tayvangelion
an argumentative angel's antithetical dream girl
banned songs: “mirrorball,” “this is me trying,” “marjorie,” “the best day,” “never grow up,” “soon you’ll get better,” “ronan,” “robin,” “forever winter,” all track fives (“cold as you,” “white horse,” “dear john,” “all too well,” “all you had to do was stay,” “delicate,” “the archer,” “my tears ricochet,” “tolerate it,” “you’re on your own kid,” “so long, london”); these songs apply to too many characters and it’s more fun to cut them out.
The Elder Generation
Gendo Ikari
“Haunted”
I know, I know
I just know
You’re not gone
Do I have to give Gendo a song?? A song that I like????? I regret everything.
Yui Ikari
the sign on your heart / said it’s still reserved for me
Not only did Gendo get a song I actually like, Yui got one of the lesser songs on the Tortured Poets Department. Well, sorry.
Kozo Fuyutsuki
don’t know what to call this situation / but I know I can’t call you mine
Get over it Fuyutsuki!
Naoko Akagi
I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me.
The fundamental question here is “what Taylor song is most likely to play in the background while you’re strangling an annoying child to death.” There’s only one answer.
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu
“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”
Rivulets descend my plastic smile…
We basically do not know anything about Asuka’s mother except that after she goes crazy she’s got a thing for dolls. So here is a doll song. Also her husband is cheating on her which could be the case for the narrator of this song, who knows really.
The Kids
In tribute to their “actual” ages, our three original pilots each get an additional song written by Baby Taylor.
Shinji Ikari
I’m lonely, but I’m good / I’m bitter, but I swear I’m fine.
Tortured Poets Department is a very Shinji album. Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all!! But daddy I love him!!! I can do it with a broken heart!!!! And so on. But on this very Shinji album, this is without question the most Shinji song.
Baby Taylor Song: “A Place in this World.” He is not just a girl, but he is trying to find his place in this world.
Honorable mention: “evermore,” but specifically, the bridge, which seems like it captures some of his more trippy experiences. “And when I was shipwrecked, I thought of you.…”
Rei Ayanami
Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.
:(
Baby Taylor Song: “I’m Only Me When I’m With You.” :)
Honorable Mention: “seven”
Before I learned civility / I used to scream ferociously….
:(
Asuka Langley Soryu
I can see you in your suit and your necktie
Passed me a note sayin’, “Meet me tonight”
Then we kiss and you know I won’t ever tell, yeah
I felt like Asuka deserved one of Taylor’s thirstier songs, and “I Can See You” checks the right boxes… it’s dramatic… it’s clearly about an older man.…
Baby Taylor Song: Let’s give her another thirsty classic, “Sparks Fly” (written before the release of Taylor Swift).
Honorable Mention: “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” I went back and forth among the Eva pilots for this one—they all kinda can claim it—but you know, Asuka’s crazy and she’s kind of my favorite. So I’m gonna give it to her.
Kaworu Nagisa
’Cause I can’t help it if you look like an angel
Or if, you know, I am an angel.
Toji Suzuhara
Just as long as you’re mine / I’ll be your everything tonight
This is a karaoke dedication to Misato.
Kensuke Aida
So how can I ever try to be better? / nobody ever lets me in
…into the cockpit of an Eva unit, that is…
Hikari Horaki
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Hikari is not really the best developed of the cast, but she’d probably dig this sweet song about childhood friends turned married couple. I think she’d also like some of the cuter songs on 1989, like “How You Get The Girl” and “You Are In Love,” and, of course, Fearless tracks like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.”
Asuka would also like these songs but would pretend not to despite manipulating things such that Hikari puts them on when they hang out.
The Pen-Pen
Pen-Pen
“ME!”
I’m the only one of me
It’s true.
The Bridge
Ritsuko Akagi
And if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know
“august”
Back when we were still changing for the better…
At first I thought Ritsuko would be kind of hard to manage, but then I remembered that maybe a third of Taylor’s catalog is about loving an unavailable man. In fact, there are so many, I couldn’t pick just one. So… it’s a tie. Congratulations Ritsuko. You are an honorary Swiftie. She likes cats too.
Honorable mention: When she kills all the Rei clones, Ritsuko is secretly listening to this specific tour performance of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
Misato Katsuragi
I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser.
There really isn’t a better candidate for Misato. (Bonus cover here.)
Honorable mention: “Blank Space,” because I wanted a song here that was about adopting a persona and I think this is Taylor’s most iconic instance of doing that. “Blank Space” is definitely sassier than Misato’s own persona, but I think she’d sing along to it in the car. Also I banned “mirrorball.”
Ryoji Kaji
Sorry for not making you my centerfold.
I’ll be honest. Kaji is the hardest character to find a Taylor Swift song for. I even resorted to some desperate measures:
But I think this song fits. It’s an apology for not quite valuing somebody enough where it also seems clear that the person isn’t going to change. “And do you miss the rogue / who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?”
Bonus Round: Some songs for Misato and Kaji.
I’m a mess, but I’m the mess that you wanted
kinda-sorta Taylor’s most romantic lines…
“Peter”
The goddess of timing once found us beguiling.…
Maya Ibuki
Twenty questions, we tell the truth / you've been stressed out lately, yeah, me too
Maya is a character defined by two things: her love of cuteness and her dedication to Ritsuko. I think this is one of Taylor’s cutest songs. Since Taylor doesn’t have a song that is straight-up about a cat, I think that’s as good at gets.
Makoto Hyuga
And you just see right through me.…
He didn’t have a chance before Kaji showed up, but he sure as hell had no chance after.
Shigeru Aoba
I forgot that you existed
I forgot that he existed.
no Cowboy Like Me? no cowboy like me for your little friend clare who never did anyone any harm and is all alone in the world?
Congratulation, this is the first post of yours where I'm not going to follow any links. I'm Tay virgin (and you linked to Spotify, that's win/win for me, or lose/lose? I don't really know)