#lead me on

[fletchergifs]

FLETCHER — Lead Me On → In Search of the Antidote (2024)

[yoshifan456]

Have you ever really listened to the lyrics of the song that plays when they enter the O-club?

Cuz I did.

And it's about Mav 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 (Ice) 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯s o𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'.

Charlie ain't be having a 'guarded face', Mav is only 'turning around' to see Ice, whose face is 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 guarded by his sunglasses.

𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺.

As both Ice and Mav are haunted (and in Ice's case introduced) by their pasts, reputations and how they are remembered.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, '𝘤'𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'.

When Mav tries to escape his legacy (being polite and agreeable in the first meeting by thanking Ice for the compliment about Top Gun), Ice taunts him, 'leading Mav on' to get a reaction out of him about Cougar.

𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.

No clue what this means, but this poetic? Must be about love.

𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.

Ice and Mav should get untangled out of certain patterns concerning a 'light of a life', which is usually a loved one. So he wants to stop being solely straight...

𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

Leave the one, straight side, to the other side, to the place that has to be hidden from the Navy, maybe even in 'the shadows of the night?!'

𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'.

Ice doesn't dare to do it alone, he needs someone else to 'lead him on' to the gay side.

𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯

𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯

𝘖𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯

𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯

He's down bad, this is practically a proposal...

𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺

A plea to be together in the gay night?

𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺

'𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'

This is Mav singing to Ice (I think) so that means he's saying 'if you look in the mirror/you see yourselves/the way you look makes it easy to say 'lead me on' which is the invitation to be gay. So: 'you look so great it's easy to ask me out?'

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺

You dream at night, but he dreams about a day. So Mav wants to make 'choices of a lifetime' by having a gay day, outside of the shadows of the night/anonimity. So it's a personal proposal this time.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 '𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'.

When the Navy isn't breathing down their necks, Ice wants Mav to take him on a date.

𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦

𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.

𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'

All the same, same meaning, except for ' in the reaches of space' becoming 'and the look on your face', equating the two, equating the reaches of space/the sky/flying/Mav's love for flying with Ice's face/the look on his face. Mav is down bad for the guy.

𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴 𝘺𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘺𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘐 𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦-𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

Sounds like Mav can hear behind the random words of Ice, his love, like during the talk with Cougar, where there is subtext, both homoerotic and just character wise.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺

Mav wants to know what Ice really means, like when he corrected Ice about Cougar.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦

That's plenty self explanatory I think.

𝘖𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦, 𝘰𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯.

Lots of 'oh's because they are finding their answers in the O-club. Also a 'we' for the first time in the song. And the first time Mav says 'lead me on' back to Ice, accepting the offer for a date.

𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦

They go on a date, Mav sees Ice again.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦

Ice isn't hiding anymors, Mav can read him.

𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 '𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'

Ice is still uncertain, because internalized homophobia is a bitch

𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺

Connecting the 'memory' part about his legacy, to the earlier 'dream' part, which was about wanting to be open/not hiding and also about 'choices of a lifetime'. So Mav wants Ice to be part of his legacy, for the rest of his life.

𝘈 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 '𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯'

Connecting this 'light' to the 'light of the life' and the 'caught' to the 'captive' from earlier, those two sentences are heavily connected. Since the first was about love, this one means that Ice is caught by love.

𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 '𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯' 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.

So basically, the song that plays during their first meeting is already a heavily IceMav coded love song.

[fletchernetwork]

findingxfletcher: “lead me on” song + video out thursday 9am PT / 12pm ET. directed by alexandremoors. (i’ll be on youtube a little before to chat, come hang)

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Ruthie Foster - “Lead Me On”

Ruthie Foster leads a big band with her big voice on her cover of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Lead Me On.”

With horns and organs vying for the spotlight, it’s Foster’s vocals that make something atypical of this otherwise-typical blues arrangement.

The studio track follows Gary Clark Jr.’s 2004 live recording of “Catfish Blues” and Los Lobos’ remake of Three Hundred Pounds of Joy” in previewing Antone’s 50th Allstars - 50 Years of the Blues, the various-artists’ compilation arriving Aug. 22 and celebrating the titular venue and the acts who’ve played its stage.

Where Foster’s contribution is concerned, one should come for the voice and stay for the voice.

Grade card: Ruthie Foster - “Lead Me On” - B

7/25/25

[rayofmoonbeam]

So Cari Fletcher really did have an intense homoerotic friendship with Kelsea Ballerini

[poprocklyrics]

I was born to love you You were born wild and free I was made to find you But your heart is constantly runnin', just never toward me

Lead Me On, FLETCHER

[shortening-the-distance]

part II :3

part I ~ part III part IV