#probably some of “Evermore” too but like i try not to think about the live action BATB too much because i despise its existence

[notmoreflippingelves]

I'm just saying that it was real mistake on the Elena of Avalor production team's part to tell the world (i.e. me) that THAT scene in the series finale was explicitly visually and thematically modeled off the end of Beauty and Beast (1991). Because what on earth am I, an English major, to do with that information except want to make an infinite number of Esteban Flores graphics featuring lyrics and lines from various incarnations of Disney's Beauty and the Beast (especially the Broadway show)? And this is a real problem considering that I am very, very not good at Photoshop.

[blackcherryvelvet0909]

Different Kind of Beautiful (Deuce x GN!Reader)

Content Warning: Mentions of alcohol

Note: This story takes place six or seven years after the events of Twisted Wonderland. The characters depicted here are all adults.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Deuce! Let me know if y'all want a part two!

“It’s been so long! It’s nice to see you again!” 

No, no that didn’t sound right. Too eager? Maybe… Deuce tried again. “Hey, long time, no see! How’ve you been?” 

That sounded good - was it too casual? I mean, yeah, they were still friends, at least he hoped, but should he be a bit more cordial? Deuce let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned his elbows on the sink, closed his eyes and hung his head low. This meetup was turning out to be more stressful than it ought to be. Just a little get-together before classes resumed in the fall. For someone about to enroll at one of the best police academies in Twisted Wonderland, Deuce couldn’t seem to keep a clear head about this. And it was all due to one person: [Name]. 

[Full Name]: Deuce’s crush since his first year at Night Raven College. It was more than a crush now, honestly, had been for a long time. He was full on in love with them. Even after a couple years apart, each to pursue their own dreams, the man’s love never faded. He was one hundred percent guilty of stalking their social media, liking every single one of their posts, no matter the content. Was that too much? Possibly, but he couldn’t help himself. 

He and [Name] were still part of the ye olde group chat they started up at the college. The members included himself, [Name], Ace, Epel, Jack, Ortho, and - though it took a while to convince him - Sebek. While it was good to still be connected to his college friends, there was only one person who he had notifications deemed for; you can guess who that is. Again, sad, probably, but Deuce just couldn’t be normal about them. Each year that passed only made that connection, that attraction, grow evermore powerful. As far as Deuce knew, only Jack and Epel were privy to it - he would never hear the end of it if Ace were to discover Deuce’s well kept secret. Trey and Cater knew, too, and Deuce could only pray they kept their word and kept the knowledge to themselves. 

They would all be there today. Riddle would be, too, as Trey actually convinced him to take the summer off. Deuce thought he’d be picking Riddle up from his townhouse, but Trey opted to go instead. They were all in close proximity to each other, and Trey didn’t think Riddle would be fond of the idea of riding with Deuce on his blastcycle. Deuce didn’t think so, either. Some thought it was strange Riddle had yet to earn his driver’s license, but being an honor student at the most prestigious law school in the Queendom of Roses, Twisted Wonderland as a whole, took up much of your time. Good for him - Deuce felt Riddle would make a better lawyer than he would a doctor, as Mrs. Rosehearts had attended. Rude to say, but fuck her honestly. 

As for everyone else’s lives, Trey was in his final year of culinary school; Epel was working as a mechanic in a city in the Shaftlands; Jack was currently working towards his doctorate in physical therapy, while also participating in sport; Sebek had just graduated from Briar Valley’s military alongside Silver; Ace, like Deuce, had graduated college, but with a degree in interdisciplinary studies instead of criminal justice. You, of course, were also pursuing your own goals, and Deuce was your most loyal supporter. Your ‘simp’, as Cater had teased Deuce for many times in the past. At least it was meant affectionately, unlike if it came from Ace. He was one of Deuce’s best friends, but he could be a total ass at times. Everyone in their group was having their turn in trying to wrangle him into shape, with varying success. You were currently in the lead. 

Deuce turned on the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. A couple more splashes and then he grabbed the hand towel hanging beside the bathroom mirror and gently rubbed the water droplets away. His eyes met his reflection, staring back at himself as though expecting his mirrored self to come up with some foolproof plan to finally win you over. Like the past several times Deuce, there was no such revelation. Deuce hung the hand towel back on its little rack before exiting the bathroom and returning to his room. The doors of his closet hung wide open, just as he’d left them. On the inside of the closet were various shirts and jackets he could wear to the meetup - if only he could choose one. 

Deuce knew he shouldn’t dress formally; the restaurant’s dress code was dressy casual at most, and Riddle would certainly be the only one following that ‘dressy’ part. Everyone else would be wearing a T-shirt and jeans, dark pants and a simple button up, jackets or no jackets - outfits like that. All of these clothing items Deuce possessed, and yet he just couldn’t find the right one. Earlier, he even thought about going out and finding something new to wear, but decided against it. Deuce wasn’t strapped for cash or anything, but going out and spending money on clothes he might wear one time wasn’t very smart, let alone necessary. Perhaps he should peek into the group chat and see if any of his friends had posted pictures of their outfits. 

They had not, but Deuce was greeted by one direct message from one friend: Cater. “Don’t wrry so much about tonight, k?” read the text. “Just be yourself, dress how you usually do. Youll be fine!” 

Of course, Deuce wasn’t just referring to the young man’s choice of dress for the night. He was most definitely referring to you and how Deuce sometimes - okay, always fretted over you and how you might perceive him. A little smile tugged at Deuce’s lips as he read the text over once, twice, then proceeded to text back a short reply. “Thanks, Cater. I’ll try not to be nervous, lol.” Deuce didn’t wait for a reply, pressing the power button on the side of his phone and turning off the screen before tossing the device on the bed. He let out a soft groan as he placed his hands over his face, dragging them down until his fingertips reached his chin before letting them fall back to his sides. 

The blue haired twenty-three year old glanced back at his closet. He eyed the old varsity jacket hanging inside, in the middle of the rack of clothes. It was pretty old, but Deuce had managed to keep it in good, almost perfect condition. He stepped forward a few paces and took it off its hanger. He’d made his decision. 

***

Deuce entered through the front door of the restaurant: a local hole-in-the-wall that once was once an old pub. His combat boots thumped against the two-century-old wood as he walked towards the bar. He parked himself on the left side, though didn’t take a seat at one of the stools. Instead, while ignoring a couple flirtatious gazes shot his way (he didn’t notice to begin with), Deuce scanned the eatery for his friends. It didn’t take long to spot the group. They were gathered around a large booth situated in the right back corner of the restaurant, chatting away about something Deuce couldn’t discern. 

From left to right was Jack, who sipped on a - likely non-alcoholic - margarita; Epel, who just finished chugging the last of a beer; Cater, who, after his few years of self-discovery, didn’t have a phone in sight; Riddle, sandwiched between Cater and Trey, seeming a little out of place in such a lively establishment, but no less appearing to have a good time; Trey, who was smiling and nodding away with the conversation, munching away on some fries; Ace, who wore his favorite asymmetrical checkered loose button-up, seemingly joking around with Epel about something; and Sebek, who was not belting out every single word he spoke (he’d learned to calm his volume over the years). You, on the other hand, were nowhere to be found. Maybe you hadn’t arrived yet, perhaps in the bathroom? Deuce felt a tad guilty for feeling disappointed at your absence. It wasn’t like he wasn’t excited to see his other friends, just… Before he could wonder anymore where you were, you appeared from a hallway on the other side of the room. 

You were gorgeous. No different from usual, but the outfit you wore made you look absolutely stunning. Deuce had to bite his bottom lip to prevent his jaw from hitting the bar. He needed to get it together! Deuce couldn’t repeat the mistake he made in your third year at NRC, when, without a thought, Deuce sighed out how handsome you looked. Great Seven he’d been so embarrassed! At least you were flattered by the compliment and awarded him with an equally show-stopping smile. 

Grim was likely back at the hotel, where you both were bunked for the duration of your stay in the Queendom of Roses. It’d been the same arrangement when you’d all got together for a week in the Shaftlands, and before that a long weekend in Briar Valley. Did you still talk to Malleus? Of course you did, that was a silly question. Despite the prince’s courtly duties, the two of you still made time for each other. If it were not for time constraints on the fae’s part, he might have even joined you all at the restaurant. Deuce felt that guilt re-enter his heart as it mixed with the jealousy of how effortless your relationship seemed with the high prince, future king of Briar Valley. 

Deuce could never measure up to that. 

His hand gripped the wood of the bar as you glanced around the restaurant; his nails dug into the firm material when you briefly caught his eye. You smiled and waved at him, but before you could even finish the gesture Deuce had turned his head in the other direction. He hoped it looked effortless, like he simply didn’t see you. Anxiety pumped through his veins and muddled his brain, making him think of all the possible things that could go wrong, all the words he could say to screw everything up. If only he could be as articulate as Riddle; as suave and charming as Cater; as laid back and perceptive as Trey. If only he could be like Malleus and already have your heart right in his hands. 

“Twisted Wonderland to Loosey Deucey!” came a voice from beside him. It was paired with a small shake to his arm, which made Deuce flinch. Thankfully he recognized the voice enough to not let instinct take over and square up immediately. He turned his head to give Ace his full attention. 

“H-Hey, Ace,” Deuce greeted, stuttering for a second as he tried to shove all his previous thoughts to the back of his mind, where they belonged. “How’ve you been?” 

“Alright,” Ace replied. “Glad college will no longer be a pain in my ass.” The man grinned as he nudged Deuce with his elbow. “Congrats again for getting accepted into the police academy, Officer Spade.” 

“I’m not an officer yet,” Deuce chuckled. “You can’t call me that till I’ve graduated.” 

“Yeah yeah, I know, Mr. Play-by-the-rules. There! That’ll be your new title till then.” Deuce rolled his eyes, but a grin remained plastered on his face. That was until Ace changed the subject and asked, perhaps rhetorically, “Are you gonna come to the table, or are you just going to sit here and sulk?” 

“Oh, yeah, I am!” Deuce assured. “I was just about to walk over.” 

“Did you order something?” 

“No, I haven’t even seen the menu yet.” 

Ace pointed up at the chalkboard that lined the back of the bar. “It’s literally right there, dude.” 

So it was. “I actually didn’t notice,” Deuce laughed. “Really do need to start paying attention to the little things, huh?”

“Yeah,” Ace concurred, then leaned his elbow on the counter. “Like how you can’t just avoid [Name] when they look at you cause you’ve got goo-goo eyes for them.” 

Deuce looked quite the fool as he stood there, almost bug-eyed as he registered Ace’s words. “Hu-what?!” 

“C’mon man, don’t play dumb.” Ace smirked. “You make it so obvious.”

“I-” Deuce scrambled to find the right words. “How long have you known?” 

“Since our freshman year back at Night Raven.” Now, Deuce’s mouth was hanging open. Ace’s expression seemed to grow more amused as Deuce’s became more flabbergasted. “What? You thought I didn’t know?” 

“I never told you!” Deuce noticed how loud he was becoming and quickly toned his voice down. 

“You never had to. I see the way you look at them. You’re a nice guy, yeah, sickeningly so, but I’ve only seen you fumble over one person.” 

“I don’t fumble!” 

“Oh yes you do!” Ace teased. “I’ve never seen a guy trip over himself so much. You get tongue tied whenever they’re around; you’re [Name]’s own personal pack mule and guard dog; and you remember almost every single thing about them! I didn’t even know that they [secret quirk about you] - Malleus doesn’t either!” 

How surprised could one man get in one day? “He doesn’t?” Deuce balked. 

“Nope! Well, not till I asked him, at least. He at least didn’t know till I mentioned it.” Ace waved his hand, dismissing the memory. “Anyway, unless you’re Sebek and Riddle, everyone in the group knows, man.” 

Deuce’s heart dropped to his boots. “Even [Name]?”

“No, at least I don’t think so.” Ace poked Deuce’s wrist, which peeked out of his jacket cuff. “But if they do, they’re likely waiting on you to make the first move.”

Deuce wanted to sink into the ground and join the soil beneath. He frowned and stared down at his hand, studying the calluses on his fingers. “Or they don’t like me that way and just don’t want to hurt my feelings.” 

“Hey! No! None of that!” Ace grabbed Deuce by his bottom jaw and turned his head back up to look at him. It hurt a little, but Deuce kept his mouth shut. “Listen, man, I can’t speak for them, but I can tell that [Name] cares about you a lot - and I mean a lot. They talk about you even outside the group chat.” Deuce’s eyebrows raised in surprise. They really did? 

“Yeah,” Ace affirmed, “so much so it’s a common joke amongst us. Well, except for you, I guess. Anyway, if they really didn’t like you like that, they would tell you to your face. But I highly doubt that they’d reject you, Deuce. [Name] likes you!” Ace released Deuce’s face, but not before he gave his cheek a light, yet firm slap. 

“Now, come with me so you can go over there and talk to them and have a good time with the rest of us. Hell, flirt with them a lil bit while you’re at it! Before we leave for the night, ask them out! Before someone else does!” Deuce’s heart dropped at the very idea. No…no, he couldn’t let that happen! Ace was right -  he needed to make the first move! 

“Yeah, I will.” Deuce smiled and reached out to Ace, giving his arm a firm squeeze. “Thanks, man.” 

“No problem.” Ace gave a playful smile as he feigned a punch to Deuce’s chin. “Somebody had to give you the right nudge. I even thought about flirting with [Name] myself, just so you’d get scared and finally jump the line.” Deuce shot Ace a small glare, one the man knew all too well. Ace held up his hands in a mock defense. 

“Hey, hey, Cater talked me out of it! Epel threatened to beat my ass, too.” 

Deuce was silent for a few seconds, then let out a small laugh. “Nah, I wouldn’t have let him.” Deuce straightened his posture and placed his hands on his hips. “If he wouldn’t let up, I’d have to arrest him.” 

“Oh, thank you so much, mister officer, sir!” Ace mockingly praised in a tiny sing-song voice. “I feel so safe with you around!” 

With smiles on both their faces, Ace and Deuce made their way over to the booth, where their friends were waiting. Deuce greeted each of them, with either a handshake, a pat on the shoulder, or a quick side hug. That was, until he got to you. You were seated beside Sebek, right at the edge of the curved booth seats. Like always, Deuce’s smile grew soft, and his gaze became fond and loving, the moment he set his sights on you. “Hey, [Name],” he said, almost breathed, in greeting. 

“Hey,” you said in response. You rose from your seat and reached out your arms to pull him into an embrace. As he always did, Deuce returned it wholeheartedly. You stood like that for a long moment, probably longer than one should have, before separating. Even then, Deuce kept a gentle hand on your arm, which trailed down to your hand. His knuckles brushed yours, making direct eye contact with you as he added, “I’m happy to see you again.” 

To Deuce’s surprise, relief, and triumph, you blushed. Your smile - he could have died happy right then and there. “Me too,” you giggled, clearly a little bashful. 

Many of your friends exchanged knowing looks between them. The redhead and the crocodile fae, as usual, were oblivious - for now.

[kvtnisseverdeen]

This is my humble take…

Joe Alwyn was Taylor’s best boyfriend. She knows this and her fans know this. But he demands actual work and accountability. Taylor is a white rich conservative girl first and foremost. And she’s very narcissist. Joe is the first boyfriend of hers to put actually limits on how her public personal affects him and their relationship. And she liked dating him at first because he was private and reserved and she was desperately trying to scape the industry and she found the most non-industry British man ever. She liked that security and knowing he didn’t attract that much attention. Then, she slowly gained her reputation back on track and realized that she could finally go back to being the person that plays for the media again. And yes, maybe her relationship with Joe was slowly fading — it happens a lot. But she clearly says in her lyrics that wanting to be shown off in public is one of the reasons too. Because she likes that every relationship she’s in gets consumed by her fans and the media.

And Joe Alwyn required her to go and do some work on herself! He comes from a very activist family. He was the one that made her be more open about social activism. It was because of him that she tried to do the bare minimum like encouraging during elections, have more racially diverse people on her music videos and tours, and do a very cringey job at supporting lgbt rights. But it was at least something…

Isn’t funny that the moment they broke up she went back to being very problematic? The climate terrorist that she’s been for the pass year and then wanting to sue people for spreading her private flights information (knowing this is public information). Then dating that racist man that mocked woman of color and admitted to watch what he did, being quiet about the war that’s going on, and the lame and immature issue she created over some of Olivia Rodrigo’s songs (a literal new artist and teenager at the time) to the point she cut total ties with her and her next man being a very typical conservative macho man that seems to love the attention just like her. She’s back at being who she’s always been…

“Your integrity makes me feel small” Yes, Taylor, indeed. I am glad you know this too.

oh you absolutely have said it all. this is extremely well said and on point.

i find it so odd that most swifties can't pinpoint that the real issue between joe and taylor was taylor once again giving into the industry and being a rich white capitalist which is something joe is not and does not want to be, and most likely caused the demise of their relationship. taylor herself has said this in her songs (like the lyrics in peace, as you said). so yeah, maybe she wanted marriage but joe probably wasn't comfortable marrying someone who had completely different morals than him which is his right. let's be real here.

and oh the relationship between her and travis probably set her "redemption arc" far back than ever. she really was finally speaking up on so many matters and now she's dating a problematic trump supporter, giving into the media frenzy with the NFL, and has done no activism despite having the biggest platform. i think what sucked the most was her being times person of the year and using it to talk about travis and how she wasted 6 years of her life being private. so disappointing. and the cherry on top are some of the lyrics from ttpd (ex. 1830s racism lyric) like WHAT?

another thing swifties misinterpret is that no one would've known joe if it wasn't for taylor and that he's living off of his songwriting credits from folklore/evermore. joe who is notoriously low-key and has stated he just wants to be seen as human never used taylor for clout and has avoided saying her name in interviews, even after the break-up. not because he didn't love her, but because he did not want to feed into the media frenzy. and if all eyes are on him, he's using it to make a statement about palestine which is amazing. sure, you may not have known joe alwyn if it wasn't for taylor but he never used taylor's fame to make him more famous. and might i argue, it was taylor who despite releasing positive songs about him sometimes didn't defend him (like in the folklore sessions where jack antonoff was obviously being rude to him? or how she told her fans not to go after john mayor releasing speak now tv but didn't say anything for joe when her fans have been harassing him like crazy?)

on the other hand, we have travis kelce who has most definitely brought her up in every capacity like on his brothers podcast and let's be real, most of the swifties didn't know who travis was (i didn't!) unless they were football fans. we saw proof of that when NFL sales and viewership was significantly higher. so yes, travis is using her name for clout and feeding into the media frenzy. and then you have swifties saying he loves her and supports which yes, can be true, but you cannot deny that taylor and travis' relationship fed the media, fed the NFL, and diverted attention from more important issues like gaza. and while taylor and travis had their eyes on them, they didn't use it to do any good.

so yes, you are right. joe was taylor's best boyfriend.

[emry-stars-art]

Massarati was a courting gift to andrew from abram after he realized they were courting one another

My face reading this omggggggg

(Gonna put this up top instead of at the end; find the royal au writing masterpost here 💕)

So this is the 4800 words of fluff; @jtl-fics was bouncing a LOT of ideas with me about it and everything was so sweet 😭🥰 you can read it here! :D or continue on this post for the sparknotes version from Abram's pov (minus the picnic date tho 👀), and let’s showcase my inexperience with horses ✨

THIS IS GREAT I done got myself a little by making Maserati a rescue case… like Abram’s probably right about what happened to her though I didn’t fully decide on it (I’m also making up everything about horse breeds in this universe thank youuu). He’s out one day for whatever reason and comes across this horse in no pasture that’s tall, clearly made for working, but it’s far too skinny. A little skiddish, but not enough that Abram can’t approach after a while of trying. It’s a familiar breed under the dirt and malnutrition.

He doesn’t even bother seeing where it might have come from. He fashions a makeshift lasso/bridle thing from rope and takes a few hours calming the horse enough to bring it back with him to the castle, leaving it in one of the smaller/less used stables with plenty of food and water before going to find Day or someone else that might be able to help. She doesn’t look impressive at first, obviously. But with lots of help and lots of time from Abram taken in secret to the stables, she slowly starts to get better. She gains weight, she gets readjusted to people, she lets him take care of her coat and hair.

At some point, Andrew insists once again on keeping Abram nearby when Abram is having a worse night than usual. Panicking easily, generally unwell. (Andrew is also wondering why Abram is suddenly spending so much time away, why he won’t tell Andrew where he’s been or what he’s doing. It’s completely in his right to do it, so Andrew never forces the issue, but it’s such an obvious switch from his normal behavior. Right when Andrew thought he could start leaning into the courting, it feels like Abram is pulling away and it hurts a little. He gets worried.) Abram can’t sleep, and Andrew won’t sleep until Abram does, so they lay on his bed with Andrew resting against Abram’s lap, relaxing or reading or tracing scars with his fingertips. It’s a long while before Abram asks, unprompted, “Did you ever have an ideal horse?”

Andrew gives him a look.

“I mean… a dream horse. Maybe when you were little, something you always wanted.”

Andrew makes a small noise. “I think most kids do.”

“Right. So did you?”

It takes more convincing than that, lots of Abram assuring Andrew that it’s not stupid, he’s just curious. He’ll tell Andrew his next. And finally Andrew tells Abram of when he was young, living with the Spears, and would fantasize about being anywhere else. He’d take a horse as black as night so no one would see him when he ran away, a horse that was strong and fast enough to take him wherever he wanted to go. He used to imagine it would carry two, so he could take his governess with him, but that was before she left. It was all child’s play, anyway. It didn’t matter now. (Abram’s horse wasn’t so detailed, but he said if he had to pick a coat color, he was very happy with the blue roan he was given.)

So the next time Abram goes to the stable he looks at her, sees how well she’s bulking up, sees again how much larger she is than the Friesians he’s used to from Evermore. She looks even stronger than those already capable horses. When she’s healthy she can certainly carry two riders and more besides, and her endurance is like the horse equivalent of his own. Her coat is getting shiny again, sleek like black oil.

When she’s healthy and ready, Abram trains her. He again has help, of course - there are people who’s jobs it is to take care of and train the castle’s horses and it isn’t him - but she has an undeniable soft spot for Abram. They get her used to being fully decked out in nice tack and equipment and whatever else. Abram holds her steady to get shoed. The veterinarians/au equivalent make sure she stays healthy and the stable master grows more impressed with her every day. She’s not your average horse, he tells Abram. She’s smart. There’s real intelligence in those eyes.

Abram could not be happier.

By the time the twins’ birthday comes around she is ready to go. Abram spends the morning before his work begins making sure she is as sparkling as he can get her, all ready for her favorite stable hand to take her to the main stables later while Abram attends the prince at the festivities. The stable hand is going to put her in her new tack, too, the beautiful white set Abram spent a good chunk of coin to have commissioned. The horse is perfectly well mannered around people now, though only Abram and a handful others can ride her. Abram only plans his evening because he knows she lets anyone ride alongside him - if Abram deems them worthy, the horse won’t protest. It isn’t trust he ever takes lightly. He’s pretty certain she’ll end up allowing Andrew every privilege she allows Abram. He is so excited and so, so nervous for that night. She’s as perfect as she could possibly be, but Andrew has gotten Abram so many wonderful gifts. This is the first time Abram has returned the favor with such intention. Hopefully it’s good enough. (She is.)

Oh also in case you’re wondering. Andrew only needs a new horse because his beloved GS was finally retired, GS is old and now gets to spend the rest of his days in nice pastures where Andrew feeds him lots of treats 💕 every like is one sugar cube gods bless

[myvirtuesuncounted]

my full review of ttpd (a month late, shhh)

tw opinions. if you like a song that i don't or vice versa or you don't agree with a comment i made, good for you! get it off your chest, get it off my desk!

fortnight

One of Taylor’s weaker openers, it’s a nice song, not much going on though

the production is boppy, not much going on once again

Interesting how Taylor sees her muse as living a good life without her and a nice domestic scene with his wife watering flowers but for her, her husband is cheating on her, implying she thinks she will never be happy, maybe because of how this relationship went or her general perception of relationships and her experiences with them. That is my interpretation of the song.

The outro with post and taylor's harmonies SLAPS

Like I said, this song feels a bit lacking of substance both thematically and technically, it doesn't do it for me, i don't hate listening to it, i just don't love it.

i think it might be a song that grows on me over time but it won't ever be a fave for me.

i also think in light of the music video, it's lost some of its spark for me, as that music video made no sense to me. i don't think it deserved to be a single.

the tortured poets department

“You left your typerwriter at my apartment, straight from the tortured poets department” implying that this thing of which she is now part had been introduced to her by the muse

The muse has probably compared them to poets like Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith and probably romanticised their relationship into the work of a tortured poet, but that’s not real life.

Taylor brings back to reality that now because of his self sabotage that brought both of them down in this relationship, he has lost the one who will decode him, hold him, know him

the above are just little analyses i like making as i listen to the song, they have nothing to do about whether i like the song or not, it's just me trying to make sense of it. you'll see that a lot.

i do not like the charlie puth line. at all. why is it there?

also don't like the tattooed golden retriever line, the image of a tattooed golden retriever is terrifying.

i was so off-guard about the namedropping in this song, sorry i had no idea who dylan thomas or patti smith were.

this song is trying too hard to be poetic, i think (which one could argue is the whole point of this song), but it doesn't stand out much to me. the themes are interesting though.

this is a pretty weak title track, personally. i feel like it doesn't encapsulate the essence of the album (which i am confused about tbh, ttpd has a lot of aesthetics going on for itself). it has nothing on little fearless and evermore.

my boy only breaks his favourite toys

so we all thought this song would be pretty petty, but i honestly don't think it is extremely so. there's a sort of pity for the muse, that the breaking of his 'favourite toys' is a form of self sabotage and that they could've had it all.

i love how it starts so defeated, "oh here we go again", which i think is in reference to the muse's self sabotage ruining her life

it also feels a bit reflective and nostalgic of the fact that it wasn't all bad, which i quite liked. i liked the contrast of feelings.

"once i fix me, he's gonna miss me" is a devastating line btw

so is "he saw forever so he smashed it up"

song is a bop, i like the lyricism, overall i enjoy this song :)

down bad

i enjoy the cunty synth here ahaha. for all the jokes the fandom makes about jack fucking around with the synth while taylor sings the most soulcrushing lyrics, it is so real especially for this song.

taylor has never sounded so good while swearing. "fuck it if i can't have us" is such an earworm.

i feel like this is the most petty song in the album, mainly because of the "teenage petulance" in the lyrics

the callback to new romantics in the bridge is so insane, i noticed it immediately.

the production is so mystical and giving space alien vibes, i enjoy it.

so long, london

the intro is giving big ben bells and/or wedding bells

the fast beat vs the slow melodies is such an interesting juxtaposition (to my lit teacher, i hope i used this word right XD). i think it really highlights the conflicting feelings this song explores ("i'm just mad as hell 'cause i loved this place") and also how taylor isn't able to keep up with how quickly the relationship is dying (the production) and she's still sifting through her feelings to find acceptance (the melody)

"how much sad did you think i had" something something "how long can we be a sad song" something something "don't want no other shade of blue but you"

the bridge is just the most devastating strike to my heart

"you sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days" is one of my favourite lyrics on this album

track 5 is track 5ing

this song is a masterpiece, i genuinely love it so much

but daddy i love him

get this song out of my face, i hate it so much. blocked on spotify.

why did taylor have to waste good lyricism and production on such an awful premise and "fuck you" to her fans dishing valid criticism of her association with matty?

the baby line is hilarious though, because i did indeed fall for it the first time

like you can talk about taylor's agency all you want but everyone knows what the implications of this song are and i feel hurt and offended that this is the attitude both taylor and some swifties are taking.

"the most judgemental creeps" um, is this fucking play about us?

fresh out the slammer

her voice sounds beautiful in this

love the country twang in the production

it's giving getaway car thematically

i think it's interesting to see this song so soon after so long, london, where she says she was "going down with [the ship]" but she was literally dreaming about running into the arms of another man and was "[doing her] time". like ok girl!

vibey song but not for me. i don't have much to say on this.

florida!!!

IMMEDIATE FAVE, i had claimed this since day 1 and i was so right

cunty production, i can tell florence had a lot of influence. no more synths! bring out the drums!

at first, i had no idea what was happening in this song, but when taylor talked about it being about reinventing yourself, it made a lot more sense to me and i love that interpretation, it rings so true.

can i be honest and say that i thought it said "arms" not "home", like that doesn't even make sense 😭

florence's verse fucking slays, my only gripe is that her voice in the verse is kinda quiet compared to the instrumental. could've used some better mixing here.

"me and my ghosts had a hell of a time" is a banger of a line

the bridge is immaculate, has been in my head since i first listened to it.

this song is amazing, there is nothing like it, pure perfection. top song on the album.

guilty as sin?

obsessed with the beat

hedge maze = labyrinth = the mind, idk i just loved that connection

we have reached the ovulation song lmao

did you know it took me so long to realise the chorus was talking about masturbation? like i knew the song was horny, but i didn't realise it was THAT horny.

i think i called this a mature, sadder false god in my notes. that uncertain, sensual, desiring tone is probably what motivated that connection in my head.

WHAT IF HE'S WRITTEN MINE ON MY UPPER THIGH ONLY IN MY MIIIIIND

the bridge is so beautiful, i am a sucker for religious imagery.

overall i'm obsessed, beat good, lyricism good, i love it

who's afraid of little old me?

now i know this is the fan favourite, and i understand why. it gives an eery, angry vibe, and i also enjoy it. to some extent.

namely, the part i enjoy most is the circus imagery, i liked how she leaned into the circus animal metaphor to depict her struggles in fame and her relationships. it's like a badly behaved circus animal about to be put down absolutely losing it and raging about its plight, which i enjoy as a means of storytelling and expressing emotion. i also enjoy it as a callback to mirrorball and what happens when the mirrorball finally has had enough of shattering in a million pieces and performing for a largely uncaring crowd.

... which is why i don't like the asylum lyric. to me, it doesn't add in anything significant thematically when the rest of the song hardly has similar strains of discussion. not to mention the ableist overtones and trivialisation of the asylum experience but i just don't like this lyric. it weakens the premise of the song.

the production is also off in some places, it feels muted and underwhelming compared to the premise of the song.

it's an okay song, i 100% like the acoustic demo better that she came out with recently. some changes in production and the omission of that asylum lyric would put it higher up for me.

i can fix him (no really i can)

good thing this song is short because she couldn't fix him at all and i don't like this song.

"the jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud" euphemism for bigoted, taylor?

production is boring, the melody is also pretty boring. the lyrics are good, but not enough to save the song, in my humble opinion (it is after all my review here)

"good boy, that's right" taylor GET UP

the 'woah maybe i can't' is funny though, i'll give her that

loml

slayed, devoured, left no crumbs, left me emotionally devastated

the lyricism is absolutely beautiful, the sadness is tangible

the first time i listened to this, i was on the train, and i was so emotional, it was the perfect music to stare out the window to.

the impressionist painting line is also absolutely brilliant, took me out when i heard it. one of the best lyrics on the album.

the bridge and outro are the reasons i need therapy, destroyed me

loss of my life theorists won but at what cost.

i think some of taylor's simplest songs melodically have some of the most beautiful prose and emotional connection, i think she needs to tap into that more.

10/10 no notes.

i can do it with a broken heart

extreme whiplash hearing this after loml. similar whiplash to what taylor felt, i think, going on tour after such a heartbreak

someone pointed out that the almost metronomic beat and the faint counting in the background is like what taylor hears in her in-ear monitor on tour and i think that's really cool.

obsessed with this song so much

it has been stuck in my head since i first heard it

i never expected this to be the cuntiest song on the album but i am not disappointed at all.

"i cry a lot but i am so productive" is so mecore if i was actually productive

the ad libs at the end are also perfect

is it just me or can i hear crowd noises in the background?? am i imagining this??

i'm afraid the fandom is gravely misunderstanding this song. some are saying that taylor hates us because we were "shouting 'more!' " when she was feeling like this. some are saying that she doesn't resent us at all and that this song absolves us completely. those are both two extremes and my interpretation lies somewhere in the middle. this is not a callout to fans but also some factions of the fandom were (or are) being assholes demanding reputation tv and double albums all the time. acknowledge the nuance.

10/10 obsessed, fave song after florida!!!

the smallest man who ever lived

this song is good.

bridge of all time, indeed, she went OFF

the verses feel a bit meh to me but i love the chorus.

"you didn't measure up in any measure of a man" HAHA TAYLOR IT TOOK ME A SECOND TO GET THE DOUBLE ENTENDRE

this song is indeed petty, but it also feels defeated to me? like taylor just sounds tired of it all and quite hurt, that's what i got from it.

i also love the performance of this song on the eras tour. she is marching with an army and they keep taking hits throughout the song, until she eventually falls at the end. something something "the great war" something something "fighting with only your army, frontlines, don't you ignore me", etc.

the alchemy

i feel a little let down by this song? because from the name, i assumed this song would be using the concept of alchemy being a medieval science of turning things into gold or finding a universal cure as a metaphor for a broken/dying relationship.

also i don't understand how this is meant to be a love song, sounds really sad to me? like almost defeatist in terms of how the relationship.

why am i being bombarded by football metaphors?

i mean, it sort of plays on the idea of alchemy being a sort of magical transformation, but to me, it just feels like a synonym for chemistry.

" 'cause the sign on your heart says it's still reserved for me" is a cute lyric though.

it's quite formulaic as a song and there's not much going on for me. anyway.

clara bow

i really enjoy the concept of this song being the torch of fame being passed onto different women, from clara bow to stevie nicks to taylor swift to whoever's next.

once again, it's quite simple melodically, but this is where she shines! the typewriter while she was writing this must have been on fire!!

i also love how it plays on the concept of being put onto a pedestal as a famous woman and how you're only appealing until people decide you're not

"it's hell on earth to be heavenly" is such a perfect lyric.

the namedrop of herself GAGGED me on first listen, i was amazed.

it's a perfect closer to the first half, putting everything into the perspective of her fame and passing the torch onto something else because society has decided out with old, in with the new.

the black dog

the thing about the location settings makes me so ill, he didn't even think to turn it off for her. they probably shared locations to make sure they could check up on each other, and it was still on. it is such a tiny thing but so devastating.

the buildup on "old habits die screaming" ohhhhh this is amazing

the best laid plans... hoax...

"i still miss the smoke" people are making parallels to daylight but my first thought was lavender haze, like missing the lavender haze, you know?

the priest lyric is so devastating if you think about the fact that taylor thought she'd be meeting a priest about this relationship for a different, happier reason...

obsessed with this song, it's so beautiful.

the quietness of the verses and the loudness of the chorus, i am genuinely entranced, it is cinema.

imgonnagetyouback

do not ask me to compare this song with olivia rodrigo's "get him back", they're both on different levels thematically and tonally even though they use the same double entendre.

what narcotics did she put in this bridge XD

so boppy, and sensual, i adore it

i remember going on a long search for the literary device that is present in "i hear the whispers in your eyes", decided it was antithesis with the help of my followers. not at all relevant, but wanted to add it.

the albatross

i can make a lot of parallels to peace with this song.

it's so eery and mythical, i love it, treats taylor like a fable, an urban legend.

aaron dessner is a fucking legend, i am loving the production on the anthology

my folkmore girlie self is loving the anthology for real

i love the bait and switch to "fake news", exposing these rumours for simply that, and saying that she's not the dangerous one, the "jackals rais[ing] their hackles" are.

i am always a sucker for when taylor changes from third person to first person narration, it's so important to me. bait-and-switch, you are everything to me.

10/10 no notes.

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus

heartbreakingly beautiful. just a general melancholy around the breaking down of a relationship and is so so perfect.

the hologram lyric is not about cheating at all. the relationship is long gone, this is taylor envisioning her muse in a new relationship but she isn't there, hence the hologram. i've seen some people say it was about cheating, that interpretation doesn't make sense to me.

"you turned me into an idea of sorts" -> "the idea you had of me, who was she?"

random thought, but the lyricism on the anthology is so much better and natural as compared to the first half. i enjoy the bops on the first half but it also suffers from trying too much to be poetic (i think i said this about the title track especially). there are so many overloaded lyrical runs and random references that leave me confused and overwhelmed. the anthology however feels so much more quintessentially taylor.

don't have much to say on the song itself, i quite like it.

how did it end?

the intro literally makes me ascend!!

i really love how this song investigates and criticises the inherent curiosity people have around big news like a breakup, constantly probing for details.

once again, the simpler songs contain the best lyricism and melodies!!

this song both explains and expresses confusion about the end of the relationship, so i love the paradoxical nature of that.

"we learn the right steps to different dances" is such a devastating line and i think sums up the end of many relationships so succinctly.

the second chorus is giving right where you left me: "did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen?" etc.

THE BRIDGE, TAYLOR HOW DO YOU DO IT

the d-y-i-n-g part is just so devastating. taylor uses the themes of death and haunting so well on this album.

i know i've said this like 10 times, but this is just so so beautiful.

so high school

the guitar in the background is giving hits different, it hits different when it's you!!

despite the happy tone and lyrics, i do feel the sad, anxious undertone, the key example being the marry, kiss, or kill me part (the echoed "kill me", "it's just a game but really")

the aristotle and grand theft auto line has been used countlessly to shit on taylor's songwriting, and personally, i don't like this line. just doesn't hit right for me. however, i think it's unfair to pick cringe lyrics and ignore all the beautiful, meaningful ones to shit on taylor.

i do love the imagery with high school games like truth or dare and spin the bottle, really cements the "so high school" of it all.

this song is okay to me, it feels too american for me to enjoy it more lmao.

i hate it here

i love the poet and finance guy line at the beginning, it expresses a sort of desperation to get to know this person, to uncover their insecurities, deepest secrets, and love them anyway. it may also be introspective of taylor herself, idk.

calling comfort a construct is so quietly sad. convincing yourself since you've never had it, it can't be real because it's better than being cursed or doomed to never have it (see the prophecy)

this song is so escapist, but also so cynical about the escapism, it clearly isn't a preferred option, like it's not just escaping into childhood and nostalgia for the sake of it, it's because the real world fucking sucks.

the chorus slays, and is quite relatable.

the use of the word "precocious" is so interesting to me. she used it also in "but daddy i love him" if i remember correctly. like she resonates a lot with the feeling of being stunted in childhood or having seemed to never grow up -> "i have this thing where i get older but just never wiser" -> "i never grew up, it's getting so old" -> "i hit my peak at seven", idk i find it an interesting recurring theme in taylor's discography.

the 1830s line, and just that entire first half of the verse. i know why it's there, i know what it's doing, i know it's not meant to be taken seriously. still i don't like it. it also feels weird that she is calling out racism as a staple of the 1830s or whatever when she has shown us she is perfectly fine with dating a racist. you can say i'm being overdramatic. you can say i don't get it. idc. i try to ignore this part because this is a very good song and i love its themes and production.

"nostalgia is a mind's trick" i really love this because the entire song is so nostalgic for childhood and escapism but then she's like "actually nostalgia sucks" or it's not what it seems. no, the past would not have been better.

production feels like seven. themes quite different however (thematically, it would be robin, i think.)

the bridge combats the cynicism of the second verse which is so interesting to me. i love how opposing views on nostalgia and escapism are presented, the nuance is there.

the bridge is so mecore, i feel it in my bones.

thanK you aIMee

i really enjoy the small town as a microcosm for the giant music industry and reducing kim to a bully in this analogy.

this song is so cathartic for me, i really enjoy it in the lens of a friendship breakup.

she's so funny in this song "and so i changed your name and any real defining clues" while clearly spelling out her name in the song title.

the bridge fucking slays, likely thing for taylor to do.

it's such a breath of fresh air to have such a cathartic moment in an album that's largely dealing with huge emotions in huge ways, it's so interesting here as an addition to the anthology.

i look in people's windows

it's such a beautiful song and it's criminal how short it is

her voice sounds heavenly, i love how breathy it is.

it's giving "the outside" which is why i love it so much, i think

i think this not only works as a song grieving the end of a relationship but expressing the feeling of being left out in a current one; i definitely relate to it in that sense.

"does it feel alright not to know me?" is so so heartwrenching, i cannot do this

the prophecy

i am a sucker for mythology references so i'm already drawn in with the title.

once again, the song itself sounds so beautiful.

"i got cursed like eve got bitten" except she didn't get bitten?? the curse came after she ate the forbidden fruit?? i'm a bit confused here

WAIT NVM IT'S THE FACT THAT SHE DIDN'T GET BITTEN THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE SIMILE, HEAR ME OUT

saying something so factually incorrect and comparing it to her own experience implies that the latter is ALSO incorrect. she didn't "get cursed", she cursed herself!! which also defies the notion of "the prophecy", ohhhhhh i find this so interesting.

i think the notion of "a greater woman" or "a lesser woman" speaks to the expectations placed around women in relationships, they mustn't appear too desperate for love because that's undesirable but if they are nonchalant, they are also undesirable, it is worth exploring in terms of this song.

this song is so so sad and sadly so so relatable, i definitely find some comfort and resonance in this and it makes me really sad :(

i love the references to mythology and folklore made here, "the pricked hand" very obviously referencing sleeping beauty.

i always love it when taylor repeats the first verse at the end of a song, i think it speaks to the cyclical, circular nature of this specific feeling, that no matter how much she begs and pleads, "the prophecy" will never change.

cassandra

another mythology reference!!!

this being after "the prophecy" is so so deliberate, godssss

the piano is giving "mad woman", which i think is so fitting

"so they killed cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst" that's not actually why cassandra was killed in mythology but go off queen

"they say what doesn't kill you makes you aware" is an unreal run

that being said, i love it when taylor takes common sayings and aphorisms and gives them a twist. she does it a lot in this album, one of my favourite examples being "old habits die screaming" as a twist on "old habits die hard"

"blood's thick but nothin' like a payroll" i am hooked completely oml

10/10 no notes

peter

more folklore references, let's go!!!!

this song is so hauntingly beautiful, the lyricism is so poetic and flows perfectly, genuinely this is what i love about taylor

as a folklore girlie, i am WINNING with the anthology

i can't get over the "jet stream" line here vs "jet stream" in "call it what you want" 🫠

once again, a bridge that fucking slays, how does she keep doing it

it's so interesting how taylor grapples with the concept of childhood and precociousness in this album with so many mentions and callbacks to childhood and feeling stunted as a child and now, it really is an ode to "you're stuck at the age you became famous" (which is sad in many aspects but also problematic in others)

the chorus is also just so perfect, everything about this song is perfect.

the bolter

obsessed does not even cover it

what a banger start to a song

the chorus reminds me a lot of "illicit affairs", i think, interesting connections can be made there

"as she was leaving, it felt like breathing" as in a sigh of relief that it's over, but also she does it so often it is quite literally as quotidian and simple as "breathing"

i love taylor's tendencies to make songs in the third person narrative voice, i think her best storytelling comes out like this.

"there's escape in escaping"- i think this is sort of a commentary on how the identity of "the bolter" is like a coping/defense mechanism to ensure that she doesn't get hurt in a relationship, in that there is an escape from her insecurities, her worries, and the eminent pain she will face in the relationship by quite literally escaping.

but there's also often the bait and switch ("then it was bought by me", "i'm the albatross, i swept in at the rescue") but i find it so interesting that this song does not do that, if only i can make a meaningful analysis there, but my running theory is that she deliberately chooses to distance herself from the identity of "the bolter", bc while she does dote on this character and is rather affectionate in how she tells the story, she doesn't feel like attaching herself to it, in that maybe it's an identity she no longer wants to hold or that, like she frequently says, she doesn't believe these songs or stories are about her anymore and that they take on new meaning..

anyway i am loving this song, 10/10

robin

WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS SONG, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL

it's so sweet how she is consoling the child, ensuring them that they should enjoy this time they have now, and that they will be kept safe from their future.

but it's so sad in that regard, like, "we don't wanna hurt you so we're not telling you how this will pan out to protect your childhood innocence".

this once again cements my preoccupation with taylor's discussions around childhood and youth, she mentions frequently how that was taken away from her too soon and how she has felt "precocious" because of it. it's so important to understand and this song should NOT be overlooked.

i really like it.

the manuscript

this song is so heartbreaking, i want to punch the wall

i never thought about the fact how doing the atw short film would have rekindled these old memories and feelings, and this song is surely a direct result of that. not surprising, in hindsight, but it still compelled me when i first heard it.

once again, youth being taken too soon!! precociousness!!

someone needs to take the word "precocious" away from me

"but the story isn't mine anymore" HHHHHHHHH THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT

very nice song, beautiful closer to the anthology and the entire album as a whole, "these stories used to be about me but now they're about you".

overall thoughts

i hate to say it, but i think this album is in a desperate need of editing; there's so much going on, most of which is compelling and worth exploring, but everything is disjunct with each other and i know this work is meant to feel messy, don't start with me there, but it shouldn't be messy to the point where it's confusing and overwhelming. there are so many concepts and metaphors that are so intriguing and clearly important in taylor's music but the final products of those become half-baked in mediocre production or mixing. this album feels rushed and is soaked with questionable decisions. for example, i think "i can do it with a broken heart" should have been a single and title track because i think it's such a central part of her experiences recently and clearly something permeating the rest of this collection, and how she learns to move on and cope in light of heartbreak. there are several moments where the lyricism of the album feels overwhelming and overcompensating, as in trying too hard to contain meaning. the best lyrical moments on this album are seamless and subtle, and very prosodic as well. taylor tried to deviate from that formula quite a bit and it didn't always work out for the best in this album. she is not as adept at throwing in conversational lyrics as her peers, her strength is in prose and storytelling. the production is also getting a bit old, it's very sonically cohesive, almost to the point of it being boring, and i think taylor needs to get a bit more experimental sonically, and also ensure that the melody and production work together in more different ways, and that maybe the melody is not relying on the production but vice versa. the album is certainly not all lows, but the lows are particularly lower than in other instances of her discography.

that being said, the highs on this album are absolutely breathtaking. the majority of the anthology and quite a few songs on this album captured me instantly. this album is quite mellow, and could have benefitted from another bop or two, but the ones we received were astounding!! this album also had some really strong lyricism, especially in the anthology, and it was so intriguing seeing the many metaphors and situations she used to express her feelings. her storytelling in particular really shone in this album in songs like "the albatross", "the bolter", "clara bow", "cassandra", "the manuscript" among others. i love the themes and ideas that taylor explored in this album, and overall the premises really compelled me.

in terms of rankings, i've separated the two halves. the first half (ttpd) is second-last and the second half (the anthology) is 8th out of 12 (not 11 because ttpd is split in two).

if you've read this far, congratulations, have a treat of your choice. please be mindful and respect my opinion, thanks!

[sunray-sunray]

I'm not in the loop with the whole IWTV thing, but with the posts I've been seeing since yesterday I'm intrigued. Could you explain?

First of all, I'm glad you liked the posts @bookwormsontherun (although right now I don't know what posts you're referring to exactly), I normally try to not post too much of one topic but rather a good mixture of my interests :>

So, what is IwtV in general: Originally the movie IwtV from 1994 and the series that started in 2022 are the TV-adaptations from the book series "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice. IwtV is the title of book 1 and the plot of season 1, but they decided to stick to the title on further seasons too. Although they changed a few things in the series (the biggest fear of every reader), like the time frame, skin colour of a few characters and some locations, it turned out really good.

What is it about: Generally there isn't only one plot, because nearly every book has one of its own. The element or in this case the person who is connecting everything is the vampire Lestat (the blonde guy you probably saw in a post). In book 1 and season 1 + 2 Lestat's love Louis tells us how he experienced meeting him, getting turned into a vampire and then living with Lestat. A huge turning point is when there comes the tragically young vampire girl "Claudia" into the picture - she is in different ways very important to both of them and also a eternal memory of the author's daughter who died very young. Louis tells all of that to the reporter Daniel, who is recording it. Later on everything gets turned into a published book called (guess what) "Interview with the Vampire". 😄

Naturally the vampire community isn't very fond of people who are running around, telling the whole world about their existence. So this will be a upcoming problem to solve in the future season(s).

A person I have to mention too, is the vampire Armand, the former leader of the Parisian coven and a former lover of Lestat. I think in the series his part seems a bit changed, because now his relationship with Louis is much more visible. We see scheming, lying, gas lighting, anger and fear of loss issues, but also a sad backstory and a deep need to be loved.

In the upcoming season 3 the focus will be on book 2 "The Vampire Lestat" and maybe book 3 ("The Queen of the Damned"), where the point of view changes into Lestat's perspective. He gets his chance as a widely known rock star, publishes a book of his own (can you guess the title? 😂), meets very old and important people, and puts a few things right, which Louis said in his book.

Why would I recommend the books and the series: First of all because the writing itself is beautiful - the chosen language and the detailed descriptions of places and thoughts paint you a picture of the world the characters live in. Also don't expect a plot full of fast action, detailed sex scenes or joke after joke. It's not that. You come across questions about life, love, death, loss or your place in this world, and sometimes you need to look closely and think about things twice, before you can fully grasp the intention of a scene or chapter. But I like that - nowadays we are living in a time, where everything has to be fast and beautiful cinematic shots or descriptive things are not as important as before. Also with all the streaming platforms we are faced with a huge amount of series and movies, where everything needs to be evermore bigger, sexier or more brutal to survive. But in the case of the Vampire chronicles the fandom base is already there and pretty big, so they don't have to fight for every breath and are able to show us scenes, which are beautifully made, but with less action.

Secondly- the longer you read, the more you understand the characters and their decisions, which can be very complex or chaotic. Also it gets more and more apparent, that you can't trust just one perspective - you never know what the absolute truth is (if there is any, because everything is told from a wholly subjective view).

Thirdly: Anne Rice is an early example of writing about other sexual orientations than heterosexuality in a way that reached many people in quite a short time span (the 1st book was published 1976). This gets clearer and clearer in the later books and it's very interesting to see how the author is able to show you things without going into detail.

Fourthly: The cast and the producers are huge fans themselves, so they want to put as much of the books into the series as we do, which is great. For example they sometimes used the lines from the books word for word and if you know them it's beautiful to recognize them while watching :3

I hope this helps, thanks for your question! 🤗

[person4924]

new about me

my name is sam !! thats basically all u need to know but theres (a lot) more under the cut!! i also have a strawpage that has some basic info (idrk how it works if im being honest tho)

last updated: august 5

i’m sapphic of some sort and ace

u can use any pronouns but they is usually the best !! (this is my pronouns page)

i’m neurodivergent of some sort (i don’t even know anymore)

a minor (don’t be weird)

my personality type is INFP-T

my theme will change like weekly prob bc i wanna change it with every new huperfxation i have!!

things i like (the things bolder r what i talk about the most)

harry potter (fuck jkr)

marvel

the marauders

boy meets world

it

osemanverse

paper girls

teen wolf

owl house

shameless

glee

stranger things

friends

andi mack

the last of us (i’ve only watched the show tho, but i know most of what happens in the games)

riordanverse

musicals

poetry

reading

cats

animals

fictional characters

music

movies

tv shows

art

writing

women

sitcoms

brooklyn nine nine

new girl

hamilton

grishaverse

stand up comedians

ocean animals (specifically sharks)

community

moths (and just kinda winged bugs in general)

greek mythology

dawsons creek

bojack horseman

halloween

the sky (like stars, the moon, the sunset, etc)

jelly fish

criminal minds

animals

ted lasso

scooby doo (the older movies from the 2000’s ish specifically but all of it too)

everything sucks!

the sun bearer trials

atypical

octonauts

spencer reid

bo burnham

dead boy detectives

will and grace

90’s movies

my fav movies are tick tick boom, my girl, dead poets society, breakfast club, the outsiders, hamilton, stand by me, cmbyn, lady bird, beautiful boy, luca, nimona, (500) days of summer, empire records, etc. i have a lot but this is just the first few i think of

musicals i like are hamilton, tick tick boom and the greatest showman

my fav taylor albums are folklore, evermore, reputation, 1989, ttpd and speak now but i love all of them really (please please ask me abt them omg)

my current hyper fixation is the marauders (more of a life-long obsession atp) and solangelo

i’m currently reading nothing !! i just cannot

my fav music people (i’m really just giving a short list of many): conan gray, cavetown, current joys, queen, rainbow kitten surprise, the front bottoms, harry styles, noah kahan, taylor swift, phoebe bridgers, the fray, coldplay, olivia rodrigo, billie eilish, boygenius, gracie abrams, sufjan stevens, maya hawke, the smiths, lucy dacus, julien baker, the smiths, sleeping at last, mitski, bo burnham, chappell roan, lorde, the revivalists, hozier, the head and the heart, mumford and sons, the revivalists, adrianne lender

i mostly post about whatever hyperfixation and/or character/person/ship has overtaken my brain, music and analysis things

i appreciate tone tags and i try to use them as much as possible

i’m always looking to talk to more people and i’m always bored (don’t be weird istg)

my fav books are any alice oseman book, the outsiders, the perks of being a wallflower, i fell in love with hope

child of athena (i think, idk how to actually figure it out)

i’m probably a reggie kin?? but it also changes with my varying mental state so i just say i’m marauders soup

biggest pandalily shipper you’ll find

i love love love making character analysis’ or song or movie or tv show or books or ships or whatever

i also write sometimes!! (i suck ass)

and i’m person4924 on ao3 but i can’t figure out how to link it

this is my spotify (my character playlists are my pride and joy and reason for living. i also have the best music taste you will ever encounter.)

this is my discord

this is my airbuds idk if anyone actually uses it but i thought it’d be fun to share music with mooties

please please please send me asks i have no hobbies and one friend and im always bored please please please (im on my hands and knees begging please please please (@iluvmultipleppl needs it to be known im only on my knees for them /j (they called me a whore and told me to fix it 😔)))

i have a tagging system!! idk how much ill remember to use it but yeah!! (its also new so only my new posts will have them) #sam shut the fuck up -> any original posts that don’t fit in any of the other tags #asks!!! -> asks #crazy? i was crazy once -> just any kinda longer fandom rants that i think are important sam sings :O -> lyric/music rants!!

[tslightninginabottle]

We Are Reputation

Or, An Argument For The Reformation of Community Subculture

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

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

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

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

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

Taylor Swift (TM)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Cycles of Hate

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

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

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

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

Cycle 1: Debut - Red; Country

Cycle 2: 1989 - Lover ; Pop

Cycle 3: Folklore - TTPD; Folk/Folk Pop

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rinse Repeat.

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

Dear Reader

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

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

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

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

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

But are we?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh sorry, not the world.

Her fans. The love of her life.

Critical Critique

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Social Media Literacy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go read the prologue AGAIN. I’ll wait. 

Don’t Blame Me, Love Made Me Crazy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Even if the Cycle dictates that she should do it.

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

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

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

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

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

Guess what? The media loves her. 

Taylor Swift reclaimed her reputation from the media in 2017. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lightning in a Bottle

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

However.

Taylor Swift is capable of bending lightning. 

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

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

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

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

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

Ask yourself how much of our community is left:

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

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

When we see our faces at every new lyric. 

When the games aren’t fun anymore. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yet, we're all she’s ever wanted.

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

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

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

What happens then?

Change

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ending

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

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

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

[zaungwrites]

I wrote a thing

Was trying to just stretch my writing muscles after months of not. Inspired by Nora dipping back into Exy, and poked at a fic I was trying to write set at Edgar Allen. It took me a couple goes, but I'm p happy with the tone and characterisation of Link.

On the way home to and from college, Link has to walk by Castle Evermore. He holds his breath for the time it takes to move past it and is ever so careful to keep his eyes averted. Every time, he wonders why his aunt chose to live so close to the exy court when they both know of her mostly ambivalence, sometimes hatred of the game and the place. Why she chooses to work for an institution that tried its best to bleed her dry. 

Then again, he supposes she probably wonders why he would choose to study in a place that reveres a game that had equally ruined his childhood. They are a little similar that way, like to pick at cuts and press on bruises. Reminders that they remain in one piece despite everything.

"Hey! Link!"

His head jerks up and for a moment his heart is racing. He is still unused to too loud noises and his name being yelled brings memories he would rather burn to ashes. His therapist tells him he might never be rid of his body's response which seems pretty pessimistic for a therapist but what does he know. 

His eyes register that it's only Jack, one of his few friends in college, but his heart takes a little longer to catch up. Breathing slow and deep like his therapist taught him, Link summons a smile. "Hey, didn't see you there." 

Jack jogs up to him and slings an arm around his shoulder with a wide grin. Link has trained his body's reaction to stop flinching to touches but it never fails to make his freeze or fawn response flair up. He makes his smile wider and makes his mouth say, "What's up? You're looking way too happy for first day of class." 

"We won the Kariya lottery, dude. Everyone's hyped."

"The what?"

Jack lets out a theatrical sigh. "One day I'll make an exy fan out of you. Benjamin Kariya, this generation's exy jesus chose Edgar Allen as his college of choice. There was literally thousands of money betting on where he'd go. Everyone thought he'd go to the Trojans or somewhere with, you know, a fucking chance. But for some fucking reason, and like I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, he's chosen here. Everyone's going nuts."

"Oh," says Link, unsure of what else to say.

Jack doesn't notice his reticence. He's a good friend, but not the most observant. Probably why Link likes him actually, it's nice to talk to someone who thinks his fucked up maladaptive responses to things is just him being quirky.

"The whole fucking summer that's all people were talking about. News literally came out last night. Shit, it's gonna be so fucking surreal to see him around campus."

Link makes a noise that he hopes conveys agreement. The name is familiar, he probably heard about the guy in passing back when he used to care about exy. Now all he can think is this probably means exy will become more of a fucking thing than it was before. And it was a pretty big thing even with Edgar Allen regularly placing last in the division for the past five years. 

"Well," Link says with a trace of irony, "Maybe the team might become known for more than possible mobster connections."

"Hey, that was never proven." 

"Yeah, okay," Link says with a shrug. Sure, never proven. That's why his aunt got a squirelly look the one and only time Link asked her about it. Whatever, not like it's going to affect Link's life. 

He's spent two years so far avoiding exy and exy avoiding him, he just has to keep his head down and get through the next two. Then he could go be a fucked up adult somewhere else. 

Easy.

-----

Who wants to guess that it won't be that easy and that Benjamin might make more of an appearance in Link's life? I actually have another snippet that I'm pretty happy with that I might post later? Dunno. As always credit to Nora for creating this world.

[talesgolden]

☘ : My muse’s relation with their family. (If they speak with each other and how much, if they are close or estranged, e.t.c.).  for ag :)

(Symbol-based Headcanons)

Oh, oh boy. Listen so this is the way it seems to me, right now, but it’s subject to change because there’s a lot of people involved ok? But [cracks knuckles] here we go

Agnieszka considers all of the Chernabog shards/vessels/whatever you want to call them her siblings. They are coarse, they are dark, they are different, and they are hers. Her family. Even when they are unkind to her, even when she is unkind to them. Even when they are fighting and clawing and biting and ripping at each other, that is her den of devils, and she would defend and rescue and protect all of them. Any one of them. Mostly they are stronger than her and don’t really need help or protection, but that’s ok too.

She has a more benign personality than several of the others, but nevertheless keeps a very us-and-them view of the world which... in all honesty, is fair, really. She’s not a human or even mortal. Any other person she could potentially become close with is far more vulnerable, far less understanding, and distinctly going to die, someday. Her siblings are strong, know her nearly better than she understands what she is herself, and will live alongside her evermore, until the skies go black and maybe even longer. They don’t rightly know, yet. She is really quite neutral towards outsiders, but her family, her siblings, are everything. There is no one closer, and it’s unlikely that will change. Even if she were to fall out with any of them, her siblings would still vastly outweigh anything else you put before her. She loves them, through all. The world she could take or leave, really, as long as she could keep her siblings.

While they’re all roughly of similar ages (as in all within five years of each other, as they were all created in the same span of threat) she has a distinct role in the overall dynamic of being a younger sister to everyone except Flea. This means, like most younger sisters, she is generally a bit coddled by most of the others, and simultaneously their biggest bother. She is more manipulative than outside eyes tend to see, and sometimes it works and sometimes it just annoys the others. Resident master-pouter: she has puppy dog eyes and she’s not afraid to shamelessly employ them to get her way! And she is something of a pester-er, with many questions and a habit of trailing along behind one of the others in the hopes of being included. She is dear, she is dastardly. No doubt there are times she annoys the others to high heaven, but when things get serious and she calls for help, they are swift to her side and protective to homicidal degrees. They can bully her, you absolutely cannot.

uhhhhh for the next part I’ve done some plotting with the others for dynamics between siblings, but also I’m just going to assert some of this by the seat of my pants/the vibes of what I think the dynamics are probably like. So they’re subject to a little change, when/if we get more into talking about it, but--- more specific sibling-by-sibling info under the cut:

Hella: The most distant dynamic, Helvetica is quite independent and, further, quite different from safety-seeking Agnieszka. They don’t spend very much time with each other at all. Nevertheless, big sister hung the very stars in the sky and can do no wrong. Every now and then Ag will go into phases of trying to emulate her chaotic eldest sibling. It generally doesn’t end well for anyone involved.

Kon: Oldest brother, meanest brother. For his half, Konstantin carries a largely apathetic attitude everywhere he goes. He bullies his siblings as indiscriminately as anyone else he’s ever encountered, and Ag is no exception to this. She frequently tries to appeal to him despite being repeatedly and often harshly shut down. Sometimes she bites back, but mostly it just makes her sad that he claims to want distance— she thinks he’s bluffing, because she thinks he doesn’t want at all. She thinks she can fix that.. somehow. She’s got time to figure it out, and in the meantime she’ll keep making puppy eyes.

Freyja: Classic big sister/little sister dynamic, taller-little-sister syndrome included, with a spin of being strangers to each other for many of their early years. Freyja is so smart! and strong! and knows everything about everything!! Ag wants to learn from her, and frequently asks questions, repeats the the answers, and generally takes Freyja’s word as the definitive truth of everything. They’re aren’t super close, as yet, but Ag wants very badly for them to be. (So much so it might be the main obstacle to them actually being close. It’s hard to build on something idealized.)

Gonzo: Perhaps the most human-minded of the siblings, Zo is very bound to his mortal shape and the lives of many humans, and for that he Jagna don’t have much in common. He is also, though, fun! and good about being straightforward and clear with her, if somewhat blunt in a way that can hurt her feelings sometimes. He frequently intervenes when Kon is being particularly nasty, and is also likely to try to cheer her up when she’s feeling low. They aren’t necessarily tight-knit, but definitely good with each other. Ag will bite you for messing with Zo (you will not like it.)

Yana & Alexei: The twins, terse and tangled, are the siblings Kat & Ag have known the longest and leaned on the most. Yana & Alexei are the ones who discovered what was going on inside the church’s orphanage. They freed Katja & Jagna from their childhood of torment. The four of them spent some time as a unit, during which Kat & Ag gained their names and a new understanding of who -what- they even were to have been targeted as they were by the lord judge who held them captive. There is also a sense of understanding the four of them have, as each pair knows something of what the other feels and experiences as bonded duos. Two sets of twos, in slightly different fonts. Voted most likely to huddle together and hiss secrets in each others’ ears. Though, as I said, it seems broadly true the others are defensive of Ag, Yana & Alexei (& Kat) in particular will absolutely end you in a myriad of creative and very painful ways if you so much as think of hurting or harassing Agnieszka.

Katja: Jagna’s other half in a very literal sense. Too much to go into, and yet as simple as that. Though they have split and spread since the time they were one and the same, they remain deeply entrenched in each other, and although all of her siblings are dear, the honest truth of it all is that Katja is on another level. When Jagna wonders if she would survive the loss of her sister, it is not a metaphorical question. Could she exist without Kat? Well. No one will ever know, because no one will ever hurt Kat. Jagna is sworn to it. It’s what she was born for.

Valeria: Most likely owing to their proximity in age, griping and snarling and squabbling are the best words to apply to the relationship between Valeria and Ag (and by extension, Kat— or perhaps, it’s Val and Kat who have problems, and Ag who gets towed into it.... it’s hard to tell.) It is, mostly, affection in an antagonism hat, a vitriolic sort of normal that simply defines them to each other. That’s Val, she’s stinky. Sometimes, though, it escalates into them genuinely trying to wound each other, both emotionally and physically. Regardless, whatever stage of snippish, they’ll happily turn on a third party in tandem, to rip them to shreds should they think they have any right to antagonize one or the other, or even just stick their nose into it. Afterwards, they’ll go happily right back to criticizing each other.

Flea: Baby brother, beloved. Outside of Kat, he’s the sibling Ag feels the most close to. Both of them are somewhat less bound to their mortal bodies than the others seem to be, more at home in stranger, wilder forms. They spend a lot of time together, away from the lives and world and worries of humans. They see less of themselves in people, more from their siblings. From each other. Flea is the only sibling (Kat included!) Ag has never once argued with. They are all of them monstrous one way or another, but Ag and Flea seem the most inclined toward the inhumanity of it. Though they rarely acknowledge it in words, they hold common ground in that they seem to be formed from the Chernabog’s basest parts: the Shadow and the Beast; the darkness and the hunger.

[piratefxiry]

ZARINA ZALES is based on ZARINA from PIRATE FAIRY She is a 27 year old FAIRY, ANTIQUES DEALER and uses SHE/HER pronouns. She has the power of FLIGHT, ELEMENT MANIPULATION, TALENT SWITCHING.

starting off strong !!! no family , at all !

she had a knack for experimenting with pixie dust, a life blood force to fairies like her.

she realized she could use her powers and abilities for good, but people always told her that her powers weren't to be trusted and went so far to forbid her from using them due to possible danger.

and then one of her experiments mixed with her powers,   destroyed most of pixie hollow. shocker. she was kicked out and then ran away

she thought of the pixie hollow gang as her family even though she was the odd bird out, constantly walking instead of flying, being too inquisitive for her own good.

when she ran away she found james(hook) and his group of friends(pirates) and she  felt at home and trusted them instantly, even living with them.

then she started baking her revenge plan on pixie hollow.

with practice she realized she can manipulate elements and even rearrange peoples powers, she felt limitless and she grew resentful because she never knew what she was capable of

she doesn't want to be in evermore, feeling constrained and stuck is a personal nightmare and probably has frustration towards people that don't want to think about it, or that have no memory at all

sooOO zarina very much hates being in evermore, and finds things very much wrong since she ran away from her home and is now back with the people she ran away from(+plus she was working on a revenge scheme). her memory is partly there but it's foggy  and she has a bad resentful feeling and is constantly trying new things and new ways to figure out why they're there and maybe leave. but her experiments, even with her powers, literally blow up in her face 

she works as an antiques dealer and has sold amazingly rare pieces and thats very much bc she steals them... shhh and she pockets some of the cash from important buyers and the shop for her experiments in hopes to find a way out.

zarina likes to get reactions, wether its experiments or people, she loves to see things bubble over.

impulsive ? yes. reckless? you betcha. cranky? yusss

she's roguish feisty fiery, curious but loyal, honest to a fault, spontaneous, and unapologetically herself

she hates disloyal people, liars, being told what to do, and being taken advantage of. 

she's sassy xoxoxo but does have a big soft spot but she's in her manipulator era so she doesn't like people knowing

also , very much a fairy, very much uses it to her advantage to steal things so she keeps it hush hush !!  only flies when she’s stealing, running away, or in crisis.

pls gimme all the connections ily ily ily ily < 3 i love plotting hehe a whöre 4 it 

also zarina means golden and zales means body of water, so the golden pirate fairy lives on, and i based zales off of most popular girls in school 🤌

[penumbraal]

🔥 Unpopular opinion about your muse?

mun talks about the muse | still accepting !

I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME i was like man what is popular and unpopular about him because the only time i ever see incorrect opinions about meg it's from people who i'm convinced don't actually go to jjk DSKFJASDKSAD or like those people who willfully do not understand how meg's circumstances would lead him to want to give up...

i have seen (on twt, so i always take it with a grain of salt--) discourse surrounding meg's character arc and talk of his "wasted potential" and i'm like... while i do really wish i'd seen MORE of his technique and its possibilities (and seen it actually being utilized by megumi as opposed to sukuna - which, i've even seen some people talk about the fact that it's more or less shameful that sukuna managed to handle ten shadows more effectively / better than meg, and it's like... how many years has sukuna been around for vs how old is meg and also how many years did he even take being a sorcerer seriously for that matter but ANYWAY--)

anyway while i wish i'd seen more of his technique and had gotten really excited to watch meg's growth and i LOVE thinking about how he'll continue to use his technique in the future (whatever's left of it at this point anyway, and if he isn't just like fuck it i'm gonna go live a normal life now--), and for all of the criticisms that are so valid about the handling of the story overall, i'm kind of like... as unsatisfying as it is, what happens to him in the story seems to be meant to hinder his potential. like, it's meant to be tragic in multiple ways. especially because culling games was SO good he was really locked in that whole time and it was so fun! i've always sort of felt that the sorcerers who die too soon or are hindered from achieving their best in one way or another are meant to be examples of the cog-in-the-machine of it all in jujutsu society.

execution of the matter is probably another thing entirely of course KJDFSDFDSFS but i'm like, well i think i see what's happening here-- and i like to write meg at least sort of introspective (as he always is--) and cognizant of trying evermore to reach that potential.

[sitpwgs]

Okay this is part 2. I split it up to go eat and got distracted so I am replying now. But ya..I just write whatever comes to my mind basically and I don't want you to be skimming or anything, that's all. And it's totally fine if you have not much to say on some things too but I try to think of interesting things to say. And I know you probably haven't listened to Gatsby anyway and it's your choice so maybe you don't have a lot to say so then it just seems like rambling. you should definitely listen to The Outsiders though. I am obsessed with the song Great Expectations which is a good place to start if you aren't familiar with the book and don't wanna hear the whole thing but I love it all and recommend it lol so I hope you like it if you do. I can't remember what they performed on the Tony's. I am obsessed with the actor playing Ponyboy's voice..it's so good!

The Notebook songs really grew on me too! I love Carry you Home, If this is Love, My Days, Leave the Light On, Iron in the Fridge and I think the Act 1 finale. There's probably a few more I am forgetting. I do find it interesting when I listened to it, out of all the musicals, that I honestly wasn't thinking of how it would look on stage or anything or the sets so maybe you can let me know after you see it, and I'm sure the three actors thing makes more sense too. I can't believe it wasn't even nominated for best musical though.

I'm sorry you didn't like the Spring Awakening production. Bad audiences can definitely ruin or distract a performance. I think maybe some people just laugh when they feel awkward or uncomfortable so that could be why. People feel that way about Cabaret as well I think and maybe people just aren't familiar with the musical. It might be a lot for people going in blind too. I laughed at Bitch of Living when I first watched and it has some funny parts but not near the end...that's awful. But I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it..that sucks. I do think some of the songs may be hard to sing but generally agree about not riffing on most of the songs.

My favorite vault songs are from Red. That could be because it felt like it had the most with the extras of Better Man and Babe and ATW 10. I definitely think it has the most variety and fits the album that way. It has three new favorite songs for me of all time too lol. Speak Now... I am happy with the collabs we got and I Can See You. The rest feel more like her older songs and classic Taylor to me too which I love, but can see why people were disappointed. This was the only vault I felt like I liked every song right away on a first listen. 1989 was one of the most cohesive vaults thats fun to listen to but not a lot of favorites for me..similar to how I feel about the 1989 album. Fearless songs fit the album and I was already familiar with three songs but I don't play them all the time even if I like them. There are still some songs from it that Taylor hasn't played as surprise songs yet, but I guess that's true for the regular album too. But she just played superstar the other day! I do agree about the mashups though..cuz she didn't play the bridge of this song, which is my favorite part! I do think it's cool sometimes, like when she played this love and ours which form a sentence. She also sang Never Grow Up and Robin which makes sense. I somehow guessed Labyrinth right yesterday but never could have guessed This is me Trying she mashed it up with. Ooh i'm not sure about a guitar mashup, but would love or die for The Lakes and Evermore on the piano! These songs work together in sound and meaning and mean the world to me..maybe add you're on your own kid too lol. For a guitar mashup, maybe like Teardrops and Cornelia Street which are the first two songs that came to my mind. Idk if it works but i'd love to have a debut song. What about you?

I listened to Gracie's album the other day and liked it well enough. The songs had to grow on me a bit and I think I prefer the second half a lot more. One of the songs, Tough Love, had the same topic or similar to the Bolter which stood out to me in a bad way at first but it's fine. I think a lot of her songs sound the same during the bridges and I don't feel the emotion from her when she sings, like she wants me to. I think I just liked her last album more maybe or sometimes I like her and sometimes I don't. I was also listening to musicals before so maybe I was too harsh or something. Cuz I also listened to Camila from 5th Harmony's album and didn't like it much either. I've heard a few songs from Charli so far and enjoy it. I will be listening to Clairo, Remi Wolf, Charli and Griff this week. I'm excited for Clairo knowing you liked it though cuz I remember not liking her last album that much. I hope you're having a good weekend!

you don't have to try to be interesting!! you are interesting! you could come into my askbox and tell me what you had for breakfast and i'd want to hear about it! we're friends! i care about what you have to say, you don't have to try hard to "impress" me or anything 🤍

i remember being impressed by their tonys performance! especially with the rumble aspect — they were very very smart in how they decided to use their time / their performance slot to showcase some very strong elements of the show! and i know we all know how i feel about suffs but even that aside, i do think that their performance was very weak/didn't do it many favors in convincing people to go see it.

with the notebook, the three actors really help with it because it's told in a non-linear storyline and it helps distinguish time periods! it's also fun because they sometimes play other characters :) (i won't say too much unless you want me to). ugh it is just so so beautiful. i can't wait to see how it's changed since chicago!

if you could revive any show, what would it be? i'm now thinking about just how GOOD the spring awakening revival was, and also how different and innovative and how many layers it added. i really like a lot of how michael arden approaches revivals/directing them (parade, spring awakening, once on this island).

my favorite vault songs overall are nothing new, better man and babe! so also from the red vault <3333 i think we've talked about who we'd love taylor to collab with before, but i'm wondering if you have any new thoughts on who you'd like her to collab with!! i would LOVE a debut song. i would just love a debut set, actually :( i am very sad still that there is no debut set. i will forever be a little bitter about it. oh well </3 i'm still surprised she hasn't done a YOYOK/a place in this world mashup.

gracie's album ... is still not really sticking with me unfortunately :( i do think it's a grower, but admittedly i haven't even listened to good riddance all that much. which is a bummer. i think that her ep's were so so good and unfortunately i just haven't really loved her albums :( i don't know why. i think i miss the way she used to enunciate too rather than singing in cursive or speak-singing in a very soft voice.

i hope you like the new clairo! i liked it a lot but i think i'm going to skip out on the tour :( i need to listen to the new griff too; i'm very behind! i've mostly been listening to emails i can't send since its anniversary just passed, and then shuffling between old music (like ingrid michaelson, sara bareilles, and honestly mostly musicals).

hope you're having a good weekend!! 🤍

[emotionalteaspoon22]

I was awake yesterday morning at 6:30 thinking about Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn.

Can we just..... accept and understand the fact that just because something deteriorated, that doesn't mean it was never good?!!?! I hate seeing people say "joever", and "I'm seeing glimpses of pre-2016 Taylor".

First of all.... pre-2016 Taylor was going through some really difficult things and wasnt in a great place. She has been so open about that. And in 2016, she and Joe found something in each other that made everything better and they were what each other needed. As far as we know, based on her songs. Maybe Joe wasn't MAKING her hide herself away. Clearly she needed to take a step back. Are we disregarding all the lyrics in Call It What You Want??? Maybe Taylor needed someone to kinda shelter and heal with, and maybe Joe needed that too.

And times change and people change. People still thought Taylor was a joke when she released Lover. And covid kept everyone isolated. So yeah not much of a change from their own isolation right before Reputation. But then Taylor releases folklore and evermore and she keeps writing and she needs to get herself back out there. And Joe's career isn't going the way he wants it maybe. And seeing her go beyond their bubble makes him nervous. And I'm not saying he was justified in trying to hold her back (if that's what was even happening), but maybe he was starting to pull away from her. And she was trying to hold on to their relationship and it just wasn't working. Because they aren't on the same page anymore. Maisie Peters said in There It Goes: "The way I loved you, I will not be embarrassed of that, just should've known when to quit." And "The love we had was covered in snow, I had to let it go. The love we had was eating me whole, I had to send it home." JUST BECAUSE SOMETBING DOESNT LAST DOESNT MEAN IT WAS NEVER GOOD.

And guess what? We don't freaking know Taylor. Maybe SHE had more fault in all of it than we know. What I think is that it was probably a little bit of both of them. I'm sure it wasn't all Joe and his own issues.

Everyone shows the good parts. Why do you want to air out all the bad things your partner is doing while you're with them? My husband and I don't fight much at all, but I'm pregnant, have bad anxiety, and we're moving and we're stressed and we got into an argument on Sunday. But we calmed down and talked it out and we're fine. Everyone is human and sometimes we just lose sight of the bigger picture and let little things bother us. It's when you don't address those little things and let them become big things that it gets harder to fix. And maybe that's what happened with Joe and Taylor. Maybe it's Joe's fault, maybe it's Taylor's fault, it's probably both of their faults. OR..... it's no one's fault. Maybe they were meant to be there for each other for those years to help each other through those times in their lives. And when their time was up, it was just up.

So can we PLEASE stop acting like Joe Alwyn is all of a sudden the devil when we literally have no idea what went on in their personal lives. And can we please stop treating a clearly healing and healthy time in Taylor's life like it doesnt matter now and must have been miserable just because that relationship ended. It's very annoying.

[whatiwillsay]

I know we try to make the most logical sense on here and I love it, but genuinely don’t see why she would sing maroon on karlies bday. She knows it’s theorized to be a sapphic song and midnights is the majority of the setlist already other than her other eras

Also a lot of her piano songs sound amazing like evermore, that was a huge favorite or she could have done…literally anything else

Idk I think she likes the attention it’s getting

girl for all you know she forgot it was karlies birthday. they’re filming the doc and they probably want a lot of strong vocals and emotional songs to choose from when they finalize the concert movie. we have to stop assuming taylor cares about what gaylors think.

my girlfriend gabbie has got a whole hoard of trolls that discuss her on a message board and i assume me now some and we literally make a massive point NOT to read it so they don’t interfere with our lives. literally nothing these super fans say has any influence over what we do because we simply do not read it. and i’m sure they think we read it too because all fandoms deep down think the subject of their discussions cares what they say and think but genuinely i promise y’all in so many cases celebs and people with platforms do not give a single fuck what their fandoms say because it would drive them insane to be made aware of those conversations. im sure taylor’s team tips her off when there’s big drama and noise but the day to say din of fandom theorizing and chit chat is probably completely unknown to taylor.

[davidtennantgenderenvy]

Rating Taylor Swift Albums By the Amount of Royai Songs On Them

Debut: 0/10 weak start come on Taylor you can do better

Fearless: 4/10 The Way I Loved You and Change work if you squint but we haven’t really gotten to the good stuff yet

Speak Now: 9/10 NOW WE’RE TALKING. My personal fave TS album and it gave us Mine. Haunted. Innocent. Long Live. Sparks Fly if you squint (I mean it has fire AND rain references so it counts). Also not Royai but Superman is SUCH an EdWin song I mean come on

Red: 6.5/10 The Royai songs on this album aren’t as iconic as some of the other ones but they’re still definitely there with some squintage (Sad Beautiful Tragic, The Last Time, Treacherous). Taylor’s Version improves strongly with the addition of Forever Winter which is very very very them also some lyrics in ATW 10 Minute though not the song as a whole

1989: 5/10 Not as strong as what’s to come but it DID give us I Know Places which is by far the most underrated song on the album and has Royai vibes out the WAZOO, you also have the bridge of Out of the Woods and Wonderland too if you squint

Reputation: 8.5/10 HECK YEAHHHH. This album gave us Dancing With Our Hands Tied. Call it What You Want. Don’t Blame Me. THE SONG THAT INSPIRED THE GREATEST ROYAI FIC OF ALL TIME. New Year’s Day doesn’t have a lot of basis in canon but it definitely fits fluffy fanfic Royai. I almost forgot Endgame bc I don’t care for the song musically so I never listen to it but the lyrics totally fit them

Lover: 7.5/10 This one deserves respect solely for giving us The Archer which began the long and esteemed tradition of Royai/Taylor Swift AMVs on my YouTube channel, Afterglow also works really well for Beyond the Inferno even though it’s one of the more mid songs on the album. Cornelia Street and Lover are really sweet with in-a-relationship post canon Royai, I also made a Royai/Edwin vid with ME! so that’s a thing

Folklore: 10/10 BABY THIS IS IT. THIS IS PEAK ROYAI VIBES. NOTHING ELSE WILL EVER TOP. Peace and Illicit Affairs are obviously two of the most iconic ones ever and no song will ever capture the tunnel scene better than Hoax, Cardigan spawned probably the best animatic/AMV in Royai history, Epiphany, This Is Me Trying, you could probably create some sort of scenario for almost all of the songs on this album really. There’s also ones like Exile and My Tears Ricochet that definitely have The Vibes but are too sad to think about because that would imply that they split up and my brain could not handle that. Anyways I feel like this was the album that really started the whole Royai/Taylor Swift craze and we must always respect

Evermore: 5/10 amazing amazing album but a somewhat disappointing followup to Folklore in terms of Royai Vibes, there’s several songs on here that have like, specific lines and moments that REALLY fit them or work for fanfic scenarios (Willow, Ivy, Tis the Damn Season), or Happiness which is a similar scenario to Exile and MTR on the previous album, but there’s no definitive iconic Royai song on here that captures them as a whole like a Peace, Innocent or The Archer

I worked so hard on this post plz don’t let it flop