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datura-tea · 3 months

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holy shit this year marks 10 years of this blog and moz!! i can't remember the exact date i started posting here - my archive says i have one post from november 2013 but let's disregard that - but i do remember it was around late 2014/early 2015 :)

^ one of the very first moz art pieces i ever drew, for fallout week 2015!!

memories and art through the years under a read more bc it got long

2014 → baby's first rpg!! i started playing fnv on my cousin's jailbroken xbox late 2013 and finished mid 2014 and i loved every minute of it. i remember waking up at 8am and playing almost nonstop until 2am the next day haha!

i didn't play moz on my first playthrough - but i did start creating a character that would eventually become her: a shorthaired ex-boxer who punched her way through obstacles when diplomacy failed. i remember she spent a lot of time with boone. i liked him then, because he saved my ass more times than i can count. but i digress. this is draft 1 moz essentially

2015 → this is the year that i was doing my thesis so i could graduate but i was so depressed and stressed about it that i distracted myself by replaying fnv on pc, where i played through the dlcs for the first time. i fell in love with the dlcs' oversarching story; particularly ulysses, who i became obssessed with, especially since i couldn't find any content of him at the time. in the game, i played as moz; i had most of her personality and choices down, but her backstory was still up in the air.

fun fact: this was an existing sideblog that i remade to be a fallout blog so i could look for ulysses content, and when i couldn't find any, i made some myself, featuring moz as my main courier six. originally, i didn't ship them, but eventually i ended the year as a courier/ulysses otp shipper.

this was the year i started drawing digitally - my uncle let me borrow a drawing tablet and i used an old copy of photoshop i pirated hehe

2016 → i graduated this year!! and promptly fell deeper into my depression. this was the year that it got so bad that i had to be medicated. through it all, this blog and moz and ulysses and my fandom friends were with me. and for that i am truly grateful :) this was the year i figured out how to lock transparent pixels so that i could color my lineart lol

2017 → i started hammering out moz's backstory this year i think. there's a lot of sketches of her and her family in my files. i experimented with shading and backgrounds here but that experimentation was pretty short-lived

2018 → i started using references seriously!!!! i did a lot of oc on oc kissing this year, featuring mostly moz and many friend ocs haha

2019 → didn't draw much this year. actually this year was a blur and i can't remember much from it except from it being the year of my terrible no good bad copywriting jobs... anyway i did manage to continue my courier/ulysses brainrot and make this piece, which i'm still proud of

2020 → pandemic time. i spent a lot of time asleep at home and i think this was also the year i started doing commissions?? shoutout to anyone who has ever commissioned me - thank you so much, i truly appreciate it!!

2021 → i switched from my old-ass pirated photoshop to clip studio paint and never looked back. also i did a bunch of commissions for my grandmother's surgery, which failed, and i distracted myself from the sadness by drawing my ocs over and over and playing disco elysium

2022 → by this year, i've got moz down pat and have started vaguely developing other ocs instead. but she's still always at the back of my mind

2023 → i bought new brushes from true grit texture supply and immediately found new favorites that i started using for everything. i tentatively started incorporating background elements in some pieces!

2024 → while it's still too early to say where this year will lead me art-wise, i will say that i started experimenting in realistic paint studio (which i bought in 2021, the same time as clip studio paint) a few days ago and i'm liking the results so far. we'll see!

all in all, these last 10 years have been quite a ride, but i'm glad i stuck around and i'm glad you guys stuck around too!! much much love 💖💖💖

#shh peri shhh #god. look at that old art... i took the ones that i still kinda liked but the rest...#well i don't hate them. but they're old and of their time and i wish i could redo them lmao #my art #moz

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demilypyro · 1 year

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Disco Elysium struck me in a weird way that I don't know if others can relate to but I'm gonna try to describe it.

My experience of the world tends to be one of... tacitly optimistic melancholy. In my mind, we're never going to live in a happy world, a just world, so I try to carve out what little happiness I can, what little I can share with others. I dare not dream of a better life, because I don't truly believe it can ever happen. The systems of society seem so ingrained that if change is possible, if the revolution ever comes, I can't say that I'll have the guts to be part of it, or that I'll even still be alive to see it.

So playing Disco Elysium hit me. Because this was a world presented by people who do believe the revolution is possible. And that it can come within our lifetimes. These are people who *can* imagine a better world. The creators of this game believe in their beliefs more strongly than I do, and have more strength of character than I ever could. It forced me to reflect on my own weakness. The way I languish in the idea that things are out of my hands. It made me ashamed of my inability, my unwillingness, to enact change.

A few years ago, when the pandemic hit, I remember writing on this blog that despite all the tragedy... it felt somewhat refreshing, to see the systems of society run aground like this. Daily life coming to a total stop because of something that was so impactful that even The Machine wasn't powerful enough to keep running. It was terrible and destructive and we're still feeling the effects, but there was a morbid hope to it. The hope that society isn't as ingrained as it seems.

If change comes, I want to be part of it.

#stop me if none of this makes sense

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missbabyjay · 1 year

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Vinyls - Joel Miller x Reader

SMUT!!

MASTERLIST - CHECK OUT MY PAGE FOR MORE!

I've been on a huge music kick lately which is what inspired this. I see so many angsty/dark fics with Joel on here, I just had to add some sweet fluff. This takes place in Jackson, and definitely strays a little from the original story line of TLOU.

Warnings/Content: Explicit, mentions of alcohol, Fluff, A little bit of smut

Summary: Music has always been a huge part of your life and when you're exploring the house given to you in Jackson you come upon some vinyl records.

Word Count: 1.6 K

. . .

You couldn’t deny the excitement that washed over you after you arrived in Jackson. The overall environment seemed so close to life before the pandemic; children playing and laughing, electricity, warmth, food. You, Joel and Ellie were given a house to stay in - it was large, inviting and had mostly been untouched for the past couple of decades. You appreciated how it was almost stuck in the time before the world went to shit. As sad as it was to see the life of a family that was no longer present, you were grateful for the space and company of the village. You finally felt safe after trekking across the country.

You had been in Jackson for about a month. The community had been quite accepting of the three of you, and you quickly became somewhat comfortable with life once again - something you never thought you would feel. You took on work at the dining hall as well as the greenhouses. Life almost began to seem normal.

One day you were exploring the left behind items in the basement of the house, and you came across a few boxes of old records, as well as a record player. It had been years since you heard music, something that had been a huge part of your life before the pandemic. Your parents were musicians on the side of their full time office jobs. Instead of getting a babysitter they would often bring you along to their gigs. Your love for music began at a very young age - your parent’s shows being some of your first memories in life.

You were about halfway through your teens when the outbreak day occurred. Your world quickly came crashing down and your dreams were forced to shrivel up and die; survival was now your top priority. You had always dreamed of becoming a musician yourself, but in a world ridden with sickness and death that was a foolish dream to continue having.

You lightly dusted off the record player with a tattered rag and managed to bring it upstairs, making sure to run down and grab the boxes of records afterwards. As you were fiddling around with the delicate machine you heard footsteps on the stairs coming from upstairs. Ellie’s voice rid the silence of the room, “Whatcha got there?” she said with genuine curiosity. That was one of the things you loved most about Ellie - she was so curious. Being her age, as well as being raised under a corrupt government, meant that she didn’t get the pleasure of experiencing life before, or anything similar to it. You were glad she was here in Jackson. You were hopeful to give her a taste of the life you had at her age.

“Oh hey El, it’s a record machine, ever heard of one?” you chuckled jokingly, as you began sorting through the boxes - confident that you would find at least one of your favourite bands considering the abundance of vintage records that sat before you. “I-I think so?” she confusingly admitted. Your lips curved into a quiet and gentle smile as she joined you on the floor. She helped herself to the second box, pulling out the records; gently gliding her fingers across them, analysing the shape and texture of the frayed sleeves.

“A-ha! I knew I’d find a good one,” you exclaimed as you pulled out the record titled “Saturday Night Fever”.

“Saturday night fever? What the fuck kind of name is that?” Ellie snorted as she snatched the vinyl sleeve from your hands.

You giggled, “This is disco music El, it’s so fun to dance to… I promise,” you raised your eyebrows in a goofy manner while you cautiously blew the dust off the vinyl and fixed it on to the player. Ellie watched as you lifted the arm gently and placed it on the delicate surface of the record, hoping you found the right groove for the song you were expecting to hear. You looked at Ellie with excitement as the room began to fill with music. She had a sort of goofy look on her face, but you quickly grabbed her hands lifting to her feet. You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees was filling the room as you danced around, hand in hand with Ellie. She had such an innocently happy smile spread across her face, giggling every few seconds at your ridiculous dance moves.

===========

Joel’s POV

Joel was not expecting to be met with music when he entered the house. It had also been quite some time since he was able to enjoy instruments collectively working together to create a sweet, lively melody. It brought him back to life before the outbreak; going out with Tommy to the country bars in Texas, enjoying his glass of whiskey while the music encapsulated his soul.

He cautiously walked through the hallway and peeked his head around the corner to see you and Ellie carelessly letting the music move your bodies, while giggling like maniacs. Joel wasn’t a man of many feelings, he usually kept quiet and emotionless, but you and Ellie began to pick away at that part of him. A small smile crept onto his face as he continued to watch the two of you.

Joel felt a mixture of feelings towards you. He despised you when he first met you in the QZ a handful of years ago. You seemed too happy and naive living in such a sad and gruesome world. He worried that you would get yourself killed, or get him killed, but he always felt the need deep down inside to help you. You were quite young when Joel met you, just barely thirty, and you were nothing but alone. Maybe his regret of not doing enough for Sarah was what drove him to help you.

He’ll never forget the day he told you he was leaving to take Ellie, you were nearly begging on your knees for him to take you. Without Joel you didn’t have anyone in the QZ, and Joel knew that. He was hopeful to get you somewhere safe, and when Jackson became an option he knew it was best to settle down and keep both you and Ellie there.

It made his heart warm to watch you give Ellie an experience she’d never had before. He hesitated to interrupt, not wanting to ruin the moment or scare the two of you. He waited until the song had finished, watching you engulf Ellie into your loving arms he decided to speak up, “Look at you two,” he cooed.

===========

Both you, and Ellie, turned your heads to see Joel watching from the archway. “Hey there cowboy,” you winked, giving Ellie one last squeeze before making your way over to Joel; tenderly placing your lips on his rough, bearded cheek. Joel wrapped his arms around you, picking you up and spinning you around - something he had never done before. It made you giggle, sending vibrations from your chest to his. Joel nuzzled his face into your neck, peppering you with sweet kisses.

“Ooook, I’m gonna go keep reading my book,” Ellie stated awkwardly, widening her eyes at the both of you before proceeding to go back to her room. Joel laughed deeply before pulling away from you. “Want to dance m’lady?”. Yet another thing you didn’t expect for Joel. He never seemed to be like this, but you figured moving to Jackson was enough to calm him down and allow some of his personality shine through. You loved this side of Joel.

You nodded, inviting him to grab your hand and slide his other around your waist; pulling you close as the two of you grooved around the room. The close proximity of your bodies allowed you to soak in his scent - masculine and woodsy. It sent shivers down your spine. You moved your hands to grasp his large arms, his hands snaking around you. You ran your hands up and down, feeling the rough texture of his jacket.

You loved everything about Joel and he felt those same feelings about you. The both of you had your flaws, but you embraced them. The two of you fit together like puzzle pieces.

Joel’s hand trailed upwards to your face, brushing the back of his fingers against your delicate skin. His eyes glowed with love and lust as he deeply gazed at you. “I love you,” subconsciously slipped out of Joel’s lips. Your eyes widened when you clued in, the music slightly muffling his words. You looked at Joel, “I-” you began, “I love you too, Joel”. Joel lifted his hand to your chin, tenderly moving his face to meet yours in a passionate kiss. Your body had been stricken with surprise from Joel’s words, but as your lips intertwined your feelings dissipated into pleasure.

Your hands quickly made their way to Joel’s hair, tangling his curls within your fingers. You pulled at the strands as you deepened the kiss. You could taste the residual whiskey on his tongue, nearly making you drunk for him. “Baby girl,” Joel disconnected from your lips, placing kisses across your cheeks as he began his journey to your neck. A moan slipped from your lips as Joel began nipping and licking at your neck, “Joel.”

“Up,” Joel demanded, lifting you to wrap your legs around his abdomen. You followed his instructions, resuming the embrace your lips shared with Joel’s, running your tongue against his bottom lip aggressively. He allowed you to tangle your soft and aching tongue with his. You held on for dear life as Joel tumbled onto your shared bed, keeping you cradled to his chest.

You swore you could melt in his arms, his touch made your body feel as hot as burning embers. The two of you undressed each other and electricity sparked as your bare skin touched. The warmth radiated against your bodies, leaving almost no need for covers. You spent the remainder of the night basking in the company of each other; showering in loving kisses and reaching your high together.

. . .

Likes, reblogs, and comments are greatly appreciated! <3

#pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal smut #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal imagine #joel miller x you #joel miller x reader #joel miller tlou #joel miller fanfiction #pedro pascal tlou #joel miller smut #pedro pascal fluff

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omegalomania · 1 year

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hey gang what time is it its time for another joe trohman podcast. this actually came out like a month ago but i missed it until isa linked it to me and because i like doing these heres a highlights reel

the host says he appreciates that joe opened the book with the question of whether or not satan fucked his wife to which joe replies "well you know, when you have kids, sometimes you wonder that. you truly wonder what are these demons. i love my children btw they're phenomenal."

sometimes it does get tiring playing the same songs over and over. joe says that "thnks fr th mmrs" has a really good energy and tempo that keeps it exciting to play live

he talks about playing a really short iheartradio christmas show pre-pandemic and nobody in the crowd knew "sugar we're goin down" since they were only familiar with the more recent hits like "centuries" and "uma thurman" and joe said that it made him fall in love with sugar all over again in a weird way ldjfldkfd

he laments recently getting the chance to see wu-tang, nas, and busta rhymes at the hollywood bowl but he didn't go

his love language is giving gifts! he got his brother a custom drum set (which his mom attempted to throw out)

he reiterates that when writing the book he didn't want to be mean to any of his bandmates cause he likes them and thats not what the book is about! the host makes a joke: "like how you guys had that threesome with simple plan...i understand, you don't wanna get into that!" joe is offended that he clearly doesn't know how many guys are in simple plan. "there's more than three guys in there! the orgy was far larger than you give it credit!"

he doesnt remember any other names that the band could have been called but he does think fall out boy is a pretty terrible name for a band. "i can't believe i'm in a band called fall out boy."

discussions of the band origin and how joe funded it with his bar mitzvah money ("fall out boy, funded by judaism!") but when asked about financial gains from the band he says they all split everything evenly and it's one of the things that's helped them last this long

talking about scott ian and the damned things and he talks about how managing a supergroup is like herding cats because everyone is so busy with their respective groups. he says he'd LOVE to do a third damned things record though!

he talks about how weird it was to have this boy band aspect to them when they were at their peak pre-hiatus, because they were all hardcore kids and punk kids.

he recalls that around this time patrick asked their manager, with visible concern, "are we...the nsync to panic at the disco's backstreet boys?"

he's glad that they've outgrown that and kept pushing forward and looking forward, and by now they're no longer a boy band. "we're a man band!"

he thinks it's kind of neat to see the emo movement of the aughts become nostalgic and cool now ("it was not fucking cool when we were doing it [...] we stuck around for long enough to Not Be Lame"), but it's a big thing for fall out boy that they do not want to be a nostalgia act and they want to keep making new albums.

the host semi-jokingly says "so you and panic at the disco are not gonna go out on tour, is what you're saying." joe says "no" very flatly and i lose my shit.

he denies that fall out boy is working on any specific new music. he says they're just piecing things together organically and that no real album has coalesced. (note: this episode aired 11/12, ~2 weeks before the fob8 tribune ad)

he talks a bit about working with brian posehn on the axe and how much he loved doing it! he calls the whole story a metaphor for dealing with pain and trauma and the different ways there are to confront that stuff. he said the axe is coming out as a trade "soon" so people who don't have a subscription to heavy metal can read it

his first concert was tom petty and the heartbreakers when he was 10 or 11

he says the two things that matter most for a band's live show are the drummer and the singer. he then proceeds to be extremely sweet about patrick and andy.

"patrick, he's incredible, he's so gifted, and he's worked so hard with his voice lessons and figuring out how to sing from the diaphragm properly, and he really knows how to work through when he's sick and having real issues, so he's quite a trooper."

"and andy is just a great drummer. when he thinks he's had a bad day i'm like...yeah. sure. i don't think you know what that is."

he did not get laid in high school. first time was in a shared tour bus, listening to testament (a thrash metal band), when he was 19. (they never saw each other again)

since testament was the soundtrack the host asks if he ever gets a reaction whenever joe hears chuck billy (testament's lead vocalist). joe says without missing a beat, "when i see him i do, that's for sure."

he is an avid bowler. he has a wristguard and a spare ball and he used to take lessons. he calls it great stress relief!

#fall out boy #joe trohman #*making poasts #the pros of this podcast is that joe is zooming the whole time so u can see his pretty pretty face #the cons is that the hosts make some pretty off color remarks lol #joe is very gracious with them though he plays it off pretty well #i just rly rly love joe talking about this kind of stuff like i appreciate his approach #hes very empathetic and i envy that #hes also so glib and candid and approaches everything w humor and i Relate To That #lot of talk about mental health and addiction and trauma and stuff and a lot of it was rly insightful #but this is just the cliff notes so im mostly grabbing the zingers here #ty isa for alerting me of this!!

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backup-baby-backup · 6 months

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Cruel Summer: the hit that was meant to be?

Pictured: dramatic reenactment of us waiting for Cruel Summer to be a single for 4 years.

Background

This summer is the apocalypse.

-- Lover Journal entry, dated 29 August 2016

We all know about the cruel summer in question, right? To be fair, technically the cruelty of the summer stemmed from "a desperate summer love that might be doomed from the start" and "some element of desperation and pain in it, where you’re yearning for something that you don’t quite have yet", and not whatever Kim Kardashian was doing on Twitter, but given how those two events occured basically simultaneously, it's not outrageous to claim both experiences informed each other.

In 2018, Taylor went on the Reputation Stadium Tour. Between shows, Taylor started working on Lover, getting into the studio with Joel Little, Frank Dukes and our favourite producer Jack Antonoff. For Cruel Summer, however, there was something special: Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, was a credited writer on the track.

St. Vincent had worked with Jack for her 2017 album Masseduction, so much like how Lana ended up in the studio with Taylor, we can safely assume that Jack brought the two together. On 6 June 2018, St. Vincent mentioned that she had reworked one of her songs from Masseduction, Slow Disco, into a poppier production with Taylor's support. With this in mind, we can probably assume that she had cross passed with Taylor around this time. Taylor was papped recording at Electric Lady (Jack's stomping grounds) on 18 July 2018, which lines up with this theory. [1]

The failed single push

I’m not trying to blame the global pandemic that we had, but that is something that happened that stopped Cruel Summer from ever being a single.

-- Taylor Swift after performing Cruel Summer on tour in Pittsburgh, 17 June 2023

Cruel Summer had been a fan favourite from the get-go. When Taylor held listening parties for a select group of fans, it was the song that most people had positive feelings about. When Lover (the album) dropped in August 2019, it was the third most streamed track from the album, leapfrogging I Forgot That You Existed despite it being the second track. People started to lament the... poorly-received lead singles the album had. (I have nothing kind to say about those two tracks so I won't say anything.)

Then for a while, nothing happened. Taylor released Lover and The Man as singles to various degrees of success. The Man's disappointing (by her standards) chart run probably reignited discussion about how Cruel Summer would have smashed if it were only given a proper push and the GP had understood its talent. Then COVID came along, Lover Fest was delayed indefinitely, and it seemed that the Lover era was over, replaced by Taylor locking herself in with Joe Alwyn and drinking wine.

Then June 2020 came around, and...

Now how do we know that this is true? Apparently, Cruel Summer was added to AllAccess, a website where radio programmers download singles serviced to radio. While I can't verify this myself, I have seen numerous independent sources claim that Cruel Summer was uploaded to the site specifically on 17 June 2020. [2] Some radio website also ran with the story in early June, so I am inclined to believe this.

And it's not like there weren't any official hints...

Top to bottom: Spotify "enhanced album" promo mural, You Need To Calm Down music video, Amazon Music commercial, Lover music video [3]

The catch, however, is the Cruel Summer never got an official add date. An add date is "supposed to tell [radio] stations when to add a record to its playlist". Without an official add date, stations usually won't play your new song unless it's really hotly requested.

So the song didn't get a full label push and quickly died off, despite getting some radio play in 2020 (from anecdotal evidence), not appearing on the charts. And then in July folklore came out of the blue, and with it ended the Lover era, and seemingly all hopes for Cruel Summer world domination.

A music video?

While Taylor HQ is normally as hard to infiltrate as Fort Knox, over the years bits and pieces of information have leaked about her intentions for the rest of the Lover era. Chief among them was, apparently, to officially release Cruel Summer as a single to accompany her live shows in the summer of 2020. A music video was even filmed, before being scrapped when Taylor moved into the mythical forest of folklore.

-- Official Singles Chart (UK), 27 June 2023

Well, would Official Singles Chart lie? They do say "apparently" though, maybe to hedge their bets a little.

The problem with this claim, however, is the timeline. On 27 January 2020, Taylor released The Man as a single. She dropped the music video on Feburary 28th. Assuming a similar rollout for Cruel Summer, the music video would've come out in July. Given how the pandemic had basically put all possible filming activity to a standstill in March, it seems implausible that a music video would be filmed that early in advance, especially without knowing that the pandemic was on the horizon. Or maybe it was fully CGI and filmed in the luxury of her LA house, I don't know.

But I think there's a different catch here. Note how the above source claims that Cruel Summer would have been a single to "accompany her live shows in the summer of 2020", namely Lover Fest. According to the planned Lover Fest schedule, by the summer of 2020 she would be performing in Europe, including headlining Glastonbury.

Now consider Taylor's usual single rollout. Fearless, Sparks Fly, Red and New Romantics were all the last or second-last singles pushed from their respective albums, all of which got tour videos. [4] It seems that given how Cruel Summer would be the fifth single pushed according to the original plans, it most likely would've gotten the tour video treatment as well. Which makes sense: imagine a music video with her performing under broad daylight to huge crowds at festivals!

Cruel Summer 2: The Return of the Hit

With the advent of the pandemic something interesting happened: people started re-discovering old songs and making them into hits again. Catalogue streaming amounted to a whopping 70% of all streams in 2022. Running Up That Hill, a song from the 1980s, went viral again thanks to Stranger Things and this new ability that

Maybe it was because people wanted something familiar to go back to in a world where nothing was familiar anymore. Who knows. Many other music critics have written better articles about this phenomenon. What does matter, however, is that releasing singles from an album from years ago was now commercially viable. Sia, Lady Gaga and The Weeknd all did it to various degrees of success.

So when Cruel Summer, a song which had been among Taylor's most streamed songs for a while, acted as the tour opener on the Eras Tour [5], it would only further gain in popularity from then onwards, even re-entering the Billboard Hot 100 before it was even officially promoted to radio. And so her label moved to capitalize on this trend, and finally released Cruel Summer as a single on 20 June 2023, almost 3 years to the day after its original planned release date.

The million dollar question: would Cruel Summer have smashed if it was released as originally planned?

I'd say no. The general public had already moved on from Lover as the lacklustre The Man performance demonstrates. Besides, without the accumulation of popularity that Taylor had with folklore, evermore, the re-recordings, Midnights and the Eras Tour, who know where her career would've been?

(By the way, even if Cruel Summer had been the lead single there is absolutely no way it passes Old Town Road for #1.)

Timeline

Summer 2018: Cruel Summer is likely written around this time.

23 August 2019: Lover is released.

27 January 2020: The Man is released as a single.

27 February 2020: The Man music video is released.

5-12 March 2020: According to Steve from the IC, band rehearsals for Lover Fest took place during these days, with a whopping 32 songs.

19 March 2020: California enters lockdown due to COVID-19. Taylor was living in Los Angeles at this time.

17 April 2020: Lover Fest is officially delayed.

27 April 2020: Taylor writes cardigan, her first collaboration with Aaron Dessner and the beginning of the concept of folklore.

6 June 2020: Steve posts that cryptic message about folklore, signifying that the album was mostly complete by this time.

17 June 2020: Cruel Summer is uploaded to AllAccess, incidentally the same day as Steve teases cardigan.

20 June 2020: The European leg of Lover Fest would have begun on this day.

20 June 2023: Cruel Summer is officially released as a single.

23 October 2023: Cruel Summer hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Conclusion

Stream Cruel Summer.

[1] Cruel Summer is also the only Lover song to be registered on the US Copyright Office with a creation year of 2018, rather than 2019, suggesting that it was an early cut. (credit: @taylor-on-your-dash)

[2] Surprisingly, people have also claimed that I Did Something Bad was added to AllAccess in a similar fashion.

[3] That being said, if we take that hint in the Lover music video as hinting towards a Cruel Summer single push, this also means Afterglow was also meant to be a single...

[4] Do not quote me on this, Taylor herself didn't acknowledge that chorus of Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince either.

[5] Getaway Car should've been here...

#taylor swift #cruel summer #lover

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consolecadet · 9 months

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This painting, "Trash Painting #3", just went up at ArtsWorcester for their show Eleventh Annual One. A bit about it:

mixed media art waste (acrylic, PVA glue, paper, cardboard, rhinestones, Sculptamold, and CA glue tube) on canvas board, 4" x 6" x 2", 2020 In my series "Trash Paintings," I only use materials left over from other art projects—unused acrylic paint lingering on the palette, sheets of half-dried glue from the morning after a papier-mâché session, snippets of cardboard picked off the floor. I assembled Trash Painting #3 from waste from a series of rhinestone-studded 'disco objects' I made early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Creating with waste emboldens me to explore textures and compositions I'm scared will be ugly. What's the worst that could happen? It's already trash.

See all the other art on the show page here. Ctrl+F for "TOO SENSITIVE", my friend Sophie's beautiful painting, and "Baking With Type 1 Diabetes", a mixed media assemblage featuring used diabetic supplies.

#my art #paintings #trash paintings #I gotta photograph and share the rest of these at some point!#I think I posted one before in the distant past #finished art

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hit-song-showdown · 11 months

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Year-End Poll #71: 2020

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: The Weeknd, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch, Dua Lipa, DaBaby and Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles, Future and Drake, Maroon 5, Maren Morris, Lewis Capaldi. End description]

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This is when the polls start to put me in a weird position. Because since we're currently in the current decade, it's hard for me to make assumptions about what this decade is going to sound like. But I'll try my best.

To address the elephant in the room first, this was the start of the Covid 19 pandemic (if you forgot). Are we able to see the impact of the pandemic on the charts? Maybe not in lyrical content (sadly, PlagePop didn't become a thing 😔), but we can see its influence when it comes to chart performance. With the lockdown making it impossible to (safely) tour and promote their music, many musicians had to find other methods. With social media now being the main way people listen to and discover new music and the rise of bedroom pop, this wasn't impossible. But still, many artists either postponed or shelved their releases this year. Which is odd, because the charts were moving incredibly fast in 2020. A song could make it onto the charts one week, and disappear shortly after. So not everything got to stick around, but the stuff that stuck really stuck. The Weeknd's Blinding Lights, for example, was the most-streamed song on Spotify in 2020, and to this day it still holds the record of the most-streamed song of all time. But that might seem odd to some people, since Blinding Lights was not released in 2020.

This isn't unusual. Due to how trends work and the way Billboard releases their charts in December, songs released later in the year often don't chart high until the following year. But I'm bringing this up because the chart of 2020 doesn't look like 2020. Like I said, Blinding Lights was released in November 2019, which isn't that unheard of. But then we have songs like Post Malone's Circles (2019) and Lewis Capaldi's Someone You Loved (2018). Rockstar and Life Is Good are the only songs featured on this poll that were released in 2020.

And as far as the sound of the 2020's goes, it's too early to say but from what I can see so far, the pop sound of the year 2020 centers more around homages to previous decades. We can see this with the synth wave influences in Blinding Lights, the nu-disco in Don't Start Now, the light funk of Adore You, and the interpolation of Pachelbel's Canon in Memories.

#billboard poll #billboard music #tumblr poll #2020s #2020 #2020s music #the weeknd #post malone #roddy ricch #dua lipa #dababy #harry styles #future #drake #maroon 5 #maren morris #lewis capaldi

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whatjanewore · 1 month

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Long Covid: Personal Style Edit

Friday is Long Covid awareness day. I've had Long Covid for about 18 months. The biggest impact it's had on me is that I'm no longer able to work due to my main symptom of "fatigue."

You might be looking at these pictures and thinking I look like my usual self. What you can't see is that taking them is the only thing I did yesterday. I had to spend most of the day resting.

Long Covid fatigue is like when your phone has a really low battery and there's no charger, so you have to decide: What am I going to do with my 10% of energy today?

And then you realize every tiny thing that you've luckily never had to give a thought to takes energy. Like talking, listening, thinking, sitting up, putting on clothes, looking at a screen, just being out in the world around other people.

And your energy level never goes up!

After about 11 months I saw some measurable improvement: My battery level increased, and it continues to improve slowly. I can do more now than I could a year ago, but I'm still not able to work. I'm trying to be very patient, but it's hard. I miss working. I had awesome colleagues and I love working with college students.

Let me tell you about my outfits.

In the skirt picture, savvy style-watchers might notice the "deconstructed" vibe. This is because that's how I feel: deconstructed. Like I have these baby muscles that can't even lift a six-pack of Diet Coke. The spiky shoes and bracelets remind me of those images of the Covid virus itself that we used to see at the beginning of the pandemic.

The disco ball earrings are because I miss dancing and I'm hopeful I will be able to again.

Wig picture: why am I wearing math leggings, you ask? Because math is the language of science and somebody please do some more science and figure out this Long Covid thing! And thank you to those researchers who have been working on it already.

Please note: Long Covid is different for everyone, there are over 200 symptoms, and many people are much more debilitated and have been living with Long Covid far longer than I have. This is just what it has been like for me.

Special shoutout to my husband King Kaufman, who takes care of me like a boss.

#LongCOVIDAD24 #LongCOVIDAwarenessDay #LongCOVID #ootd #outfit #personal style

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foxes-that-run · 5 months

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Mirrorball

Taylor said the entire song "This is me trying" is referenced in Mirrorball. It is about celebrity, a performer without an audience who makes art from her pain and can't stop. She talks about being a different version of yourself for specific people, to me this is also who she is with away from performing. It is a self-reflection song but also refers Harry and his Sign of the Times which is a similar.

youtube

Lyrics

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I'll show you every version of yourself tonight I'll get you out on the floor Shimmering beautiful And when I break it's in a million pieces

The opening verse is setting the scene that the song is about Taylor entertaining everyone with her glimmering performance where she sings about her pain and heartbreak.

Taylor also refers to breaking into many pieces in Big Red Machine's Renegade "And if I would've known / How many pieces you had crumbled into / I might have let them lay" while in Renegade it is her muse who is broken in Mirrorball it is herself.

Taylor is reflecting on how pain and heartbreak is what she is rewarded for, she talks about this in Miss Americana also

Hush When no one is around, my dear You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you Hush I know they said the end is near But I'm still on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you

This section is considering who she is without an audience, and who's attention she has in private, away from performing.

'hush, the end is near' is a direct quote of Harry's Sign of the Times, "Just stop your crying / It'll be alright / They told me that the end is near" I think she is relating to him and he is the listener.

In the Long Pond introduction she spoke about being a different version of herself for people. She is saying she is still performing for those in her life even when she is off stage.

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I can change everything about me to fit in You are not like the regulars The masquerade revelers Drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten

In Renegade she also refers to edges of broken pieces of emotion, there as her muse and here herself, being used to entertain in song. "And if I would've known / How sharp the pieces were you'd crumbled into / I might’ve let them lay"

This verse is reflecting on how she shows a different side of herself to different people. This muse is not like everyone else who marvels are her pain in song, this muse sees Taylor.

Which is interesting, Harry has a similar, though less flattering lyric in Fools Gold: "And I knew that you turned it on for everyone you met / But I don't regret / Falling for your fool's gold"

While in Fools Gold Harry saw that Taylor performed for everyone, he took that as him not being special and loved her anyway. Mirrorball is the reverse, she performs for everyone, but rather than marveling at her shining heartbreak like the other revelers he's there for her. It’s worth noting unlike anyone else in her life much of their heartbreak is shared.

Music for a Sushi restaurant is also similar, in that it comments that they are making music for others, but Harry would rather be together "Music for whatever you want / Scuba-duba-do-boo-boo I'm not going to get lost / I'm not going to go broke / Staying cool / (Know I love you, babe)"

And they called off the circus Burned the disco down When they sent home the horses And the rodeo clowns I'm still on that tightrope I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me I'm still a believer but I don't know why I've never been a natural All I do is try, try, try I'm still on that trapeze I'm still trying everything To keep you looking at me

Here the circus, disco and clowns are shows being cancelled by the pandemic/ In the Long Pond Session Taylor said this verse is about the pandemic, her shows were cancelled and she reflected on who she is without an audience and starting to drink.

I'm not a natural, all I do is try, try, try is referring to "This is me Trying", which Taylor notes in the Long Pond Session.

To me 'Still a believer' is also a reference to Hoax. I hear this section as without the ability to perform for her fans, Taylor is left to reflect on her personal life and who she wants attention from. She reflects her insecurities in her personal relationships

This is also in Say don't go, with the same muse "I’m standin' on a tightrope alone / I hold my breath a little bit longer / Halfway out the door, but it won't close/ I'm holdin' out hope for you to" this is so similar, and less matured than Mirrorball and Hoax where she is holding out faith this person will notice and love her.

In the Daylight Music Video, released after Mirrorball:

Because I'm a mirrorball I'm a mirrorball I'll show you every version of yourself Tonight

This returns to the beginning, Taylor puts her audience of 1 or 100,000 first, before herself.

#haylor #Youtube #folklore #mirrorball

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kyistell · 3 months

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@nohappinessinthisworld Alright I finally did it, NJ headcanons. I had fun doing these

New Jersey-

Refuses to try Poutine, says that it’s just Disco Fries but worse

Suffers every summer, he can deal with the heat but he doesn��t like it

Never fully understood why murder was so bad until around the 90s when some good friends of his got murdered

He doesn’t like hurting the OG13 since he considers them apart of his family, so whenever he does it’s a complete tonal shift for about a week

He doesn’t actually smell all to bad, just like a normal guy, but he can make it worse however it only affects the states

He REALLY hates rain storms, whether it’s tropical or a hurricane or just a storm with lightning he HATES it, he’s actually gotten a lot better since the 2010s since before he would just have a panic attack the entire time (York helped a lot with this)

His hair gets frosted tips whenever there’s snow sticking in the state, if it’s a lot of snow his face will get way paler, his cheeks blueish and his freckles look like snowflakes

“Jersey if you stab Colorado with your skate blade again I’m tellin yer Ma” -Mass every single time there’s a hockey game between NJ and CO

Was inducted into a knitting club by his friend who worked at the library, all the old ladies in the club are very nice and have helped Jersey get as good at knitting as he is now

While he has had a lot of hobbies over the years, he only has a few active ones, such as knitting and cooking and garden/farm stuff (hockey doesn’t count because it’s a lifestyle not a hobby, his words)

Is not a fan of the Nintendo Switch, only owns one because what else is he going to do? Transfer games onto the DS illegally? (yes but that’s besides the point)

Oh he has horns and a tail alright, but he doesn’t have them always, he can just hide them and whatnot so most of the states don’t actually know that he does, only the OG13 know because oh boy did he have horrible control over it as a young child

Was very confused when he found out that the other states don’t have family’s, that they just spawned out of nowhere, in his mind it shouldn’t be possible but it is (“You can’t just CREATE mass like that, just because magic exists doesn’t mean you can just IGNORE SCIENCE!!!!”)

While he cooks a TON at the StateHouse, he actually tends to eat out when at home, support local diners oh and Wawa and QuickCheck

Was very obsessed with demon magic and stuff during the pandemic in the StateHouse, listen he was bored and curious, it was stupid but fun

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