just think, you are what you love.” (Daylight, Lover)

Stop and think. For a moment. Every time we bring those men up. We bring the possible relationships up. We bring the heartache up. We attack the people online. When we hold her to impossible beauty standards, and impossible moral standards. We speculate and wonder and question… yes, there is a level of media literacy that comes from asking these questions. But there is a vocal majority, a large subsection of people online who are doing it again. Who are asking when she’s going to get married and have babies. Who are trying to burn Joe or Matty or Harry or any of the other boys before to the ground. Who are taking us back to 2012, the “she only writes about hs and heartbreak.” The fans who hang on her every word, every breath, and aren’t allowing her to change.

Taylor Swift (TM) has always been about change. But how many times have you seen or heard people scream, “this isn’t like folklore?” Some are like, they’re not real Taylor Swift Fans. But they’re comparing everything to it. And they are, her fans, and they’re not allowing.

Some of you may be like, but other artists don’t change. Don’t branch out. Write the same thing over and over and over, and maybe she wants to do that. Yet, girly has shown us time and time again that she actually likes challenging herself to write other genres. She likes doing it. If she didn’t. Reputation would have been more like 1989. Lover would have been more like 1989. Folklore and Evermore wouldn’t exist. I do think there is an argument to be had that expecting her to change and forcing her to do it is wrong, but I’m saying that we aren’t even accepting the chance that she may want to change for herself. Whether that means into a stable sound that never changes from album to album or into a wildly different genre. RN the FANS are dictating what should and shouldn’t be, and that’s… messy.

How many of you breathed in relief at 17-31 because it sounded like Folklore and Evermore? How many of you liked 1-16 because it was like Midnight’s sister? How many of you were waiting to hear the heartbreak about Joe? How many of you have given the songs paternity tests? It’s only been 48 hours. You can be honest. 

We are Taylor Swifts greatest love, if things are to be assumed, and the muse in TTPD is strangely many people in one — because we are a part of the problem now. She had to plead manic insanity to us, in her prologue for this album. 

How many of you look at the rerecordings and have forgotten the reason for them? I mean, I know you know the reason, but it’s not supposed to be a count down, doubting everything, pushing her, pressuring her, to give us her art. She is trying to reclaim her art, for herself. It’s called Taylor’s Version. Not the audience version. Yet, you scream Reputation at her concerts. Reputation. Reputation. Give us everything you are Taylor. Give us, your love Taylor. Entertain us Taylor. 

All she has left are her name and reputation. She’s already given away her reputation once. Do you think she wants to give it away again after she’s finally reclaimed it? Do you think she wants to give her name away again? When it’s finally her’s? 

And don’t get me wrong I think that reputation (TV) and Taylor Swift (TV) will come, and the world will be excited for the vault tracks, and be angry that it doesn’t sound identical to the original. And feel betrayed that it’s not 100% perfect the exact way they wanted. They’re tired of her failing them. Gaslighting her into believing she’s not good enough. Threatening to quit her and leave her behind because she’s disappointing them, by doing the one thing she’s good at but it’s not good enough anymore.

Oh sorry, not the world.

Her fans. The love of her life.

Critical Critique

The thing about giving good feedback and critique is that it needs to be helpful. You can’t simply say, I hate this, and expect someone to use it. 

Taylor Swift is not above critique. She is not perfect. She is a human being, it’s legitimately impossible to be perfect. Yet we ask her to be perfect. Now I’m not saying perfection with saying one thing (that she cares about social justice) and then doing the opposite. I’m not saying she’s above critique of her private jets or being a billionaire. These can all be valid critiques. I think we should be critical of her billionaire status, and white feminist tendencies, and marketing exploitation. This is looking at an idol and holding them to human standards that you may have for yourself.

I don’t think that being critical and holding someone accountable is toxicity. I do think it’s toxic tho, that we are starting to read into everything. Search for clues in everything. Showing up to weddings we were never invited to. Stalking her across venues. (And I don’t mean the plane guy, I mean you weirdos who show up at her house and her recording studio and scream at her to tell you about her latest breakup). Looking over photos, like you’re a tabloid editor from 2010, like “Where’s the ring?” “Is that a baby bump?” 

And when she tells us the truth we say no, I don’t believe you. When we, her fans, hear her say with her whole chest “I’m not perfect, stop defending me.” and we turn around and say… mmmmmm I’m not going to do that. You are my perfect little baby who can do no wrong. You must be confused. You must be shocked. Let me correct you. She knows she’s making bad choices and she has a whole marketing team to fix what she does. 

Taylor Swift fans have been demonized by media as ravenous brain dead worshipers, and in some ways we are. We defend her at every turn, at everything she does and justifies it, but this is more than that. And yet is also only that. I am defending her when she doesn’t need me to. But more than that, I feel like I need to call out the fandom cuz we are toxic. We have secret sessioners leaking albums. We are gate keeping. We are screaming at each other when people don’t agree with are arbitrary and subjective opinions. We say that the real critiques of her work aren’t actually listening to her— they are, you’re not listening to the critiques. Like the 1830s line. There are so many ways the same sentiment could have been written, better. No one is saying Taylor is a racist. They’re saying she needed someone to check her on the line and be like, is there a different way to say this? 

To everyone we talk to, we are hated. There are think pieces about how toxic we are to others online, how we attack everyone who dares to actually be critical of her. How we attack eachother, like the snake eating its tail. We defend her like its or dying breath and then turn around to Taylor and say, look I was a good fan, give me what I want and only what I want. People hate us. Outsiders hate us. Casual fans hate us. We hate each other. Taylor swift says she sometimes hates us.

Welcome to the age of Aquarius, the downfall of celebrity. We shouldn’t worship people, like idols and gods. However, we should judge people as people and we aren’t doing that either, to the random person on the street saying “see me” to the girl with the lyrics crying “hear me.” 

Social Media Literacy

Hate Taylor swift if you want to, whether that is because she’s over saturated or because you have grown disillusioned. But Taylor swift has built a brand about being relatable, and as much as people may say she’s manufacturing it now, I don’t think she is trying to. I personally think she’s trying to do it the way she always has, and it’s backfiring. 

Not because she’s less relatable, but because we as a society have lost what it means to accept other people. We are holding everyone to a high near high level of perfectionist accountability, where you must be perfect and never change, and never make a mistake. There is a fact to be said that billionaire mistakes hurt millions of people, and that everything you do cosigns another terrible thing. However, we are not building a community. We are not holding people accountable and then pulling them back into the community to help them change their mindset. We are not creating a network of support, we are snipping away at the web at every single point. Saying, you’re wrong, and isolating further. And while this can be said about everything and everyone, it is more apocalyptic for Taylor Swift, because her entire brand is a microcosm of society. 

This is happening to everyone, not just Taylor swift. Everyone. Nuance is gone. Grace is gone. Understanding, just like media literacy and critical thought, is disappearing. People are making value assessments of others based on the media they consume. And that alone should be a concern for all of us.

We are saying if you aren’t perfect, you are kicked to the outside. Immediately. No remorse. We are saying, if you aren’t exactly the way I think is morally right, just, or perfect, you are forbidden from anything ever again. And I’m not talking about Taylor Swift. I’m not talking about critique. I’m talking about us. The fans. Who attack each other. Who demonize each other. Who send hate threats to each other. Who call each other crazy. Who joke about other’s demise. 

Oh, that’s just an issue of Taylor’s brand. No. This is a wider spread issue, it’s just magnified in the Swiftie fandom, because the swiftie fandom has always been a parasocial relationship with Taylor. From the day she began on Myspace, the Swiftie fandom has broken down clues together, kept secrets together, been a community together, in a way that most others have not been. And it’s falling apart, just as Taylor swift’s brand of relatability. Because we as a society, and we as a fandom have snipped away the entire network of support. The only way down is through, and there is no one to catch us at the end of the fall.

Parasocial Relationships, have been seen to become toxic very fast, as soon as a person thinks that they have some sort of control or are heard by the person they follow. For the longest time, Swifts staid back, followed the clues like rabbits and it was a game. She left us a puzzle, and we went to solve it. Now we are trying to solve puzzles that don’t exist. We made the game bad. We have made it awkward for everyone. The Parasocial relationship we have always had with Taylor, which was kind and filled with space and grace, has fallen apart. We are the worst parts of toxic parasocial relationships.

We are screaming for more. Ignoring what has been given. Skipping too fast and onwards to the next thing. All while saying, this thing that you’ve given me? It’s not absolutely perfect. Do more. Be better. Oh but that’s too many now. How about this one thing instead. 

I know with my heart of hearts that when Reputation (TV) comes out. It’s going to be hell on fire. Because there is such a pent up image of this special album in everyone minds, that they keep saying things that are wildly untrue. That it’s going to be release randomly, because “there will be more explanation. There will just be reputation.” 

Go read the prologue AGAIN. I’ll wait. 

Don’t Blame Me, Love Made Me Crazy

We are not capable of listening anymore. And I know that many people of the world won’t read this, won’t understand this, won’t even know it exists. 

But we, are the most toxic love affair that Taylor Swift has ever had.

It was good, when it was good. But we’ve turned on her time and time again. And there are some of us, myself included, who will say, we’ve been here the whole time! Supporting her, even during lover when her concerts were at the lowest. But. 

We are tearing each other apart. We are tearing her apart. We are holding her to impossible standards we don’t even hold ourselves too. Our very real critiques of her are being ignored and some fans say it’s just hate instead. Critiques to her, become massive amounts of backlash at her, that is visceral and appalling. We say, “I love you.” She says, “It’s ruining my life.” 

We say we love you, and then turn around and say but I hated that. We say we support you  but we need “MORE.” We say take a break, but you had better not disappear on us. We say we want you to be in love, but on our terms. We want you to be happy, but the way we want. 

And it has gotten more and more and more, as she has skyrocketed to the Eras Tour level of fame she has right now. Our reactions to her are millions of times over across multiple countries. Where people are saying, she shouldn’t have become a public figure if she couldn’t handle it. She shouldn’t have opened up her life to us and written her songs like a diary, if she couldn’t handle it. She shouldn’t be a human being if she can’t handle being hated for being human. She created this parasocial relationship, it’s her fault it’s toxic. She talks about the men and love, she should handle when we judge her for it. You wouldn’t even judge your friends. Will you say, that’s just the way they are? And ignore the ways they are hurting you and others? And if you did, will you hold grace for them to change and grow or will you cut them out immediately and leave them isolate? Will you forget community? 

And it’s all divisive and anonymous online. This virtual signaling, and hate towards one person, when you can’t even hold your own families accountable. When you can’t even hold yourself accountable. When every moment that this relationship of us to Taylor continues, it proves that we are the worst parts of humanity. 

I’m not immune to that. This post is antagonistic and anonymous. I see the irony. I know the hypocrisy. 

And there are reasons the jokes aren’t funny about us on the internet, but that they’re true. They’re true, what outsiders and non-fans think of us. We are a rapid fan base that gets worse and worse each year. We are not only the good parts, the friendship bracelets and joy of the eras tour. We are all the terrible parts as well. We are the racist, homophobic, terrible parts. We are getting worse and worse the more and more we love her, that we are starting to scare people even more than we ever had. It’s my way, or you’re out. And if you, another fan, don’t agree with me then you’re not actually a fan at all.

Some people, fans, have said that the Eras Tour feels like the end. That she’s saying goodbye. She burned down the lover house. TTPD is alienating people. Taylor Swift is everywhere and she is so oversaturated that people are concerned.

And look. I can’t blame TS for what is happening right now. If she’s feeling alone. Afraid. Lost. Unsure what will happen if she puts one foot out of line. She’s given us this messy album that is filled with the dirty and worst parts of her thoughts and feelings. It’s not edited it’s raw. It’s angry. It’s saying “Fuck you.” Because we made her crazy. And I’m pretty sure we sure as hell aren’t letting her feel like she can change. She can’t trust us to let her change or to become something else. She can’t even trust us to be there as a support network. 

Even if the Cycle dictates that she should do it.

Maybe she’s grown up. Maybe sh’s found her genre and want’s to stay here forever. Maybe Taylor is tired. Maybe she just needed to get all the emotions out and away so she can move on and be fully happy. Maybe she’s terrified of what will happen this time when she falls from grace. She saw it in 2009-2012. She saw it in 2016-2017. 

I don’t know. I don’t know her. But I know this:

When you’re standing at the tallest peak, how far does the valley look? Especially when the wings you built through years of blood sweat and tears are burned by the very people who helped you make them.

There Will Be No Explanation. There Will Just Be Reputation.

We all know the iconic opening sequence from the Reputation Stadium tour. Where she took the media commentary and made it the opening. For years. Taylor has been in a war with the media and the powers at be. When the media slut shamed her. When the media made paternity tests. When the MEDIA said, look at this woman and all the stupid shit she does.

Guess what? The media loves her. 

Taylor Swift reclaimed her reputation from the media in 2017. 

But now who does she have to take it back from?

For as much as Taylor has made a commentary about how women are constantly told to reinvent themselves, to become something new and shiny, in this way and that way for “me.” The greatest changes Taylor has ever made in her music career have been for herself. 1989, was because she wanted to go Pop. Folklore was because she needed to process and try a new type of songwriting style. 

And yet, now Taylor’s fans look at all her clothes and choices and say “ah this is a new era.” This is “reputation era coded.” The fans are now adding paternity tests to every single song. We are going after the exes online and in person. We are asking Taylor to reinvent herself constantly over and over and over to entertain us. We shout “MORE!” over and over again. The fans are feral for reputation. Ignore everything else. 

And with TTPD she said, we need to chill that we don’t know her. That she’s going to make up her own choices and fuck up. And the line about “you should see your faces?” that is about US.

We, the fans, are now in the place of the media. We are the ones that are dictating her reputation in a way that she does not agree with. When Taylor Swift reclaims her reputation again, it will not be from the media, it will be from the fans itself.

We are now giving paternity tests. We are now the ones asking if she’s going to get married and when. We are the ones constantly wondering if she’s pregnant. WE are saying and doing and acting the same way that the media did for YEARS. When before we used to tell the media to back off and ignored it all. We have become the very thing we used to hate. 

And now we, as fans are saying to Taylor Swift that she MUST “Be new to us, be young to us, but only in a a new way and only in the way we want. And reinvent yourself, but only in a way that we find to be equally comforting, but also a challenge for you. Live out a narrative that we find to be interesting, to entertain us, but not so crazy that it makes us uncomfortable.”

This time when Taylor Swift reclaims her reputation, she’s going to be reclaiming it for herself, from the men who stole it from her. From the media who dictated it. From the world. From her fans. For herself. (Taylor’s Version)

Lightning in a Bottle

I was always of the opinion that she’d continue making albums after 13. Now I am not sure. I think she’ll write music, but I think 13 might be it. There is a chance, she is preparing to keep coasting. Get 12 out while she’s still at the high. Ride out this Cycle longer than it should. Get 12 out to critical acclaim, face the fall and release 13, her Magnum Opus. Say goodbye for good. People will look at it and wonder what happened, who she is, but she’s been warning us since Long Live that this could happen. 

However.

Taylor Swift is capable of bending lightning. 

To many fans, each Taylor Swift Album is perfect. To some each album is something new that she hasn’t tried before. To me, Taylor’s albums come in the form of a cycle. Where, when she changes for herself and is embraced for that change, she is able to create something no one has ever done before. She defines a generation in a healthy and productive way. 

She’s done it once with Country. She’s done it twice, with Pop. She’s done it thrice with Folk. In each instance she was raw, she was curated. She was honed in on the concept, on the lyrics, on the vulnerability, on the genre itself. Taylor Swift can capture lightning in a bottle when she’s trying an entirely new genre. When she goes all in on everything for the genre, in a new form, and learns and masters that form well. And most importantly, when she decides to make this leap of faith not because she’s reinventing herself to make the world entertained, but because she wants to make the change- the choice- for herself.

I’ve always hoped and prayed for that Rock album. I thought it would be 12 (or 11, in a world where Evermore was not Folklore’s sister/twin). I’ve always thought that if Taylor was going to catch Lightning in a bottle again it would be in rock. I don’t think we’ll ever get it. And that’s okay.

I always hoped that album 13 would be about us, the fans. The coming of age story of Taylor Swift. Her relationship with us and the music industry. The album that has pop and rock and country and folk. Songs that remind me of Girls Just Want to Have Fun, I Want to Dance With Somebody, and This Ones For the Girls. I hoped it would be for us. For her. For the love of it all. And album that said Long Live, with a capital TS, that touched on every era she ever did, recreating the sound perfectly. Into 13 perfect songs and not a song more. I doubt it’s going to happen. And that’s okay. 

I won’t be disappointed. I’ll be here for the ride. I’ll critique her as much as I always have, and hold grace for her to change as a person. I’m going to build my community with the paradox of Tolerance in mind. And if I’m wrong and she continues after 13, I’ll be there too. But I think that right now, The Taylor Swift fandom is not in the place to be able to catch Taylor if she makes a jump, a change, a decision that is not tailored for them or considers them. We can't even talk with each other without getting into fights.

Ask yourself how much of our community is left:

When the parasocial relationships Taylor built, is weaponized against her and ourselves. Like some sort of awardshow, where you get a gold star for being the best.

When we are giving her a paternity test at every lyric.

When we see our faces at every new lyric. 

When the games aren’t fun anymore. 

When we scream more. More. More. More. But only the way I want and in the way I deem appropriate.

When her reputation has been stolen from her again. AGAIN by the people she trusted most. 

When we only book mark her life by failures and endings. Gossiping like old women asking how did it happen this time?

When we won’t even remember ALL the things that she loves. 

When that’s all she’s ever asked for us to remember her by. 

When she says we, her fans, "are the love of my life."

But “The Story of Us, sounds a lot like a tragedy now.” 

Because "the story isn't [hers] anymore."

Yet, we're all she’s ever wanted.

I think that with TTPD, she is processing but she's telling us, that this is it. She's going to make the first change of her life not knowing if we're going to support it.

Cycle 4 is coming. Whether that is with 12. 13. With the end of the Eras Tour. With the burning of the lover house on the first night of the Eras Tour. Cycle 4 will end the Cycles. Will end the Eras. 

One more fall from from the precipice. But this time not from the public. Not from the media. From her fans. I think Taylor Swift is ready to take that leap with or without her fans. With or without the safety net. With or without the wings we built her that got her this far. One more fall from the pedestal. One more descent into the horrors that Taylor Swift has ever known. This time into uncharted waters, facing the one true love of her life. The change that is going to shatter the fandom. 

What happens then?

Change

So how do we fix it? How do we, as a community, come together and fix this toxicity? Because we have to be the ones to do it. If we don’t do it now, then there is a chance we’ll never do it in the future. We have to change, and reclaim our own reputation as Swifties.

How? I wish I had all the answers, but I do have a place to start.

Stop sending death threats and hate and KYS to people you don’t agree with. 

Stop arguing like you’re so smart because you understand her lyrics. If someone says they don’t interpret something the same way as you, maybe listen. There is no One Way to read a Taylor Swift song. There just isn’t. 

Tolerance Paradox: Support differing opinions of your own. However, we can not accept intolerance. Those who wish to spread hate, those who wish to spread anger, we can’t support them. We have to call them out. We must call out the racists and the homophobes and the literal nazis and white supremacists who find our fandom home. 

We must be critical of her AND our community. Whose voices are we not listening to? Take a self inventory on why the critique of her bothers you so much. Legitimately. 

We must take inventory of what we have done in the past and take accountability for the ways we’ve hurt others.

We must stop asking for more, legitimately. Stop asking for more Folklore like albums. Stop asking for more 1989 like albums. Stop begging for reputation.

We must be kind to those who are new. Gatekeeping can only be so far as to keep the space a place of tolerance. 

We must support each other in hard times, in times of need. Be the community that comes together to say, I have your back. We must start helping each other, legitimately.

We must hold our ground, and stop the leaks IMMEDIATELY.

Stop speculating, and I don’t mean analyzing of reviewing easter eggs. I mean speculating. We aren’t with her 24/hrs a day so stop acting like we should be.

Easter Eggs are only fun, when people aren’t having full break downs about being wrong. Maybe we should chill. 

Hold space for your opinions to change and for others to change. Validate those changes, and the processing. 

Remember our roots. We are the fandom who has stuck together through everything, who believes in the magic of connection. Draw those 13s on the back of your hands and make a wish. Long Live.

Ending

In the end, there is nothing great about this essay. I’m really not saying much to anyone. I'm saying this for myself because I'm changing the way I engage with Taylor Swift and other Swifties. I’m tired of creating a network of hate. I’m tired of feeling like I don’t belong in this community, because I am not perfect. Or because I don’t agree. 

We, as fans, are the new enemy that we have always fought against.  

I might not be able to fix everything, but I'm going to do my part to change the prophecy. 

[myohmine]

Which songs Taylor has written do you think could be about Louis?

My god, SOOOOOO MANY. There are songs that reference Louis like a bait (tolerate it: took this dagger in me and remove it. Like Louis’s tattoo. hoax: my twisted knife like Louis wrote about in 1D’s Love You Goodbye) Songs like kindred spirits of Louis’s Habit: Come so far from Princess Park (Champagne Problem: This dorm was once a madhouse, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me: You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me. also the black dog: old habits died screaming in connection to Louis’s copy of a copy of a copy: I can hear you howling til your lungs hurt. Then there are songs about LouisandHarry as a package deal.

Lover: Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince (written to Louis from Harry’s POV), it’s nice to have a friend (oh look at the gays-in-blue wedding in you need to calm down mv. I wonder if this song was written for that particular ceremony. Leeds tent, mario cart/fifa video games, pass me a note on couple tattoos, like)

Fearless (Taylor’s Version From the Vault): That’s When (I know the OG was written way before Taylor and Louis ever met, but she said she revised the lyrics and significantly tweaked the meaning of this song, because her own perspective on needing space and time has changed. Do you protect each other’s solitude? And it’s like the perfect answer to Louis’s Always You.)

RED (From the Vault): track 28 run (ft. Ed Sheeran) #twinning: 1D’s FOUR Ready to Run

reputation: dancing with our hands tied #twinning: 1D’s Midnight Memories Little White Lie

folklore: peace, hoax

evermore: willow (a message to her Coming Out team “wait for the signal and I’ll meet you after dark”/“every bait and switch was a work of arts”) Coney Island aka duet from the other side of Out of the Woods where they didn’t make it. So I guess it’s not really about LouisandHarry but more like a comparison between Larry and swiftgron. Because Louis & Harry always, always put each other on the centerfold of their songs.

1989: Out of the Woods (written from Louis’s POV, special shoutout to my favorite line the rest of the world was black and white but we were in screaming colors), I Know Places (written from Taylor’s POV first then applied Harry’s POV (the rewinding tape sound is very much an I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending re:swiftgron sunken ship “something happened when everybody finds out”) then she tried to change the ending from Peter losing Wendy aka Taylor losing Diana by switching POV at the very end, just like Harry/1D did in Something Great, to Louis’s POV aka the new Peter) but it wouldn’t been fun if i could’ve been the 1.

TTPD: Track 28 Peter, But Daddy I Love Him

Midnight: Question…? (Started with “I remember” from Out of the Woods manipulated into male pitch. Sounded like Taylor was dealing with being almost out of the closet, so close but so far with the whole thing came crashing down. And wondering how did Louis & Harry deal with almost getting to come out, only to be shoved so much deeper into the closet. How did they make it through TOGETHER pass all that bullshit AGAIN?)

This one is purely my highest hope that it was written for LouisandHarry (given how Taylor usually released a song about two to three years after she first drafted it) and also applied to TaylorandKarlie now

1989: You Are In Love

[mysticalthingphantom]

Hey! I wanna get to know my Swiftie mutuals. Tell me your top 5 songs and albums from her. Feel free to go into depth/explain if you'd like!

hey!!! meowdy! ( yup, i read your bio and agree) nice to meet you! i'm sorry for all my lore but it is hard to talk about things i love without bringing personal matters with it. i feel like i can talk about taylor lyrics without trauma dumping so i am truly sorry for the things i wrote. but since you said you want to know your mutuals here i go!

TOP ALBUMS

1 - folklore: it is such an ethereal experience for me. i love how all the stories in it are connected in some way and the way she could create so many details for all the characters tbh i feel like i could have been any one of them and in some ways i am. i love how every song feels like summer rain, is comforting and vulnerable. i was the first album of her that i felt i could relate to 100%. is my all time favorite.

(now the positions after folklore vary depending of the day for me so i may change them later)

2 - the tortured poets department: i know is new and everyone is freaking out about it but for me that's one of the most honest pieces of music i have ever listen to it. i keep caught on all these debates about to whom she wrote it but is so stupid because these songs were never about anyone BUT taylor. she could have dated anyone and still wrote these masterpieces, it isn't about a man, it is about taylor swift. and she put SO MUCH of her heart in it that i can feel it. all that anger, all that pain, all that fear it all came from her. she is the artist. i know some critics say is easy to write 31 songs if they all look similar (haters gonna hate is so fucking true) but for me as an inspiring artist is a relief to know you can create different things about the same topic and don't feel ashamed about it. you can write about the same theme a thousand times and guess what? it can be a thousand times different because it will be a thousand different parts of yourself. everything about ttpd is so beautiful ( plus dead poets society references makes it perfect bc is my favorite movie)

3 - evermore: follows the folklore aesthetic and vibes. marjorie? champagne problems??? tolerate it???? Does she have a hidden camera in my backpack or something?

4 - speak now: i'm nineteen wtf she wrote something like THAT when she was nineteen?????? this album is so magical, It has some of the fantasy she later put on folklore and evermore but with more joy and cheerful melodies. listening to speak now is like opening my favorite book over and over. i wish i could be emma falling in love and i wish to live a timeless love and i wish i could sing long live with my friends/found family after winning a battle. i just love it all so much and never grown up? i listened to it when i was packing my things to move out of my hometown so you can imagine how much i relate to it. castles crumbling is also so close to my heart because i constantly feel i'm burning bridges and fucking things up. so yep all these fears of loneliness and failure goes present in this album goes deep .

5 - midnights: as a HUGE fan of the moon ( the moon is my true soulmate and i don't care if it "just a sattelite"or a "bunch of rocks and dust glued together" because guess what? i'm also a bunch of universal dust glued together) the whole celestial aesthetic of the album hits me like a train. all these confessions, these letters, these maniacal thoughts i have after the sun sets are not only mine. i love how she hugged me through these lyrics and showed me that everyone is haunted by ghosts after midnight. but the night time isn't just a place for nightmares, there is also hope, and joy and good dreams.

TOP SONGS

1 - mirrorball : since the first time i listened to it all i could think about is "someone finally sees me"

2 - the archer: she saw right through me. i am so scared of being seen because if someone sees me, if someone truly knows me it would hurt 1000 times more being rejected by them.

3 - you're on your own, kid: i lost all my friends after high school, literally no one of the fucking people i used to talk to every day and go to their houses and remember their birthdays. all of the people i used to open up to, the people i used to cry and laugh with just didn't reach out anymore and i know it is half my fault but it made me realize how truly alone i am as a human. It doesn't matter how much you connect with someone you are always on your own at the end of the day and she literally summarized that feeling in a fucking song.

4 - i can do it with a broken heart: because you still can be a mirrorball even when the ones you built the show for have left.

5 - the lakes: dead poets society vibes and i'm also a poet and i also want to run away.

6 - renegade: (you asked for 5 but here is a bonus track for you haha <3) i sing that song is a platonic way because it translates so much of my relationships with my friends and family. i sing along thinking about them and i know they could sing thinking about me because of trauma and miscommunication is such a top topic in all that.

[threephantomrey]

okay i listened to THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT:

• “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” is such an Ophelia (my OC) talking about Asamad song and also a Vincent talking about Mortifer song.

• also the lyrics “am i allowed to cry?” give me Ophelia energy and is also giving me Vincent energy. and the lyrics “i wish i could un-recall how we almost had it all” reminds me of Vincent thinking about Mortifer after he went to jail. sorry to say this

• “So Long London” is one of the most boring songs on the album

• this album is too long (the Anthology version, not the standard version) like this should not be 2 hours long😭

• i like “Fortnight” but i think it could be a little better. this also how i feel about the title track.

• “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is SUCH an Asamad song. like if he was made evil by the other demons. tbh i though “Guilty As Sin?” was gonna remind me of him but it didn’t. this is the opposite of when i thought “Mastermind” was going to remind me of him and it did.

• “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” is the best song on the album and i’m glad cause this is the one i thought had the best title

• i like the instrumental to “loml” but i’m not into the lyrics. also this kinda sounds like “White Horse” from her album Fearless to me? idk why

• “you look like Taylor Swift, in this light we’re loving it” “Beauty is a beast that roars on all fours” HELP?😭😭😭

• “The Albatross” reminds me of “Ivy” from her album Evermore and also the song Babylon by 5SOS for some reason???

• “Cassandra” sounds a lot like “Mad Woman” from her album Folklore. tbh “Cassandra” fits Folklore better than TTPD it could’ve easily been on that album

• overall favorite songs from the album: Fortnight, TTPD, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?, I Can Do It With A Broken Heart, The Black Dog, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, So High School, The Prophecy

• overall worst song from the album: I Hate It Here. i hate this song so much it makes me so😡👹👹 this goes into the category of my most hated Taylor songs now (funny how the song is titled “I Hate It Here” and i hate it)

• my overall thoughts on the album itself: i feel like this worked as an album better than Midnights did. but it’s not a good album it’s boring i only liked 8 songs. maybe it’ll connect with me better on a re-listen but for right now i’m not feeling it. the first half of this album reminded me of Midnights and then second half reminded me of Folklore. but while i think TTPD as an album is boring, i think it’s alright like it’s whatever.

[yantao-enthusiast]

MY COMPLETE TTPD PREDICTIONS

disclaimer: this has been posted on february 9th so whatever information comes out afterwards i will not be privy to so don't flame me if something contradicts any of this (or if something has already come out and i'm just. stupid). and this is also predictions so likely most of it will be wrong. so

(also this is really really REALLY long so be prepared if you wanna read!!!!)

general predictions:

k so just gonna put out there first my vibe check: i'm thinking definitely florence and the machine (obviously) and noah kahan and "carolina" vibes for the album. all very instrument heavy, alternative folk vibes. that's my two cents on that

so now for the extensive part. i have this theory that ttpd and midnights will be sister albums? like evermore and folklore, i imagine they're in the same realm of themes and songwriting of each other, like hindsight and reflection and this solemn isolation, while still having completely different production styles like rep/lover. there'll be a comparable amount of literary prowess (yes english major!!) like shown in midnights but deffo full power this time. i think ttpd will be much more mature than midnights, as i believe most of it will be written about the more recent times of her life, rather than midnights having lots of references to events long past.

one of my reasons for the sister album theory is the track "who is afraid of little ol' me?". to me, this reads "anti-hero", "sometimes i feel like everybody is a sexy baby and i'm a monster on the hill; too big (another parallel?) to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favorite city", sort of the antithesis to that idea that she's this scary looming figure or someone who comes in and ruins their time at a football game for just existing perhaps..... but i'll get into that more later about my analysis of each track

reason numero dos is the track "down bad", which could be an obvious reference to "hits different" since they're both obvious slang.... yeah this once i don't really need to explain

now three i will once again be using "hits different" as evidence (i will be using it a lot through this whole thing actually)!! during the bridge of this song, she mentions someone turning their key in the door, thinking it's her lover, or maybe the ever ominous "they" have come to take her away. a couple of tracks on ttpd could definitely connect to someone taking her away, like the tracks "fresh out the slammer" and "guilty as sin?", which following this timeline, would make perfect sense, wouldn't you think?

four is because... joe alwyn. the "tortured man" himself. midnights, the moments they weren't about the obvious past, many have made the point of connecting them to joe. and many of them were about how they got there, some pieces that weren't included in rep, lover, folk, ever, and some about how they inevitably fell apart until "you're losing me". which might just be the perfect transition into ttpd. where even in the titles, there's a desperation there to fix that relationship. the one where in many past albums (rep/lover and folk/ever ALSO sister albums btw), and midnights especially, she writes about clearly putting so much effort and time and love into. in "hits different", she says, "moving on was always easy for me to do," yet throughout that song and in the ttpd tracklist, her grief of this relationship is obvious, much more than even most of her albums via the tracklist alone. does this sound emotionally devastating to you yet? because it does for me!!!! (joe alwyn count your fucking days)

five, and final for now: "the manuscript", a bonus track and also the final track in this bonus edition. now, this might be a stretch but i'm sure you're familiar with "dear reader", the closing track on midnights (3 AM edition)? this manuscript could very very well be what this dear reader has been reading perhaps..... or definitely some sort of parallel in that respect. there's a couple different definitions to manuscript, which are:

a book, document, or piece of music written by hand rather than typed or printed. 

an author's handwritten or typed text that has not yet been published. 

now this could mean "the manuscript" is something written by hand, which could easily fit into the poet era. but it could also be part of "dear reader", a sort of p.s. addition that she didn't say in that song. both of these theories? very plausible but we'll have to see...

now that we have that out of the way...

TRACK PREDICTIONS:

this track list is, as i'm sure everyone is aware, insane. and everyone who has been invested in this relationship, thinking that they were gonna get married and everything, screaming off the walls april 2023, is preparing unhealthy amounts of tissues. so i guess now is the best time to put out an opinion!!!

once again, all predictions which means probably not true and might not align with any information that comes out at a later date! and this is all my interpretation!!! i'm just putting it out there!!!!! okay!!!!! okay!!!!!!

Side A:

"Fortnight" featuring Post Malone

maybe this is starting off strong but i have NO idea what the vibes are gonna be. post malone??? maybe it's like a noah kahan situation but other than that? no idea since i don't really keep up with post malone or know how he'd fit on this track

i've heard theories here and there so i don't have much to say personally other than hearing the theory about how it might be how she had disappeared for a two-week period in between eras tour shows. i think it could also be a reference to "exile" or "the great war", how those are terms often heard in similar situations. my ultimate prediction for the production is something like "cowboy like me" and "safe and sound" in a way? like lonely guitar, tumbleweed in the middle of the desert energy. it's likely a more mellow track to start off, an introduction to the album.

"The Tortured Poets Department"

the title track!!! i obviously was excited about the album title alone and the placement makes me wonder how "fortnight" will be sort of the more palatable opening track and this track will be more harsh .

the title is likely a reference to the recently resurfaced interview talking about how joe alwyn has been in a group chat with some other actors called "the tortured man club", which i referenced earlier. which i'm not gonna be mean. but i hope taylor will say it for me.

maybe it's just my hope but i hope this is a song that builds, similar to "your needs, my needs" by noah kahan. maybe it starts out quiet, the calm before the storm, trying to be nice, then it sort of delves into this idea that she's a writer, made to write scathing lines and beautiful cuts in the form of metaphor. you're the "tortured man"? she's this tortured artist, writing like it would kill her if she didn't. she's absolutely fucking insane. all this escalation with the production swirling in a storm with her. do you see the vision??? is the vision visioning yet???? is this thing on

"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys"

now this is one of the tracks where it's very clear the bargaining starts.

this is a common thing in toxic/abusive relationships, where "i hurt you because i love you" rhetoric, or the "tough love" concept. where it's "yes, he hurts me but i know he does it because he loves me", which is a horrible idea, of course, but to the victim, they may think that all relationships have flaws, some give-and-take.

now, this song could be about someone else from taylor's past. she could be referring to more mental/emotional abuse, breaking being more of a metaphor, i'm not sure. but i'm definitely very intrigued and concerned. (lowkey, i think there could be a connection to "high infidelity", just from the things mentioned in that song but there's no real evidence)

i think my prediction, from the title, it might be similar in vibes to lana? i don't listen to as much lana, i've only started really listening to her recently, but it could be like something from what i've heard from her "ultraviolence" album, both in themes and production.

"Down Bad"

as i mentioned before, there's obvious similarities in title name to "hits different". once again, per my midnights/ttpd sister album theory, i believe this will be the flipside of "hits different". "oh my! love is a lie"? nope, she's down bad baby!!!

there might be similar themes but my prediction will be her thinking she won't be able to move on, as seen in "hits different", and does everything in her power to make sure the two of them stay together, even overlooking things that hurt or disrespect her, like in the previous track.

as for production, i'm thinking once again lana del rey style but i don't think i could give you more than that, sorry y'all

Side B:

"So Long, London"

gee i wonder who this is about. i really really really

okay so track five. the awful, godforbidden, heart-wrenching track five. with the title "so long, london". rip london boy. rip cornelia street. rip lover.

i don't think i can say much here. it speaks for itself. the fandom has gone nuts enough. i'm going nuts. production? sad. "i hate boston" renee rapp vibes. i'm not fucking ready for this y'all

"But Daddy I Love Him"

back at it again with The Bargaining. also the reference to ariel (i'd seen this theory elsewhere) where she had traded her voice for a chance with this man.... aha..... i wonder if mayhaps we could be hearing about never talking about joe directly, keeping them on the down low......

maybe we'll be hearing the production pick up to be sassier, maybe even her playing a bit of a character/story in this song? or this could be a really really sad one where she's begging that she loves him and she doesn't want to leave and it's almost like a lullaby, like "last kiss" or "new year's day". either or. this album might wreck me btw

"Fresh Out The Slammer"

as mentioned before in my connection to "hits different", it was the metaphorical police after all, because of course joe wasn't there. now, of course, this theory could be completely wrong.

the prison metaphor, which could definitely be a callback to "he can be my jailor, burton to this tailor", as now most happy things in that six relationship have soured. an additional interpretation could mean she had escaped this slammer of the relationship and "hits different" is the grief coming back, trying to be happy about escaping but she's really not. but Who Knows. i'm making shit up. i'm also an insane writer. take it with a grain of salt.

this i'm excited because it's giving southern badass, it's giving first taste of freedom, get me a rifle, a pack of cigarettes, and my cowboy boots, time to exact my revenge of all y'all who put me here!!!!

"Florida!!!" featuring Florence and the Machine

if you couldn't tell from my excessive y'all's, i am indeed a floridian.... can you believe it.

honestly i have very little idea what this might entail but the exclamation marks give me hope i won't be sobbing. there's a theory out and about how she went to florida soon after the breakup for the tour so i'm wondering how that connects, what she's talking about in particular or if she just really loves disney world

my only indication is florence and the machine so i'm hoping it's something in that realm because i do like their songs!!! oh it might also be country-adjacent, considering florida (derogatory) (but it's fine since i like taylor swift country)

Side C:

"Guilty as Sin?"

back at it again with potential prison metaphors. also perhaps a religious reference. which might be relevant to people calling her "demonic" or that she's "strayed from God" or whatever radical Christian bullshit they're on today... or perhaps joe or someone had tried to put the blame on her for something and she's like ????

anyways this could go a few different ways but the question mark has me thinking this might defy my expectations. idk i don't trust it

i honestly have no clue on the production. gun to my head if you asked me for the correct answer, 9/10 my brains will be painting the adjacent wall. but bc this is silly and jolly i'm gonna guess this is gonna be a bit of a classy clapback song since i'm going with the midnights sister album theory and there's a bit of those in there

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?"

i've basically already given my thoughts on this. she's literally just a girl. a grown woman at a football game. an international superstar who sings her silly little songs that she wrote with her super serious english major. she's putting so much carbon in the air by flying private? aww sweetie are you trying to blame taylor swift for something you should be blaming on big corporations AGAIN? silly you! educate yourself :)

anyways. so moral of the story is she's literally just a girl. and i hope it's not sad but it could be, like "anti-hero"'s sister.

i hope there's some sort of nature-esque feeling to it. like crickets chirping in the background, leaves rustling. i think it could definitely be like the vibes of a little girl who you've heard urban legend about like carving out the bowels of anyone who disturbs her but she's actually the sweetest little thing. that could be poetic asf. maybe i should be a writer (has not touched my long-term project document in a month)

"I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)"

and you know what. she's so real for this

as a certified attempted fixer, i feel qualified to say this will be a banger. lowkey. i'm begging for a little sexy guitar and drums action. maybe even something a little sultry idk.... gives me that vibes

also yes. more bargaining. but she's SURE she can fix it. and if i know anything, i know i trust taylor swift

"LOML"

see guys, she fixed him? see? see? she so fixed

um so yeah i'm mostly piggybacking on others' theories about this about "loml" not standing for "love of my life" and instead perhaps "love or my life" or "loss of my love" or something adjacent... so um ackshually this will 99% percent be depressing

i have strong feelings about piano here. i think piano will be the main instrument. one: because joe. joe piano. joe piano exile. joe exile. okay. two: because ballad. piano ballad..... guys this is basically a formal essay if you haven't noticed

Side D:

"I Can Do It With A Broken Heart"

so guys i'm starting to believe there may not be happiness on this album. if there is, there is "happiness" by taylor swift and we all know how that goes.

this is sad but badass. she's writing albums, she's on the highest grossing tour ever, she's fucking heartbroken. y'all. an icon. round of applause. i want to give her a hug.

i'm thinking it could be something a bit like "billie bossa nova"??? i have no basis for this assumption. none of this is based on anything. but that's my guess

"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived"

once again putting the L in joe alwyn.... ricky when i catch you ricky when i

if i hear anything. anything at all about joe needing to belittle her to feel bigger. if there was ANY sort of attempt to make her smaller because he was insecure about his life. i will not be responsible for what happens

it's giving piano, once again, for obvious reasons. but it might be a bit of a builder. but like a soft building song. like "you're on your own, kid". obviously different productions but yk what i mean.... me and my sister album theory bullshit

"The Alchemy"

girl you can't say "never beating the sorcery allegations" then put this as a track like you're really

i don't really have too strong opinions on what this is going to be like except this maybe having some connections to "labyrinth" and "glitch"? my initial thought is something about her and joe's chemistry, maybe about how it died, or something to that extent.

and also no idea on what it might sound like but i'm thinking we might lean into more florence and the machine vibes so yippee

"Clara Bow"

hey so if you know anything about clara bow, or if you're like me, you've seen so many tumblr girlies tell you about the emotionally devastating life of clara bow due to this track name. um

this will definitely be an amazing closing track (at least for the standard edition). it might kill me in the process. but if taylor does one thing right, it's her usage of historical storytelling, as well as the ties and connections to taylor's life will be immaculate. and from what i hear, i might be sobbing my eyes out as well so that's great

i'm feeling strings on this, like violins and all that, soft and tragic. i know clara's story, at least what i've heard, reminds me of "the lucky one" so that might be thrown a bit in there but overall i have a feeling that she's about to call the orchestra

Bonus track: "The Manuscript"

me and the cd i ordered bout to go crazy

i don't really have much else to say since i said most of my piece earlier, connecting it to "dear reader" as per my theory. maybe we'll be leading into a more hopeful note, considering her relationship with travis, or maybe i'm just delusional and i know i'm gonna cry to this

my thoughts on the production i think, as per "dear reader", a bit more minimal, soft like a nurturing hand. it might build but i think overall, it might be the light at the end of the tunnel, the "hey, i know you think it's the end of the world but p.s. i love you and you're gonna get through this". (watch it end up ripping my guts out and spitting on my body)

FINAL THOUGHTS:

though i swore i wouldn't clown, i did think rep tv was about to be announced on grammy's night. i think many of us did. but this is easily just as amazing of an announcement and whether it's like my predictions/wishes or exactly the opposite, i'm really excited to see what world she's invented next for the swifties to dive into! please if anyone has any predictions that are different or adding on, give me your theories.... i want to know...... and ofc thank you taylor for being the gift that keeps on giving and giving (the amount of albums she has released within the past two years alone... insane) (WHILE DOING IT WITH A BROKEN HEART!!!!) and please pretty please have at least one kind of not sad song on this album please okay thanks i love you

[into--folklore]

okay i listened to the leak dont @ me

i only listened through once because thats what i had time for tonight but ill be listening more over time lol

anyway it has some good songs it has some bad songs and cringe lyrics but eh ! overall its alright. i would say middle tier tsw*ft content. i would say it would fall in my rankings here atm:

folklore > rep > midnights > evermore > speak now > ttpd > 1989 > lover > red > fearless > debut

spoilers i guess for implied TayLore but uh its implied joe not only suicide baited her but also love bombed her, abadoned her in their home alone and then cheats on her possibly multiple times while continuing to love bomb

some folk are saying that its prob m*tty he*ly that did the suicide baiting but i dont have enough context to dissect the muses of each song. idk it feels weird to have ur title track song be about your apparant fling from last spring and not the 6 yr relationship guy

eh again i need see written lyrics to really dissect each song like. just in terms of lyrical analysis (outside of the implications of her actual life too bc i think that gives for more personal connection to the songs)

again everything with a grain of salt bc we never know whats real and whats not. but i can "Understand" that for lil billionaire tsw*ft that having ur partner suicide bait u fucks you up a lot and why she "can" consider herself tortured because of it.

i mean i would be hypocritical to say otherwise bc my current art project is navigating the same feelings. or again, at least the feelings shes projecting in this music

i think its good at like. being her obviously trying to process these emotions honestly. of course from the perspective from someone so out of touch with "normal life" but still. who are we to tell someone how to grieve a complicated toxic relationship

im seeing some sw*fties say they really cannot relate but idk i could and can find myself relating to it more over time. it feels like an album that could be more of a grower over time than an immediate banger

florida is so good and its absolutely because florence has such a big part of it and shes such a vocal powerhouse. i wish we can get a full florence cover one day 🥺

top songs from first listen are: florida, whos afraid of little old me, and i can do it with a broken heart

^ florida ofc bc of florence but the other two have this like. angry manic episode energy that feels similar to rep. like genuinely i told my partner whos afraid of little old me reminded me of florence's dream girl evil. and i.... love dream girl evil

but really wild for multiple songs in this with lyrics about t*ylor wanting to kill herself bc she feels so bad. girlie.. relatable...

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

what was your view of coney island when it was released and what is it now?

because with all the new information we have about that relationship I honestly think this song is kind of the mother of midnights. the reference to old relationships in the bridge and knowing that he wrote or contributed in some way today makes me think that that reflection on the song was about them

idk, for me there is a bridge between coney island -> most of the tracks of midnights -> dear reader -> hits different -> ttpd

makes sense to you? I thought about asking about this song when you were talking about cold in some other song that I don't remember which one it was, but it reminded me of “and it gets colder and colder when the sun goes down” 😂

OK so one thing to know about me is that despite the fact that I've been listening to Taylor casually since Debut, was a huge fan of 1989, and consider myself a pretty serious fan since at least Lover (as in that's when I started following her more online and not just for the music), I really didn't know much about the personal lore until after folklore 😂 I loved her music, but I wasn't the type to be like, "omg this song is about this person!! Or this event!!" when I'd listen to it. Obviously, some of them were obvious to me (e.g. LWYMMD, Paper Rings, Bad Blood, etc.) but what I'm saying is that I didn't dissect the muses or inspiration as much as I connected with the lyrics.

And the next thing to know about me is that even though evermore is my favourite album... Coney Island is not a song I think about a lot 😂 I know, that's going to send me to Swiftie jail. I don't dislike it! It's just not one of the ones I gravitate towards generally unless I'm listening to the album in full. So when evermore came out, I honestly just thought it was a complex story about a relationship breakdown that she wrote with the dudes from The National. 😂 Obviously I knew a lot of Taylor's music was personal, but I was also of the belief (and still am tbh) that while she may have taken emotions and situations she's experienced and put them into her songs, the actual details/circumstances aren't always factual. (Hence, folkmore. I clocked that before it was cool haha.)

So back to Coney Island. I would say that when it came out, I didn't think of it at all in terms of her personal relationship. I could certainly believe some personal feelings infused in it, because like I said that's what writers do. But it wasn't a song that, like, gave me pause. (As opposed to, say, False God, which immediately sent red flags up to me when Lover came out.) And tbh, I still don't know, precisely because it was written collaboratively. I think I see it sort of like The Alcott -- you can certainly see where her influence is, and can infer what inspired it, but I'm not sure how much of the story is hers and how much is Aaron/Bryce/Matt?/or Joe's writing. Looking at the credits, I don't know if Taylor wrote it all and the National dudes just got credit because of the music as is often the case when they get credit, or if they all wrote it collaboratively or what.

Reading the lyrics now, like really reading them, it's kind of a lot tbh lol. "And if this is the long haul, how'd we get here so soon?" is a lyric that has always stuck with me, like suddenly coming to an impasse you didn't even know was on the horizon. I'm actually like, processing this song for the first time I think, which is a little scary four years down the line lol. So thanks for that I guess? 🥴 j/k.

I guess it's hard for me to really deconstruct in this context just because I'm not entirely sure where it falls on the inspiration line. But I do think that it may be quite telling and I can see the pipeline to Midnights you mention. And, um, the quiet resentment. "The question pounds my head, 'What's a lifetime of achievement?' if I pushed you to the edge, but you were too polite to leave me," is ooooooooof. Like. Yeah. Because that's kind of the crux of a lot of Midnights, which culminates in TTPD. The golden age coming to a whimpering end before you know it, the distance, the miscommunication, the misunderstanding, the lack of consideration, but still the kernel of love underneath it all that makes it so hard to let go.

Thanks for this! It definitely gave me something to think about! What was your line of thinking on it?