#so we’ll just have to see if there’s a 1989 tv one

[tsmerch]

I think there’s a strong chance they’re going to do cardigans for the rest of the re-records.

I think the Red TV one was a test to see how well they’d do- (hence why it didn’t have a patch that said ‘Red Taylor’s version’ they didn’t get a specific trademark for it)

I don’t think think they did one for Evermore/Midnights because hey wanted them to be there own thing outside of Folklore (or maybe it was just a trademark issue)

Maybe! But it doesn’t really make sense from a marketing perspective to start the cardigans with a new album and then only have them for re-records. I think they knew how popular they were and used Red TV as a test, and it went well. But we’ve seen many times that they don’t release merch we expect them to. I personally don’t see a legitimate reason for not having a midnights cardigan, from a marketing perspective. It could simply be that they didn’t want to or couldn’t get the design and supplier in time. 🤷‍♀️

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

The Eras Tour might be huge, but it’s part of something even bigger

Interesting article describing everything we've been saying for the past 18 months. Many long-term fans are starting to have a real ick in the face of the massive commercialised 'Taylormania' around the Eras tour and every new album release.

However you feel about it, it is undeniable that this is a first in the history of music. No artist has ever done what she's currently doing, and I don't just mean play a three hour long show for two whole years. I mean no single person has ever made their personal brand and life(story) this much of a product to be sold to the masses. And it's furthering a point many of us have been making for a long time: Since the release of Midnights in 2022, Taylor's public life has been one big piece of performance art, and the Eras tour is just the final act in a massive spectacle. The overexposure, the High School romance story, and everything that feels like an unnecessarily huge money grab, it's all on purpose, because the bigger the show, the bigger the impact when she flips the script.

And reminder that we've perhaps ignored the biggest hint that the Eras tour is part of a bigger performance: The stage is a key!!

And not just any key, a vault key! It unlocked the 1989 tv vault, which I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of yet. And may I also remind you that all the vaults have the lovers family crest on them, so I think we can assume these hold more secrets than just some unreleased music (or perhaps the unreleased music is in fact the secret). And once the tour is done, all the secrets will be unlocked. Karma is a cat and the cat will be out of the bag vault ;)

Our Little Miss Can-I-hint-at-something-three-years-in-advance said in 2022 “I want you all to pay attention to this first single that will become my biggest song of all time. And then I will play it out and become this loud, binge-drinking, glittery bodysuit-wearing, annoying, dumb bimbo, boy-crazy bully version of me and see if you notice. I will be so much in your face that you’ll want to kill me, and even at my funeral my sucky fan children will be at each other’s throats over my legacy. And when you think there’s nowhere to go but down I’ll pull the plug on all of it, but mind you, I’ll take everyone down with me who ever wronged or belittled me, because I’ve given this shitty industry 20 years of my life.”

One thing that came up in the article I distinctly disagree with though, and that’s the community. Sure, as a swiftie it must feel like you can’t possibly find real community or friendships in a sea of millions but in our little gaylor/kaylor bubble I’ve found the most amazing people, even if it originated in the trenches of our constant battle against the swiftie hate. And maybe we’ll have some room to breathe soon when we’ve finally lost the Sarah’s and Hannah’s. 😊 I can’t wait.

(Also just a btw, I’d love if it if she called the finished project ‘ Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me’.)

[kiss-me-muchoo]

𝐂𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬ú𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥 || 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐎’𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲_ On Halloween night, your jealousy puts in danger your relationship with Miguel. On Día de Muertos, Miguel and you are officially forevermore lovers, baking pan de muertos and building an altar.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬_ angst, fluff, new relationship!trope, shy!soft!Miguel, shy!jealous!reader, unnoficial part two of burning witches (you don’t have to read it, but highly recommended)

𝐀/𝐍_ 1989 TV is amazing!. One of my faves is You are in love, use the song with this

♪ ♫ My Miguel O’Hara playlist ✰ Index (+ fics here)

_____________________________________________________

How could you sit there eating vegetarian sushi and look so pretty?

Miguel was embellished, looking at your straightened hair and band graphic tee. You were talking about some movie you wanted to see with him while eating a roll of sweat potato, cream cheese, and other ingredients.

“Amor, are you listening?” How he could not feel embarrassed when you’re giving him a sweet smile.

“Sorry, I got distracted” You arch your brow, playfully.

“By what? Is there a pretty waitress behind me?” He rolls his eyes as you giggle, leaning to eat from his noddles.

“Actually, I was getting lost on how good you look today.” Now he chuckles after seeing you so flustered and avoiding his eyes with a mouth full of sushi.

“Ay, pero qué bonita” You swear your cheeks are going to explode because of Miguel and his constant flattering.

You won’t believe it's been a week since you two started dating.

“Ya!” You try to stop him from laughing at your blushed face.

“Okay pues, bonita” Both of you smile at each other. And even the people around you who are eating seem con motioned by the cuteness of your lover’s antics for you.

“So… this winter… Are you teaching me how to drive finally?” he eyed you briefly but ended up nodding.

“I guess so. Just… we’ll get you a junk car to start” You rolled your eyes. Of course, he didn’t trust you after telling him of that little accident from last year.

“Despite that, I’m okay. I want a vintage rav4. That was my childhood car, well… my dad’s but” he chuckled. There were a lot of moments where he found you being so cute and adorable.

“Sorry… I’m still learning to shut up.”

“No, hermosa. Never shut up” and there was his silly smirk that had you on your knees. In that instance, he unconsciously showed all the love he felt for you.

“I warned you. But… What are you doing on Halloween night?” Jess was hosting a retro Halloween-themed party.

You already had your vintage bat costume with shimmers and see-through fabric.

“Not sure yet…” his answer disappointed you a little. Of course, the relationship was new, but you really wanted to spend Halloween with him.

“Oh. That’s okay.” And then, your answer disappointed him a little. He was debating whether to propose something to you or not.

“You have plans…” you shrugged, finishing your sushi roll.

“Not sure yet” Your smile was honest. But only you knew that your reply was a way to protect yourself. You trusted your boyfriend, but you weren’t ready for an early first fight or related.

Neither of you proposed something to do together. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision…

…

Halloween day and you didn’t talk with Miguel. At least you knew he had a long mission and since you were done with your part, you left without having an opportunity to exchange words with him. He had been talking with a woman. Once you suggested him to hang out with him that night in the folkloric earth you almost got burned like a medieval witch.

Talking about witches, no magic tonight.

That didn’t stop you from attending Jess’s party.

“Girl, look at you…” Jess greeted dressed in a seductive mummy costume. Her baby was attached to her hip and also dressed as a little mummy.

“Hey, you’re holding a baby, Jessica.” She giggles after realizing what you meant.

“Yeah, and you showed up here dressed like that” Although your costume wasn’t as sexy as hers, it was very noticeable.

“What can I say?” Both of you laugh and finally, you enter the house.

“Drinks are in the yard, most of the adults are there. For the kids, fried stuff and pizza” You can see most of your younger friends there, playing games and eating.

“I think I’m in the mood for the mezcal and fried lasagna.”

“You got it!” As Jess leaves his baby crawling towards Gwen, who’s dressed like a zombie, you follow the host of the party outside. Promising yourself to go back inside and greet your friends.

“Oh my god! Peter!” You greet shocked. Peter was in an elegant Dracula costume. He looked very nice, in contrast to his usual disheveled looks at the Spider Society’s HQ.

“You showered!” The other guests laugh, and you keep greeting other coworkers and friends.

“Very funny. But you? Where’s your silly boyfriend I know you want to impress?”

“Not here,” you say laughing. And Ben is offering the mezcal you oh so desperately needed.

To be honest, you missed him. But you were a little proud and stubborn to admit it. Also, while you sunk all the possible jealousy about seeing Miguel and that spider woman talking earlier, you were a little afraid. Because deep inside you knew there would be some miscommunication problems with Miguel.

“Get comfortable. Peter was about to tell us his most spooky experience” Jess says appearing with a beer in her hand.

“Ready for it…” With that, the first round of alcohol began.

An hour later you are dancing with Margo and Pavitr. Then, every word Peter and Ben said made you laugh so hard. You think they’ve never been funnier than that night. And that was a lot to say. Especially from Peter who was naturally funny as hell.

…

You really wanted to pee. But you had been laughing so hard with Jess, Hobie, Ben and Peter. You are near tearing from the bad jokes and sassy comments floating around.

“Time up, time up. I’m gonna pee if I don’t go now.” Jess tells you where the bathroom is, and you start your way inside. And then you turn to the kitchen, your eyes wide open as you spot your boyfriend.

Miguel is there, all dressed in black, drinking a beer and laughing with Anya Corazón.

Jealousy makes your blood boil. But suddenly sadness floods you. The disappointment beats the anger, triggered by the high amount of alcohol in your system. Your brain knew it was silly and immature. But since the day of the sushi date, you had that little torn stuck, where Miguel wasn’t adding you completely to his plans.

As soon as Miguel spots you with teary eyes, you turn around, directly to the house door.

“Hey, wait up…” Miguel stops you a few steps away from the entrance.

“Are…Are you crying?” He asks when you finally face him.

You couldn’t help it. It was the insecurity of being with such a great and difficult person. So, you sigh, eyes all teary and a red nose tip too.

“Well. I had a really good time. And the last thing I expected on my way to the bathroom was finding my boyfriend drinking beers and laughing closely with a girl.” He sighs, his tall and broad figure covering your whole figure from any possible guest trying to see what is happening.

You looked very beautiful. He wasn’t even sure if Jess invited you, but how could have been so stupid? Of course, she would.

“I didn’t know you were coming” he admits. Calm tone, and a neutral face, but he avoids your eyes.

You look at him reluctantly. So, since he didn’t know he could be giggling and shit with girls? Nah, no way.

“Yeah… And that’s the fucking problem” you attack with a broken voice, leaving him there standing alone. Avoiding a fight.

He’s about to follow you. But he stays there, not even understanding what happened. But he questioned if it was over. A struck strike him in the heart. If he unintentionally hurt you, he would be fully disappointed with himself. Not on Halloween night. Not one day before a special one for him.

He would do things right.

But for the rest of the night, you don’t leave his head and thoughts in peace.

…

30 missing messages, 4 missed calls, and 5 voicemails on the next morning.

First, Jess…

Hey, why you left the party? Please call me, I need to know what happened.

Babe, Miguel told me what happened last night. He’s an asshole, but he loves you so much. Please talk to him.

Then Peter.

My dear friend, I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. We were having such a great time. Listen, Miguel will try to talk to you. Tomorrow is a hard day for him. We know our boy, he’s not good with words and feelings, but he cares for you a lot. I talked to him all night after you left. He wasn’t right, but you have to talk to him, he loves you.

It’s gonna be fine, honey. Jess, me, the kids, we’re here for you. Love you!

And finally, Miguel.

Mi niña hermosa, I literally have no words to explain what happened last night. I just need you to know that… I love you. We need to talk about this, please.

Please, y/n. Tomorrow is Día de muertos and… I don’t want us to spend the day with misunderstandings.

Oh God…

Miguel sounded like a big teddy bear, saying lovely words to soothe you. It made your heart flutter, and it increased your hangover.

“Fuck…” you whispered, rubbing your eyes.

Flashes start hitting you. Having a great night, then seeing Miguel with Anya, and basically leaving him alone. How idiot you were.

You could have talked like a grown adult instead of throwing a tantrum and crying.

But you felt weird since he avoided telling you his plans for Halloween.

And finally, it hit you.

Maybe Miguel didn’t tell you anything because the following day of Halloween was Día de Muertos. A special day for him to remember his kid. He barely talked about Gabriella though. But the brief moments where he mentioned her to you, were unmatched. He missed his little girl. And you couldn’t imagine the pain of losing a daughter. You couldn’t leave Miguel alone. Or at least without an apology.

What a terrible girlfriend.

However, that didn’t excuse him from his poor communication skills.

You would do things right.

…

From both sides of the door, there's nervousness rushing.

You tug the hem of your skirt, then you hurry to brush your hair and wait. Miguel’s heart pounds as he suspects it’s you who’s knocking on the door. Since he rarely received visitors. So, when he opens the door, he finds you looking extremely shy and blushed.

“I’m sorry. I acted so immature, and I know today is a special day for you. I brought some things for you to use. And I’ll leave, I just wanted you-”

He pulls you in a tight hug, making you shut up. Around three minutes pass and he still holds you in his giant arms. You feel there are no more words needed as if the hug was a mutual apology.

Miguel digs his nose into your hair, smelling your shampoo and he thanks life for getting you two back together.

“I just wanted you here today with me…” he mumbles on your lips, before diving back and kissing your lips.

Finally, without breaking the kiss, he closes the door and leads you to the living room. His sneaky hands twirl you to make it easy. As your fingers get lost through his soft hair, he leans closer, holding your tiny waist compared to his hands. Your permission is when he stops his hands from traveling further, but you make him hold your hips. So, it’s enough. He kisses you with a smile on his face. Until you end up playing on his grey couch.

To you, is a bed. To Miguel, is his couch.

You know you’ll get your humbling moment. An impossible blush to miss appears and makes your boyfriend smirk.

“You don’t deserve it” his voice sounds deeper, and it sends shivers through your whole body and soul. Maybe you were guiltier than him, but you were so stubborn to act all submissive now. The best you could do was to take and savor what he decided to offer.

“But I’ll give it to you anyways…” your hands pull his shoulders to smash his lips again. Miguel knows he can proceed once his eyes are closed. So, he starts venturing his lips across your jaw and neck. You let out the first moan, and you’re glad you decided to appear on his doorstep.

…

The bed is wet. Not much, but there are some water spots that feel warm and cold at the same time. There’s also your empty wine glass when you turn left. Nueva York is setting for the sunset. You smile, stretching and savoring the pleasure of the little nap you took. Then Miguel comes in, in some damn grey sweats and his naked chest, your smile grows. And you can’t help but think you want him again.

Thank God you’re naked.

“You just woke up and you’re already looking that pretty?” you giggle at his comment. Your hair must be curled thanks to the shower. To Miguel, you look adorable, all his and only his.

“Put some shirt on…” he chuckled, cheekily.

“What? Am I turning you on again, bonita?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” you hide under the covers laughing recklessly. And your heart pounds faster as you know he’ll likely scare you or something.

He does, and you have to scream. As you pop your head, you see him laughing.

“You just came out of the shower?” You ask him. Miguel probably washed your hair and took you out of the tub. Since you know you fell asleep as he washed your body in the tub.

“Not really. I just grabbed some things for the altar” his comment reminds you of what you’re celebrating that day. And suddenly you remember everything that led you to be there naked in his bed, and your heart warms.

“I’m sorry” you honestly say.

Miguel tilts his head, arms crossed, making him look broader than ever.

“I said it was okay, nena” he knows you want to say more. You make space for him to sit at the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, you said it. But… I want this relationship to succeed. I want to know we won’t go through this again.” He sighs, but quickly smiles, caressing your leg.

“It won’t happen again. Something bothers us, we talk” and just like that, you have your massive boyfriend kissing you all over. He said Anya was an old recruit, she was a good friend and lately, she rarely spent time on the HQ, so Miguel was happy to talk to her. And you blushed out of embarrassment.

“Can we go cooking now?” Miguel nods. After letting you go, he threw a big sweatshirt at you. It was dark brown and covered you from chest to knees.

“It’s been a while since I used the stove and oven…”

“Doesn’t matter, dear” As Miguel follows you across his apartment, he can’t help but notice how small you look in his place. And he reminds himself how weird you look in Nueva York, generally. You don’t belong to any specific earth. Chaos magic witches barely existed, and they never glitched.

You haven’t used magic in the last days since your last mission. Not even you had time to remember. Since the Halloween party, your mind had spun over your friends, Halloween, Miguel, her friend Anya, and your jealousy.

But soon he forgets again about it because you are eager to make pan de muerto with him.

“You can help me with the cream. We’re making a liquor and cheese filling” his mouth watered. Since he left his childhood home. He never did pan de muerto again.

His mother used to bake with some alcohol too, but the fillings weren’t very popular at the time. And now, being able to retake that tradition with you was special to him. His little girl would be very happy to his dad smiling again. Miguel mixes everything together and with a little spoon, he hands it to you.

“Is it good?” He asks shyly, you open your mouth, and he gives you to taste the filling.

“Wow, this is amazing, Miguel. I love it!” He smiles proudly. You are about to dip your finger in the cream to taste it again, but your man snatched it away.

“Hey!” He soothes your discontent with a new kiss. And you’re beyond shocked about how often Miguel was kissing you now. You let his tongue in, and between the rest of the cream and Miguel’s incredible kissing abilities, you had to moan again.

“Okay, pause. Or else we won’t finish” you explain, returning to the oven to see how the flour was getting puffy and the smell of orange filled the air of the kitchen.

Nueva York was welcoming the sunset early as the time was about to change in early November. So, the kitchen tiles reflect an interesting pink and orange illumination. Seeing Miguel placing the cream on a piping bag with the sunset in the window in front of him, makes you happy. The air is dry, and your nose feels dry too. There’s a warm wind that stumbles off the windows, startling you often, but it’s perfect.

You are in love.

…

“And… done!” You say lighting one last candle, you go back with Miguel to hug his waist and appreciate the art you two made. It’s a fucsia, orange, purple, and gold Altar de Muertos.

“This is perfect” Miguel admits. The altar has everything. The food; paletas payaso, bubulubus and picafresas. Then there’s a big plate of polvorones, flan, arroz con leche and agua de horchata. The candles make the pan de muerto shine because of the sugar. And the cempasúchil petals made everything look even prettier.

On the top shelf, Gabriella O’Hara’s picture was placed. She had a pink sweatshirt and her soccer headband. But her big smile and light blush are what made Miguel smile widely. He truly missed her. But he always knew having her on that earth wasn’t meant to be.

And now, he knew that thanks to that… he found you.

And who knows? Maybe Miguel could have a kid of his own in earth-928 someday with you. He had nothing to fear again. He knew you two were meant to fall into pieces together, just like it had happened. And Miguel also knew how proud Gabriella was of him. So, he was celebrating her short life. He would apologize every year from now on. But he would also use November 1st to remember how much he loved her.

Just like he did with you.

“Te amo mucho, preciosa” You raise your head to look at him in shock.

It was the first I love you. And he said it. But your emotion and love make you quickly answer.

“Yo también, Miguel” his head tilts to bump with yours in the most adorable way.

He walks away to grab something from the side of the altar. When he turns, he gives you a gorgeous bouquet of cempasúchil.

“I saved this for you” he scratches the back of his head, nervously.

“How did you know I wanted one?” It’s your smile that makes his days. And he intends to be a constant reason in the long term.

“I just knew. And when we were doing the altar… Fue tu carita la que te delató, bonita” Giggles and a blush erupt from you.

“Thanks, corazón” you thank him shyly.

Thankfully the sound of the oven makes you widen your eyes.

“OH! The rest of the pan” you squeal excitedly, almost running to the kitchen.

He follows you chuckling.

Soon, there are two plates of azulejos on the table, with two pieces of pan de muerto filled with liquor and cream cheese. Some candles are there too and the cempasúchil bouquet is now in water. As the pan starts to get less warm, you are softly kissing Miguel again. And for the first time in years, both of you are so happy to be celebrating Día de Muertos.

It wasn’t about death anymore. It was about love.

[doctorstethoscope]

You Are In Love || Aaron Hotchner x Reader

hiiiii friends <333 just wanted to write a little somethin'-somethin' in honor of 1989 TV, hope you all enjoy and everyone say thank you @hotchs-bitch for beta-ing

contains: minor angst, food consumption, reader wears a dress

word count: 4.6k

It’s late, you realize in the middle of your third yawn in as many minutes. You should be back in your tiny, musty hotel room, trying to get a few hours of sleep before your investigation kicks back off in earnest in the morning. You’re in the middle of some desert town in Arizona, where nothing like this string of murders has ever happened before; you’re determined to get to the bottom of it. 

Hotch is too, and that’s a big part of the reason you’re still here, you’re not too proud to admit. 

“Go ahead back to the hotel,” He’d told you a few hours earlier. “You can hitch a ride with Reid and Prentiss.”

“I could go,” you said, a playful lilt in your tone you could only let out when the two of you were alone. “But then who would make sure you ever went to sleep tonight?” You asked cheekily. You and Hotch were still a relatively new thing, only about four months into seeing each other. But given how well you already knew each other and how much time the two of you spent together, it felt like much longer. 

You’re adjusting into your seat, preparing to read over your case summary one more time when all of the overhead lights in the precinct go out, leaving you and Aaron in the dim glow of the emergency lights from the floor. You reach out for his hand instinctively, and he takes it in yours, looking over at you as he gives it a reassuring squeeze. He shifts into Agent Mode almost simultaneously, scanning the room for danger even as he looks to calm you.  He’s relieved from duty a few moments later when Chief Morrison, who you’d met earlier in the day, enters the room and flicks the switch. 

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he says. “We don’t usually have the buildings fully staffed this late into the night and the lights are on a timer.” 

“That’s not a problem,” Hotch answers easily, his hand subtly unlinking itself from yours. “We were just leaving. We’ll be back in a few hours.” 

“Don’t you ever sleep?” He asks with a raise of his eyebrows. 

“We make do with very little when something this serious is at stake,” Aaron explains. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

Chief Morrison leaves the two of you to pack up your things, and Aaron leads you out the door of the precinct with a comforting hand placed to your back. 

********

“Do you ever think about our first date?” You ask Aaron in the confines of his office one night as the two of you are preparing to go home.

Aaron’s brow furrows, not entirely understanding your question. “I mean, sure, I think about it occasionally, and about all the dates after, and how much I enjoy all of the time we spend together. Why do you ask?” 

“I just… it feels silly to admit it now, but I was so nervous, I feel like I almost hardly remember it. Like time was moving so quickly that I didn’t have time to commit it all to memory, and I wish that I had,” you tell him as you extricate yourself from the couch in his office and meet him in the doorway.

“D’you want me to perform a cognitive interview?” he jokes as he helps you into your winter coat, smoothing the wool over your back and then fastening the buttons for you. You could do it yourself, you both know this, but he’s tactile, and his touch is so tender and so warm that you could never push his hands away when he cares for you like this.

“No, I think that’s one line that you and I shouldn’t cross,” you tease him as he checks to make sure the coast is clear before the two of you walk out to your car. 

“You wore a very beautiful castleton green silk dress, and gold sandals. We split a bottle of wine at Le Clou. You laughed charitably at a stupid joke I made, and I made it my life’s goal to hear that sound as often as possible. I could barely finish my dinner because I didn’t want to stop looking at you. We took a walk after dinner, and we talked about everything and nothing at all, and after I drove you home, I walked you to your door and kissed you goodnight. It was a perfect evening,” he refreshes your memory as you walk through the parking garage. 

“Sounds like it,” you smile up at him shyly. 

He smiles back down at you. “We’re just getting started,” he whispers into your temple before dropping a kiss there to punctuate his sentence.

********

“Did you like boarding school?” You ask Hotch as he speeds down the freeway in Ohio. 

“What?” He asks, a little bewildered. 

“You went to boarding school, right? For a couple years in high school?” 

“Yes, I did. That’s not the source of my confusion,” he shakes his head. “We’re trying to find an arsonist and you want to know how I felt about boarding school?” 

“We’re an hour into this drive, still have an hour in front of us, and the radio sucks in Ohio,” you groan. “Indulge me.” 

“Did you like high school?” He asks, as if that’s an answer. 

“I mean, I didn’t hate high school,” you shrug.

Morgan calls with a new lead, interrupting your conversation, and you shoot him a glance over the center console, one that says this conversation isn’t finished, even though you had to put it aside to work for a few hours.. 

You end up separating once you reach Morgan– Hotch goes to investigate the lead and you head back to the site of the most recent burn to see if you can lose anything. The next time you see him, the two of you are preparing for a late-night stakeout at what you suspect will be the unsub’s next location. 

“We’re locked in with eyes on the back door,” Hotch mutters into a police radio as you settle into the passenger seat. It’s set to be a long night.

“Hold on,” Hotch says to you as he twists in his seat, reaching for something in the back. “I brought coffee,” he says, producing a thermos and a couple of cups. He pours one for you and you drink it gratefully as he makes his own cup. It’s good– too good, almost.

“Did you put my creamer in here?” You ask. 

“They had some at the station, I asked if it was okay if I used it,” he explains. 

“You drink black coffee, Aaron Hotchner. It’s a known law of the universe. The sun rises from the East. The tide comes in with the moon. Aaron Christopher Hotchner drinks black coffee.” 

He shrugs. “I’m not that picky, really.” 

You roll your eyes. “You’re too good to me,” you say, leaning back into your seat as you take another sip of your coffee. You’re fiddling with your necklace, watching the street lights reflect off of it and make patterns on the ceiling of the car when he speaks up again.

“I didn’t really like boarding school at the time, but I think it was good for me.” He answers your question from about 12 hours earlier. 

“Tell me about it,” you smile, taking his hand in yours and giving it a squeeze. 

********

You’re sitting in Aaron’s bed reading a book when it hits you for the first time. He emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, steam billowing from the open door to the en suite. You’re trying to be subtle but you can’t help but sneak a peek as he rifles through his dresser drawers for some suitable pajamas— not that you’d mind at all if he forewent them entirely. He tosses his clothes on the bed and changes quickly, and while you resist the urge to stare, you can feel his eyes on you. He comes to your side of the bed and leans over you. 

“Look up,” he instructs gently, and you comply. He brings one gentle finger to brush over the skin just underneath your eye, concentrating with all of the attention of a man who regularly holds people’s lives in his hands as a part of his job. “Eyelash,” he explains, showing you the culprit so you could blow it away. You look at him as you do so, his face so full of something that is equal parts content and exuberantly joyful that the thought comes to you before you can stop it, loud and consuming in the silence of your bedroom.

“I think I might really love this guy.” 

********

You wake up first the next morning, which is entirely unlike you. Your stomach grumbles loudly a few moments later, giving you a clue as to why you’re up so early. You slip out of bed as silently as you can, grabbing Aaron’s discarded button down from yesterday to throw over your shoulders as you pad down to the kitchen.

You may have gotten a little too ambitious with breakfast, you realize as you smell the toast burning. At least the bacon and pancakes are unharmed, you think as you turn towards the toaster, jumping a little when you see Aaron there.

“I didn’t hear you get up,” you say as he plucks the crisp toast out of the toaster. 

“I can be pretty sneaky when I have to be,” he teases you with a little smile before giving you a quick peck on the lips. 

“You don’t have to eat that, there’s pancakes,” you tell him as he reaches for the butter. 

“I don’t mind it,” he shrugs. “Did you start coffee?” 

You shake your head. “It’s better when you make it.” 

 He smirks at you, tapping at your hip to silently ask you to move so he can get to the coffee pot and start it. “Did you still want to go to the National Portrait Gallery this weekend?” He asks as the two of you sit down at the table.

“I do, but I know it’s not your thing. I don’t mind if—”

“I want to go with you. I told you I’d come,” he reminds you.

“I know, I just didn’t want you to think I was holding you to it,” you say, a little foolishly, knowing that there’s no one out there who makes Aaron Hotchner do something he truly doesn’t want to do.

“I’m a man of my word,” he reminds you, reaching for your hand and squeezing it. “It doesn’t have to be ‘my thing,’” he insists. “It’s important to me because it’s important to you.” 

He keeps a hand on you the whole time you walk through the gallery– whether it's on your hip, around your waist, or entwined with your own. He’s certainly not the first man to hold you, but it feels… different, when it’s him. Like you’re being treasured, rather than possessed. Like you’re a partner, not an accessory. It feels nice.

“We’ve got a good thing going, you and I. Don’t you think?” You ask him as the two of you leave the gallery. 

“I’d certainly say so,” he smiles. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

“It’s been a really, really lovely five months,” you tell him.

“It feels like there’s a but coming,” he says, a twinge of anxiety in his tone. 

“Not so much a but…” you try to assure him. “I’m just… scared. Not of you, I guess, but… I’ve been more guarded in other relationships. And I’ve still gotten hurt. I don’t want to be that way with you– but I can’t help but feel like the more I let you in, the more I’m ensuring it will hurt when you leave.”

Aaron stops in his tracks, pulling you into a quiet spot in a park alongside the sidewalk where you’d been walking.

“I have a couple points to make, the first and most important of which is the idea of me leaving being a sure thing,” he says, and he doesn’t sound mad, just concerned. You feel a little guilty anyways. He takes your chin in between his pointer finger and his thumb, tilts your gaze up to look at him. “I wouldn’t be here now if I was looking for a path out,” he promises. “We can’t stop other people from hurting us— as much as we both wish that all were true. I won’t pretend I haven’t thought about how wrecked I’d be if you left. But all we can do is trust ourselves to be able to pick up the pieces if we do get hurt.”

“I guess you’re right,” you say, and it does make you feel a little bit better– at least that he’s had some of the same worries. 

“And I’d ask you to trust me, too. I’m sorry if past partners have made that hard for you,” he says. “But I intend to be gentle with you, and to stay, even when it gets hard. For as long as you’ll keep me around.” 

You rise to your tiptoes and kiss him, right there on the sidewalk. 

********

“Are you insane?” You yelled. It had started as a civil conversation, or at least something resembling it, at least, about Hotch’s unilateral decision to enter a known hostage situation without backup. You need to calm down, you know this. The team is still in the bullpen, just down the stairs from his office, and the glass isn’t soundproof.

“Please don’t speak to me that way,” Aaron says, so calm that it triggers another level of rage you didn’t even know you had locked up. 

“I’m sorry, Aaron, but I’m going to need more of an explanation for today than ‘I had it handled,’” you demand.

“No, you really don’t. I am your superior, and I made a call. It’s your job to respect it, and if you can’t do that, I can sign your voluntary request for a transfer,” he spits out, and you’re almost too stunned to speak. 

“I cannot believe you even suggested that,” you hiss out. “I cannot believe this. You may be my boss, Aaron, but I thought I was your partner.” You call out as you swing his office door open, realizing then that the whole team had been listening. That was absolutely not how you wanted them to find out about the two of you. You rush down the stairs, brushing off JJ when she tries to comfort you, making a beeline for the door. It’s only when you get to the garage when you realize that Hotch drove you in today. Goddamn him. You call an Uber, heading back to your own apartment for the first time in weeks.

You knew it, you think to yourself as you dig into the pint of Phish Food that you’d bought yourself for dinner. You knew that he’d hurt you if you let him in far enough. That’s just how the world works; it’s a cycle of letting your guard down and learning why you shouldn’t. God, maybe you do need to transfer. You have no clue how you’re going to go back to work on Monday. 

A knock on the door of your apartment distracts you from your train of thought. It’s probably your neighbor, Mrs. Landingham, wondering why you haven’t been around for weeks. You swing the door open, expecting to find five feet and two inches of sweet old lady, and instead revealing a much taller man who clearly knows he’s in the doghouse.

“Can we talk?” He asks with pleading eyes.

“I’d really rather not,” you grumble. 

“Please,” he begs, and you relent, stepping aside to let him in. “I was unfair in the office. I’m sorry.”

“It was pretty unfair of you to walk into an active hostage situation with an armed unsub, too,” you grouse as you put the lid back on your ice cream and put it in the freezer, allowing him to follow you to the kitchen.

“You’re right. I owe the whole team an apology for that,” he admits.

“The argument can’t just be over because you’ve decided that I’m right about everything,” you complain.

“You weren’t right about everything. But you also didn’t have all the information, and you’re owed that,” he explains.

“I’m listening.” 

“The woman… her name was Haley, and she had a young kid inside with her, and I just…” 

He trails off, and suddenly any fiber of anger you had left within you evaporates into thin air. “Oh, honey,” you say, moving to wrap your arms around his waist. “You’re right. I knew, of course, but there was so much happening so quickly and I didn’t put all the pieces together.”

“That doesn’t mean I was right. Especially as a leader, I should have been able to put that aside.”

“And as your partner, I completely understand why you couldn’t.” 

“If you still want some space, I completely understand. I just couldn’t go to bed knowing there was so much unsaid here.”

You shake your head. “Take me home, please.”

********

You envy Aaron’s ability to just fall asleep anywhere. He tells you it will come with time, that enough nights on the road and away from home due to the job will toughen you up, make it possible to doze standing up if you have to. For now, you were left staring at the ceiling of yet another hotel room. 

His gentle snores from next to you help to soothe the wounds a little. You’d been together for a little over six months now, and you both agreed that things were serious and that it made sense to tell the team. Now that the cat is out of the bag, there’s no need to sneak around or spend the night in separate hotel rooms. 

Aaron stirs, and you look over at him, wondering if you should pretend to be asleep yourself. You decide against it, or, rather, you’re too enamored with the way the lines of his face all relax in sleep to remember to close your own eyes before his open. 

“You’re not sleeping,” he says, halfway between a statement and a question. 

“I tried melatonin, but I think I may need something a little stronger,” you admit. 

He makes a little face, one that you think is maybe him finding you endearing, and starts to sit up. “I packed Z-Quil for you, it’s in my backpack.” 

“Don’t get up,” you tell him, slipping out of his grasp to reach for his backpack. “You’re too good to me.” 

He waits for you to be back in bed, back in his arms, before he speaks again. “You’re my best friend. You know that?” 

He’s gazing down at you with so much tenderness that it almost hurts; the words he’s not saying are so clearly spoken by the look in his eyes that you can’t possibly help but defuse the tension with a kiss and a joke.

“For the perks I’m giving you, I’m one hell of a best friend,” you tease.

********

The lack of sleep catches up to you the next day after the case has closed. It’s early, only about 7pm when you’re flying home, but you just can’t keep your eyes open. You’re not quite getting restful sleep; you can still hear Rossi and Reid’s chess game and you’re aware of how silly you must look curled up into the jet window. However, you can’t be bothered to care, especially when you feel Hotch drape a blanket over you– you know it’s the one he keeps stowed in one of the cabinets by the kitchen. It smells like his fabric softener. You tuck the corner of the blanket into your chin and smile.

You sleep soundly for the rest of the flight home, and Aaron doesn’t even let you stop back in at your desk;  he just brings you to his car and leaves you nestled in the passenger seat for a moment so he can drop both of your things off.

“This is silly, Aaron. You don’t need to baby me,” you tell him when you get back to the car. 

“You slept for maybe five hours in the last three days. I certainly do need to baby you,” he insists as he pulls out of the parking lot, putting the radio on low on the acoustic station that you like. 

Despite your insistence that you’re fine, you fall asleep again on the ride home, and you don’t have any energy left to argue when he tells you to just head up to bed when you get back to the house. He detours into the kitchen but you don’t think much of it, knowing he must be hungry. You rouse when you hear him at your bedside table a few minutes later— in the dark of your bedroom, you can see that he’s left a peanut butter and jelly and some saltine crackers for you— knowing that you’re likely to wake up starving in the middle of the night. You roll over, reaching for him the moment he lowers himself to the bed and pressing a sleepy kiss to his shoulder.

********

“I can’t believe I’m wearing this to a holiday party. We need to take Jack to Alaska. Or the North Pole. We can’t have Christmas in weather like this,” you pout as you adjust the spaghetti strap of the dress you put on for the FBI’s holiday party.

“This is Virginia. It happens,” Aaron tries to console you as he places a hand on the small of your back to lead you out the door and to the car. “Besides, there’s snow in the forecast for Christmas Eve.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” you grumble as you settle into the passenger seat of Aaron’s SUV, peering at the display. “It’s literally in the mid-sixties, Aaron! It’s balmy. We may as well live in Florida.” 

He doesn’t respond verbally, just takes your hand in his and brings the back of your palm to his lips to place a brief kiss there before bringing your joined hands back down to rest on the center console.

You meet up with the rest of the team as soon as you get to the party, finding the BAU’s assigned table and sitting for dinner. Aaron makes the rounds to shake hands with some of the higher-ups before the first course, but you’re  more than happy to sit and chat with the girls while he did so.

After dinner is always dancing, which usually started slow and got rowdier as the night went on and the upper brass filtered out.  You’ve just wrapped up a dance with Rossi when Aaron wraps a hand around your wrist. 

“Come with me,” he says, urgent but not anxious.

“Come with you where?” You ask.

“Just come on,” he says, guiding you gently towards a door. He guides you to the courtyard, towards the gazebo. You can hear the music from the ballroom faintly in the background as he places a hand on your waist to lead you in a dance.

“Are you scared to dance with me in front of people?” You asked with a sarcastic little smile. 

He scoffs. “Just you wait.”

“Wait for what, exactly?”

“You are so impatient,” he teases as he dips you by the waist. As he lifts you back up, you see what you were waiting for— big, fat, snowflakes, falling slowly towards the ground. They melt as soon as they make contact with the ground, but that doesn’t matter. 

“Oh,” you let out a satisfied little gasp. “It’s just perfect,” you say as the two of you spin again. 

“Told you It’d be worth it,” he smirks.

“How did you know this was coming?” 

He shrugs. “Christmas miracle.” You level him with a glance and he comes clean. “I can read a radar map, angel. We’ve got maybe one more song before this turns to rain.” 

You look around, taking it all in before you have to run for cover. “It’s like we’re in a snowglobe,” you smile. 

“Like I said,” Aaron repeats. “Christmas miracle.”

********

You don’t like to brag, but your coworkers were all badasses. You went toe-to-toe with serial killers, interviewed convicts, got into the heads of the world’s worst individuals. But you all had the exact same soft spot, and her name was Penelope Garcia.

Which is how the monthly BAU Book Swap came to be. You all circled up in the conference room and talked about what you’d read over the last month, and pulled a name out of a hat to see whose book you’d go home with. 

“Hold on!” you say as Garcia prepares to start. I need a highlighter, give me one second.” 

Hotch’s office is closer than your desk, so you trot down the hall and pull at his lap drawer. As you do so, you look up at his desk space, seeing a new addition— a picture of the two of you from a recent weekend away in a silver frame. You let out a deep sigh of gratitude as you grabbed a blue highlighter from his stash and headed back to the conference room. “Sorry, carry on,” you said as you reached for Aaron’s hand under the table, giving it a little squeeze.

You ended up pulling Spencer’s name out of the hat, and you almost hold your breath as you wait to see what he’d read this month. 

“I read the Odyssey,” he tells you, and you swallow thickly before he continues. “But, honestly, I didn’t really like it that much. So I brought a copy of the Hobbit for the swap.” 

“I have to admit I’m a little bit relieved,” you tell him. “What didn’t you like about it?” 

“I just had a hard time buying into it,” he admits. “I mean, are we really supposed to believe that the love of one person started an entire war between Greece and Troy?” 

You look at Hotch across the room, deep in conversation with Morgan about his pick. “I believe it, Spence.”

******** 

You’re making dinner together when the words start to slip out of you. “Can I say something?” You ask. 

“Of course you can,” Aaron says, looking up from his chopping. “Something good, or something bad?”

“No, no,” you dismiss any worry he might have. “Something good. I, uh. It feels almost silly to say it. Especially now, with nothing going on, just the two of us making dinner,” you ramble. You’ve tried to phrase this perfectly in your head a million times. “I wanted to tell you exactly right,” you say. You weren’t planning to just let it tumble out of you as you stirred a pasta sauce. “Except, I’m not sure if I even need to say it out loud, because it’s just so… known? Between us. Like I don’t even need to say it, because it’s so obvious. But it feels like one of those milestones, one of those things that’s supposed to make me feel exactly as nervous as I feel right now, so I guess I’m supposed to tell you—”

“I’m in love with you, too,” Aaron says as he sprinkles a little bit of basil into the sauce you’re stirring.

You’re too stunned to speak for a moment, the only sound you’re able to make is a confused “What?”

He stops in his tracks. “I am so sorry– was that not what you were—”

“No, no, it was,” you insist. 

“I should have let you go first,” he apologizes.

You laugh. “No,” you assure him. “No, that was perfect. I’m in love with you,” you say it aloud for good measure. You know that you don’t have to.

tagging: @spacecowboyhotch @honeybrowne @angelfxllcm @rousethemouse @infinite-tides @gspenc @anlin2058 @zetasaturno99 @realdirectionx @witheldclouds @sbeno22 @el-vs94 @hausofwhores

[taylorrepdetective]

We went from “still just getting to know each other” to full on fanfic courtesy people mag in exactly 14 days. Do you think this could mean it will be short lived? Seems to be moving fast.

I don’t know what is going to happen because I don’t know what her goal is beyond simple publicity for the movie and 1989 tv (and just in general being seen dating a man which is important for her image and for selling music) and we’ll have to wait to see how it goes. I still stand by it likely to be short lived but whether that means November or March, your guess is good as mine. I think I’m currently leaning more in the March direction as being most likely, but it could be tomorrow or it could be forever or whatever she said in Blank Space.

In case anyone’s keeping count, I also have pretty much settled on all of this being well planned out in advance, including his appearance at the July KC tour in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been planned for a very long time, just like Matty was.

1) have them linked publicly (for Travis it was the concert and friendship bracelet digits story). Sit back and watch the reaction, and give it a bit of a push in the right direction. With joe this was all done retroactively, after their relationship was “accidentally” leaked we found out they hung out in Oct. With Matty this was done over the course of late 2022-early 2023.

2) soft launch it by announcing an appearance ahead of time to get all eyes on it, while planting stories that they’ve hung out a few times, to establish a timeline back into the summer (august 1ish). Have her publicly meet his mom and get her approval. Again, with joe this was done retroactively, where we found out she had pined over him all summer and their anniversary was sept 28, and we’ve even now got a hook up on Aril 29. For Matty, she met his mom in stage 1), then this stage was her announcing the break up on Matty’s bday, and then planting stories that they were dating, that he’d go to Nash and there’d be PDA, and then stories that she thought maybe he was the one who got away, and had quietly been in love with him for almost a decade.

3) launch, but keep it casual. There’s still time to back out if things go poorly. People have time to get used to it and talk about “are they or aren’t they” serious, and you can control the narrative via media outlets and inside sources to set people up the way you want them to lean, all without even having them seen together more than once or twice. Set up a casual photo of them that seems to taken without their knowledge in a private moment. (Balcony with joe, private club with Matty, after party in KC with Travis.) This is far as she got with Matty then she cut her losses. Or I guess you could argue they had spilled into step 4). It’s a spectrum. With joe, again this was done retroactively but also the summer of 2017, no one knew how serious they were until secret sessions/rep came out.

4) hard launch during movie opening weekend. WE ARE HERE. For Matty this was probably supposed to happen during speak now release. But who knows. For joe it was reputation’s release.

5) Optional: push things hard until enough people seem to be generally getting tired of it. I assume this is next with Travlor. No idea how long this will last. Days or weeks I think. With joe this wasn’t a big deal because of the privacy narrative. No one could get tired of something they never saw (though they could get bored of it which was ok at that stage but boredom is the opposite of what she wants now.) With Travis I think this stage will be more of an important thing. If you go back to Calvin, this stage was most of their relationship.

6) cool things down so then people talk about “are they or aren’t they still together?” This was a constant with joe. I think this was just at the end for Calvin and the answer was they weren’t still together.

7) relaunch so everyone is excited to see them again. Steps 6-7 happened a lot with Joe naturally because of the privacy narrative. Will travlor get to this stage? I think so but it will be much accelerated. Like nothing for a week and people will wonder. Then, bang, she’s there again. Something like that.

8) ongoing: periodically lightly escalate the seriousness of the relationship. We’re already in this stage and it will continue. There is current chatter about her house shopping in KC. The usual (she actually BOUGHT a house one time for a man. And remember her Scottish castle, and how she and joe were constantly buying a London house for 6 years including furniture shopping right before they broke up?) And there will be constant talk of settling down and getting engaged.

9) and on and on until it ends. We could zoom through these stage over the next 2 weeks, or in seemingly endless loop of stages 6-9 for two years. No way to know until it ends or they get married, have 10 kids and teach them how to dream.

10) optional: black swan event. All bets are off.

I think it’s likely she’ll go to a couple of more games, and be seen spending as much time with him as reasonably possible before her next tour date. They need to “get to know each other” and “enjoy this fun honeymoon stage while they’re both smitten” while she can. Keep in mind her SA tour section is only 3 weeks long, and he could even potentially go to Argentina on his off week, so that’s not really enough time for the “their busy schedules were too much” excuse. Possible but you know not as likely. Then she’s off for for a couple of months again. Imagine the fun they can have over Christmas. We’ll skip the island vacation around new years or star-studded New Year’s party this time because he’ll still be playing football, so imagine her at playoff games. She’s getting literal millions of dollars in almost free publicity from this, and no matter how many people want to say she’s getting negative attention or being over-exposed or whatever, I don’t see it that way at all. It’s going very very well. All for the price of a few hours of her time and some jet fuel. So, like I didn’t see any reason for her to end it with joe because he was serving his purpose, I see no reason for this to end. Until she has reached her unknown-to-us goal.

There is a lot I can’t see or know, so these are just my best guesses based on what we’ve seen so far and what I see on their schedule for the next few months, and of course, my belief that this relationship not real.

[karlie-what-you-want]

I'm going to try to word this correctly, because I'd like your take and I don't want my point to be misconstrued. The tldr is: I'm kinda bummed 1989 TV is such a commercial success. Here's the long of it. 1989 was my favorite album for a long long time and I was of course, excited to check out the vault. But I feel like these numbers are based on hype, not on product. Which is... fine, commercially speaking. Go girl, make those dollars. But... the result is a receipe. What perfomed the best for a long time is a record that was heavily branded by a stunt with a boy(band). What has now performed the best was a re record dropped in the middle of a tour that was completely overshadowed by the boybranding again. I feel like the rush was a mix of weird Haylor gossip thirst, football dude easter egg hunt, return of girlsquad branding... I admit, it stings that 1989 TV didn't even get a promo interview, a music video, or anything. (No, but we didn't forget the merch drops, tho!!) And it makes me sad, because... folklore, man. That had ZERO hype. Bam. There. And we ate that shit up. We loved THE MUSIC. I want the wild ride to be the music. And 2023 feels like Taylor has fully retreated inside the Taylor Swift TM persona and we're buying the TS Brand, not Taylor's music. What I was hoping for was: more 1989 vibes on vault songs, more "directed by Taylor Swift" creative expressions. What I got was: Ken and Barbie on tour. I'm sorry this is kinda rambly. I know anon asks don't take into account line breaks so this will be even more confusing. But. Yeah. I'm just a bit bummed out and I was wondering if anyone else was a bit disapointed, too? I mean. I genuinely don't know. Do people enjoy the soap opera and I'm the only one who's only turning up to check out the shoes Taylor wore in candids and for her artistic expression? Maybe I'm the weirdo. The market certainly seems to say I'm not in the majority.

Hi Anon 💕

I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way, and I can absolutely relate! It can be really difficult to separate the stunts from the music on a mental and emotional level. It’s something I still struggle with occasionally, and when the music is something so personal to you, of course you can feel protective or even disappointed when the PR goes off the rails. That is completely valid!

It saddens me that any fan would feel the shine of Taylor’s actual work has been dulled by the PR schemes.

I, too, am surprised that we haven’t seen any music video for 1989 TV yet, but I’m also not completely convinced that the book has been closed on that front. Let’s wait together in hopeful anticipation 🤞

I don’t blame you at all for how you are feeling, but I think in times like these, the most helpful thing for me is to draw that mental boundary—whether it’s a boundary between the music and the PR, or myself and the PR. Sometimes, I just don’t check the news, or I scroll away quickly if I happen to see something. These stunts are a lot, so when I feel myself becoming overwhelmed, I really try to shut down my mournful thoughts with a “NOPE! That’s not good for me right now” and then scroll away, or shut my phone off, or turn on Taylor’s actual music instead.

I am in love with 1989 TV. I’ve had it on repeat since it dropped, and hearing the vault tracks especially makes me so happy. I feel like there’s a real story there—things we didn’t get to see when the album originally came out. I have to imagine that even now, there’s so much happening behind the scenes that we can’t know. I’m just grateful for the chance to peek a little farther behind the curtain for a period of time that was very special for the T Swift community.

Lastly, regardless of the PR stunts, this drop has been huge for Taylor. Perhaps we’ll never know for sure whether that’s because people have come flocking for her music itself or they’ve grown curious due to the over the top PR, but I have a feeling that Taylor doesn’t care much either way. I think she’s at peace with the way she gets her attention, because at the end of the day, people ARE listening to her music. If they saw her at a football game cheering on some meathead and got curious enough to check out 1989 TV, what they will discover is a woman with great intelligence, a depth of emotion, and an insane amount of talent. That is just to say, it will always be her music and talent that shines in the end.

I’m reminded of YOYOK, where Taylor sings I looked around in a blood-soaked gown and I saw something they can’t take away.

No amount of stunts or bad PR (or good PR!) will change her undeniable talent. Even better that 1989 is truly Taylor’s now. I just find it comforting that regardless of how people find Taylor or why they first buy her music, they will get to enjoy it for the beautiful work of art that it always is.

Sending love, anon! You are not alone in your feelings, I promise 💚💛💜❤️🩵🖤🩷🩶🤎💙

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

Here—for comparison—are the stolen 1989 benchmarks. I am going to pin and edit this post as we smash them (🙏🙏🤞🤞🕯️🕯️)

Some of the these are just “her 2nd AOTY Grammy”, “2 already released tracks” and “5 vault tracks” so there are not 9.

1. 3 No. 1 Hot 100 Hits

Prediction: She is going to knock HERSELF out of #1 this week! I don’t know if we will get three over time, but 1 for sure, and maybe more.

Actual: we got 1, with It Is Over Now? but Cruel Summer is unstoppable! So that might be it.

2. 5 Top 10 Hot 100 Hits

Prediction: She’ll once again take the entire top 10. Not sure what will happen with Cruel Summer in the mix, or for how long she can maintain it.

Actual: During the first week, she had 8 in the top 10, 7 of which were from 1989. It’s wild to see Style charting on the top 10 again. All 5 vault tracks landed in the top 10, along with Bad Blood (thanks Kendrick) and Style, plus Cruel Summer.

3. 1.287 million copies sold in its first week

Prediction: She might surpass this in pure preorder sales alone. I am excited to see how high this number goes when non-preorder pure sales and streaming get in the mix.

Actual: 1.653 million, surpassing not only original 1989 (and Rep) but even Midnights and its 1.57.

4. 11 Total Weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard 200

Prediction: We’ll get a few, maybe 3 or 4? If we approach 11, they’ll be non-consecutive with the holiday season (and Mariah Carey) about to disrupt the charts.

Actual: As of Nov 12th, we had 2 consecutive weeks at the top (sorry Jungkook).

5. 12.3 Million equivalent album units to date

Prediction: This will take a while, for sure. But I have faith that steady streaming numbers will one day allow TV to overtake the stolen version.

6. $250.7 Million gross on the 1989 World Tour

Prediction: Since the Eras tour will gross billions by its conclusion, I think that 1/9 of the gross (aka the share of EACH era, lol) will top $250 million. We’ll have to check back in 13 months’ time!

Go team 1989TV!!

[lovesongbracket]

Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

Chasing Cars

Written By: Jonny Quinn, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Nathan Connolly & Gary Lightbody

Artist: Snow Patrol

Released: 2006

Cover included: The Wind and the Wave, 2015

This slow-building ballad is Snow Patrol’s biggest-selling single. A main driving force behind the song’s success was its inclusion at the end of the Grey’s Anatomy Season 2 finale. In an interview with Take 5 Gary Lightbody says: “The track wasn’t even featured on the iTunes top 100, and then an hour after the show, it was number 1. So that’s the impact of TV right there." About the song, he said in a interview with Rolling Stone: “It’s the purest love song that I’ve ever written. There’s no knife-in-the-back twist. When I read these lyrics back, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’ All the other love songs I’ve written have a dark edge."

[Verse 1] We'll do it all Everything On our own We don't need Anything or anyone [Chorus] If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world? [Verse 2] I don't quite know How to say How I feel Those three words Are said too much They're not enough [Chorus] If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world? Forget what we're told Before we get too old Show me a garden that's burstin' into life [Verse 3] Let's waste time Chasing cars Around our heads I need your grace To remind me To find my own [Chorus] If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world? Forget what we're told Before we get too old Show me a garden that's burstin' into life [Bridge] All that I am All that I ever was Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see I don't know where Confused about how, as well Just know that these things will never change for us at all [Chorus] If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Wildest Dreams

Written By: Shellback, Max Martin & Taylor Swift

Artist: Taylor Swift

Released: 2014 (re-recorded 2021)

Alternate versions included: Grammy Museum, 2015; 1989 World Tour, 2015

The ninth track and fifth single on 1989 is about Swift hoping her lover will remember their best moments after they’re over. It expresses mixed feelings: hoping that they last, but knowing that they’ll end. In the US, the song reached number five, becoming her fifth consecutive top ten from 1989. Swift spoke to Rolling Stone about how this song differs from her previous love songs: “I think the way I used to approach relationships was very idealistic. I used to go into them thinking, ‘Maybe this is the one – we’ll get married and have a family, this could be forever’. Whereas now I go in thinking, ‘How long do we have on the clock – before something comes along and puts a wrench in it, or your publicist calls and says this isn’t a good idea?” Swift suddenly released the re-recording of 2014’s “Wildest Dreams” after the original version became part of a viral TikTok trend in the summer of 2021. Swift explained on Twitter following the release: “Hi! Saw you guys got Wildest Dreams trending on Tiktok, thought you should have my version”

[Verse 1] He said, "Let's get out of this town Drive out of the city, away from the crowds" I thought, "Heaven can't help me now" Nothing lasts forever But this is gonna take me down [Pre-Chorus] He's so tall and handsome as hell He's so bad, but he does it so well I can see the end as it begins My one condition is [Chorus] Say you'll remember me Standin' in a nice dress Starin' at the sunset, babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say you'll see me again Even if it's just in your Wildest dreams, ah, ha Wildest dreams, ah, ha [Verse 2] I said, "No one has to know what wе do" His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room And his voicе is a familiar sound Nothin' lasts forever But this is gettin' good now [Pre-Chorus] He's so tall and handsome as hell He's so bad, but he does it so well And when we've had our very last kiss My last request it is [Chorus] Say you'll remember me Standin' in a nice dress Starin' at the sunset, babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say you'll see me again Even if it's just in your Wildest dreams, ah, ha (Ha, ha) Wildest dreams, ah, ha [Bridge] You'll see me in hindsight Tangled up with you all night Burnin' it down Someday, when you leave me I bet these memories Follow you around You'll see me in hindsight Tangled up with you all night Burnin' (Burnin') it (It) down (Down) Someday, when you leave me I bet these memories Follow (Follow) you (You) around (Around) (Follow you around) [Chorus] Say you'll remember me Standing in a nice dress Starin' at the sunset, babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say you'll see me again Even if it's just pretend Say you'll remember me Standin' in a nice dress Starin' at the sunset, babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say you'll see me again Even if it's just in your (Just pretend, just pretend) Wildest dreams, ah, ha (Ah-ah) In your wildest dreams, ah, ha Even if it's just in your In your wildest dreams, ah, ha In your wildest dreams, ah, ha

[snoopysfriendwoodstock]

midnights truthers rise. her absolute worst album. so mediocre, nothing but a collection of vault tracks (derogatory). may she move on from jack antanoff forever, i'm begging on my knees. what made folklore/evermore so 100/100 (except from closure, iykyk) was aaron. he pushed her and it showed. jack keeps her stuck in 2014. who knows how quickly her next album will come out, i hope she does something so different, i'm tired of jack's influence and her mediocre pop lyrics. i still cannot believe she really wrote 'cat eye sharp enough to kill a man' at her age and in the year 2023. i remain shocked.

something else i've been thinking: the fast turnover. maybe that's the problem? such quick production, album after album after album...and it's reflected in the quality of the work? what do u think? maybe she needs to take a few years off and i'm so serious, i would wait even 3+ years for a GREAT album and not just another ok one.

i also don’t love jacks influence but i wonder if it’s less of his production that does damage and more of him being a yes man? totally speculative. it’s weird bc there are songs i LOVE his production on and songs i HATE. i LOVE norman fucking rockwell and melodrama. HATE midnights & lover for the most part. maybe it’s the fact that he and taylor sort of built her pop sound together but jack has come into other artists songs where they already have a clear identity? idk! i think abt this all the time. aaron absolutely pushes her to make better art and i wonder if it’s bc he’s very much of the scene of people she wants to impress/the people who are usually most critical of her work but he’s clearly so supportive? his work on the speak now tv tracks is IMMACULATE!

honestly idk about the turnover. i feel like she’s always written this prolifically and is now more in charge of her own work and doesn’t have to be stuck in an album cycle the way she used to be. i also think the turnover is from covid since she wasn’t releasing albums and anticipating a tour or anything. i like getting new music so frequently, but i can see the argument. i imagine after the eras tour we’ll return to the two year album cycle like what happened with rep/lover but maybe she feels happier releasing things as she writes them? i think part of the problem is that she wants it to be the 1989 era again imo. now that she’s blown that success out of the water, i wonder if she’ll stop chasing that success? but midnights sold soooo much so i fear we’re stuck w it. i think Taylor is at her best when she has something to prove. speak now is incredible and she wanted to prove she really wrote her songs, fearless is amazing and it was her making herself known as an artist, 1989 is a pretty perfect pop album and it was her trying to prove herself as a popstar, folklore is incredible and it was her trying out a new sound + doing no promo for an album… idk! i think she needs to try a new sound again, really want to achieve something besides chart status and sales

[allamericansbitch]

i definitely think not having a strong relationship to an album helps with liking the re-recordings. - agree. I guess we’ll see how I feel about 1989 because that’s my favorite of her albums. I’m in the minority and actually like wildest dreams tv so I’m hopeful. Although if I’m totally honest, it took several listens to get used to it.

yeah honestly ive just learned to not have high expectations so maybe we'll be surprised and her pattern of weird production choices lessens with this new one

[maylorscardigan]

hold up…

girl… you’re WRITING A BOOK?

or two books….

What are they about?!?! Give us deets! What stage of writing are you in for them? You said one is inspired by 1989 tv… how?!

Two. Sorta.

One has been heavily planned and has more little details added daily - this one will likely take the longest as it’s so complex. It’s hard to give a synopsis of it even though I’ve written a lot because it’s always changing. I will say this much:

It’s a modern day fantasy but the names of countries we have in our reality don’t exist in my book. I’ve created a world with 10 states - yes, one loosely inspired by a Taylor album but none of the titles or anything related to her is actually mentioned. It’s focused around a girl, a princess, who is the spare for the royal family of a major “European” country and its a journey she goes on to find her own place in the world. She has magic powers but doesn’t really understand or know about them until she’s older. There’s betrayal by family, by loved ones, two villains I absolutely fell in love with etc. The story keeps changing so, again, hard to really give you a concrete idea of what it’s about lol. I only started the process for this one in July.

The other one is sports romance (REAL football) that deals with a ton of different topics and issues like long distance relationships, body image issues (she’s voluptuous), abusive relationships, unhealthy family issues, invasiveness of media / fans etc. I have a very old draft of this book per se that I wrote years ago and I tied in a Mafia aspect to it. Whether or not I do it with this version… we will see. I’m writing this one more of a pantser style so we will see what comes naturally as I write. Music is also a huge part of the story. This one is still in its infancy so we will see how it goes. I am going to use this one as the NaNoMiRo challenge even if I’m starting late so we’ll see how that goes.

It’s always been a dream of mine to become a writer so… who knows what’ll happen. I’ve had a ton of head injuries in my life that made it difficult to write… including an abusive relationship that affected my brain so badly that… it’s like part of me died in that relationship. Hard to explain. Even if no one ever reads these books and I just write them for myself… I’m okay with that. But the goal would be to get published, for sure.

[warmglowofsurvival]

Twenty One Pilots On Playing MTV Unplugged, Their Favorite Episodes And What They’re Doing Differently

The duo are the latest act to perform on the TV institution

Written By Daniel Kohn

MTV Unplugged performances, at least during its 1989-2001 heyday, were among the most watched and influential events in music programming. If you were on Unplugged, you made it. Though its influence has waned as artists have moved away from traditional television as a whole, the show’s legacy remains firmly intact. Now a quarterly event, MTV enlisted Twenty One Pilots as the next artist to perform on MTV Unplugged.

The show is unlike any other Unplugged predecessor. Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun don’t “unplug” in the traditional sense, but they stripped down their songs to create completely different versions than what’s made them radio staples in the past half-decade or so.

A day before they recorded their set in front of an intimate audience at Exchange in downtown Los Angeles, we caught up with the band for a quick chat at a nearby hotel where they broke down all things MTV Unplugged and what new wrinkles folks could expect on their episode.

SPIN: What does playing MTV Unplugged mean to you guys, considering the legacy and the history of the bands who have played it before?

Tyler Joseph: It’s pretty cool to be a part of it. I think that it’s got a long history of showcasing an artist or a band in a new way. On its surface, it feels like you should just be playing on an acoustic guitar. More than anything, this series has turned into being able to see an artist or a band in a different way than they traditionally present themselves. Taking an opportunity like this, to reinvent how we would present ourselves has been challenging, but also, in a sense, reminded us of why we love to play music. Sometimes you can get into this rut of just performing your shows the way that you’ve always performed them. And then when you’re forced to kind of rethink how to present them, you kind of fall in love with them into the songs all over again.

Josh Dun: MTV Unplugged has been such a cool form of discovery. People who talk about Unplugged will often reference a performance that actually got them into the band. It’s a cool way to get inside of an artist’s performance and see it in a different light.

How long does it take to rehearse and get a show like this prepped compared to like a regular performance?

Joseph: About a month and a half. It’s not like we’ve been rehearsing for that time, but mentally prepping. The concept that we’re applying to this is, it’s kind of unplugged, but it’s almost the opposite of unplugged, where we’re plugging in all of our instruments. Traditionally, Josh and I perform to pre-recorded tracks so that we can focus on our performance and connecting with the audience. What we’re going to do for MTV Unplugged is we’re actually going to build out and play each part of the track in real-time, looping and building out that track. By the end of the song, there will be new and different versions of our songs that’s never been heard before. There was a whole roadmap of “How do we pull this off? How do we learn the technology?” But then also, the creative side of what do we want these songs to become and making them sound really unrecognizable at first until we start saying the lyrics. It really took a lot of planning before we even got into rehearsing it. That’s why it took longer than you would think.

What was the first MTV Unplugged episode you watched as a kid?

Joseph: The Nirvana Unplugged. It’s crazy. Alice in Chains was amazing. More recently, I watched the Liam Gallagher one. It’s a long list of awesome artists and bands. And we’re excited to throw our hat into the ring.

Liam Gallagher one or the Oasis one?

Joseph: Liam, why what happened on the Oasis one?

[Shows them a video of Liam heckling Noel from the audience]

Joseph: Maybe that’s how we’ll open our set. I’ll start in the balcony.

Dun: Perfect!

How did you decide on that one?

Joseph: When the music video was released, it was at a pivotal moment in our career. We were still very much a local band, and seeing that video just rocked us. When that song came out, right around the time where we really put our heads down and decided we’re going to do this thing [the band]. The timing of it has always been a part of our journey, so we thought it was cool to commemorate that.

[zipzin]

Stolen Hope - Also on Ao3

Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow (TV 2012) Rating: Gen Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe Characters: Ava Sharpe, Sara Lance, Team Legends Additional Tags: Season 3, Crack, A little bit of hurt Summary: If she's lucky, the Legends won't notice her, but when has Ava ever been lucky.

Ava hears them before she sees them. Sara, Nate, and she guesses a miniaturized Ray enter into the museum atrium outside the Hope Diamond exhibit wearing the most absurd fashion. Nate is wearing a black t-shirt that is both too tight and with sleeves too small, while Sara is wearing a bright blue suit jacket, complete with shoulder pads and teased hair that Ava is pretty sure she’s the only one that can pull off. They can make fun of her pantsuit all they want, but at least it is discreet.

Any idiot could spot them in a ten mile radius.

Her eyes narrow when Sara spots her, a manic grin on her face as she waves goodbye to Nate and strides over next to Ava.

“If it isn’t my lovely fiancee.” Sara calls a little too loudly.

“Shut up,” Ava hisses out, “What are you doing here? And we are not fiancees. We can’t even be married in this time period.” Can’t she have a little bit of respect for the timeline? Did she forget she traveled to 1989?

Sara clutches her chest, “You wound me. You accept my marriage proposal and then try to deny it ever happened.”

“Do you want to create another anachronism?”

“Oh relax, people will just think we’re joking. No one pays attention to anyone else.”

Ava huffs, “And why are you here?”

“Did you fall down a couple flights of stairs recently? Obviously we followed the anachronism here.”

“But why this one?” Ava hates the whine in her voice.

“I thought you’d miss me,” Sara grins. “Don’t want my fiancee running off.”

“You’re impossible.”

“But, I can be impossibly in love with you.” Sara says and then flushes red, “I mean, we can work together on this one since we’re both here.”

“Fine.” Ava grits out, “Only because I don’t want you and your team completely screwing this up. This is an extremely delicate situation.”

“It’s only a level 3,” Sara bristles.

“The anachronism is from the future, we have limited information on what capabilities they possess, the only known is that they possess a gas that knocks people out, and in some cases kills them.” The anachronism had only registered because the only one killed had been some random actor who was still a child.

“We’ll be good,” Sara promises.

Ava had her doubts, “Where’s the rest of your team?”

“Amaya and Zari are on the ship,” Sara confirms, “Firestorm is working security, Mick is lingering around the entrance, and Ray and Nate are trailing Hayden.”

“Hayden?”

“The actor that dies?” Sara frowns.

“Right,” Ava nods. “That guy.”

“Are you sure you didn’t fall down some stairs?” Sara takes a step closer to her and Ava feels her face flush.

“I’m fine,” she insists.

“You didn’t read the target’s name?”

Ava scoffs, “Like you guys read, you just have the robot tell you everything.” And so what if she’d skimmed past the actor’s name, it wasn’t like that was really relevant. It was obviously a random attack.

“AI,” Sara corrects, “And it’s name is Gideon.”

“Whatever.”

“This is why she doesn’t like you,” Sara says, “I know you know her name.”

“Gideon.” Ava repeats as she rolls her eyes. “Happy?”

“No-” The rest of Sara’s retort was cut off by what Ava figured was someone talking through the comms. “Thanks Jax. Stay in position and let me know if there’s anyone else weird. Mick, trail him.”

“What?” Ava bumps her, “What are they saying?”

Sara’s eyes dance, “Hmmm.”

“Lance,” She bit out.

“It’s Captain.”

“Captain Lance, what did your team say?”

Sara smirks at her, eyes dancing across Ava’s face, “Suspicious person just entered the museum, Jax and Stein tagged them during the security check. Mick’s following and Nate will meet up with him.”

There’s a maintenance hallway through that door,” Ava nods towards the white door just to the left of them.

“Okay, so lead them there. I’ll follow your lead.” Sara relays their plan over the comms.

“Come here,” Sara then drags her against the wall.

“What are you doing?” Ava hisses.

Sara rolls her eyes, “We need to get into position. And look inconspicuous.”

“Oh right, two women, it’s totally inconspicuous in this time period.”

“Ava, gay women have existed forever and it’s 1989 in Vancouver Canada, we’re not exactly in Salem. And, no one is going to be paying attention to us. Which is the point.”

Sara adjusts Ava’s hands so one was just above her butt and the other was wrapped around Sara’s shoulders. “Now, act like you enjoy spending time with me.”

“I’m not a professional actor, Lance.”

“Ha ha,” Sara deadpans.

Sara’s body presses into hers, fitting smoothly despite their height difference, and Ava feels her face burn. It wasn’t hard at all to stare into Sara’s bright blue eyes and pull Sara into her.

“The man will be here soon.” Sara whispers into her ear, hot breath cascading a shiver down Ava’s spine.

Sara leans back, and Ava sees her eyes dip down her face. She absentmindedly licks her lips. Her wrist buzzes and Ava slams her head against the wall.

“He’s here.” She mutters.

“Where?”

Ava glances at her Time Courier, the readout displaying the presence of future tech in the direction of a man with a bulky backpack and bizarre looking sunglasses. “There.”

Sara nods first at her, and then at Nate who was hovering in the hallway that leads away from the Diamond. The man took two more steps forward and Sara spun.

In one moment, Sara was leaning up against her, and then next she was twirling towards the man and putting him in a headlock. Ava barely has time to open the door and Sara shoves the anachronism inside. Ava lets the doors shut behind them.

“The fuck?!” A man’s voice sounds.

“It’s over,” Sara says. “Come quietly and you won’t get hurt.”

He kicks out, a leg connecting with Sara’s knee and she releases him with a forced whimper. Ava reaches out to grab him, when he pressed a button on the side of his glasses. A metal mask slides down and covers his face, and he points his fist at Sara.

A cloud of white gas hisses out, and Sara falls to her knees, holding her neck as she begins choking. Ava comes on the other side and punches his jaw. The mask crumples like foil and he drops his hand. Immediately, the gas stops and he runs, sliding underneath Ava’s attempts to grab him and races out the hall.

Ava catches Sara as she falls face forward, and turns her over. Her skin is rapidly paling and her breathing is raspy and hollow as one of her hands claws at her throat. Ava places her hand on her chest, and after a moment feels the dull thud of Sara’s heart. Each beat gets progressively slower.

“Fuck,” Ava mutters.

Ava picks a twitching Sara up, noticing for the first time the museum alarm was blaring. The man had disappeared. Ava peers through the doors, and nods for Nate.

“She’s out cold,” Ava says as he runs over, “We need to get her back to your ship. The suspect-”

“Ray’s tailing him, he got the diamond.”

“What?!”

“Um, yeah, not important, let’s go.”

Not important? Ava held back the urge to yell at him, because they need to get out of there. “Let’s go through here,” Ava says, nodding at the maintenance hallway. The atrium was quickly filling with security guards.

“Let’s go.”

Ava hardly remembered getting back to the Waverider, but suddenly she was standing next to Sara as Professor Stein hooks her up to the medical bay.

“How’s it look, Gideon?” Jax asks.

“The gas is shutting down her lungs,” Gideon comments, “I am counteracting that and will push it out of her system.”

Everyone nods with an air of relief.

“That’s it?” Ava asks as she stares at the screens on the wall. She wasn’t sure where she was supposed to look to address Gideon.

“That’s it, Agent Sharpe,” Professor Stein says sharply.

Ava bit back a huff, “Alright, understood.” Sara looks so small where she rests in the chair illuminated by a faint, blue light. The twitching had stopped when she’d first been strapped into Gideon’s system and now her chest slowly rose and fell.

“Ray’s trailing the guy,” Nate says, “He’ll come back once he knows where the guy’s holed up.”

“Good.” Ava mutters, “We won’t be able to memory flash everyone who was at the museum, but once we get the diamond back we can replace it.” Everyone but Mick nodded, “And then the museum can scramble for an explanation.”

“Is that okay?” Zari asks, “Aren’t we supposed to fix it?”

Ava sighs, “We lost the chance for precision. The museum can take care of the fallout.”

“Sounds good.” Amaya says.

“Now what?” Mick grunts.

“We wait for Ray to return.” Ava answers. Mick nods and exits the med bay followed by Amaya and Zari.

The screen above Sara starts to rapidly beep. “Gideon?! What’s happening?” Professor Stein commands.

“Captain Lance’s heart accelerated as I purged the last of the toxin from her system.” Gideon answers. The beeping stopped.

“Is she alright?” Jax asks, a touch of panic in his voice.

Sara’s eyes twitched open and everyone held their breath, “Aww, did you guys miss me?”

“You know we can’t do this without you, Captain.” Professor Stein’s hand fell away from his heart.

“Captain Lance, the toxin is purged from your system.” Gideon announces.

Sara grins at Professor Stein. She still looks a little pale as her eyes roam the small crowd that was in the medbay. She frowns, “Ava, you’re still here?”

“Your fiancee was just organizing us.” Jax adds.

Ava froze as every eye trunks to her, “Glad you didn’t die.” She settles on.

Sara shoos the rest of the Legends away from the medbay, “Me too.”

“The anachronism got away but I damaged the mask he was using. I don’t think he’ll use the gas again, but we should be careful.”

“We?” Sara repeats.

“Well, I, um,” Ava sputters.

“You can go back to the Bureau, we have this handled.” Sara says, fiddling with the chunky wrist strap, “I’m fine, Gideon said so. No more toxin.”

“But-”

“Go.”

Ava’s jaw clenches, “Goodbye.” And with a snap of her wrist opens a portal.

She paces around her office as she checks the anachronism map again and again. It was now a level five, but hadn’t changed since she’d arrived. The Legends hadn’t blown up anything.

Yet.

“Ava, hi,” Gary pokes his head in, “You seem really tense, can I get you anything? Coffee? Juice? Water? A massage?”

“No!” Ava yells at him, “I’m fine!”

He quivers back, “Okay, sorry.”

Ava massages her temples. “Wait, Gary, sorry.” She sighs. “You know the Legends, they just make me so, ugh-”

Gary nods, “angry.”

“What?” Ava frowns, “No. They can never do anything cleanly! Did you know they were at my anachronism today?! Sara gets hurt and then kicks me out of the mission!”

“She can do that?”

“No,” Ava grit her teeth, “I just let her do that! How could I? That undermines everything the Bureau stands for!” She fiddles with her Time Courier, ready to open a portal back onto the Waverider, and takes a deep breath.

No, she wasn’t going to go crawling back to Sara fucking Lance.

The anachronism map beeps and Ava races over to, cursing to herself when it is just a notification about a situation in Japan.

“You know,” Gary says, “I have some paperwork I forgot to complete.”

He backs out of her office.

“Okay, fine Gary.” She restarts her pacing.

The door opened again not long after.

“What is it Gary?” Ava grumbles.

“Do I look like Gary?” Sara laughs.

Ava whirls around and frowns, “Who let you in here?”

“Gary.” Sara smiles as she rounds Ava’s desk and takes a seat in her chair. “Comfy.”

“What do you want?” Ava asks, fingers itching as Sara picks up one of Ava’s pens and begins to twirl it around her fingers.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to join us on our mission? Ray’s back with the ananchronism’s hiding spot.”

“Are you allowed to go out?” Ava asks.

“Why do you care?”

“I’m not having someone die on my watch due to medical negligence.”

“I’m fine,” Sara says, eyes rounded, “Gideon gave me the all clear.”

Ava frowns, that wasn’t convincing at all. “Fine, I’ll come.”

If she didn’t then the Legends might end up killing their Captain.

“Excellent,” Sara grins and pulls Ava over. She grabs the wrist with the Time Courier.

“Hey!”

A portal is already opening and Sara motions in front of her as if to say, ‘after you.’ Ava bites down a growl and walks through.

It leads to a dusty warehouse, with fading sunlight barely illuminating it. The rest of the Legends crouch against some rotting wood and tarps.

“She came.” Mick grunts out. “You owe me twenty bucks.”

“Later,” Jax hisses.

“Alright Legends, let’s get hope back.” Sara says.

“Ugh,” Zari says next to Ray, “That was terrible.”

Nate grimaces next to Ava, “He’s in that room.” He points at what Ava could only assume used to be a breakroom.

Sara nods at Jax, already merged with Stein, to stand next to the door. “I’ve got your back fiancee.”

Ava doesn’t mean to yell, “I am NOT your fiancee!”

There is a beat of silence.

Whoops.

The door bursts open, the man holding a gun and his arm up. The mask is still extended down his face, but there’s a stripe of duct tape where Ava cracked it.

“Great.” Sara sighs.

“Sorry.” Ava mutters, though it was doubtful anyone heard her as gun fire peppers through the air.

The group ducks down, as Mick and Jax return fire. Ray takes off flying and adds some barrages of his own. Ava peeks out, as the man swung his gun up to try and hit Ray, and sees that he was beginning to fill the room with the white gas.

“He’s risking the gas.” She says to Sara.

Sara nods, “Firestorm, fly up with Ray, continue firing.”

Ava and her creep around to cover his exist, and with two well placed volleys, Firestorm and Ray had him on the ground. Ava races over and secures him, pulling out the Time Bureau issued handcuffs and handing them to Sara. She clanks them on without ceremony.

“Um, good work Legends.” Ava says.

“Did she just say good work?” Nate mutters.

“Always happy to provide our services,” Sara says with a smirk.

Ava drags the man up by his collar and nods as Sara pulls out the Hope Diamond from his backpack. “I’ll take him back, you can return that,” She gives Mick a hard look and then salutes them, opening a portal to the Time Bureau as she turns.

The portal snapped closed behind her. A salute? Ava groans to herself and shoves the man towards the holding cells.

“Are you against marriage?” The man asks.

“What?”

“You hated being called a fiancee-”

“Oh shut up!” Ava says as she passes him off to another agent and memory flashes him.

Please, she prays, let the Legends never show up at one of her anachronisms again.

[la-lauren]

Dani arriving tonight and me listening to Clean as my first song from 1989 TV feels like the closure of one chapter and beginning of another.

Dani said she’s getting us a bottle of Dom when we land in LA on the 1st — a celebration of the start of our life together. The smile that brings to my face? Priceless.

I’m not scared. I’m not anxious with her. I’m not confused about where I stand with her. I feel wholly loved and at peace. I feel supported and cared for. I feel confident she will support me in this move too. I don’t think I can fail with her behind me.

I didn’t know there was love like this out there for me. I didn’t know someone like this could just fall from the sky all because I like to argue in defense of Taylor Swift for hours on the internet.

And I love her wholly, deeply, purely.

I am still in awe of the sex and love reconciliation too. I just thought I could never be present and loving in a sexual situation.

She has flipped my entire life on its head for the better.

I can’t wait to watch this story unfold. I can’t wait to see what my new life will look like with her.

We have five months before we can move in together. We’ve talked about how that means we’ll be sneaking around like teenagers. I haven’t mentioned it to her, but I’m even excited for that because I didn’t sneak around as a teenager. I wasn’t having sex or doing drugs, any of the coming of age stuff. I was reading the Bible with my gay boyfriend.

She is bringing out a younger version of myself I thought I’d lost touch with. I have youthful joy again. It feels like a do over of sorts.

I’m so happy and thankful.

I pick her up in an hour, and I’m so excited.

[stedesbonnets]

I've been listening to a lot of Taylor recently and I'm really excited for Speak Now TV, what's your favourite era and do you have a song you listen to and you're like "wow that's about *a character*" because I listened to Mastermind today and was like wow this is literally about Stede doing everything he could to impress Ed and make him stay around, not realising that Ed was falling in love with him the entire time because Ed seen who Stede was and loved every part of him. Also I'm nervous about the panel I truly wish the questions are screened but I don't think they will be, I hope everything is cool and goes well

I’m SO excited about speak now I will admit I don’t appreciate it nearly enough but it’s a SUCH a good album. Enchanted is one of my most favorite songs of Taylor. My favorite era used to be the 1989 one because it was the first album release I experience but only now I realised what a draining and exhausting era it was for Taylor. I really think my fav now is everything post rep to now, it just makes me happy to see Taylor healthier and happier. The folklore era is really special for me, so I guess it is my fav.

God paper rings is such a Stede song to me. Hoax is a big Ed song for me too, and labyrinth. Your interpretation of mastermind is so interesting! I’ve always thought about it as an ed song

I definitely think the question will be screened because I assume they’re the big part of the panel, it’s the possible teaser I’m worried about. Either way, I’m sure we’ll all have a good time, it’s always so fun to see the fandom bonding over these fun times

<33

[taylorrepdetective]

why the denial before tho? 🤔

There was no denial of the rumors. The main rumor was that they hung out a couple of times. The denial from her side was clear and straightforward they were not officially dating. There is an implied “yet” there. As in: it may or may not happen why don’t you keep tuning in to find out? “Hung out a couple of times” does not mean officially dating, so in a way it was almost a confirmation of the rumor. The story was that there was mutual interest and they were feeling things out/hooked up (casual sex.) Then him inviting her to the game is the equivalent of him going public with his further interest in her. Next we will see if they are “officially dating”. I would guess yes.

Look at it in contrast to the Matty rumors. For them it was “she has always pined for him and they are head over heels and they want to be public and not hide like she did with stifling joe. They’ve even written songs about each other.”They had a ton of mutual friends who played along when he came to tour and went to the studio. Then her mouthing “this is a about you, you know who you are, I love you” during Cardigan was confirmation of those rumors. She felt like he may be the one who got away so she pounced the first chance she had. Then they hung out several times including holding hands, and then she kind of backtracked a bit and said it wasn’t serious because things looked really bad because he’s a misogynistic racist asshole. But they continued hanging out a couple of more times. Then she very clearly ended it as soon as he went back on tour, making it sound like it was never that serious, hoping we’d all forget how it started. So it started hot then burned out quick.

So this is just two different ways of starting things. There may or may not be a definite plan for how things go. It might be “let’s feel this out and see what the public reaction is.” Or it may be be “let’s date for X weeks or months and then re-evaluate.”

My best guess is we’ll see them 2-4 more times. But I don’t know. We just have to wait because we don’t know exactly what she’s trying to get out of it. Publicity for the movie and 1989 Tv, and maybe through the football season? (My best guess) Or more of a long-term boyfriend thing (I think unlikely.) Watch and see what the “reliable” tabloids say this week about it.