What Clues Did Taylor And Karlie Give Out In The Last 3 Months? That They Are Still On?

do you interpret mastermind as "i orchestrated/designed the entire relationship with my beard" or as the genuine "i wanted to be with you so i planned out everything and none of it was accidental"?? or both maybe?

i completely believe it’s about taylor and karlie oh my goodness no contest.

it fits so many kaylor songs and how we think about their relationship.

but not just how taylor planned out how she was going to win karlie’s heart, it’s also a song that has a cute surprise twist midway through the song where it’s revealed that her love interest was also wooing her and knew she was being wooed!!

hey, 9w1! hope you're having a great day.

genuine question, no intention to debunk or anything, just curious:

so, karlie is a model, right? that means, it's a part of her job to wear all the newest clothes and accessories, and then those stuff get sold to other people eventually, right?

isn't it possible that karlie possibly just has worn all of the new stuff already and it is a coincidence that some of those new stuff were bought by taylor because they're trendy or being sold at shops now? would it be likely that karlie and other celebs have matched clothing too coincidentally?

(disclaimer: i have no clue about how modelling or clothes work, i just saw a more eloquent version of this argument against koincidences/kaylor a while back, and wanted to hear your perspective on it. thanks!)

thanks for your question!

from my perspective, i think that this argument can work as an explainaway for a certain number of instances, but i do not believe it covers the breadth and depth of what we consider twinning.

because it’s not just about what taylor wears after karlie (or visa versa), but when, or for what special occasions, or the particular time elapsing between when things happen, or what taylor is doing while she is wearing said thing, similarity in composition, etcetera. and it’s seeing these things happen time and again, in aggregate, over time, and in combination with all the many other things we look at when we think about kaylor. whittling it all down to the point that models wear clothes before they are trendy is a little dismissive of the thought, intricacy, and planning that we as a fandom also laude taylor for in the same breath. taylor is a mastermind genius who says herself she hides easter eggs in clothing and jewelry… except for anything related to karlie?? hmm.

that is to say, while these explanations against twinning might be convincing if considered in a vacuum, they lack a consideration of the particular context of kaylor, and how people view taylor and karlie’s relationship.

for example, if the argument is to be made that taylor hates karlie and that they are feuding, it is so curious to me how she seemingly incorporates looks that are strikingly similar to what karlie wears into her art (music videos, live performances) which everyone can agree are personal and important to taylor. and if we get into some of the more intricate gaylor insistencies that taylor is broken hearted and karlie is just doing this to make money, well first of all how rude karlie is an established supermodel and businesswoman and it’s not even worth the investment to try and excite several dozen broke tumblr kaylors into spending money 😆 i can go more into detail on this point but i’m not exactly in the mood to throw down rn so i’ll leave it at that for the time being.

now, i recognize that this kind of thing will not do it for some people. and that’s fine! different types of things are compelling to different types of people. for me, as someone who was quite skeptical of twinning at first (back in 2017-18 when i first encountered kaylor), i’ve become quite taken by it all over the course of the last 4-5 years through the act of keeping tabs on it.

i encourage you or anyone curious but not swayed by twinning to take a look through these posts, and maybe keep it in the back of your mind for the time being. maybe at some point it will click!

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nine wing one for taylor 📯

9w1ft: “9w1ft: “🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 for the new kaylors out there, this one’s for you 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 ” ”

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nine wing one for taylor 📯

9w1ft: “9w1ft: “9w1ft: “9w1ft: “” ”

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nine wing one for taylor 📯

👗 same designer, similar anniversary timing (johanna ortiz, lover release week 2019, lover release anniversary week 2022) 🪩 same timing, sim

New photos of Taylor from the Hey Stephen (Taylor’s Version) lyric video

“Up on YOUR Roof with a Schoolgirl Crush”

In the Making of a Song video for “King of My Heart” Taylor sings the lyrics as “with all these nights we’re spending up on YOUR roof with a schoolgirl crush.”

Video - at 6:30.

So who had a rooftop in 2016 when this song was being written?

Lily’s and Karlie’s addresses were public info.

Lily’s Building

Lily’s building had a rooftop for hanging out.

In a photoshoot she did for Cass Bird and Telegraph magazine, they used Lily’s East Village neighborhood for the shoot, including up on the roof.

Karlie’s Building

Karlie’s two-story building had a garden, garden gate, and balcony but no rooftop to hang out on.

Joe’s Building

Articles report that Joe was living in Crouch End when he met Taylor. I don’t think his place had a rooftop to hang out on from photos of the area.

The Bridge

I’ve written about the “King of My Heart” lyrics in other posts, including the British, model, and wlw references, so let’s just look at the bridge here after the roof lyric.

“Drinking beer out of plastic cups”

Is this a reference to Taylor and Karlie at the Knicks game in 2014? Maybe. But the 2014 era doesn’t seem to match the rest of the song, especially since this line is after “my broken bones are mending.”

“Say you fancy me not fancy stuff”

Another British 🇬🇧 reference in a song with many British references. So this line could fit Lily or Joe.

The Making of a Song video was recorded in September 2016. The Nashville and LA scenes, including the rooftop lyric scene, were filmed September 19-21. (Link) The song appears to have been started in early September from the Cornelia Street scene at the beginning of the video and some people think it may have been started as early as August. All of this is before September 28.

taylor isn’t stupid

taylor swift is famous for the easter eggs, hidden codes, and secret symbology she leaves for fans, giving them clues as to who her songs are about (or supposed to be about), when new music or content is coming, and other insights into her life and what her art represents.

she posted red shoes on her 22nd birthday in 2011 as a clue to let people know the title of her next album - red:

she posted a picture of herself playing scrabble in the fall of 2018 as a clue that the count down to her new single would start on national scrabble day six months later:

so this brings us to the lover era

taylor hid so many clues in this era that she was not straight and we know taylor hides clues because of examples like the ones i provided.  she’s maniacal and unhinged but it is 100% what she does.

the first big thing is she released her single me! on LESBIAN VISIBILITY DAY:

i don’t even think taylor is a lesbian 😭i think she’s some brand of bisexual but this still feels like a signal that she isn’t straight.  we know taylor knows about which national days are what because she keeps up with it all enough to easter egg national scrabble day plus this is her big “lgbt ally era” (🙄) so you would think she would be keeping up with the days of awareness for members of the lgbt community.

and whether you think taylor was trying to come out that way or not, a lot of the internet did, and they went and wrote articles about it (lots of articles) (more on that later).

then there was the bi flag colored “proud” bracelet she pictured on her wrist and posted to ig:

turns out a fan made this for her because they were bi and proud about it but i don’t understand why she pictured that bracelet, she didn’t have to, she could have turned it so you couldn’t see the word proud.  regardless more articles got written about how people thought taylor was coming out as not straight.

then there was the straightest gayest clusterfuck that was the yntcd music video in which taylor basically made herself the center of a gay pride riot in a gay trailer part.  in the music video she represented all the gay pride flags and she posed with two herself:

the bi pride flag (yeah some people say there’s green at the top of her hair, i don’t care the colors are there):

and the pansexual pride flag:

both these pride flags were not represented anywhere else in the music video - just those scenes with taylor.

this prompted more people to wonder if taylor came out

it also prompted a lot of people to accuse taylor of queerbaiting, appropriating and infringing on gay culture, and overstepping her bounds as an ally.  all responses to yntcd were loud 

are you noticing a pattern? the lover era was just: taylor does something gay.  people write articles about how they think she just came out/otherwise comment on her sexuality.

now you know taylor, who is obsessed with the media’s perception of her would have known about this.  you know her publicist would have been duty bound to let her know, “hey taylor, all this gay stuff you’re doing? it’s making people speculate that you’re gay.”

and you would think that maybe if taylor didn’t like or appreciate this speculation around her she would have toned down the gay for her next project.  instead she aired miss americana in which she listed gay pride as one of the things that made her, her.

as if that weren’t enough the next album she dropped was extraordinarily gay:

in folklore you have betty in which taylor sings about wanting to kiss a girl and yeah maybe it’s “from a male perspective” but 1. that’s a gay thing to do anyway and 2. the character that is the supposed male is named after an irl girl.  we also get seven in which taylor sings to a childhood love who is a girl and she says they’ll have to hide in the closet.  taylor isn’t stupid.  she knows what being “in the closet” means.  she is a writer and a brilliant one at that.  she could have said anything- hide in the corner, hide in the cabinet, she very specifically chose the phrase that means to hide the truth about your sexuality.

and lest we forget about illicit affairs in which taylor sings to a lover who is cheating on a man with her.

and that’s just the explicit stuff, the entire album is laced with queer themes and coding other than just those songs.

many people wrote about and commented on how gay folklore was.

so the next thing taylor does?  drops another super gay album including another love song canonically about a woman.

so antis, take note.  taylor is not stupid.  she doesn’t mind the speculation about her sexuality.  i’m not saying she’s for sure gay.  but if she’s not she absolutely is leaning into stirring on speculation anyway.  and tbh if she’s ok with baiting this heavily and she’s not gay she might just be a terrible person? so reconsider your hetlor stance because a straight taylor = a baiting and unhinged taylor.  so you don’t need to keep policing gaylors and telling them not to speculate about taylor’s sexuality.  she is signalling to us that she is not straight which she 100% does not have to do.  no one made her pose with the pan flag,  no one made her write seven, no one made her include gay pride in a list of traits that define her in a documentary that she produced.  this is purposeful on her part.  it doesn’t mean she’s for sure gay but it does mean she wants people to wonder if she’s not straight.

hey for the life of me i can’t find the pants but i’m pretty darn sure that’s an adidas track suit

don’t you think it works with this top?

like, same color same white piping

plus, the three stripes

so not only is it the same color scheme as this,

it’s also, you know, adidas brand 🙈🙈🙈

folks...

real talk

whose eye praytell

whose eye is it

honestly

she’s tr👁ing to tell you

taylorswift: Basic autumn lovers RISE 🍂🧣

argumentative

antithetical

dream girl

evermore by taylor swift / Taylor Swift: The Rolling Stone Interview (2019) / Taylor Swift: ‘I was literally about to break’, The Guardian (2019) / Taylor Swift on Sexism, Scrutiny, and Standing Up for Herself, Vogue US (2019)