#overlap: coffee cups

[tayfabe75]

Ehi! Do you think that "the black dog" could be about Matty?

Sure I do! Why not? When we have precisely three words to go off of, the world is our oyster black dog!

You know what? Let's have some fun. I'm going to wager a guess I haven't seen much speculation about yet, which is that 'The Black Dog' could be about Cerberus! Yep, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld in Greek mythology…

To explain his possible significance, I must first introduce you to Psyche: the Greek goddess of the soul, whose symbol is butterfly wings…

But she wasn't always a goddess! She used to be a mortal woman. One so beautiful that she stirred jealousy within the goddess of love & beauty, herself, Aphrodite, who ordered her son and god of love, Eros (also known as Cupid), to make Psyche fall in love with the most wretched creature imaginable. Instead, Eros found himself so taken by Psyche's beauty that he fell in love with her, himself!

And so, Psyche was whisked away to a palace wherein an invisible lover bestowed upon her great luxury and riches, keeping her company each night in total darkness to obscure his identity. So long as she never looked upon him, they could remain lovers.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of her and Psyche shone a light on Eros… So stunned by his beauty, she dropped her oil lamp, burning him. Injured and betrayed, Eros escaped into the night, abandoning her.

Distraught, Psyche set forth to make amends with her lost lover, confronting Aphrodite (also known as Venus), who presented her with a series of trials she must first complete…

One of which required a trip to the underworld…

And, yep! You guessed it. Psyche had to sneak past the three-headed (black?) guard dog Cerberus… (who might've been referenced in 'Blank Space' via a trio of Dobermans?:)

Then, ferried by Charon, Psyche traveled across the River Styx…

While Psyche traversed the underworld, Eros healed from his burns and then set off in search of reconciliation with Psyche, ultimately returning to his lost lover...

So, if the Karma video really is a sort of visual retelling of Psyche's journey back to Eros… who do you suppose is on the piano bench at the end here? Some say Jack (who, interestingly, recently released a song featuring Matty on piano!)… But, considering the romantic tone of the Psyche & Eros love story… it seems to fit Somebody Else a bit better, wouldn't you say? Somebody who, like Eros, was burned after exposure…

Somebody who might symbolize the ram's horns on Taylor's underworld mask (Aries), somebody whose birthday aligns with the solar eclipse this year, somebody who shares an association with Bonnie Parker and Wizard of Oz, somebody who drinks out of eerily similar coffee cups in front of a clock that happens to bear the same time as the twin coffee cup from Karma…

If any of these Psyche/Eros parallels happen to be more than pure coincidence, then perhaps it is worth noting that, much like Betty and James, Eros and Psyche also end up together 🏹

That said? Yeah, yeah! I know. 'The Black Dog' will probably be a depressing song, given that it is basically synonymous with depression. But I have a small window for clowning left. That said, there's also Mayhem, a black dog who is surely worthy of a sonnet!

Another fun guess: Toto from The Wizard of Oz! But I'm not sure if he's technically considered brown or black, but in my head he's a black dog, anyway lol Toto would be a great subversion of current expectations, at least!

Thanks for the ask! 🤍

[tayfabe75]

hi. Just wondering if you have seen the last couple of concerts that were streamed and what you think about Matty feeling quite down. Do you still think there is any hope for him and taylor to be back together

I'm going to preface this (probably) controversial take by first explaining that I think Matty is someone who, while touring, is lucky to be utterly surrounded by loved ones. From his bandmates to his manager, the personal friends he's enlisted to handle the merch, lighting, stage production, etc, even the security guys seem quite close with Matty. If the man was truly struggling with poor mental health, he has a giant support network at his fingertips. Trust me, if you can tell Matty is upset from a grainy livestream, the ones on and behind the stage can, too - and they care, even more than me or you! Because they know him, truly know him, in a way that fans never could, no matter how many times they listen to his albums or watch his interviews. He's good! Or, if he's not, he will be soon, because he's got his boys!

All that said… I'm going to draw attention to something else Matty said while on stage:

"Even in an earnest moment, you should always be suspicious."

And so, I remain suspicious! If Matty appears upset on stage, it's either one of two things: 1) tour is ending, or 2) he wants to appear upset. He once said this about ATVB:

"It's a show that feels pretty loose, but it's actually very, very tight. It's very, very well-rehearsed."

I know the generally accepted fan take is that Matty is just too ADHD to follow through with anything and gave up whatever his plans for the show were supposed to be... But what if the plan was always to make it look like he was really going through it for the duration of SATVB? Upset, distracted, struggling. He even preemptively warned of this emotional shift:

"If you see me sliding over the next six months, I appreciate it, but don't worry about it."

Of course, if Matty has truly been experiencing mental turmoil in his personal life that has since spilled into his professional life, I wish him all the best and hope he finds time and space to heal, but I trust that he's in very good hands if that's the case. After all, he assured us that the boys (his chosen family, if you will) would die for each other if it came down to it!

But, if all is as it seems and Matty truly lost Taylor last June… and if his upset during the last handful of SATVB shows was somehow connected to that loss all these months later… I would point you to the 'Oh Caroline' video, which shows what will become of him if he gets the ending he had hoped to avoid… (ie: if he got it "wrong")

He still ends up with his boys! That's not so bad, is it? Do you happen to know how many folks out there dream of growing old with either Ross, George, or Adam? A whole bunch. And all three? Matty, you lucky dog!

For me, the more likely explanation is that absolutely everything has been orchestrated from start to finish. The tour may have concluded, but the show must go on. So, yes! I would bet money on Matty finding his way back to Taylor. And by the time he does, I even suspect the tides will have turned in his favor following whatever devastation awaits us in TTPD. We'll see!

But... how curious that a pair of artists who have both romanticized star-crossed love stories... should end up in one of their own! Luckily for us, Taylor didn't like the ending of Romeo and Juliet, so she changed it. Thanks for the ask! 🤍

[tayfabe75]

"Taylor is seen bringing the coffee to a dark-haired guy, and there are different speculations on who this could be. Some people think it could be Matty Healy, who apparently did work on some songs for Midnights with her, or it could also potentially be Jack Antonoff, who she's really good friends with and obviously always working on music with him."

YouTuber Ana Richie speculates about the identity of the man at the piano in the Karma music video. (source)