#whiskey and rain

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I'd actually love a midnights storytelling Timeline playlist? Like what order you'd place them to tell the complete story of the album. I love the idea of Dear Reader as track 1

OK so, one caveat is that generally I think Taylor's tracklisting works really well and often tells a story of its own (e.g. TTPD), so I'm a little reticent to mess with that. And next thing is that like, we don't always have firm dates about when songs were written/what events they refer to/even who they were about depending on the album, so like, you can't really pinpoint a timeline *chronologically* of events as they transpire most of the time, certainly on Midnights. And also writing/processing isn't linear. @likeadevils does however have excellent posts about album timelines and places the songs in order of creation if that's what you're after.

Now that that's out of the way...

There are a few different ways I could see organizing Midnights thematically, and I'm approaching here kind of, emotionally-speaking rather than chronologically, although there's kind of a weaving of the two. I've split them into "chapters" à la folklore playlists on Spotify.

Prologue: To a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's there

Dear Reader

Act 1: A real fucking legacy

Midnight Rain Would've, Could've, Should've Maroon Question…? High Infidelity

Act 2: Love blackout

Labyrinth Snow on the Beach Lavender Haze Paris Glitch Mastermind Karma Sweet Nothing

Act 3: Sweet dream was over

The Great War Bigger Than The Whole Sky Vigilante Shit Bejeweled Anti-Hero Hits Different You're Losing Me

Epilogue: Yeah, you can face this

You're On Your Own, Kid

So this is how I see the chapters:

Prologue:

This is the introduction to the themes of the album, very much the same way that Fortnight does for TTPD. (I love me a "Two households, both alike in dignity / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene" setup.) Dear Reader does this really well, she's speaking directly to the listener, but also to herself, and touches upon the themes throughout the album: anger, loss, fear, self-loathing, self-destruction, but also the recognition that she "shines so bright." It's the push-pull between her private and public life, her personal and professional ambitions, and that is ALL over the album and each side informs the other.

I could also argue adding Anti-Hero and Midnight Rain into this chapter and nearly did. Anti-Hero because again, it touches the public image vs. internal struggle/self-loathing of it all, which she is ruminating on on this sleepless night. And Midnight Rain because "I never think of him except on midnights like this" because well, that is the entire conceit of the album.

Act 1: A real fucking legacy

Like I said above, I nearly put Midnight Rain in the Prologue, but it also serves well as an introduction to the theme in these songs. Because "I never think of him except on midnights like this" covers these relationships from the past that are haunting her in this dark night of the soul exercise. Remember what we said about the push and pull between her personal life and her career? The crux of the song isn't her pining for this former lover, it's that she's wondering if her pursuing her ambition relentlessly and joyously is diametrically opposed to the idea he represents. It's the spark that lights the flame of the pining we see later on. Which leads to the other Hes who have marked her life and set her on the path she's on now.

So in contrast to the bittersweet nostalgia, we have the darker side of that rumination. There's WCS about the trauma that continues to haunt her, and Maroon about a relationship breakdown that broke her. Question...? Kinda is just there for laughs as comic relief-- but in all seriousness is like, "you were a dumbass and do you ever wonder if you hadn't been such a dumbass if we could have made it work?" About something that never got off the ground. And then High Infidelity ends the chapter on another darker note about the threat within a relationship, but the "Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?" is the segue for our next chapter...

Act 2: Love blackout

This is where we get a sense of the core relationship she's dancing around in the album-- the one that is driving all this rumination, because it's so intricately tied with the path her life took as a result. The "Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?" to "I thought the plane was going down, how'd you turn it right around?" emotional parallel hits the ground running and tells you why this relationship and this phase is such a lifeline. SOTB is the honeymoon phase of the relationship, where everything is wondrous and exhilarating, and pairs well IMO with Lavender Haze in that the rush of new love is intoxicating, and she wants to stay on that high and block everything out to chase it.

The rest of the songs I put here kind of meander, but there was a method to my madness. Paris feels like the memories of a special time, with the emphasis of it being them alone, shutting the world out, which is a continuation of LH. Glitch is her continued disbelief that they've made it this far, but suddenly it's six years later and she's still yearning that high (... in spite of everything telling her this wasn't supposed to happen). Mastermind could have arguably gone earlier in the list, but I put it here because again, she's planning and scheming and doing all the work to keep this thing going against all odds. Karma feels very "happily ever after"-esque in that it's, "I went through all this shit, but it's totally fine because I got what I wanted in the end!" without giving away that it's a veneer, and finally we end with Sweet Nothing because it's the sweetest fantasy of running home to your lover and feeling content and complete. Which brings us to...

Act 3: Sweet dream was over

Our last full act, which is all about loss and the ways in which one reacts and deals with it. The Great War is the bubble bursting that Sweet Nothing dreamed up. It's a crisis point in the relationship, an entire life built that is potentially going up in flames; it hints at the conflicts that would prove to be their undoing. BTTWS is a raw depiction of grief in the wake of loss, and the questioning and despair that goes along with that, sinking someone into the pits of depression and loneliness. Vigilante Shit is another reaction to loss-- this time unadulterated anger in the form of a revenge fantasy. (It's fantasizing about agency in a situation where there is little of it because like BTTWS, in many ways it's out of her hands.)

Bejeweled is a bit of the odd duck because I kind of wanted to put it near-last because I think it's the best transition into YLM, but thematically it's not quite ready for prime time yet-- although the same conundrum applies to Anti-Hero here. But Bejeweled is part of this chapter because it's her grappling with her sadness and despair and wanting to break out of it. She wants to shine again, and it's a warning to the person that she won't stick around if they don't see that. (Broadly speaking, I know there's more there.) Anti-Hero is kind of clunky here, which is why I'm very tempted to put it in the intro instead, but my thinking is: she's in this pit of self-loathing, wondering why she keeps making the same choices and same mistakes and drives everyone away. She's the problem. And it's her persona, her big life, that's driving her to this madness-- or is it? (But also: one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving and life will lose all its meaning for the last time.)

Which finally brings us to Hits Different and YLM. Honestly, these two could also swap positions, and I went back and forth on them. I think "chronologically" HD makes more sense at the last song in this chapter, but "emotionally" YLM is SUCH a fitting end, so there we go. HD makes good on the threat of the break in The Great War, and a lot of the themes we've seen throughout the playlist here but specifically this section are present. The self-destruction and self-loathing of AH, the anger and lashing out in TGW and VS (in a very different form), the depression in BTTWS and even a tinge of the self-worth in Bejeweled.

But YLM is the true denouement of this all and reflects all those same vignettes in far more devastating fashion. There's breakdown, loss, anger, spite, self-destruction and standing up for herself too, however briefly. I think it really feels like the true crossroad of the album: Do I throw out everything we built or keep it? We've just spent a whole album wading through all of it, and now she's left to decide which path to take. Does she stay and fight, perhaps wondering what she has to give up int he process, or does she leave and risk the pain she uncovered in Act 1, only tenfold because it hits different this time? The empty house of Dear Reader in the Prologue (and incidentally in HI I've just realized) is blanketed in darkness in YLM, and it's up to her to decide if she's turning the light back on or out for good.

Epilogue: Yeah, you can face this

You're On Your Own Kid feels like the perfect emotional ending for this playlist because not only does the song travel through this entire time period, from an early young love that gave way to bigger dreams to the sheer devastation she put herself through to reach the very top and the subsequent crash. And it feels like it answers the question asked in the previous chapter: Yeah, you can do this. You've come back from every setback and you'll be able to do it again. You've always ultimately had to rely on yourself, and you'll do it again and again until you pull yourself out. The song is full of such sad revelations, but it also ends on a hopeful, if bittersweet note. She might be playing solitaire for now, but doesn't mean she can't handle it.

It feels wrong to mess around with Taylor's tracklisting like this, but it was so much fun 😂 I loooooooove delving into the themes in her albums and I really find like the emotional journeys within them become more salient as time passes on too.

Honestly, I can't say it enough, I loved the pre-release playlists for TTPD too, if you're looking into this kind of emotional deconstruction of her discography at large. The beats within the playlists themselves make so much sense, and I think frames the songs within them really well. Just my two cents!

[cutiepieautistic]

Saul Goodman stimboard

×/×/× ×/× ×/×/×

[callhimnowmarisamylove]

NICOLE KIDMAN and HUGH JACKMAN 'AUSTRALIA' (2008) dir. Baz Luhrmann

[trashiiplant]

sequel to this

[xxwhiskeyxx]

The Ghouls

This is the Ghoul version of the comfort scenario, sorry if you don't like some of these but this is just how I decided to write it

-Love Whiskey

Aether:

Rushing into the infirmary, (Y/N) looks around, “Where is Aether?” she asks the receptionist. The ghoulette looks up with a bored expression, “He’s in like his office or something, doing paperwork,” she says, nodding towards the office area.

Nodding, she makes her way down the hallway to the office that reads ‘Aether’ on the door. Opening it, she finds her best friend sitting at his desk.

The sudden appearance of his friend makes the ghoul jump. “(Y/N) What are you doing here?! Aren’t you supposed to be with Sister?” he asks but stops short when he seems just how upset she is.

“Oh honey, what happened?” beckoning her over. (Y/N) whimpers as she walks over, sitting in his lap and curling up in a ball.

Rubbing her back, he lets her explain what happened. The normally calm ghoul gets more and more irate as the story goes on until she gets to the root of the issue, “Oh honey, if that old bitch doesn’t know your worth by now, then she doesn’t deserve you,” bumping his horns against her forehead gently. 

Sighing, (Y/N) leans against him, “I just hate that my sister always manages to ruin everything,” nuzzling into the ghoul.

Aether smiles, “How about we go down to the den and we party the night away” to which (Y/N) grins, “I would love that”

Swiss & Dewdrop:

(Y/N) whimpers as she heads down to the ghoul den, looking for her best friends. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to find them lounging on the couches, tails flicking contently. 

“Swiss…Dewy?” this catches their attention immediately. (Y/N) doesn’t call Dewdrop that nickname unless she’s either sad or happy, and they can tell, which is the case in this instance.

Sitting up, Swiss holds his arms out to her, “C'mere doll, tell Uncle 

Swissy what's the matter.” Rushing forward, she collapses into his arms, hugging him around the neck as she buries her face in his shoulder. (Y/N) She is given a few minutes to decompress and relax, which both ghouls let her do. 

After a few minutes, she looks up and begins to spill her feelings from the last hour and a half of her life, ending with what her mother said and the smug look on her sister’s face.

Both ghouls sit in silence for a moment before Dew stands up, “Imma go hurt a bitch” to which (Y/N) immediately stands and tries to stop him, “Please don’t! I don’t want you in trouble, dewy..I’m okay really, just needed to vent!” panic evident on her face.

Dewdrop softens. “Fine…just because you asked me to, I won’t,” he says as he hugs her.

But this is when they notice Swiss’s smirk: “I have a better idea to make our girl feel better.” His mischievous look says everything they need to know as their grins spread across their faces.

Mountain:

Roaming the garden in search of a giant is surprisingly easier said than done as (Y/N) searches for her lover, sniffling and hugging herself.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long before she stumbles upon the ghoul she was looking for in a flower bed, adding mulch and planting new flowers. 

Unfortunately for Mountain, when he notices his love, it isn’t the happy greeting he was hoping for when he notices her crying. “My little bird, what has you so upset about? Talk to me,” he says while standing, brushing his hands off on his Jeans. 

Rushing into his arms, (Y/N) begins to spill her woes to her love. The giant waits until she’s done to speak. 

“Oh honeysuckle, this is simply just a bump. Sister isn’t going to replace you; she knows you’re a good worker and values you as her assistant, so she has trusted you to come along to all those important meetings and dinners. She wouldn’t let just anyone near the upper clergy,” he explains slowly, tucking some hair behind her ear. 

Looking up at him, “I know you’re right…but I’m still worried,” (Y/N) whispers. Mountain sighs, “I know, my love,” he looks around the garden, “I’m almost done for the day; how about we take an early night and have a date night. I know exactly how to make you feel better.” He wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Rain:

It takes longer than she wanted, but (Y/N) eventually makes it to the lake. Rain had said he would be down here today since he had the day off. 

“Rain?!” She calls, her voice echoing across the lake's surface and nearby mountains. Looking across the pristine surface, there’s nothing to even hint where her friend could be. 

Sighing, the girl turns to look somewhere else when there’s a splash. Turning just in time to see a ball of water coming towards her and hitting her straight in the face. 

Sputtering, she wipes the water from her face, “Rain Pacifico Sylvan! I’m gonna get you, I swear to Satan!” She shrieks when she notices the cackling ghoul. 

Racing forward, she tackles him into the water, and soon, they’re wrestling in the shallow end of the lake. (Y/N) is winning for a few minutes but is quickly subdued by the ghoulish strength of her friend. Pinning her down, Rain laughs as he kisses her cheeks before letting her up.

“So what brings you down here? You don’t usually come down to the lake this time of year,” he asks, bumping his shoulder with hers as the pair sit drying on the lake deck. 

(Y/N) sighs, looking at him before looking down as she begins to explain. It takes a few minutes, and Rain remains quiet the entire time. Once she’s done, she looks to him for his reaction.

He blinks once, twice, before waving her off, “Fuck that bitch, she isn’t taking your place when you’re the best assistant that Sister has ever had! Who cares what your bitch of a mother said? She doesn’t even deserve to have you as a daughter!” he stands and pulls her to her feet before tossing her over his shoulder with a shriek, “That’s it, you’re coming to the den to have your brains fucked out until you know how awesome you are” with a slap to her ass, Rain stalks off towards the den.

[stimboardofatourneykid]

A stimboard of California Slim for anon!

🎲-🎲-🎲

🚬- x - 🚬

🎲-🎲-🎲

[gmanmedias]

EVERYTHING’S AN HONOR IN A BLACK HOLE

💞 💞 💞

🍾 🍾 🍾

🔥 🔥 🔥

28.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Was listening to Tay's whole discography on shuffle and The Black Dog played after Tim McGraw and just spurred so many thoughts in my head. There's such a great unintentional connection in the choruses woth how she wishes a song/artist makes her muse think about her.

oooooooooh that is SUCH a good parallel!!!!

I think @taylortruther has written quite a bit about the theme of memory in Taylor's writing and how she longs to be remembered, know that she mattered. And this is such a great example of how that's evolved! From Tim McGraw which is still wistful and naive and innocent in many ways, where the memories are bittersweet (emphasis on the sweet), to The Black Dog which encompasses an entire life in the interim that goes up in flames where the emphasis goes into the bitter (among other things).

One thing that strikes me now about The Black Dog is in the first chorus she's imploring him to miss her in something mundane (going to a pub that holds memories for them -- the "magic" of their dreaming) and in the second there's definitely an implication of a darker memory (holding her shaking "rain-soaked" body in the shower -- imo implying he's consoling her but I know there are many other interpretations -- leading the the "tragic" of their dreaming).

In Tim McGraw, she wants him to remember her happily, sweetly, like she wants to be cherished. In The Black Dog, she wants him to remember EVERYTHING, from the youthful fun of dancing in a bar to the pain she felt as their life shattered. She doesn't want him to just think of her in The Black Dog when the song from their memory comes on (like in Tim McGraw), by the end she wants him to remember just how much he hurt her when that same song comes on-- she wants him to be in as much pain as she is.

And that's another way that the loss of innocence is depicted on TTPD! In all the ways we've already discussed, this is just another one where real life has come in to tinge the youthful dreams she once had, even in memories.

[tillman]

Fuys

[rarekatana]

[xxwhiskeyxx]

Headcanons w/ Whiskey! How the Ghoul’s sleep

I saw someone do a post about how they think the Papa’s sleep and @switchplate-2 asked me how I thought the ghoul’s sleep, I’m currently bored waiting for my next class to start so here ya go!

Swiss: Likes to have you on his chest, face to face, or spooning (he’s down for being big or little spoon, being little spoon is a guilty pleasure of his). Not EXTREMELY clingy but he’s got a good grip on your waist/hips/wherever he’s wrapped around. Deep sleeper so you can slip away to pee, sometimes wakes up and waits for you to get back so he can snuggle up 

 Rain: Poor baby is always so cold, he legitimately either needs like an entire nest of blankets to keep warm but when he sleeps with you, he’s on top of you. Face tucked into your neck and arms around your chest. Not a deep sleeper but will usually not move if you get up because sleepy

 Aether: Loves to have someone on top of him when sleeping, so he has you on top of him with your head on his chest. Deep sleeper, man wouldn’t move if you slapped him with full strength, snores like a fog horn. He also likes to spoon, likes to be be big spoon but surprisingly prefers being little spoon 

 Mountain: Is a sentient body pillow, put him however you want; spooning, face to face, on top of him, him on top, not touching but holding hands, legs tangled together, anything. He likes to have someone on top of him and face to face, makes him feel like he’s able to protect them more. Another deep sleeper, homie can be hit with a bus and not move usually, even worse when exhausted or sick. Doesn’t snore extremely loud unless the two previous reasons. Mostly he’s a light snorer otherwise, decently loud but not obnoxious 

Dewdrop/Sodo: Clings like no tomorrow, you have to pry his arms off just to pee and he’s awake when you get back pouting because you left him and tries to play big mean ghoul but he can’t sleep without you wrapped up in his arms

Cumulus: Babygirl loves snuggles, she will curl up in your arms and pass out like a kit. She is most comfortable when being held, ie: spooning, on your chest, etc, but she isn’t opposed to holding you if you want. She loves all types of cuddles. Decently deep sleeper, soft snores that stop and start again every couple of minutes, won’t usually move if you get up but sometimes, she’ll wake up while your gone and move to snuggle your pillow until you get back

Cirrus: Isn’t opposed to cuddling, like Mountain, put her however you wanna sleep. She’s comfy anyway you want, as long as she has you next to her she doesn’t care. Light sleeper, will wake up if you move to far away but falls back asleep fast. 

Sunshine: She is possibly the most surprisingly clingy of the ghouls, for someone who usually has touch aversion, if she loves you then she will snuggle you to death. She can and will sprawl across you like a cat, she doesn’t care as long as she has her human. Light sleeper because of her past in the pit, used to have more issues sleeping but sleeps through the night most nights now. 

[disneydatass]

A little late for the forest nymph’s bday & st paddy’s day but here is a traditional Irish song that I want Andrew to sing to me just like this in a whispered lullaby tone like I’m a newborn being sheltered from the storm lol enjoy!

[shadow--writer]

5. 16.

5. a song that makes my muse sad 16. a song that my muse can’t stand

music asks

~~~~

5.

16.

lmao

[cldhabiits]

MUSE TAGS: Julian Slink

master of mayhem ; god of the stage ( slink | ic. )

connoisseur of fine wine and good whiskey ( slink | musings. )

charcoal stains and filthy smiles ( slink | aes. )

red tail lights in the pouring rain ( slink ♡ rasher )

fake it like you love me ( slink ♡ aki )

rainbow stained kisses ( slink ❤︎ aki )

he's good. he's bad. and he's all that I've got ( slink ❤︎ arthur )

[xthestormcrow]

tag dump v1 hozier lyrics