I Can’t Stop Laughing At Jack’s Face At That Part. 

folklore as an old storybook

@taylorswift @taylornation

part 1 | part 2

[please credit me if you repost]♡

TAYLOR SWIFT MERCH FLASH GIVEAWAY / the “august slipped away" collection

Hi! I will be giving away merch up to $100 for one swiftie. Since this is a limited collection obviously I am unsure of how long some of the merch will still be available in the next two days. You can pick any items that add up to no more than $100 (not including shipping). Please be 18+ or get me your parents permission. I will be shipping these items directly from taylor’s website to any country available on her list. If most of the merch sells out or it’s not available in your size I will give the winner the option to pick from the permanent merch line or wait for the next 48 hour limited edition merch set. No more than one reblog per person (likes wont count). This giveaway will end on August 9th, 12:01 am EST.

track 5: “tolerate it” --impressionable, young, & closeted

Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion and theory based on Taylor’s lyrics. I think her music can be interpreted in many ways. Based on her past clues and lyrics, I think it is possible that Taylor could be part of the LGBT community, and this could be her way of telling us in this album. I think it is okay for queer fans to interpret this song in a queer way, and it’s not bad to do so because Taylor encourages interpretations & it’s not a bad thing to be LGBT+

Taylor:  “ I decided on track five because of the lyrics of ‘tolerate it’ and how it’s so visual, and conveys such a specific kind of hurt. “

To me, this specific hurt can be described as the pain of someone who you really look up to not accepting you for who you are. I can relate to this, especially as a young kid. I would constantly look up to my teachers, older friends, etc. wondering in the back of my mind: Would you still like me like this if you knew my secret? It is such a specific hurt that I think many, if not all, LGBT+ people have related to at some point in their lives. With that in mind, let’s dive in…

I sit and watch you I notice everything you do or don’t do You’re so much older and wiser, and I

We all look up to someone and want to be like them. We change our behavior to make ourselves more likeable, more mature for the person we admire because they’re so cool, they know what they’re doing, you want to be just like them, right? Most of all, you crave their acceptance. You want to appear as cool as they think you are.

I wait by the door like I’m just a kid Use my best colors for your portrait Lay the table with the fancy shit And watch you tolerate it

Scott Borchetta took a chance on Taylor when he saw her at the Bluebird Cafe. She took a chance on him, too. They were both starting out fresh in the industry. It was a new beginning, Taylor of course had this dream and would do anything to make it come true. Scott had a dream of having his own record label. She put out her best songs, strengthened her voice, and stayed true to who she was. And he supported her then. She made him successful. 

If it’s all in my head tell me now Tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it

This verse breaks my heart. This is so reminiscent of a young LGBT+ kid being told that “it’s just a phase,” “you’re too young to know,” and “don’t tell anyone.” Or it’s dismissed completely. It’s a shame, a dirty secret. Taylor knew her love wasn’t wrong, but yet Scott still tried to stifle this in her. He “tolerated” it.

I greet you with a battle hero’s welcome I take your indiscretions all in good fun I sit and listеn, I polish plates until they gleam and glistеn You’re so much older and wiser and I

Despite the pain, she still tries her best to be what he wants, fit her mold, do what she has to to make them both successful. This is her dream, right? She believes him that this is the right thing to do. 

While you were out building other worlds, where was I? Where’s that man who’d throw blankets over my barbed wire? I made you my temple, my mural, my sky Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life

He betrayed her by selling her masters without her consent or knowledge – to the very man who she cried on his shoulder about, Scooter. Taylor put her everything into both hers and Scott’s careers. She made Big Machine. All she wants is her music, her life story. But instead, she has to constantly defend herself from his attacks on her character and business ethics.

You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I Break free and leave us in ruins Took this dagger in me and removed it Gain the weight of you then lose it Believe me, I could do it

I think this could be her asking: “What would you do if I decided to come clean about all of this? What would happen if I told everyone my truth despite your best efforts to conceal it? I could do it. I’m stronger than ever. I don’t need you. I could do it.”

What do you guys think of this song? 

I’m Not “The Archer”, but I’m Arching My Back to Reach As Far As Possible. Lol

(**DISCLAIMER: This is just my own personal opinion. I am not connected to Taylor in any way, so don’t take as gospel. I’m looking at this from the perspective of a closeted relationship, so any mention of her being gay or ‘closeted’ or ‘in the closet’ is alleged she herself has not said this. In addition, I am not calling this a breakup song or insinuating there was a breakup, so don’t come for me. Lol**)

I have listened to this song probably 1,000 times since it was released on yesterday and with every single listen, I get a little more emotional. To me, this is a song about doubt, self-doubt, anxiety & insecurity in a relationship and as a lover/partner. Feeling like you’re losing someone or that you’re going to lose them—not because of a fight or because someone cheated, but because you’ve been searching for this type of love for God knows how long and now that it’s here in front of you, it scares you. It’s kind of like when you suddenly win the lottery and you’ve never had such a significant amount of money. It’s overwhelming and you don’t know how to react to or handle it.

“Combat. I’m ready for combat I say I don’t want that, but what if I do? Cause cruelty wins in the movies I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you”

Perhaps in past relationships, she lost people because they were ready to take that next step and she wasn’t? Maybe she had painted those people in a specific light/in this perfect image in her eyes, but things happened that have caused them to change or changed her view of them and she didn’t know how to fix it, so she “jumps from the train and rides alone”. She doesn’t like conflict so she avoids it. She didn’t want to put up a fight then, but now she wants to fight, even though she doesn’t like conflict/confrontation. Taylor is ready for war. She’s ready to fight for the happy ending. However, her current lover places her on such a high pedestal and sees her so differently than she/everyone else does that she doubts herself as a lover/partner and doesn’t feel that she’s deserving of it. She’s a mess, but she’s the mess that her lover wants.

“Cruelty wins in the movies” because even though there’s almost always a happy ending, it’s not real. In real life, there aren’t always happy endings, so the ‘cruelty’ in that is that movies force-feed the notion that there is always a happy ending. People get so attached to this fictional concept that it’s almost like you’ve been lied to because, in real life, relationships just aren’t like the ones we see in movies. Love isn’t something that’s figured out in an hour and 30 minutes. In real life, Aladdin might not end up with Jasmine. Belle might choose an asshole like Gaston.

I think the “hundred thrown out speeches” are things Taylor never said to her lover because the consequences of telling someone how you really feel (rejection) are terrifying and now she wishes she had and realizes she still can. Maybe she’s admitting that she didn’t feel ‘emotionally mature’ or realizes that she can’t use naivety anymore as she’s getting older and in her own words:

Playing mind games is for the chase. In a real relationship or friendship, you’re shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t tell the other person how you feel, and what could be done to fix it. No one is a mind reader. If someone really loves you, they want you to verbalize how you feel. This is real life, not chess.

“Who could ever leave me, darling But who could stay? Dark side, I search for your dark side But what if I’m alright, right, right, right here? And I cut off my nose just to spite my face Then I hate my reflection for years and years

I think she’s so used to searching and ending up disappointed or being happy and having to sacrifice that happiness that she tries to find something wrong with a person or tries to find a way to hurt them so they’ll leave. However, her lover doesn’t bite and now there’s a lot of unnecessary pain/self-inflicted wounds that are slow to heal. Now, it’s like Taylor is realizing the person she’s looking for is the person she’s with and that it’s always been them. The one who could leave her when she’s tried to sabotage the relationship hasn’t whereas anyone else would have. In NYD she promised her lover that she would stay when they were lost and scared and turning away; but in The Archer, the tables are turned: the lover has stayed while Taylor is the one who’s lost, scared & turning away.

“I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost The room is on fire, invisible smoke And all of my heroes die all alone Help me hold on to you Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling, But who could stay? (I see right through me, I see right through me) Cause they see right through me They see right through me They see right through Can you see right through me? They see right through They see right through me I see right through me I see right through me All the king’s horses, all the king’s men Couldn’t put me together again Cause all of my enemies started out friends Help me hold on to you”

This part is where the song got really emotional for me. The anxiety, doubt, and insecurities she has about the relationship and the added weight of being closeted keeps her up at night. She paces like a ghost meaning she hides her feelings. “They” (people) hear her, but don’t really hear her. They see her, but don’t really see her. She doesn’t know who she is anymore, but she knows that this whole front she puts up isn’t the real her. She asks her lover if they can see through her as well. It kinda sounds like she’s crying out for help or to be saved. After all “to be truly seen is a far greater freedom than to be invisible.” (credit to Spade). This is also why I recommend the film “Beyond the Lights” to people.

The people who would normally help her can’t fix this. People she’d normally call for help aren’t there anymore. Not because of a falling out necessarily, but sometimes you’re the only one who can help yourself. Like Spade said:

“as I laid there unaware, the sun came to me and whispered its warmth into my broken parts | Slowly, I turned to her, and said “Are you saving me?” | She responded with truth “No, you decide your fate.”

She’s been the archer (the one who chases) and the prey (the chased). She’s been the archer (the one in control) and the prey (the vulnerable one). She’s been the archer—the one who’s taken shots and the prey—the one who’s taken shots.

Now, she’s confident. Now, she’s ready for combat.

“You’re on your own, kid” Words by Taylor Swift, art by me :)

ig: @ine8s​

okay but what about that huge safety pin hanging on the wall in the scene where Sadie is laying in bed 🤔

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I really think people are making this scott b narrative way worse than it is. Taylor has always been a career focused person. She has said many times that she knew from her preteens that she wanted to be famous. She knew she was good at songwriting. She knew country music was known for strong songwriting. She knew going to Nashville would lead to her getting better at songwriting. She probably knew she would not have a successful career as an openly queer singer songwriter. Especially in the country music world. She chose to separate her personal life from her public image so that she could become successful. She surrounded herself with a team of adults who were dedicated to creating and maintaining that public image. Part of that maintenance involved playing the Hollywood love connections game and attaching her to other celebs. Unfortunately she didn’t have good long term beards. So there were a lot of jumping back and forth. Early on in her career she was focused on her career not love. So it was easier to play the bearding game.

At a certain point her public image and personal life fell out of alignment and her team of adults dedicated to making this work probably started to have a difference of opinion about how to realign. That’s when the rift caused problems. She chose to be in the closet. Now if you want to have a converation about society and the culture of the entertainment industry as a whole that teaches artists this is the only way to do things that’s cool. But Scott was a symptom of a larger disease. Her disdain for him came later. She has literally said time and time again that he was her best friend and most trusted person who knew everything about her and knew exactly how to hurt her. She wasn’t a prisoner of Scott for 15 years.

Worse than telling her to be closeted at a very young age (we know she also chose this) then selling her entire life’s work to an enemy and announcing it on a day she was going to come out?

No one is saying she’s a prisoner of him.

but why would taylor write 'he's so tall' about a man because she's already tall so most guys are her height anyway (unless the guy is like really really tall) but it's wayyyy more likely that she would write that about a 6'2 woman who is way taller than anyone she's dated before, so therefore the height of this woman is enough to comment on. right? it's sort of similar to the argument of 'it's new, the shape of your body' not being about a guy

In conclusion:

Remember how Karlie would always wear flats around Taylor in high heels so they would be around the same height? 😭

I’ve been looking for the “Joe is gay” blind items/gossip people allude to but can’t ever find anything! Can anyone point me in the right direction? I just finished my last ever law school exam and would love some light reading. 😅

Congratulations, anon! I don’t recall any specific blinds as I don’t really follow those anymore. But others may chime in. As always take them with a grain of salt.

"wb is joe" - this claim is disputed.

this is gonna be really long. don’t say i didn’t say i didn’t warn ya.

ok, before talking about wb, let’s talk about nils sjöberg because i’ve seen some people claiming that he was registered as swedish and other people asking if this is real. i just think it’s funny how some people keep saying that nils sjöberg was registered as a swede, but no one shows any evidence to prove it. 

so let’s take a look of all these things, shall we?

taylor used a swedish name but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was registered with swedish citizenship. btw, the fact that she used a swedish name was really clever if you ask me because it diverted the attention from the songwriter’s identity and if it weren’t for calvin and all that drama, i bet the pseudonym would still be preserved today. 

and why it was clever? well, sweden is the third largest music exporter in the world, behind only the usa and the united kingdom. some of the biggest bands we know are from there: abba, roxette, the cardigans. and there are several more current artists in pop and alternative taking their place in the sun, such as robyn, tove lo, lykke li, zara larsson, icona pop, etc. some of the biggest names as producers and composers in pop music are swedish, like max martin, which is the producer with the most #1 hits on billboard for the past 50 years. sweden is also well known for having a lot of edm artists. two of the main streaming platforms are also swedish: spotify and soundcloud. sweden literally shape the pop music. it’s a fact. but that’s beside the point….

so first things first: let’s go back to 2016 and look at the prints about nils sjöberg that have survived time

this is the ASCAP page showing the credits for the composition. however, it doesn’t show the citizenship. because ASCAP, as well as BMI for example (but there are others too), are a Performing Rights Organization (PRO). they collect public performance royalties as stipulated by the U.S. Copyright Act and distributes them. they also ensure that all locations playing music have a license to do so. so, basically they make sure you’re getting paid.

this is what the BMI page looked like right after taylor ditched the pseudonym (7/18/16):

observation: calvin was associated with ascap. taylor was associated with BMI. that’s why we can see it in both sites.

now, let’s see how it looks in 2020 on both sites:

if you look for it in ASCAP, you’ll get this:

and this is the current BMI page:

still no details about citizenship or any other details on either site as these sites are not the copyright database. THIS is the copyright office online database:

as we can see, the catalog only shows the updated version of the record, when she ditched the pseudonym. so, we don’t know how what it was like before, under nils sjöberg.

BUT what we do know is that when you register the copyright of a song, you don’t necessarily need to put along your real name, you can register it as anonymous, a pseudonym or a pen name, but you still need to give your citizenship or your domicile.

for example this is how shellback is registered in black space and in dancing with our hands tied.

registered as a pseudonym (he even gave his real name although he was not obligated to), but his citizenship is from sweden. max martin and oscar holter are also under swedish citizenship, even though they’re not under a pseudonym.

so let’s check on our one and only, william bowery:

as we can see, in public records william bowery is listed as an american citizen. and yes, joe could have dual citizenship etc, but for that he’d have to live in the united states for certain period (at least five years, and not have been absent in this period for more than six months) and it’s widely known and publicized out there that he still lives in london with his parents. and even if they were married (they’re not), it’s necessary that the marriage is already at least three years old and the applicant has not been out of the country for more than six months, in addition to being in the country for at least 18 months.

so if he’s not an american citizen and he’s supposed to be william, the public record should show him registered as a british citizen. that american citizenship doesn’t fit the story at all.

since the release of evermore, i’ve kept an eye on the copyright site to be able to check the new entries on wb there, however the site is apparently outdated and only the betty and exile records appear under “william bowery”. and before you all ask me, there is nothing registered under joe’s name either. there is also no new entry for evermore in taylor’s name, not even jack, justin or aaron. is really outdated. the reason? idk, probably with the pandemic it’s taking longer to update the database -which is totally understandable-, for example, i can’t find some other new realeses too, like wonder by shawn mendes or plastic hearts by miley.

anyway, so i checked BMI and william bowery appears as a songwriter there, but remember that BMI is just an organization that takes care of the royalties, licensing etc, so it doesn’t show details of the authorship. but the credits appear along with betty and exile, which means that it’s the same william from folklore and not another with the same name. and if it’s the same from folklore, it means that his citizenship is the same too: american — as we already saw in the copyright register print up there.

here’s some prints: 1) all songs listed under “william bowery” 2) champagne problems, as an example from evermore 2) exile, as an example from folklore

the only site that mentions joe’s name as a songwriter, is genius. however, just like wikipedia, anyone can edit information on genius. so this claim is literally disputed by official sources.

in conclusion:

nils sjöberg being registered as swedish doesn’t make sense. the pseudonym was just ditched. and last time i checked, taylor was not swedish. then, according to copyright rules, nils would have been registered as an american. it’s mathematics luv.

as far as i know, lying and giving false information on a copyright record (or any other official document) is illegal. therefore, unless you believe that taylor would really commit some kind of felony, the only explanation that exists here is: william is not joe alwyn.

whoever “william bowery” is, is an american.

and why would it be necessary to keep the pseudonym “william bowery” in evermore when supposedly his true identity had already been revealed before evermore was even released? what is so controversial about joe alwyn, a white boy, that he’d need to hide? make it make sense.

@theprologues @iwanthermidnightz i’m tagging you guys because i know you get a lot of asks about this, so i hope this helps in some way :)