#*mixtape

“There She Goes” - The La’s (1990)

“Dancing in the Moonlight” - King Harvest (1972)

“… Baby One More Time” - Britney Spears (1998)

“The Best of My Love” - The Eagles (1974)

“Dancing Queen”- ABBA (1976)

“Iris” - The Goo Goo Dolls (1998)

“Love Shack” - The B-52’s (1989)

“Super Trouper” - ABBA (1980)

“What A Girl Wants” - Christina Aguilera (2002 stfu)

“Mamma Mia” - ABBA (1975)

“You Shook Me All Night Long” - AC/DC (1980)

“Gimme Gimme Gimme” - ABBA (1977)

“Hand in my Pocket” - Alanis Morrissette (1995)

“This Kiss” - Faith Hill (1998)

“SOS” - ABBA (1975)

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” - Cyndi Lauper (1983)

“Free Fallin’” - Tom Petty (1990)

“Honey Honey” - ABBA (1974)

“Like a Prayer” - Madonna (1989)

“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” - Frankie Valli (1967)

“Lay All Your Love on Me” - ABBA (1980)

“My Heart Will Go On” - Celine Dion (1997)

“One Headlight” - The Wallflowers (1996)

“The Long and Winding Road” - The Beatles (1970)

“Happy New Year” - ABBA (1980)

“Man! I Feel Like a Woman” - Shania Twain (1997)

“Waterloo” - ABBA (1974)

“I Want it That Way” - Backstreet Boys (1999)

“All You Need Is Love” - The Beatles (1967)

“Kiss Me” - Sixpence None the Richer (1998)

“Take a Chance on Me” - ABBA (1977)

“Africa” - Toto (1982)

“If It Wasn’t For The Nights” - ABBA (1979)

“I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” - Elvis Presley (1961)

“Our Last Summer” - ABBA (1980)

“Don’t Stop Me Now” - Queen (1979)

“Bye Bye Bye” - NSYNC (2000)

“Dreams” - Fleetwood Mac (1977

"marjorie" - Taylor Swift  ⋆  "the autumn chill that wakes me up. you loved the amber skies so much. long limbs and frozen swims, you'd always go past where our feet could touch. and i complained the whole way there, the car ride back and up the stairs. i should've asked you questions, i should've asked you how to be. asked you to write it down for me, should've kept every grocery store receipt, 'cause every scrap of you would be taken from me."

Rory was only ten when Ellie Jackson was killed. At nearly nineteen years old, she’s mourned her mom nearly as long as she had her. When you’re little you don’t realize that your parents are mortal. You don’t know you’ll lose them some day, that they might be taken from you. You never expect it to be soon. She didn’t know any better, didn’t know that she should be soaking up every moment in her mom’s presence, memorizing every piece of her so she wouldn’t lose them. There’s so much she wishes she could ask her mom now. Stupid, silly questions. Big, overwhelming ones. I think this really sums up how Rory feels towards her mom now, in present day Cherry. 

"As the Crow Flies" - Clare Bowen & Sam Palladio  ⋆  "i'm sorry my love. thoughtless and careless, oh i was young. and like a ship in the night, i watched you pass by. i wish that i may, i wish that i might, get back to you the quickest i can. one if by sea, or two if by land. no wandering this time, i'll draw a straight line, as the crow flies."  ⋆  "no more wrong turns, oh i've had it with mistakes, misplaced second chances, and next time i'll try so much harder. i’m starting to see what i've done to me and you."

Staying in the 1999 of it all, I KNOW Ellie’s dead shhhhh, but I think this is how she’d feel about Rory. Like if she was resurrected for one day and got to talk to her eighteen year old daughter, she’d apologize for staying with Dan, for not getting them out of there. And wherever she is (only our god and cult leader Em knows what happens to ppl who die in Cherry-verse) she wishes she could be with Rory. All she ever wanted was to protect her, and she thought that she was at the time, but I think the years would’ve given Ellie the space to realize the only way to really protect her daughter would have been to leave.

"Saturn" - Sleeping At Last  ⋆  "you taught me the courage of stars before you left, how light carries on endlessly, even after death. with shortness of breath you explained the infinite, and how rare and beautiful it is to even exist. i couldn't help but ask for you to say it all again. i tried to write it down, but i could never find a pen. i'd give anything to hear you say it one more time, that the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes."

Leeet’s back it up, shall we? “Saturn” feels like Rory’s childhood perspective on her mom. On the magic that she created even in the darkest days- birthday cake for breakfast every August 2nd and saving worms from the driveway as the rain stopped on summer afternoons. Her mom still raised her like she was the most important thing in the world, like the universe was made just to be seen by her eyes. That was exactly how Ellie thought of it. The whole world made, just for her baby. Her whole life given, just for her baby. After her mom was killed, Rory had to learn how to choke out the good stories, to tell her uncle and cousin about the magic her mom had given her. 

"My Only Child" - The Highwomen  ⋆  "pink painted walls, your face in my locket, your daddy and me, your tiny back pocket. mama's first love, last of my kind, you'll always be my only child."

"Take Care of Yourself" - Maisie Peters  ⋆  "i hate how you talk to yourself. it's not weak if you need to be held, so cut off a little slack and roll all your cavalry back. my love, take care of yourself. and i hate how you're going through hell, yeah, when you'd never let anyone else."

One of the only things that Casey does that upsets Rory is not believe in himself. She feels like he has these ridiculous blinders on when it comes to himself, to keep him from ever seeing what an incredible person he is. He does so much for everyone, but doesn’t do the same for himself and it makes girly want to throw a little tantrum. <3 TLDR; Rory wants Casey to be nicer to himself (me too girl. me too.). And to let other people take care of him the way he tries to take care of everyone.

"Tattoos Together" - Lauv  ⋆  "tattoos together, something to remember. if it's way too soon, fuck it, whatever. give me shapes and letters. if it's not forever, then at least we'll have tattoos together."

Is this song on here solely because ALMOST A YEAR AGO Ella and I decided that Casey and Rory got stupid drunk tattoos together back when they were both in high school? That would be YES! Because guess what that’s hysterical. I imagine “fuck it, whatever, give me shapes and letters” was exactly the energy they brought to whatever poor tattoo artist they convinced to tattoo them. And tbf I just love the vibes of them being like- okay Case is graduating soon, the whole friend group is about to be thrown out of wack you know what fuck it lets get tattoos those will be PERMANENT!!! God what idiots I love them.

"Why Did It Have to Be Me?" - ABBA  ⋆  "when you were lonely, you needed a man. someone to lean on, well i understand. it's only natural, but why did it have to be me? nights can be empty and nights can be cold, so you were looking for someone to hold. that's only natural, but why did it have to be me? i was so lonesome, i was blue. i couldn't help it, it had to be you and i always thought you knew the reason why. i only wanted a little love affair. now i can see you are beginning to care, but baby, believe me, it's better to forget me."

Okay please buckle up I have such a specific image in my head with this song. If you’ve been with in a (metaphorical) five mile radius of me you know that Rory is an ABBA stan and she has ALWAYS KNOWN, AND PROCLAIMED, that Casey is too. She would bring her ABBA cds whenever he picked her up so she could play them in the car, tried to get Ronnie to put them on when she was bugging Casey during a bartending shift, because she could TELL he secretly loved it. (Fuckin’ confirmed post CCU Theater Horror Night tyvm!!) In my little private headcanon brain space this is how this song goes down: any time it comes on Rory loudly serenades Casey, trying to get him to do the duet with her. She does a little dance. Anything to try and tempt him into joining in on the ridiculousness with her, or at the very least, crack a smile. 

"Got It In You" - BANNERS  ⋆  "when the lights go out and leave you standing in the dark, no one ever told you this would be so hard. i know you think your fire is burning out, but i still see you shining through. you got it in you. not everything you hear should sound like the truth, 'cause nobody else's words can define you. maybe you don't see it but you're quicker than the world can spin. you should know what you got, 'cause you got it at your fingertips. ooh, you got it in you.”

Last verse, same as the first! Rory’s not the most aggressive about it, but she’s perceptive as all hell. She sees people, even when they think she doesn’t. And she knows that Casey  could do more, be more, be anything, if he wanted to. (Insert that gilmore girls rory & jess in the car musing here Ella, I swear someday I’ll stop referencing it but that day is not today.) Rory would like Casey to believe in himself, and not listen to the stupid shit that people say about him. FUck, I love that this like, ties into the reputation Casey has from his work for Hargrove vs who he is around his friends, and how Rory sees him. Disgusting. Soft. Friendship. That. Has. My. Whole. Heart. 

"If This Was a Movie" - Taylor Swift  ⋆  "i was playing back a thousand memories, baby, thinking 'bout everything we've been through. maybe i've been going back too much lately, when time stood still, and i had you. come back, come back, come back to me like you would, you would if this was a movie. stand in the rain outside 'til i came out. come back, come back, come back to me like you could, you could if you just said you're sorry. i know that we could work it out somehow.”

Ooooh baby. God knows how Peach and I ended up with so many feelings about these girls but let me tell you that cup sure do overfloweth. This song feels like the point that Kitty and Rory are just about to be at, where Kitty is so mad at Rory, and Rory just misses her friend. For a long time she’s known Kitty was pulling away, but couldn’t figure out why. She just wants her to come back. It doesn’t matter what she’s said behind Rory’s back, or anything she’s done, she can always come back. Because their friendship is really important to her, and it’s stronger than any argument over boys, alright?

"I miss you, I'm sorry" - Gracie Abrams  ⋆  "you said "forever" and i almost bought it. i miss fighting in your old apartment, breaking dishes when you're disappointed. i still love you, i promise. nothing happened in the way i wanted. every corner of this house is haunted, and i know you said that we're not talking but I miss you, i’m sorry."

*Ahem.* So this song got slapped on here because yeah, Kitty probably isn’t really in the right for throwing a fit because Noah and Rory got together after years of her giving Noah crumbs while he followed her around looking for love... But Rory’s definitely not in the right for dating Noah without asking Kitty about it. She feels guilty, once she realizes how mad Kitty is about it. With everything going on, Rory just got... wrapped up. Didn’t think about those consequences. So you know what, she does owe Kitty a damn apology. She misses her, and she’s sorry. She still loves her, and she’s sorry.

"Sorry Now" - Rainee Blake ⋆ "you've been so high, never thought you'd be coming back down. you've never been sorry, are you sorry now? you've been so broken, forgot what we were all about. never been sorry, are you sorry now?"

Ok that said, Kitty def still owes Rory an apology too LMAOOO. Girly’s been talkin some shit- not to mention dropping her friend like a hot potato over a guy. Hello, a GUY. Yeah, it’s Noah and we love Noah, but (insert Hades from Hercules here) HE’S A GUY. Kitty’s so determined to be mad about it, to work with Audrina to throw off her and Noah’s relationship, it’s like she doesn’t even care about her and Rory’s relationship anymore. I guess this song is like, where I see Rory landing after she’s processed the anger Kitty’s throwing at her. It’s like a gentle admonition. But always, always, leaving the door cracked for Kitty to come back. Idk this is just- my words aren’t working. I feel some type of way, clearly. 

"Perfect Places" - Lorde ⋆ "every night, i live and die, feel the party to my bones. watch the wasters blow the speakers, spill my guts beneath the outdoor light. it's just another graceless night. i hate the headlines and the weather. i'm nineteen and i'm on fire, but when we're dancing i’m alright."

And then guess what we get a fun one because those were all BRUTAL. This song feels so right for them. Once the older members of the gang had graduated, only Kitty, Rory, and Zev were left at Cherry High. I imagine the girlies would have spent a lot more time together that year, especially with Zahra gone. This little piece of the montage is just Kitty and Rory feeling on top of the world when they’re running across Cherry together, when they’re dancing together on the beer-soaked living room floor at some high school house party. So maybe they were seventeen and on fire. I think it still fits . <3