#new Taylor ERA in this economy?!

[swiftsgetawaycar]

A surprise Taylor Swift black & white album is THE epitome of swiftiehood 🖤🤍

[evermoredeluxe]

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Grand Total: A Record $2 Billion

By Ben Sisario

For the last 21 months, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has been the biggest thing in music — a phenomenon that has engulfed pop culture, dominated news coverage and boosted local economies around the world.

Now we know exactly how big.

Through its 149th and final show, which took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sunday, Swift’s tour sold a total of $2,077,618,725 in tickets. That’s two billion and change — double the gross ticket sales of any other concert tour in history and an extraordinary new benchmark for a white-hot international concert business.

Those figures were confirmed to The New York Times for the first time by Taylor Swift Touring, the singer’s production company. While the financial details of the Eras Tour have been a subject of constant industry speculation since tickets were first offered more than two years ago �� through a presale so in-demand it crashed Ticketmaster’s system — Swift has never authorized disclosure of the tour’s numbers until now.

The official results are not far from the estimates that trade journalists and industry analysts have been crunching for months. But they solidify the enormous scale of Swift’s accomplishment. Just a few months ago, Billboard magazine reported that Coldplay had set an industry record with $1 billion in ticket sales for its 156-date Music of the Spheres World Tour — a figure that is just half of Swift’s total for a similar stretch of shows in stadiums and arenas.

Every date on the Eras Tour was sold out, and spare tickets were scalped at eye-popping prices — or traded within the protective Swiftie fan community, often at face value.

According to Swift’s touring company, a total of 10,168,008 people attended the concerts, which means that, on average, each seat went for about $204. That is well above the industry average of $131 for the top 100 tours around the world in 2023, according to Pollstar, a trade publication.

The biggest single night’s attendance was in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 16, 2024, with 96,006. And Swift’s eight nights at Wembley Stadium in London, which she played more than any other venue, drew 753,112 people — about as many as live in Seattle.

As gigantic as they are, the figures revealed by Swift’s company are only part of the overall business that has surrounded the tour. They exclude her extraordinary merchandise sales, for example, a product line so in demand that Swift opened stadium sales booths a day early in some markets to sell T-shirts, hoodies and Christmas ornaments to fans, ticketed or not.

And they do not count the secondary market of online ticket resellers. According to StubHub, the Eras Tour was the biggest-selling tour in the platform’s two-decade history, and last year it outsold Beyoncé’s shows by a factor of five. Another ticketing company, Victory Live, said the average price for resold tickets to the Eras Tour’s three Vancouver dates was $2,952. (Swift earned nothing from resold tickets.)

Beyond its numbers, the Eras Tour has been a mega-event that elevated the already-super-famous Swift to a new level, making her an epochal symbol of cultural saturation on the level of the Beatles in the 1960s or Michael Jackson in his ’80s prime. Swift’s every onstage utterance, outfit swap or offstage sighting was thoroughly documented, on social media and in the mainstream press, with news outlets big and small rushing to capture Swifties’ clicks. Online, fans tracked every tweak to the three-hour-plus set lists.

As the story of Swift’s tour took shape, it seemed to contain its own eras within it. First, in November 2022, came the ticket fiasco, when Ticketmaster was overwhelmed by what it said were 3.5 billion online requests for tickets, many from scalpers’ bots. The furor over those problems led to a Senate Judiciary hearing in January 2023, at which lawmakers from both parties openly called Ticketmaster’s corporate parent, Live Nation, a monopoly. (This year, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against Live Nation, calling for a breakup of the company.)

Then came the tour and the folkways that developed around it, like fans trading hand-assembled friendship bracelets. After the tour’s stop in Kansas City, Mo., a public flirtation between Swift and Travis Kelce, the star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs, developed into a full-on romance, with the pop star and the football hunk sharing a field-level smooch after the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII in February. The photographers definitely did not miss it.

In October 2023, she released “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” a nearly three-hour concert film, released through a direct distribution deal with AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest theater operator. It sold about $93 million in tickets during its opening weekend, and ended up with $261 million in worldwide grosses, according to Box Office Mojo. The next step was a streaming deal with Disney+. A 256-page hardcover tour book, released last month through Target stores, sold 814,000 print copies in its first two days on sale.

As the tour moved to Europe in 2024, it narrowly avoided what could have been a major catastrophe when a terrorist bomb plot was uncovered before three planned shows in Vienna. Those events were canceled and never rescheduled.

Although Swift has largely avoided the news media during the tour, over time she has pulled back the curtain a bit to reveal some of how it came together. To prepare herself for the physical demands of the show, she trained for six months, with a cardio regimen that included singing the entire set list while running on a treadmill, she told Time magazine.

“I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot,” the magazine quoted her as saying. “I finally, for the very first time, physically prepared correctly.”

The music video for “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” from her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department” — her third release over the course of the tour, including two rerecorded versions of older albums — has behind-the-scenes clips confirming some of the stagecraft mechanics that fans have carefully cataloged on social media, like how she “dives” each night through a “hole” in the stage (onto a soft cushion held by crew members) and how she is ferried backstage in a dummy janitor’s cart.

The tour concludes just as Swift celebrates yet another win: “Tortured Poets” has returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for a 16th week, with help from vinyl and CD sales of the 35-track “Anthology” edition of the album, which Swift released on Black Friday, also through Target. “Tortured Poets” is by far the biggest-selling album of the year so far.

Swift is up for six awards at the Grammys in February, including album of the year for “Tortured Poets” and both record and song of the year for one of its singles, “Fortnight.”

At a recent tour stop in Toronto, as the tour neared its end, Swift teared up as she delivered valedictory remarks to fans.

“My band, my crew, all my fellow performers,” she said, “we have put so much of our lives into this, and you put so much of your lives into being with us tonight and to giving us that moment that we will never forget.”

[screamingiminlovewithyou]

I am thinking about the big picture of the eras tour, what it was for taylor and what it was for us. It’s more than scalpers and talks of economies and ticketmaster. It was this line and nothing more: it’s you and me, that’s my whole world. It was staying up every weekend to tune in for surprise songs. It was playing mastermind. Making bracelets. Helping other fans find and get tickets. Seeing Taylor again, doing what she loves, after five years. Watching her heal and grow and stretch to new limits right in front of us. It was reliving eras from ghosts of childhoods past and loudly celebrating as she dove into them each night on stage and through rerecordings. It was the literal blood, sweat, and tears that she and every person that’s a part of that crew put into this otherworldly, magical, and once in a lifetime experience. I know, without doubt, that whatever she does next will be perfectly different, special, and outstanding. She’ll somehow manage to top herself because she always does. There was sincerely no greater gift than to watch her embark on this tour. I’ll greatly miss the comfort and routine of the last two years, yet at the same time I am supremely glad she and her crew can rest. I don’t know if I’m ready to face the emotions of the end, but I know that I love this ride alongside her. I know you’re not here, but thank you, Taylor, for three of the best nights of my life, nights that will comfort me when I need it the most. I love you!

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

hmmm before taylor x player get together mayeb taylro gets asked about her in an interview?

Jimmy Fallon and a DM

taylor swift x fem!NHL!reader

note: not that good lol, sorry i loved the idea just got busy and i wanted to put it out sooner than later <3

Between the break for the USA and International leg of her tour, Taylor was set to appear on Jimmy Fallon. Waiting for her que, getting her hair fixed last second by the stylist, she hears the ‘Please welcome, Dr. Taylor Swift”  

The fans in the live audience cheered as Taylor stepped out onto the set, giving Jimmy a quick hug before sitting down. The cheering never stopped, “Thank you so much.” The woman said, addressing the crowd which only causes them to cheer more.

“We are just so happy you’re here! And I announced you as ‘Doctor’ this time. ""Yes. Thank you. But really I’m happy to be here.” “And we’re so excited to talk about the tour, so you’ve finished the USA leg. And you have announced The Eras Tour film, coming out worldwide October 13th! And it really is a record breaking tour!”

The crowd cheering again, an awkward smile on Taylor’s face, even after years it will always be weird to have people tell you all your accomplishments. 

“I mean, I've written some things down; the tour is already estimated to earn over $1 billion, your opening night in Glendale was the most-attended concert by a female artist ever in the U.S., and your tour has actually boosted the economy! I mean that’s amazing! That’s amazing.” “Thank you! That is so kind of you to say all that!” “Well it’s true!”

-

“And- y’know speaking of your athleticism in getting ready for the tour, a certain athlete in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, said you were her celebrity crush. Did you see this?”

Of course Taylor had seen it. The clip was all over ‘SwiftTok’ a place she was very active in, with her secret account. And only her closest friends knew that she had in fact started to reciprocate the feelings. Growing a crush on the girl after watching clip after clip of her doing media, getting mic’d up, and answering the questions; and getting butterflies in her stomach whenever she hears Y/n mention her.

“Um, yes I did. I mean, Y/n L/n, she’s very talented and I really admire her, and how far she’s brought herself; and she is definitely far more athletic than me.”

A low chuckle coming from the crowd, Taylor thankful it was Jimmy interviewing her and not anyone else, who would want to press on the subject.

-

One thing about Y/n is she loves talk shows, reality TV, and award shows. So having a night off, Y/n decided to stay in and do her favourite activity, surfing the channels. And she happens to come across the Jimmy Fallon tonight show, with Taylor Swift in the seat adjacent to the host. And another thing about Y/n is whenever she sees Taylor Swift, she stops.

They were talking about her workout routine to get ready for the tour, which truly to Y/n sounded very impressive. Then they did something that at this time feels like the worst thing ever, yet will turn out to be the best thing to ever happen to her. 

Jimmy mentions a ‘certain athlete’. That’s what Y/n believed would end her life, hearing Taylor Swift talk about her confessing her brush on the woman. Hearing that your celebrity crush has heard what you’ve said about them, was probably her worst fear.

Before she could even hear what the woman was going to say, against her own will, Y/n turned off the TV, put on music and finally started to make dinner; something she was putting off before that became her alternative.

-

The early morning light of 5:30 am filtered through the curtains, Y/n getting out of bed and making her way into the bathroom, and getting ready; telling her google home to play her morning music, getting into her workout attire, before making her way into her kitchen and making a smoothie with her pre-workout. 

Only going on her phone in the elevator, the woman almost dropped her half-finished smoothie, and honestly she herself almost fell to the floor seeing the DM she had gotten.

Hey, Y/n

I’m sorry if talking about you on The Tonight Show in any way made you uncomfortable, but I really do admire you and I was wondering if you would ever want to go out sometime. It isn’t just you with the celebrity crush.

Lesson number one of how to kill Y/n, be Taylor Swift and ask her out.

~taglist~

@orange15quote

[greyyson-but-no]

hey guys heres a couple reasons I don't like taylor swift and maybe yous should consider your own opinions on her, no enforcement, just a suggestion

Being a billionaire will never not be bad for the economy (The Eras Tour is expected to make around $2 billion by the end of it so there is no denying her being a billionaire now).

She brands herself as someone that completely build her own fame from nothing - this is not true both her parents were extremely wealthy which meant that she had the ability to fly weekly to NYC to get singing and acting lessons and was working with a talent manager at the age of fourteen. She could not be at the level of fame she is at today if it were not for that but she brands herself as if that is the case. The issue is not with her actually coming from money but that she brands herself as someone that isn't — it creates a fake sense of security for her young fans that believe they can do the same.

She takes the worship she recieves from her fans and (for lake of hetter word) uses it against other artists and communities to attack them through the way she advertises her new music and speaks about them in other songs. This is not me saying that those other artists are perfect either (eg the kanye situation), but instead that this sentiment creates further uneccessary drama which she uses to boost her fame and popularity.

Taylor Swift only speaks up about certainly world issues when it benefits her. She hasn't spoken up about the genocide in Palestine at the moment, it took her 21 years into her career to collaberate with a woman of colour and she is clearly the poster girl for White Feminism. Not only this, but dating Matty Healy of 1975 is proof of that. He is an extremely racist, xenophobic and generally controversial person, and since Taylor once stated "i want to be know by what i love", those same attributes can automatically be associated with her.

The Eras Tour that has been completed so far is only a small amount of her carbon emissions (the first leg of the tour ended with 139 tons of CO2) and that isn't including the equipment being transported and her individual trips to run errands and see her boyfriend three times a week. Her buying carbon credits does nothing, carbon credits will not rid the world of the CO2 she has emitted and in fact only pay governments to 'support the reduce, reuse, recycle' project which we all know is not where that money actually goes. Recently, she flew 30 miles and don't give me the 'its easier and quicker' argument, thats equivalent to a 20 minute drive.

Calling her a lesbian/queer icon is just completely wrong and doesn't work in any circumstance with her. She is openly straight and has never even been open to questioning her sexuality or gender at all. Just because she released 'you need to calm down' during a time of queer peril, doesn't make her a queer icon. In fact, there are many other lesbian artists that are either growing in popularity or have the potential to, and giving that title to her brings down actual queer artists and their opportunities.

"Tortured Poets Department"? Are we even serious at this point? Who exactly here is tortured because its certainly not the white straight billionaire, that's for sure. Having a song that basically says it was okay you dated a racist because you were 'heartbroken' is not okay. To have little digs at Joe and him being depressed using the excuse that he broke your heart is not okay. Using metaphors that link to you being in an insane asylum is not okay. Insane asylums were extremely torturous places to be and there is no moral decision in comparing the music industry to a place with that much terror and injustice.

here I have only spoken about two of her partners in a passing mention, there is much more that I could add to on these subjects but I've decided not to because I don't think they hold the same weight the points I've already made have. this will probably be edited and added to in the future.

I'd like to emphasise this is not me forcing swifties to completely turn on her and hate her and everything she does. all I am doing by posting this information is allowing people to make their own educated decisions on how they go about interacting with taylor swift and her community however they deem fit. personally I have her removed on spotify because that is a decision I have made. my decision.

it wasn't easy for my either. a lot of songs of hers I associated with my grandad who recently passed, which meant having stop listening to her music lead to a big part of mine and his bond was erased, but that is again, a decision that I have made. her negative impact on the world, the music industry at the media is just too much for me to defend. again, I will reiterate that is my opinion and my decision, what you guys decides to do effects me just as little as what I decide effects you.

[zot3-flopped]

Great piece about Taylor on the Guardian

«From the prices to the endless album rereleases, I feel like a conscript in a campaign for cultural and economic dominance»

«At the same time, I’ve never felt so alienated by my favourite artist. This year I have felt not so much a Swiftie as a conscript, roped into some broader project of streaming, spending and posting so as to cement and grow her cultural dominance – though it’s hard to imagine who, now, could possibly dislodge her.»

«Earlier this year, her email subscribers were offered the chance to “win the opportunity to buy” tickets (at £160 a pop) in exchange for buying her new album, The Tortured Poets Department. That arrived with a surprise second disc (of largely forgettable songs), and was followed by multiple variants, each sold separately: hard to parse as anything other than a bid to secure streaming dominance. When Swift announced a UK-specific release of yet more album offcuts, it was widely perceived as an attempt to stop Charli XCX knocking her down the albums chart.

Swift is the biggest celebrity in the world and a billionaire, on track to make $2bn by Eras’ end. The suggestion that she is somehow dissatisfied or threatened is offputting, and raises very human questions about her motivation. Even five-star reviews of the tour have wondered about Swift’s endgame, where she possibly goes from here.»

«My uneasy feelings were later articulated by the culture writer Jonah Weiner, describing the insidious “co-opting of ‘community’ into a sales strategy”. Weiner was talking about luxury fashion brands, and the exploitation we are willing to overlook to feel part of a club. But his point about how our human desire for connection and belonging is hijacked and reduced by corporate interests seemed to me an apt description of the Eras tour, the economy that’s sprung up around it and our enthusiasm to participate in it.

The show’s supposed community is built on a basis of economic productivity; like a queue for a new Apple product or a sneaker, it “contains the possibility for meaningful interpersonal connection only in spite of itself,” Weiner writes. Not only that, it is actively at odds with building relationships and communities that might nourish us for the long term. Note how political signage isn’t permitted at Eras shows, and how criticism of Swift’s private jet usage has taken a backseat to the collective excitement.

I don’t mean to diminish the pleasure that millions of people have taken from the show, or the friendships they have forged through Swift fandom. But I wonder if, in the overwhelming attention on the Eras tour, other sources of community, connection and belonging – ones that don’t further line a billionaire’s pockets – have been overlooked. What will remain of them when the Taylor show moves on?»

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/13/taylor-swift-swiftie-eras-tour

BRILLIANT ARTICLE! Well done, the Guardian!

[magickalsapphic]

We were both young (when I first saw you)

A Victorian Romeo and Juliet Snowbaz AU ❀ Chapter 1 Posted (2351 words) ❀ horseback riding, farmerboy!Simon, aristocrat!Baz, Davy sucks, gay people 🙏 ❀ pls read it & rb, i will post the other chapters asap fr

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59023879

It was already unfortunate for Lord Basilton to find out his most agreeable suitor was being accompanied by his family rival's long lost heir. But realizing Lord Simon Snow Salisbury is the same boy he's obsessed over for years is something he could've never have anticipated. aka a Victorian Romeo and Juliet Snowbaz AU inspired by Love Story by Taylor Swift. Where neither the Victorian era, the Romeo and Juliet references OR the Love Story references are accurate. Hope you enjoy:)

Chapter 1: Horseshit and Ball

BAZ

“Baz, Baz, Baz,...” I hear a small, high-pitched voice behind my door exclaim. I’m not ready for this day to start, but it doesn’t seem to want to wait any longer. I stretch my arms above my bed frame and then move the silk bed sheets aside. The sun comes in harder through the large window and makes me doubt the true nature of this fateful day. I walk to my door barefoot knowing my seven-year-old sister is on the other side.

“Mordelia, I’ve told you you don’t need to yell, you can just knock.” 

She opens the heavy door in a swift motion and starts visibly judging my surroundings as usual. It is the second largest room in the house, with long carpentry to match the burgundy walls and enough space to walk to the balcony. Mordelia always complains that the art easels cover the fountain’s view from outside and are uninviting to visitors. She stops at my tulips work in progress and I immediately know what she thinks.

“You should draw horsies instead of the same dull plants all the bloody time.”

“I’ll have you informed I enjoy painting this just fine,” I say while quickly picking up a small pillow from the floor and throwing it at her. She catches it, which is embarrassing, to say the least.

“Whatever. Father asked me to remind you of your extra duties today,” she says, referring to the activities he’s specifically made to keep me from running off today. “So thank you for… feeding the horses,” she says with a smirk.

“I’m not cleaning your horses’ shit, Mordelia.” 

“You said it, not me.”

She leaves my room as my aunt Fiona enters, messing her hair as she walks past her. I try to ignore her presence by picking up the pillow I threw on the floor.

“Quit being rude, boy. I’m here with good news about tonight,” Fiona says. 

I turn to her confused but she’s still resting her back on the door and crossing her arms.

“I’m helpless. What could you possibly have to say?”

“Well, a little bird told me you have a special girl coming to the ball tonight,”

I give her a look. I can’t possibly care who she’s referring to, I’m still not going to be attracted to her. It’s the same thing.

“Talking about Lady Agatha Wellbelove, of course.”

“And why ever is she so special?” I say turning my back on her again.

“Because she’s a nice girl. And extremely wealthy.”

“ We are extremely wealthy,” I say as if it wasn’t evident.

“Her father owns the West Watford slot.” Now this gets my attention. The Old families have been in a silent property rivalry for ages. 

It started over a three hundred years ago when the Salisbury’s came from the north and bought two-thirds of the Watford main fields. This ended up messing with the entire economy and social status on my family’s, the Pitches, side, which used to be the richest in the area. My ancestors tried to settle this by dividing the terrains more and not letting one family get more than the other. I don’t know who had such high hopes that rich old men would settle something logically. Instead, the Pitches tried to buy the land from them and get them a nice place out of town. To which the Salisbury’s declined, and tried to buy the last free slot. Aware of the fighting of the two most powerful families in the city, the mayor decided it was for the best that the lot stayed part of the State, meaning that both the Pitches and the Salisbury’s kept owning about the same amount of terrain. 

So, of course, over the years and different generations, we’ve kept this rivalry between us and have tried over and over to get the most land. Even though everyday workers and families living in them care just the same.

Agatha Wellbelove’s father, however, comes from a more nobel family, that has historically taken a bigger part in politics, which I assume explain their possession of the infamous West Watford slot.

“You’re saying that if I marry her, we would finally, officially be the most powerful family in this town.”

“Bingo. Your father won’t ask anything of you again. Pretty confident he wouldn’t even ask for heirs.” 

No children. I don’t mind children that much but this does mean I wouldn’t have to have any means of an actual relationship with her. I guess… if I offer some kind of yearly sum and a lot of horses, Wellbelove is known to be fond of those, maybe we could make that work. It’s the least painful option. For me at least.

“That does sound appealing… Why are you telling me this?” Her eyes soften and she approaches me slowly, bringing her palm to my cheek.

“I couldn’t watch you walk into complete unhappiness and not do anything kiddo. Not what Natasha would’ve wanted.”

———

I realised I didn’t possess an attraction to girls and instead to boys when I was 13 years old. Though, from a young age I never thought I was like the other boys around me, always so heavily… unhygienic, and interested in the most atrocious activities. Like wrestling or getting into unnecessary trouble. I enjoyed picking out flowers with my mother. The best ones surrounded our pond, she used to say, we were lucky to have this astounding beauty all around us. This wasn’t the only activity I enjoyed with her, though. She encouraged me to devour all the books in our library by accompanying me and explaining concepts I didn’t understand or simply talking about them with me.

My father has been too busy with taking care of the farmlands and ordering people around ever since I remember. My mother would take care of financial issues with him, she would say, but when I came about… She stopped caring about the money. She stopped caring about anything other than me. And I think–I know–my father resents me for that. I was “too needy” and “too emotional”, but it was never a problem for her. She stayed with me through everything. She was my best friend. I don’t regret a thing. The best memories I have are until the age of 12 for a reason.

I don’t remember much from her funeral. I spent a lot of time to myself then and the months after. My father let me be and I let him be as well. I rarely even spoke to my cousin Dev or my friend Niall, even though they tried plenty of times. After a while, I started to go out with them but didn’t speak unless it was essential. 

However, on the first anniversary of her death, I was vocal once again. Father wanted us to not make it a big deal but agreed we would go and leave her flowers. All I wanted was to give her her favourite flowers, lilies. We were already in my mother’s old home in Surrey, and when my father stepped out of the carriage, our servant handed him a bouquet of daisies. My father knew it had to be lilies and I didn’t care to hear why he couldn’t manage them this time. There was no excuse for this and I told him so. I didn’t set a foot in the door, instead ran past the servants, past the carriages, past the gates. Unknown destination. I just needed the flowers. I didn’t have any money with me so I went past the village as well. I didn’t want to be so far away from her, but I didn’t want to be near anyone. Anything. 

All I could hear was quick cobblestone. Then grass and grass. I finally stepped into a beautiful field, where soft orange tinted primroses, foxgloves, red tulips, wheat and corn, a dozen goats, and… this boy.

We were both young when I first saw you

I close my eyes and the flashback starts

He was kneeling down beside a bush, picking up orchids. He had a cloud of bronze hair, blue eyes, and a frustrated look on his face. I might’ve stared a bit too long, as he said without looking away from his work, “Are you lost?” 

When I didn’t reply he looked up and his eyes softened. “Are you okay?”, he asked. He must have noticed my puffy eyes.

“My… my mother loved lilies,” is all I managed before he went around the field and left me standing there. 

He came back a few moments later with a handful of them, even set in a beautiful way and tied in the middle with a small red bow. The sun was setting and his hair was catching fire. His eyes, his freckles. I barely mumbled a thank you before he was back at his work and I was on my way back to my mother. I didn’t bother finding my father and went straight to her grave. I gasped as I saw the tearful eyes of my father kneeling in front of the tombstone, daisies scrunched up between his hands and the ground. In silence, I joined him.

He might have forgotten many things in the following years, but he never forgot lillies on that day again. And I never forgot the face of the boy who made things okay. Even for a moment.

And I mean that. I thought about him constantly for months after that incident. I turned to painting to try to salvage those curls and those eyes. I never crossed paths with him again, I couldn’t remember which way I went that day. Part of me is thankful for that since I wouldn’t have known what to do. What he did make me sure of was that I liked boys. I liked boys and only boys. And I would never be able to say that out loud.

———

I conclude my unfortunate responsibilities of the day rather early, but with the new motivation for tonight, I am glad to have enough time to get properly ready before the party. The Watford Ball is a yearly dance hosted by the Bunces in celebration of the Summer Solstice, also the most popular dance for courtship. Most families take this opportunity to passively-aggressively show each other who has the most power, usually showing off their heirs and silently betting on who will be oh so lucky to marry someone part of the most powerful families—those being mine, and the Salisbury’s, but there is no heir in that family. While gossip over the years has changed what happened over and over, from my understanding of these internal family feuds, Lady Salisbury’s daughter left her husband and the family at a young age. And while many presume it was adultery, I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt. Her husband was no other than Sir Davy Cadwallader. Sir James, Lady Salisbury’s son, never married, so they have counted days of their fortune if something doesn’t change. Cadwallader, however, has taken use of every centimetre to his missing wife's name, and he makes it known.

Vera, one of our servants, finishes buttoning my brown floral waistcoat. I slick back my hair and adjust the earth green bow. I stare in the mirror and curse myself for actually trying to look presentable. I simply can’t shake the thought of a mildly admissible future, and I won’t lose my chance.

As I walk down the stairs, my father calls to me.

“Basilton,” he stares at me and nods. 

I nod back, “Father.”

“Thank you for making an effort. I’m positive you will find a lovely young lady that will catch your eye.” He walks away. 

I really, truly hate that this is happening. No matter the promising possibilities. I close my eyes and wish for a miracle. A golden one.

At the party, I escort my aunt Fiona due to my lack of a partner. We walk down an overwhelmingly decorated set of stairs. A herald stopping us and naming every title we each have, before taking our final steps. I have always found these introductions quite silly, but they do make me feel seen. As seen as is possible.

The room is wide and I notice clusters of hats and thin waists, men and women hand in hand dancing, and a sharp smell of tobacco and bergamot. I wait near the orchestra for the sight of Wellbelove, watching as more and more young people fill the room. I take a glass of white wine from a table and sip on it slowly. I wait for my singular goal tonight. Enchant a girl. It can’t be so difficult, can it? I glance at my aunt from the other side of the room, where she’s talking with the Bunces. She mouths patience, Basil, as she notices me. I am being patient. I am just shit at waiting.

Too much time passes and I feel my lungs close off from the number of people that have arrived now. Everyone is talking and talking. I lean back against the wall and I still feel crowded. Wellbelove doesn’t seem to be getting here any time soon. I should start talking to other people, other girls. But every time someone approaches me I make the conversation as short as politely possible. I really am not in the mood for a party.

It’s way too late now. I notice all the Wellbelove’s are here except for Agatha. I walk over to them to ask where she bloody is, but I stop in the middle of my journey as I hear the herald speak loud and clear. “Lady Agatha Wellbelove, and her partner Lord Simon Snow Salisbury.”

I curse under my breath and I can’t believe my luck. I whip my head towards the entrance and every thought or action in my body disappears.

Blue eyes. Bronze curls.

“ Simon Snow ,” I mumble under my breath or lack thereof.

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns

See you make your way through the crowd

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

June 2024 - Part 1

June 2 - The Eras Tour, Groupama Stadium, Lyon France N1 - rain show.

The Prophecy x Long Story Short (guitar) & Fifteen x You're On You're Own Kid (piano)

June 3 - The Eras Tour, Groupama Stadium, Lyon France N2

Glitch x Everything Has Changed (guitar) & Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus (piano)

June 6 - Travis to appear on Good Morning America

June 7 - Chiefs OTA's, Kansas City - Travis (x)

The Eras Tour, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, UK N1

Would've Could've Should've x I Know Places (guitar) & ‘Tis The Damn Season x Daylight (piano)

June 8 - The Eras Tour, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, UK N2

The Bolter x Getaway Car (guitar) & All Of The Girls You’ve Loved Before x Crazier (piano)

More promotional deals for Travis; Accelerator with Livvy Dunne.

June 9 - The Eras Tour, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, UK N3

It's Nice To Have A Friend x Dorothea (guitar) & Haunted x Exile (piano)

Travis participates in David Njoku’s celebrity softball game. Travis is winner of the home run derby

June 10 - Travis in KC for media day (x) Let's go #87

Travis comments on GoJo & Golic's podcast where he raves about Travis' athleticism, simulating a conversation between Tay & Trav (x)

"The only thing I can come back to with all this ... is how difficult it is to register on the Richter scale in the house that he's now apart of with Taylor Swift where its like 'Oh babe, what did you do this weekend?' 'Well, I stimulated the global economy, I went to a new a new city and enriched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, babe, what did you do?' 'I cracked 11 dingers (11 home runs) in a celebrity softball game, feeling pretty great about this one babe, thanks for asking' "

June 11 - Chiefs training camp

Travis is asked at Chiefs press conference what he and his significant other cook together based on the Youtube Short Taylor posted (x 6:30)

"I'm gonna keep that one it myself, because I thoroughly enjoy cooking with her, so its something I'd rather keep personal" and later adds " Taylor makes a great pop tart and cinnamon roll" with a big grin on his face as he leaves.

Taylor out at Casa Cruz in Notting Hill, London, UK dining with Cara Delevingne, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Waller Bridges, Kate Moss, Este Haim, Danielle Haim, Lena Dunham, Andrew Scott, Martin McDonagh & others. Taylor wears the choker she also wore to the Grammy's when announcing TTPD and receiving her 4th Album Of The Year. I'm suspicious...

Look at that smirk...

New Heights Ep. 94 airs (x) Jason and Travis talk about Travis’ Kids Choice Awards nomination, Jason is convinced Travis will win. Jason is not recognised by young women and girls...

“oh my god you’re the brother of the Travis dating Taylor Swift!!”

June 12 - Chiefs training camp. "Tight end Travis Kelce made a great catch over the middle despite good coverage during a 7-on-7 period."

Go to previous update -> May part 3

Go to next update -> June part 2

Return to the timeline

[purrincess-chat]

Call It What You Want CH1 (The Era's Fest (Love-Square Version)

Cat? Posting a new fic? In this economy? It's more likely than you think!

Listen, it's been a hell of a year, but why not send it out in style? And by style I mean here's the fic I wrote for @theerasfestlovesquareversion the era I was assigned was Reputation, and boy did I pack as many references into these 2 chapters as I possibly could.

The fic itself takes place in the Chat Blanc timeline, three years after Adrien is akumatized into Chat Blanc. It's short but sweet and filled to the brim with lots of post-reveal love square goodness and Taylor Swift references galore. I will give more specific warnings tomorrow when I post chapter 2, but there is a small nsfw scene in chapter 2 (c'mon am I gonna reference Dress without letting them smash?) but my beta and I agreed that the scene itself is tame enough to still skirt under a T rating (which was my goal when I wrote it). So, if you like smut, don't get too excited, and if you don't like smut, don't be too worried. It's fairly easy to skip if you don't want to read it. Anywho, I'm gonna shut up and let you guys enjoy this fic~ Bone apple teeth.

Summary: Adrien Agreste did his best to forget what happened three years ago when he and Ladybug defeated Hawkmoth and exposed his identity to the world, but with his father finally being put to trial for his actions as the holder of the Moth Miraculous and reminders of that dark day plastered on every news station in the city, Adrien is left to grapple with the Agreste name and the big reputation that comes with it.

Rating: T

Read on AO3

Chapter 1

Three years ago, Adrien was akumatized into Chat Blanc, and a Ladybug from another reality saved him and restored the world he’d destroyed in his grief. Three years ago, he and his Ladybug unmasked his father as Hawkmoth. Three years ago, his castle crumbled overnight, and everything Adrien knew and loved collapsed in an instant, sending him spiraling into a free fall. And as he fell, he fell apart.

He learned back then that when it came to matters of his father in the eyes of the public, whatever he said wasn’t right. Whatever he did was not enough. His kindness was fake. His pain was manipulative. The boy who was once so loved had his reputation tarnished by his father’s own get-love-quick scheme, and he was left to claw his way from underneath the rubble.

When he finally rose, he rose slowly, and with a desolate knowingness, bathed in his brokenness, he said a prayer of gratitude for each chink in the armor he never knew he needed. Standing confidently next to him was a love that was really something, not just the idea of something. Marinette, his Ladybug. She’d always meant it when she said it was the two of them against the world.

He’d done his best to forget what happened that day, quietly moving on under the watchful care of his aunt who moved into the mansion with her son Felix to take care of him after his father’s arrest. But his father was finally being put to trial for his actions as the holder of the Moth Miraculous, and with reminders of that dark day plastered on every news station in the city, old wounds were resurfacing for everyone. The Agreste name carried with it a big reputation.

“Gabriel Agreste-”

“Gabriel Agreste-”

“Paris’s supervillain Gabriel Agreste-”

“Gabriel Agreste was once on top of the world, but did he do some sketchy things to get there?”

“He akumatized too many people.”

“And what has happened to Adrien?”

“Adrien Agreste voluntarily bringing attention to himself with his donation-”

“What Adrien did is not enough.”

“Adrien Agreste should really be focusing on his reputation-”

“Gabriel Agreste takes the stand in court tomorrow-”

“-Agreste’s reputation-”

“Gabriel Agreste’s trial is finally here, and baby, let the games begin!”

Marinette shut off the TV, and Adrien leaned back against his couch with a sigh. It was happening all over again, the media storm surrounding his father never seemed to end. Every channel was talking about them.

“Jeez, and I thought three years ago was bad,” Plagg said, shoving a wedge of cheese into his mouth on Adrien’s coffee table.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been that long,” Tikki echoed from her plate of cookies.

Adrien leaned his head back against the couch, heart hammering. Flashbacks of that day flickered in his mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut as if to block them out.

“You okay?” Marinette placed her hand over his.

He didn’t bother throwing on a smile she could tell was fake. If anyone could call his bluff on all his usual tricks, it was Marinette. She was the only constant in his life. Instead, he slowly pulled her in close, and she wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. Adrien took deep breaths, soaking in her warmth and the familiar scent of her shampoo. Because he wasn’t okay. He was a mess, but miraculously, he was the mess that she wanted.

“Adrien?” His aunt knocked on his bedroom door before peeking in. “Can I see you downstairs?”

Marinette sat up, leaving a cold emptiness in his arms. He opened his eyes with a sigh and stood up, following his aunt down into his father’s old studio. She’d converted it into a tasteful living room — one of many ways she livened up the mansion when she and Felix moved in.

“I made some tea, would you like some?” Aunt Amelie offered, taking a seat on the sunken couch. She nodded to the seat across from her as she poured him a cup.

“Thanks,” Adrien said as he sat. He picked up the cup, less interested in the drink but more in its warmth. Goose bumps pricked his arms, and he took a sip to swallow back the lump hammering in his throat.

“So, I’ve been thinking lately since you’re almost done with school. Why don’t we go on a little family trip to celebrate? Just the three of us. Marinette can come too if she wants. Belize is gorgeous this time of year, you know,” she said with an innocence she no doubt thought would fool him, but Adrien had grown far too adept at spotting the way people tiptoed around the subject of his father.

“You want to get out of Paris while the trial is going on, don’t you?” Adrien guessed.

“Oh, you and Felix both just see right through me.” She cupped a hand to her cheek, then lowered her gaze with a sigh. “But since you’ve caught me, I’ll speak my mind. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I think it would be best if we moved back to London when you finish school in a couple weeks. Things around Paris might get…dicey if we stay.”

“No! I don’t want to leave Paris. Everything I have left is here,” Adrien said.

Aunt Amelie set her cup down and took a deep breath. “Adrien, this trial isn’t going to be pretty. It’s already bringing a lot of negative attention to you, and I just want to protect you.”

“I’ve already been through it all before three years ago when Ladybug and Chat Noir revealed his identity to the world,” he said. “It was rough, but-”

“It’s different this time.” Aunt Amelie cut him off. “This trial is going to bring to light everything that your father did with evidence, including the things the public didn’t know before. They’ve spent three years building this case, interviewing victims, digging into your father’s past and leaving no stone unturned. I don’t want Gabriel to drag you down with him. We should lay low until this whole thing settles down. As your legal guardian, I’m just doing what I think is best for you.”

Adrien’s hand curled into a fist at his side, nails digging into his palm. He set the tea cup down with more force than he intended and stood up. His aunt braced for an outburst, but instead, Adrien folded his arms over his chest with a grunt.

“Fine. If it’s what you think is best,” he grumbled.

Aunt Amelie relaxed, offering him a sympathetic smile. “I know it’s not what you want, but it will be good for all of us to get away from everything.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Adrien shrugged. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

His aunt nodded, so he took his leave. He took a deep breath outside his bedroom door before heading back in to Marinette. Seeing his sullen expression, she crossed the room to cup his face.

“Is everything alright?” she asked. “What did your aunt want?”

Adrien bit his lip, taking her hands in his, but met with her enchanting blue eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to break the news.

“She just wanted to make sure I was doing okay with everything.” He lied.

“Oh.” Marinette gave his hands a squeeze. “Maybe we can play some games to take your mind off of everything. I won’t even kick your butt as hard as I usually do.”

Adrien chuckled at that, stretching down to kiss her. He lingered long enough to savor the taste of her lips, but not long enough to rouse suspicion.

“Video games sound nice,” he said.

She smiled, toting him over to the couch, and he allowed himself to relax in the comfort of her presence. She was the one thing no one could take away from him, but even still, people were already talking. No one in the world could take it forever, and he couldn’t shake the deep fears that the world would divide them. He had a bad feeling about the trial.

***

Reporters crowded outside the mansion the following morning as Adrien got ready for school. As a child celebrity, he was accustomed to media attention, and after his father was exposed, he was even more accustomed to negative media attention. Even still, as he donned a black cap and sunglasses to walk from his front door to the waiting town car, he was acutely aware that the world was watching his every move.

TV station trucks lined the block outside the school, and Adrien braced for the worst as Gorilla parked and moved around to help him out. He kept his head down, dodging microphones and questions as his bodyguard escorted him to the front doors, and although he had hoped the secluded school walls would offer him respite from the unrelenting scrutiny, every eye followed him down the hall to his locker where Marinette, Nino, and Alya were waiting.

“Hey, dude…” Nino tipped his hat.

“How are you holding up?” Alya asked.

“Well, today is the first official day of my father’s trial, so I imagine it’s all downhill from here when details start coming out over the next three days.” He sighed, tossing his sunglasses and hat into his locker.

Marinette took his hand, running the other up his back, and he took a deep breath, forcing his shoulders to relax. Based on the last time, he just needed to keep his head down for a few months, then everything would be fine again. Leave it to his father to spoil his final few weeks of school. He never did want Adrien to enjoy his freedom, even locked up he was still finding ways to make Adrien’s life miserable.

“We’ll get through this,” Marinette said. She offered him a small smile, stretching up to kiss his cheek.

“Yeah, dude, we’ve got your back.” Nino draped an arm around his shoulders.

“Thanks, guys.” Adrien tried to offer them a smile, but it felt too forced, so he just pressed his lips together.

The bell rang, and they started up the hall for their first class, hundreds of eyes watching their every move. Schoolmates exchanged whispers they thought Adrien couldn’t hear as they passed, but he blocked them out. Most of them, anyway.  

“His mom was in the basement.”

“I heard his father’s assistant was in on it.”

“Do you think his dad will go to jail for life?”

“Aye, maybe you should worry about your own lives, and leave my boy’s name out of your mouths,” Nino shouted up the hall, and everyone scurried away like mice.

Adrien squeezed Marinette’s hand three times, hoping to mask how his was shaking. How quickly the world turned on him. None of his efforts to distance himself from his father’s reputation seemed to matter, and no amount of charity work could absolve him of his father’s sins in the eyes of the people of Paris. Still, he had a few people in his corner that weren’t going anywhere, and he’d cling to them until the bitter end. They were his one and only, his life line.

He pressed on through a mostly uneventful day, doing his best to push the trial from his mind as much as possible, but after school, the number of reporters outside seemed to have doubled from the morning. Cameras flashed, and Adrien was met with dozens of microphones everywhere he turned just outside the front doors. He pulled his cap down over his eyes, holding tight to Marinette’s hand as they descended the stairs, but halfway down, a strong hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him away from her grasp. Adrien caught a glimpse of Gorilla through the flashes, and he reached back for Marinette’s hand again in vain. She’d been swallowed in the sea of reporters, and Gorilla wasn’t letting up either.

“Marinette!” he called.

He finally caught sight of her at the top of the stairs with Nino and Alya. Their eyes locked only briefly as Gorilla stuffed him into the town car.

“Go back for her!” Adrien demanded when Gorilla got in on the driver’s side, but his pleas went ignored as they drove away. He leaned back against the seat, tears welling in his eyes. Couldn’t they see that he had nothing to do with his father? The temptation to transform in front of everyone weighed on him, but exposing his identity would mean giving up his Miraculous for good.

His phone buzzed in his pocket—a text from Marinette assuring him she was alright. He typed a quick reply promising to meet up with her at their usual spot later that night and apologizing for the chaos. Wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, he braced himself as they rounded the corner of their street.

Police cars were parked on either side of the front gates of the mansion, uniformed officers creating a barricade between the mob as they pulled into the courtyard. For once, Adrien was grateful for the tall walls designed to keep people out. Aunt Amelie was waiting for him when he made it inside, her expression grave, and Adrien’s heart dropped to his feet.

“What happened?” he dared to ask.

Aunt Amelie shifted, averting her gaze as she searched for the right words.

“He confessed.” It was Felix who responded, sitting with his legs stretched across the stairs. “To everything.”

“What?” Adrien turned to his aunt, who pinched the bridge of her nose. “Show me.”

“Adrien, I don’t think you-”

“Show me.” He met her gaze head-on. “If you don’t, I’ll just look it up myself.”

Aunt Amelie sighed, beckoning him into the living room. Felix trailed behind them, hands shoved in his pockets like he didn’t have a care in the world, much to Adrien’s annoyance. His cousin had always been aloof, but he could at least pretend to care that Adrien’s entire world was falling apart around him.

Adrien settled onto the couch as his aunt pulled up the trial footage, stomach churning in knots. She flicked him one last look as if to ask if he was sure, and at his nod, she pressed play. It had been several years since Adrien had seen his father’s face. The last time he’d seen him was when the police were shoving him into a police car after he and Ladybug reclaimed the Moth Miraculous. His mugshot was on every newsstand in the city for weeks after that.

The years had not been kind to his father. His hair was completely gray, and his usual neat pompadour was replaced by a messy low ponytail. His stony eyes were more hollow than Adrien remembered, framed by deep wrinkles in the corners. Nevertheless, he sat with his back straight and stiff, just like always. Adrien squirmed, almost expecting him to come through the screen and lecture him.

“Don’t blame me, I did it all for love. Any of you would have done the same thing if you were in my position,” his father said. “For my beloved Emilie, I would do anything. I would cross the line. I would waste my time. I’d even lose my mind. I’d fall from grace just to touch her face.” He shook his head with a smile. “Everyone keeps saying I did something bad, but I’d do it over and over and over again if I could.”

“Leave it to my uncle to make an even worse mess of things.” Felix rolled his eyes. “Deranged idiot still thinks he’s innocent.”

Aunt Amelie turned the screen off, hugging her arms to her chest with a sigh. “I’ve made the decision. We’re leaving for London tonight.”

“No!” Adrien stood up.

“Adrien, look at the scene outside. We aren’t safe here. I know you wanted to finish the school year out with your friends, but we don’t have that luxury anymore. It’s not just reporters outside anymore. There are people who are hurt and angry, and they’re looking for somewhere to take that anger out. I’m just trying to protect you.” She cupped his face in her hands, tears welling in her green eyes. “We have to leave. I’m sorry.”

Adrien’s throat closed, eyes burning and wet. “Can I at least say goodbye to my friends, please?”

“There isn’t much time,” Aunt Amelie said. “And we can’t just walk around with the crowd outside.”

You can’t. Adrien ran his thumb over his Miraculous.

“Then can you at least give me a few hours to make some calls and pack up. Please?” Adrien held her gaze until she nodded, and he paced out of the room, keeping his steps even to mask his eagerness.

Kicking open the door to his bedroom, he beelined straight for his closet, yanking out a few changes of clothes as well as his toiletries from the bathroom. He stuffed them into a black duffle bag, and headed back into his room, startling when he nearly collided with Felix.

“Shouldn’t you be packing too?” he asked.

“I packed this afternoon while you were at school.” Felix clasped his hands behind his back, pacing the length of Adrien’s desk. “I just thought you’d like some comfort. You’ve had a trying day.”

“Since when have you ever been comforting?” Adrien quirked a brow.

“I took a psychology class when I was working on my bachelor’s degree,” Felix stated, but at Adrien’s unamused frown, he rolled his eyes. “I understand your life is in shambles, and in general, I don’t trust anyone, and nobody trusts me.”

“That’s an understatement.” Adrien moved to pack a few things from his desk into the duffle bag.

 “And even though I think your friends are frivolous, and you still haven’t forgiven me for walking in on you shagging your girlfriend-”

“Yes, after we had the conversation about what a sock on the door means,” Adrien said.

“Despite all of that, you are the only family I have, and I’ve come to see you as a brother in the three years we’ve lived together.” Adrien stopped and turned to face him, and Felix averted his gaze with a huff. “I know this situation isn’t what you wanted, but from what I’ve seen, you have a lot of people that love and support you. Things with your father will blow over eventually, and you’ll have all those people to fall back on.”

Adrien smiled, leaving his duffle bag on the desk and opening his arms to Felix.

“No.”

“It’s happening.” Adrien closed the distance between them, pulling a reluctant and stiff Felix into his embrace. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“I can’t comprehend why you’re so upset about all of this. When my father died, I was relieved to be rid of him. From where I’m sitting, your father is finally getting what he deserves,” Felix said.

“Can’t we just have a nice moment?” Adrien groaned.

“We both know that’s not in my nature.” Felix pushed him away and headed for the door. “Send my regards to Marinette.”

Adrien waited until he was gone before transforming and disappearing with his duffle bag into the night. Marinette was in her room when he peeked in through her window, and at his knock, she rushed to let him in.

“How are you holding up, kitty?” She pulled him into her arms, warm and familiar.

“Oh, ya know. Bad.” He looked her up and down, quirking a brow. She was dressed in a form fitting black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. “Me-ow, my lady. What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, this old thing?” She cocked a hip and brushed his nose with her finger. “I made it for our graduation party. I just finished the last few adjustments, so I wanted to try it on.”

“You look beautiful, but I think it needs a little something…” He pulled a small box from his belt and held it out to her. “It was going to be a graduation gift, but now’s as good a time as ever.”

She smiled brightly, her starry eyes sparking up his darkest night. Carefully removing the ribbon, Marinette lifted the lid of the box, gasping at the gold pendant bearing their initials.

“Kitty, it’s gorgeous!”

He pulled her in, kissing her soft and deep, and she welcomed him eagerly. When they parted, he helped her fasten the chain around her neck and pressed a gentle kiss to her exposed shoulders. He hugged her waist, resting his chin on top of her head with a sigh.

“There’s something I have to tell you,” he said, “but I really don’t want to say it.”

“What’s wrong, chaton?” Marinette shifted to face him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him down until their noses touched. “Is it… about your father?”

Chat Noir kissed her again, drawing strength from the warmth of her breath. What he wouldn’t give to stay locked in that moment forever. Hidden away and safe with the woman he loved, no harsh stares or camera flashes. Just the taste of her lips. She made him so happy, but the looming escape to London turned it back to sad. It was the two of them against the world, so how could he be expected to leave her behind?

When they pulled away again, he flashed her one of his cheshire cat smiles and dropped onto one knee, placing a hand over his heart. “You know I can’t let you go, m’lady. Your hand print’s on my soul. That’s why I gave you that necklace with our initials — because you really know me, which is more than anyone else can say. No matter what happens, you and I are end game. I’ve always known that.”

“Chaton…”

“You’ve made your mark on me, Marinette. There will always be an indentation in the shape of you, a golden tattoo on my heart.” He pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. “Even in my worst times, you could see the best in me, and I know that no matter what happens, you’ll always be there for me.”

“Adrien.” Her voice was firm, and she tilted his chin to meet her gaze. “Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

His smile faded, all of his boyish charm and humor evaporating. He stood up, taking a few steps back and averting his gaze.

“My aunt wants us to go to London until all of the buzz around my father’s trial is over. We’re leaving tonight.” His stomach churned, bile burning his throat. He swallowed hard, brushing a tear before it could spill over his mask.

“How long will you be gone?” she asked, voice soft and broken.

“My aunt thinks we may have to lay low for as long as a year, but we don’t know for sure.” He shrugged. “All of this is just so… It’s not safe for us to stay here anymore.” He looked up into her big blue eyes, wet with tears, and his glass heart shattered. “We can still see each other. We can take turns flying between Paris and London. We can rendezvous on top of Big Ben—you love Big Ben.”

“Adrien…” She hugged her arms to her chest.

“Marinette, I love you, and you will always be part of my life, okay?” He cupped her face in his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs.

“It’s not that.” She shook her head. “I just feel so useless. When everything happened three years ago, I couldn’t save you. You were akumatized, and someone else saved you because I wasn’t strong enough, and now, I feel like I can’t do anything to help or make it better! Even now, I still can’t save you from this. I-”

Chat Noir placed his fingers over her lips to silence her. “That’s not true, m’lady. You were there for me when my whole world got turned upside down. You make all my gray days clear, and you’ve stayed by my side no matter what.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her nose, his mind wandering to the black duffle bag waiting up on her balcony. Heart beating fast and mind whirling with possibilities, he met her gaze again. “You don’t need to save me, Marinette, but… Would you run away with me?”

Marinette searched his expression, pressing her lips into a firm line and nodding.

“Yes.”

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

"Of course, the weather and the issues about all the logistics from the very first night of her concert weren't Taylor's fault."

Sorry, no diss, but I cannot agree. She's a massive star, plans worldwide tour many months in advance and decides it's a good idea to do South American leg during the time when Southern Hemisphere is in the summer? Yeah, sure, no way to say for 100%, if it's gonna be a heatwave specifically at the date of the gig, but looking at average temperatures in that region at that time chances are damn high.

And in case of miscalculation on weather, she absolutely could have said that she's not gonna play unless people can bring in their own water or give out water bottles to everyone by entances out of her own pocket, because she can afford it. She's a damn billionare with incredibile pull, her PR brags about her upping economy wherever she goes, companies and stadiums definitely would bend to her will if she had asked. But she didn't.

I've also heard about vents being blocked, so people in the parking lot, who didn't pay for the tickets, couldn't listen to whatever would able to pass those vents.

Also Swift not adressing this tragedy almost at all, her blocking tribute that fans prepared for Ana on the next concert during usual short break by suddenly not taking it and rushing to next stage, and the fact, that a lot of people outside of South America, even Swifties, still reacts to this situation with astonishment, because news about it never reached them, suggests that Swift's PR was actively squashing them.

If Travis Scott is partially responsible for Astroworld Festival disaster, then so is Taylor Swift for the concert in Rio de Janeiro.

Yeah- no disagreement here. I didn't say that Taylor Swift wasn't responsible for her death. She is absolutely partially responsible. I meant as much, when I said that she could have postponed the event due to the heat wave.

I'd also have to agree with you- I do not understand why she chose to host a massive event like a stadium show during the summer months.

Everyone on Earth is aware of climate change, especially Taylor Swift who is the subject of much scrutiny to how her own private jet use is affecting the Earth, so we all know that the heatwaves are getting more intense.

Honestly, I don't understand why she needed to go south during their summer months. Personally, I think she wanted to be in North America for our summer months- because she enjoys being in North America more than she likes South America.

The other option would have been to spread out the Eras Tour dates even more- so she could go to the Southern Hemisphere during their winter, and still be able to be in North America for our summer the year after or something. However, I think she didn't want to spread out the tour dates- and would prefer to not have North American dates occurring in our winter, which means having to go to Brazil during their summer months.

It's confusing to write out but remember that the

summer months of North America are roughly: May to August/September.

and the winter months of Brazil are roughly: June to September.

It overlaps- thus the need for her to choose who to prioritize, and thus she ended up doing Southern Hemisphere dates in their summer (Nov.- Feb).

I also think she just wanted to stay in the USA for the summer (because she's a USAmerica-centric person who wanted a cut of the summer-vacation revenue in the USA).

[anniekoh]

Seattle From the Margins: Exclusion, Erasure, and the Making of a Pacific Coast City

Megan Asaka (2022)

"From the origins of the city in the mid-nineteenth century to the beginning of World War II, Seattle's urban workforce consisted overwhelmingly of migrant laborers who powered the seasonal, extractive economy of the Pacific Northwest. Though the city benefitted from this mobile labor force that consisted largely of Indigenous peoples and Asian migrants, municipal authorities, elites, and reformers continually depicted these workers and the spaces they inhabited as troublesome and as impediments to urban progress. Today the physical landscape bears little evidence of their historical presence in the city. Tracing histories from unheralded sites such as labor camps, lumber towns, lodging houses, and so-called slums, Seattle from the Margins shows how migrant laborers worked alongside each other, competed over jobs, and forged unexpected alliances within the marine and coastal spaces of the Puget Sound. By uncovering the historical presence of marginalized groups and asserting their significance in the development of the city, Megan Asaka offers a deeper understanding of Seattle's complex past.

This is EXCELLENT!

Other books referenced by Asaka.

The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era (Second Edition)               

By Quintard Taylor (2022)

Seattle's first black resident was a sailor named Manuel Lopes who arrived in 1858 and became the small community's first barber. He left in the early 1870s to seek economic prosperity elsewhere, but as Seattle transformed from a stopover town to a full-fledged city, African Americans began to stay and build a community. By the early twentieth century, black life in Seattle coalesced in the Central District, a four-square-mile section east of downtown. Black Seattle, however, was never a monolith. Through world wars, economic booms and busts, and the civil rights movement, black residents and leaders negotiated intragroup conflicts and had varied approaches to challenging racial inequity. Despite these differences, they nurtured a distinct African American culture and black urban community ethos. With a new foreword and afterword, this second edition of The Forging of a Black Community is essential to understanding the history and present of the largest black community in the Pacific Northwest.

American Workers, Colonial Power Philippine Seattle and the Transpacific West, 1919-1941

by Dorothy B. Fujita Rony (2003)

Historically, Filipina/o Americans have been one of the oldest and largest Asian American groups in the United States. In this pathbreaking work of historical scholarship, Dorothy B. Fujita-Rony traces the evolution of Seattle as a major site for Philippine immigration between World Wars I and II and examines the dynamics of the community through the frameworks of race, place, gender, and class. By positing Seattle as a colonial metropolis for Filipina/os in the United States, Fujita-Rony reveals how networks of transpacific trade and militarism encouraged migration to the city, leading to the early establishment of a Filipina/o American community in the area. By the 1920s and 1930s, a vibrant Filipina/o American society had developed in Seattle, creating a culture whose members, including some who were not of Filipina/o descent, chose to pursue options in the U.S. or in the Philippines. Fujita-Rony also shows how racism against Filipina/o Americans led to constant mobility into and out of Seattle, making it a center of a thriving ethnic community in which only some remained permanently, given its limited possibilities for employment. The book addresses class distinctions as well as gender relations, and also situates the growth of Filipina/o Seattle within the regional history of the American West, in addition to the larger arena of U.S.-Philippines relations.

[captainzook]

On October 21st my sister & I were out with friends at the movies watching Taylor Swift's Eras Tour when I got an alert on my phone that an alarm was going off at our apartment. We rushed home to find our apartment on fire.

My best friend's cat that we were sitting for passed away in the fire & our apartment complex decided to break our lease, so now we're couch surfing & scrambling to find a new place to live while all the stuff we could salvage sits in storage.

While we had some savings & renter's insurance, we do not have enough cushion to cover storage, moving, cleaning supplies & first, last, & security at a new apartment, along with cremation services for the cat.

I know times are tough for everyone in this economy, so if you can't help out I totally understand, if you can share this around maybe it can find someone that can. We appreciate any help anyone can give.

[iwanthermidnightz]

*parts of this article was written previously and then recently updated*

Taylor Swift isn't just a pop icon anymore; she's the next great American dynasty, singlehandedly steering some of the country's most vaunted brands and institutions.

Why it matters: She already fueled the nation's economy for much of the summer and drove thousands to register to vote. Now, she's a beacon of opportunity — and cash — for both the NFL and Hollywood.

The NFL: Swift was spotted cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs alongside Donna Kelce, mother of Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, during last Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.

Throughout the broadcast, Fox panned over to Swift nine times throughout the game and social media was abuzz over her attendance.

The NFL flashed images of Swift in their game day graphics throughout the game, released 10 TikToks on the official NFL account — which changed its bio to read "9/24/23. Taylor was here' — and NFL on Fox even ran an ad capitalizing on her romantic link to Kelce.

Kelce is also a recipient of the halo effect. In the 24 hours following the game, he gained over 300,000 new social media followers, saw a 400% increase in merchandise sales and his podcast ranked #1 on the Apple charts.

By the numbers: Her attendance did in fact drive ratings, particularly among young, female viewers

The Chiefs vs. Bears game drew 24.3 million viewers, making it the most-viewed telecast of the week, and female viewership in the key 18-49 demo saw a 63% increase.

What they're saying: "This buzz around Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift isn't just about speculation about their relationship, it's about the Halo Effect at work - where one person's influence boosts the appeal of others around them. Suddenly, football is more than a game; it's a stage for pop culture," said communication expert Molly McPherson.

"It isn't just an academic theory; it's a savvy marketing move. When an All-Pro tight end like Travis Kelce invites Taylor Swift to a game, he's essentially inviting her entire fan base to tune in as well. Swift, Kelce, the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs all come out ahead. There was only one loser in Sunday's game, and it was the Chicago Bears."

Box office: With Hollywood mired in the depths of dual labor disputes, this fall's movie slate was looking pretty bare for theaters — until Swift delivered an unexpected jolt with the surprise announcement of her "Eras Tour" film, set for release this month.

Swift and her family directly negotiated a distribution deal with theater chain AMC, leaving out the traditional studio middlemen via an agreement that could upend how concert films are released in the future, per Puck's Matthew Belloni.

The concert film is tracking toward a $100 million opening weekend domestically — and likely much higher, according to Deadline, with one analyst calling it a "unicorn."

Its announcement also forced a last-minute jolt of Hollywood's release calendar, as Blumhouse head Jason Blum moved up the release of the forthcoming "Exorcist" sequel by a week, declaring "#TaylorWins."

The big picture: Swift has so much influence, clout and engagement for a reason.

She has won over the trust of her fandom — referred to as Swifties — through authentic and direct communication across social media and through fan experiences.

Her penchant for hiding clues and Easter eggs throughout her communiques is so well-known that she took over Google Search to reveal new song titles last month.

Music accolades aside, Swift gained even more respect from her fellow musicians by challenging the way artists were compensated across streaming platforms.

What's next: Swift is expected to attend this week's Chiefs vs Jets game, which could continue to bring more eyeballs, more chatter and more money to the NFL.

The bottom line: When Taylor Swift gets involved, the only blank space that matters is on the checks that'll inevitably be cashed.

[beardedmrbean]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[septembersghost]

It was a last-minute impulse purchase. Two hours before showtime, I watched resale prices finally begin to fall for the extremely sold-out opening night of Taylor Swift's six-night "residency" at Los Angeles' SoFi stadium. Even as a non-Swiftie, it has been impossible not to follow the feverish local coverage of international pilgrimages, friendship bracelet-making, and traffic warnings. But that split-second pop culture purchase was, for me, pure irrationalism.

With no fringe or Eras-themed ensembles in my closet, I rushed to my single seat through a sea of sequined, screaming squads with trepidation and a dull white button-down. Would I, a fortysomething South Asian man with passing knowledge of Swfitism be identified as an unwelcome interloper? Instead, my very gracious neighbor schooled me on how to wear my allotted LED bracelet, and soon I was alight in the same neon pink as the sea of humanity around us, Swift finally emerging out of parallel technicolor hues. The big tent revival swept away any fears, differences, doubts.

For three and a half hours, I too was part of the zeitgeist – a final chapter in a summer of spectacular pop culture revival led by three women at the peak of their powers.

Greta Gerwig, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and Taylor Swift have been the bona fide superstars of this American summer, transcending their own previous triumphs to reach unprecedented new heights.

#HotGirlSummer is now more specifically #BillionGirlSummer, with Barbie already the first woman-directed film to gross more than a billion dollars and Beyoncé and Swift's dual stadium tours estimated to gross similarly dizzying amounts, each pumping even more into fledgling local economies around the country.

In a city without a center and isolating car culture, for one week Taylor Swift transformed LA's stadium into a cathedral – an in-person congregation for hundreds of thousands. Soon Beyoncé will bring her roving "Renaissance" to the same stadium for three nights. Across Los Angeles, cinemas are still packed with squads of women and let's not deny it, many men – dressed in 50 shades of pink laughing and crying alongside Barbie's quest to become whole again.

[...]

It's been impossible to avoid the incessant social media coverage of this trinity of pink extravaganzas. Even my Pakistani immigrant father is texting me about how to join the Verified fans waitlist for Taylor's next dates. Despite the exorbitant prices for concert tickets, travel and even local movie theater outings – not to mention endless product tie-ins for all manner of merchandise — is this feverish demand simply consumer madness? Is it the cumulative decline of seriousness and taste that pretentious critics lament?

The answer is a resounding no. The hype surrounding Barbie, Beyoncé's Renaissance, and Taylor's Eras tour is commensurate with the sheer amount of resources, time and attention so many Americans of all races, genders and ages are devoting to being part of this moment. Critical acclaim has followed each of these works, layers of meaning are being made. They are an undeniable triumph of women's creativity and ownership. Nobody I know of is asking for refunds.

At a deeper level, the roaring return of big tent monoculture follows the ennui of lockdowns. It is pop at its collective and connective best – the very opposite of the culture that has defined the recent past – a splintered, atomized state of streaming individualism that seemed to be a permanent new state of affairs. The promise of streaming allowed for a kind of hyper-specificity that ensured incessant algorithm based devotion to the platform of delivery. Insularity, it turns out, has its limits. With at-home viewing no longer the only medium for entertainment, I'm certainly not alone in craving the very opposite.

[...] In the communal ecstasy of sold-out Barbie screenings and stadium séance of Beyhives and Swifties – the mood is strategic and intentional inclusion.

What Gerwig, Swift and Carter-Knowles have created in each of their new masterworks are gated dreamworlds. Swift in her moss-covered cottage of Americana folklore turns stadiums into fireside chats for any romantic, Beyoncé's House of Chrome is a black queer club as a spaceship of alien superstars soaring above the fray – and Barbieland is a pastry inversion of the real-world's patriarchy.

There are serious political undercurrents to all this, but the mood at the experiential level is buoyant, escapist and even comedic. Hovering on the distant horizon are Presidential elections and reminders of climate catastrophe but here is a ticketed invitation to get dressed, join the festivities and for the duration, release the wiggle, to quote the "Renaissance."

The closing note of each of these spectacles is a kind of transfer of energy, exuberance and American optimism that has been absent from public and cultural life for years.

Winter is of course coming. But in the interim, there has been a remarkable sense of sunshine this summer. Even those not in attendance have felt the afterglow of the women at its center. Not a cruel, but a communal, collective, and yes, glorious summer.

[mariacallous]

When tensions flare in the contested South China Sea, age-old territorial feuds or military drills are typically to blame—not American popstars known for their blond tresses and affinity for cats.

Yet Taylor Swift found herself at the center of a heated regional spat in February, when Singapore was accused of secretly paying Swift’s team up to $18 million to ensure the island was the sole stop in the Southeast Asia leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour. Singapore’s confirmation of having made a payment of an undisclosed amount intensified the backlash, with one peeved Filipino lawmaker accusing the island of operating by “the law of the jungle.”

Singapore wasn’t too worried. Hosting the extravaganza may have caused some bad blood, but it is estimated to have injected between $260 million and $375 million into the country’s economy, as more than 300,000 fans descended on the island for the tour. And that’s just a fraction of the more than 10 million people worldwide who turned out in force to shake it off with Swift during her marathon tour (including, admittedly, this Foreign Policy reporter).

Those are just some of the staggering figures that have emerged from Swift’s Eras Tour, which wrapped in December after a nearly two-year run. Before Eras, for example, no tour had passed the billion-dollar mark in ticket sales; Swift shattered that record, raking in $2.2 billion in gross earnings.

Yet that number doesn’t even begin to account for all of the revenue generated beyond concert ticket sales. In September 2023, the U.S. Travel Association estimated the tour’s total economic impact at the time had surpassed some $10 billion—and that was just five months in.

“If she were her own economy, she would be bigger than 50 or so of the poorest nations in the world,” said Adam Gustafson, a professor of music at Penn State Harrisburg, who likened Swift’s influence to a “massive gravitational pull.”

Swift may have humble origins in West Reading, Pennsylvania, but the Eras Tour has laid bare just how powerful her gravitational pull has become.

She has drawn in powerful world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended her show in Toronto, and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a known Swiftie who once leapt to her defense on Twitter, tenderly sending “hugs from the south.” Her tour has captured the attention of the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve. And the force of her fandom has, quite literally, shaken the world, with the dancing at her concerts in Edinburgh and Seattle generating enough of a seismic shock that scientists took notice.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see anything like it again, and I don’t think we’ve seen anything like it before,” said Ryan Herzog, an economics professor at Gonzaga University who partnered with New York Times columnist and economics professor Paul Krugman to develop a class on “Swiftonomics.”

You don’t have to be a devout Swiftie to have felt the economic reverberations of the popstar’s marathon tour, which extended into the far reaches of the global economy over its nearly two-year run.

The numbers alone are eye-popping: $2.07 billion in ticket sales, 10,168,008 attendees, 149 shows, 51 cities, 21 countries, five continents.

Beyond the gold rush in ticket sales, the Eras Tour pumped up hotel revenue; drove up demand for flights—prompting Southwest Airlines to add new flights to “help Swifties get to and from her concerts,” per a company statement; and spiked retail and restaurant spending. The bead market also boomed: Michaels, a retailer known for its arts and crafts supplies, reported that its sales for bracelet materials surged, popularized by the beaded friendship bracelets that have become a trademark of the Eras Tour.

“The magnitude of her impact was large everywhere she went,” said Herzog.

The last time that Swift toured was in 2018, after she released Reputation, a defiant album defined by its slithering snakes and angsty feuds. (Remember “Look What You Made Me Do”?) Reputation spanned 53 shows and 7 countries, but even that feels small compared with the colossal Eras Tour.

In an evolving music industry now dominated by streaming giants, such as Spotify or Apple Music—which give artists only a sliver of profits—experts said touring can be a key source of income for many musicians.

“Artists really don’t get a lot of money from streaming; that is why they’re putting on these big shows,” said Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University who teaches a class on Swiftonomics. “All the money now in the music industry is really in touring.”

But for almost five years, Swift took a break from touring. Rather than hitting the road, particularly when much of the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift churned out four new albums: Lover (2019), folklore (2020), evermore (2020), and Midnights (2022). Her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024), was released during the Eras Tour.

Some of the Taylormania can be traced back to the isolation of the pandemic and pent up demand for Swift’s new music. “The timing after COVID just was impeccable,” said Herzog, who said that there was a “perfect recipe” of factors. “The fact that she hadn’t toured enabled her to put on a show unlike anything anyone had experienced.”

Yet all recipes, no matter how perfect, need capable hands. With some two decades of experience under Swift’s belt, economists and seasoned watchers described her as a savvy businesswoman and marketing whiz, one who has leveraged social media to her advantage and strategically made bold, even unusual, professional decisions to directly connect with fans and establish her empire.

Dani Winchester, co-host of the Swift-focused Taylearning podcast, likened Swift to a “two-headed dragon.” “One head is her immense talent, her unparalleled pen, and just what an incredible musician and artist she is,” she said. “The other head is this absolutely insane businesswoman.”

Take, for example, Swift’s decision to rerecord her older albums, allowing her to rerelease her music under her ownership, as Taylor’s Version. There’s all of the Easter eggs that she has planted in music videos, social media posts, and interviews, offering clues and veiled messages to her legions of fans. There’s the nearly three-hour Eras Tour movie she released last October, and the hardcover tour book that she dropped in November. It’s also hard to forget her feud with Ticketmaster, which ultimately helped pave the way for a Justice Department lawsuit against the company and its parent firm, Live Nation Entertainment.

And then there’s the career-spanning Eras Tour, which by some estimates is set to funnel some $4.1 billion directly into Swift’s pocket.

For Gustafson, the Penn State Harrisburg professor, understanding Swift’s economic impact starts with seeing her as Swift Inc. When you start “thinking about her as a financial engine rather than as this artist,” he said, “you start realizing that the hundreds and hundreds of people below her, they’re all kind of at work to make this cultural product happen.”

The sun had yet to rise when Megan Wysocki clambered out of bed and rushed over to her local Target store in New Jersey. A student at American University, Wysocki is decidedly not a morning person, she told Foreign Policy—but this was something even she couldn’t miss.

She wasn’t alone. When Wysocki arrived at Target in the early hours of Nov. 29, a line had formed of people who were there for the same reason: snagging Swift’s self-published Eras Tour Book, a 256-page tome packed with more than 500 glossy images of Swift as well as her reflections. Swift released the book exclusively through the retailer on Black Friday, prompting eager fans to turn to Reddit to mastermind plans to secure a copy.

“Will people camp out? What time should I arrive?!” one Swiftie asked. “Obviously no one here can answer that question but I was curious if anyone had a game plan yet.”

Wysocki, for her part, appeared to be bracing for chaos. “Prior to going, I was fully expecting, like, it’s going to be unorganized … there’s going to be a stampede, I’m going to have to fight someone for this book,” she said, laughing. It was, mercifully, a fairly seamless process—no brawls necessary—and by the time she left the store at around 6:45 am, she said there were only two or three books left.

“I think if Bill Gates went and wrote a book, people would not be lining up at Target at 5:30 in the morning,” she added.

Wysocki’s purchase of the Eras Tour Book was just one of 814,000 print copy sales of the volume over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Those sales smashed yet another record for Swift: the biggest total first week print sales of 2024.

To see the Eras Tour in the United States, some fans paid steep prices, shelling out thousands on resold concert tickets alone. Others travelled abroad to Europe, where a stricter regulatory environment helped ensure that ticket prices were some 87 percent cheaper than they were in the United States. In Paris, for example, more than a quarter of tickets sold for Swift’s shows in the city were snapped up by Americans.

Others tuned in online. At every show, tens of thousands of fans unable to attend in person would watch unofficial fan-organized livestreams, complete with shaky video footage, frenzied live chats, and even engagement proposals. It’s euphoric. It’s electric. It’s adoring. It’s Swiftiedom.

“Her fan base, I think, genuinely feels that she’s authentic, that they’re seeing a real her,” said Gustafson. “That sort of feeling of authenticity, and attachment to it, is really something that I think just draws fans in—that they’re not just consuming the movement; they’re actually a part of it with her.”

Whether you’re pining for a stranger who doesn’t know you exist, reeling from crushing heartbreak, experiencing the thrill and agony of a new crush, spiraling in self-doubt, recovering from professional setback, or reveling in a tender friendship, fans say, Taylor Swift has a song for you.

“She has mastered the art of autofiction and of taking stories that have happened to her—no matter how small—and turning them into these moments, through her songs, that we can relate to, that we can listen to, and experience, and grow with her,” said Winchester.

It’s a bond that spans generations. “When [I was] a young teenager, I found that my feelings weren’t taken as seriously … because, you know, I don’t even take my feelings as a 15-year-old as seriously as 15-year-old me would like,” said Olivia Kotarski, who co-hosts the Taylearning podcast with Winchester. “But Taylor Swift took them seriously when I was 15,” she said.

After the whirlwind of the Eras Tour, what’s next for Swift? Spending the holidays with beau Travis Kelce, for one. Professionally, Swift is sure to keep writing songs, and there are two more album rerecordings in the pipeline, said Stephanie Burt, a professor at Harvard University who taught a course called “Taylor Swift and Her World” and is writing a book on the popstar.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. But Burt is excited.

“We have no idea,” she said. “I just feel like it’s going to be awesome.”