UMM so cruel summer and a lot of other songs are making a lotttt more sense now that I’ve realized the “devil” that Taylor keeps referring to is actually the music industry as a whole thanks to @keepingsecretstokeepyoutk (see this post). “He looks up grinning like a devil” // “I would’ve stayed on my knees and I damn sure never would’ve danced w the devil AT 19” // “Dear reader if you aim at the devil make sure you don’t miss.” Do you remember the Top Global Artist vid that spotify released that had cruel summer as the background song and had a bunch of cruel summer references? Yeah go back and watch that again w this context in mind 😃 Taylor (the angel) has had enough of the games and is gonna end them once and for all which is very Katniss Everdeen of her—hello the archer 🏹 if any of you have read or watched the hunger games you know how the story ends
And you'll also remember that Katniss escapes the games twice by cheating--the first time w poison berries and the second time by destroying the arena itself (which was a clock) WITH itself using a lightning strike current at midnight that shot thru her arrow -> "And there was one prize I'd cheat to win." Not to mention Katniss was the mockingjay, a symbol of rebellion and resistance. And the fire symbolism in this trilogy was meant to represent how that rebellion can spread from a spark of hope. Snow lands on top but fire melts snow. Taylor is a huge hunger games fan so I wouldn't be surprised at all if these parallels were intentional. Also I'm not the first one to notice the hunger games connections, I saw some other gaylors point this out so I can't take full credit for that
“You play stupid games you win stupid prizes” // “Devils roll the dice” // "Baby let the games begin" // The scrabble instagram post // The mastermind chess board // "You see all the wisest women had to do it this way, cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover's game" // "No more keeping score now I just keep you warm. No more tug of war now I just know there's more"
I think it's possible Taylor knew that her masters were gonna be sold hence all the game imagery and songs abt heartbreak on lover
She's literally gonna take down the industry as a whole and expose everything. This is the reason for all the cryptic messages and meticulous planning. AND THIS IS WHAT THE ALBATROSS IS ABT TOO. “She’s the albatross she is here to destroy you.” They tried to keep her locked away in cages and towers and closets and tried taming her and pulling out her teeth but it didn’t work
“Devils that you know raise worse hell than a stranger” SHE’S the devil now and she’s abt to make their lives a living hell
“She’s the death you chose” i.e. the music industry chose to kill Taylor (which is why TTPD is a post-mortem album) so now she’s coming back to haunt them hence the ghostly Victorian attire. “We gather here we line up weeping in a sunlit room and if I’m on fire you’ll be made of ashes too.” THIS is the karma she’s talking abt that will happen at midnight!!
“You’ll see me in hindsight tangled up w you all night burning it down”
I am the APPARITION. I am the LINE OF POETRY. THAT’S TAYLOR. SHE’S THE GHOST WRITING POST-MORTEM POETRY
Literally feel like I am abt to explode from all the earth-shattering revelations I’ve just had
January: Johnny
February: Darry
March: Ponyboy
April: Sodapop
May: Steve
June: Dallas
July: Two-Bit
August: Tim
September: Curly
October: Bob
November: Randy
December: Paul
Colour of shirt: (action)
Red: Waved to you
Orange: Kissed you
Yellow: Made out with you
Green: Fucked you
Blue: Killed you
Purple: Licked you
Pink: Slapped you
Black: Stalked you
Grey: Fingered you
White: Watched you
Brown: Babysat you
Favourite colour: (because he)
Red: Loves you
Orange: Hates you
Yellow: Lives in your closet
Green: Wants to date you
Blue: Wants to kill you
Purple: Loves your grandma
Pink: Kidnapped your dad
Black: Likes your dog/cat
Grey: Wants to be besties
White: Ate all your food
Brown: Did your taxes
I got "Sodapop slapped you because he wants to date you"