literal: derived from Taylor Swift’s most notable album (or commonly referred to as an era by her fans) in which she sheds her good-girl image and takes on an alter ego of an unexpected, darker, more vengeful version of herself. the album is rooted in irony and mockery of the people who dragged her name through mud.
figuratively/
stan usage: although it is commonly referred to as when a
person has a comeback with vengeance and to mock those that have
hurt them, it is more deeply understood through her fan base as one of her most romantic pieces of art, because although the album’s setting is a dark place in life, the stories of this album detail of love that cannot be
broken by status or superficial things. it is a romance that lifts her from the dead as she “once was poison
ivy”, and she grows into a “
daisy”.
someone who is said to be in their “rep era” is completely aware of bullshit and clowns and is not only coming back for vengeance, but gives absolutely zero fucks about it, because they probably have the
love of their life waiting for them if they “strike out and crawl
home”.