New Reading Https://youtu.be/4hsmu79cQug?feature=shared

I know nobody here really cares that much, but since 1989 (Taylor’s version) came out my fyp has been all about her & Harry, and so many of the videos are like “GASP was Harry one of the bad boyfriends?!”

And as someone who’s never felt any type of way about Harry, I think I like or at least respect him a little bit more after the vault tracks? Especially “is it over now?” Because I’ve seen a lot of clips of this man talking about Taylor over the years, and I’ve never seen or heard him say something disparaging or complaining about her writing songs about him. In fact, I’ve only ever seen him be like “hey, it’s her life and if she’s written anything about me, I’d be flattered. She’s so talented.” And this isn’t a new reaction, like there are interviews from that year where he says something to that effect and honestly?? Pop off, Harry.

They’re friendly enough that I’m sure he’s heard these songs before, or at least knew that she had some less than flattering ones in her back pocket, and was still like “yeah, no, I’d be honored. Are you kidding?” Like he was 20 or something when they were together and 20 year old boys are awful and shitty and apparently he’s talked about the fact that he’s a bad boyfriend before, so I love that this entire time he’s shown a level of emotional maturity and respect for her that fucking John Mayer refused to. It would’ve been so easy for him to be a dick about it, and he never was! It seems like he just went “I treated you like shit. You’re totally valid in this. Go off, queen.”

I’ve been laughing imagining him listening to the vault tracks and the “if she’s got blue eyes I can surmise that you’ll probably date her” line and being like “fuck, bro. She really called me out like that on main? Damn. I should send her flowers or something.” And then “now that we don’t talk” I can literally see him hearing the line about her mom and going “aw, Andrea. I always liked her. I hope she’s well. Fuck it, somebody send her flowers too.”

As somebody who knows nothing about him and never really got into 1d or paid close attention to his career, only passively enjoyed his music, I think these song’s coming out vastly improved my opinion of him 😂

Taylor performing “You Belong With Me” at the Eras Tour, Glendale

when do you assume two ghosts was written and when they fell apart? i just have a hard time believing it was harry the ultimate factor to them breaking up and i think maybe yes, he wasn’t sure he could do a committed long term serious relationship because he knew their careers and their situations didn’t allow them that. so he couldn’t make promises he might not be able to live up to and didn’t fight “harder” to make it work instead of accepting their circumstances

well i have settled on a full story of haylor’s end. like not a “here’s a couple ideas but we’ll never know the full story.” question gave me the whole story

in january after the party, she asked him to try again. for real. because she was in a better place and she wanted to try, she didn’t want to live her life the way she had resigned herself to only having casual hookups.. she wanted to try something real again. And he basically said that he couldn’t. that he was willing to be her “good time guy” (stealing phrasing from private practice). And she was like “I want more than that” and he was like “I can’t,” which is where we get Perfect. He might never be the guy who is there for something real, but he can be the guy who can deal with the camera flashes and the songs for some troubled fun confined to the liminal spaces of hotels. And then she was like “okay well no” and then he didn’t think she would move on………… but she did. and fast, even. and that’s why calvin was so devastating for him. Because he genuinely thought he was calling her bluff. and then there’s this song where she’s like “you know what you little twerp. you healed something in me for half a second and I saw colors I’d never seen before and not seen since. I thought we had something. but when it was too much for me, you let me walk out, and then you never fought even when I wanted to try again so where do you get off getting upset that there was no bluff to call? I hope it feels nice to settle, because you chose this.”

Is it Over Now? so perfectly describes the rollercoaster and uncertainty of an on off relationship where you keep thinking “ok it’s definitely over now”!and then end up hooking up again, so clearly it wasn’t, and while each of these “was it over when..” should’ve been the moment the end was sealed and yet .. none of them were .. and you are left wondering .. is it over now? I can’t think of any song that addresses this so well it’s just perfection

every anti-taylor swift tumblr post: she writes boring pop music with lyrics that paint her as a perfect girlboss queen

every time taylor swift writes a song: have i become one of your problems / you don't want to know me i will just let you down / the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me / never take advice from someone who's fallen apart / you can't talk to me when i'm like this daring you to leave me just so i can try and scare you / i had the shiniest wheels now they're rusting / every single thing i touch is sick with sadness / they see right through me can you see right through me i see right through me / did i close my fist around something delicate did i shatter you / when i break it's in a million pieces / i broke his heart 'cause he was nice / there are so many lines that i've crossed unforgiven / put on your records and regret meeting me i bent the truth too far tonight / can't not think of all the cost and the things that will be lost / i drew curtains closed drank my poison all alone / do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there / to a house not a home all alone 'cause nobody's there / why'd i have to break what i love so much / i wounded the good and i trusted the wicked clearing the air i breathed in the smoke / i should not be left to my own devices they come with prices and vices i end up in crisis / i miss who i used to be the tomb won't close / in my defense i have none / i'm a mess but i'm the mess that you wanted / here i sit alone behind walls of regret falling down like promises that i never kept / what will become of me once i've lost my novelty / everything that's mine is a landmine

Everything you said regarding haylor is right. This is why I have a pet peeve when people use MR to haylor edits. If anything they were both midnight rain and that's what drew them closer. They were constantly looking for light in other people to balance the darkness. Their relationship itself and the parallels between them as individuals is what makes us still talk about them. Not because we think they are meant to be. Harry and Taylor fandom has the biggest crossover of fans because there is an undeniable/unintentional mirroring that fans are unintentionally drawn to. I lost the count regarding the number of people who compared HsH and 1989 era and overexposure(though T had it worse because of misogyny). There is an unintentional parallelism in their music even when the songs have nothing to do with each other. They are the BIGGEST male and female pop artist RN and through their music we know they struggle with similar issues (listening to AIW and Dear Reader back to back is one hell of an experience. ) Which is why they need partners who can give them stability and comfort. T knew it after 1989 era and found it. And considering the way HsH era has gone I won't be surprised if harry came to a similar understanding. (And I hope he finds it someday). Like you said they were meant to meet because without these dead end streets Taylor wouldn't have met joe.

people have used "he was sunshine/i was midnight rain" for...harry...??? "chasing that fame, he stayed the same"????? how

i love what you said about them both being midnight rain, they really are - and this JUST made me connect ttds/midnight rain to changes, the song harry gave to cam. "there is a town, somewhere down a country road/I see it now, I take it everywhere I go/the river sways, I can almost hear it now/as if to say, "You're not the only one who wants a way out"/so, I go 'cause I don't wanna feel like I don't know you anymore/I memorize those roads.../God bless the young hearts sippin' cheap wine/Gettin' drunk with their friends for the first time/Thinkin' nothing's gonna change/'Til everything changes/They never leave/They're all havin' babies now/Watchin' daytime TV/Livin' off the gossip of a cruel small town/So, I go/'Cause I don't wanna feel like you don't know me anymore/Don't recognize my face," and that's very connected to love of my life too: "take you with me every time i go away, in a hotel usin' someone else's name.../i don't know you half as well as all my friends, i can't pretend i won't be doin' everything i can, to get to know your creases and your ends, are they the same?" it's: the road not taken looks real good now, and it always leads to you and my hometown. and it's: i guess sometimes we all get just what we wanted, and he never thinks of me, except when i'm on tv. they are the midnight rain, the one dreaming to get out, escaping, and finding themselves haunted. "we're just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me..."

They were constantly looking for light in other people to balance the darkness. this is very interesting in them too, because they're often perceived as light/bubbly/upbeat people (and they both do have that sparkle and those bright aspects!), but then we know from the songs they've written and things they've shared that they grapple with their darkness and loneliness too.

Their relationship itself and the parallels between them as individuals is what makes us still talk about them. Not because we think they are meant to be. Harry and Taylor fandom has the biggest crossover of fans because there is an undeniable/unintentional mirroring that fans are unintentionally drawn to...There is an unintentional parallelism in their music even when the songs have nothing to do with each other. exactly! the reason why many fans love them both and connect in similar ways to their music is because that mirrored expression and empathy and artistry draws us in! there are themes and emotions they both express that we connect to. the expressionism in how they craft their lyrics and how they present their art strikes something in us.

listening to AIW and Dear Reader back to back is one hell of an experience. oh nooo, i've never done this! you're no good alone /// a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's there /// why are you sitting at home on the floor, what kind of pills are you on? /// my fourth drink in my hand, these desperate prayers of a cursed man...ouch 💔

yes, they need that groundedness and quiet and comfort to balance everything else out. the person who only wants sweet nothing. without all of the exes, fights, and flaws, we wouldn't be standing here so tall. all of the dead end streets led you straight to me, out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar...and i think that makes so much sense, that you need someone constant and who gives you a sense of peace and freedom and completion to be your whole self, and who loves you in the best and the worst of it. the person who loves you for you, in the noise and the silence.

December 2012: People magazine

tbh i can see this being the way haylor ended but i think they broke up and didn’t try again because they never found the right timing and always went in circles with no improvement. i think they both gave up because of outer circumstances and they were at their wits end the last time they “tried”/crossed paths again. i think the song “two ghosts” explains pretty much how it ended and how they were both exhausted from trying to make it work and how they didn’t feel like “them” anymore. they both felt the same way but it’s clear that deep down, taylor wished harry fought harder for her, even if she also gave up.

well i have settled on a full story of haylor’s end. like not a “here’s a couple ideas but we’ll never know the full story.” question gave me the whole story

in january after the party, she asked him to try again. for real. because she was in a better place and she wanted to try, she didn’t want to live her life the way she had resigned herself to only having casual hookups.. she wanted to try something real again. And he basically said that he couldn’t. that he was willing to be her “good time guy” (stealing phrasing from private practice). And she was like “I want more than that” and he was like “I can’t,” which is where we get Perfect. He might never be the guy who is there for something real, but he can be the guy who can deal with the camera flashes and the songs for some troubled fun confined to the liminal spaces of hotels. And then she was like “okay well no” and then he didn’t think she would move on………… but she did. and fast, even. and that’s why calvin was so devastating for him. Because he genuinely thought he was calling her bluff. and then there’s this song where she’s like “you know what you little twerp. you healed something in me for half a second and I saw colors I’d never seen before and not seen since. I thought we had something. but when it was too much for me, you let me walk out, and then you never fought even when I wanted to try again so where do you get off getting upset that there was no bluff to call? I hope it feels nice to settle, because you chose this.”

the thing about haylor is i dont want them together i dont think they were the pinnacle of a perfect relationship i just find their dynamic and the way they write about each other SO ENDLESSLY INTERESTING. like i am a fan of the art of haylorism not shipping these two humans together as actual end game. does this make sense?

taylorswift Dod this turn into anything on 1989?