Do You Interpret Mastermind As "i Orchestrated/designed The Entire Relationship With My Beard" Or As

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.

When she is talking about Taylor:

When others are talking about Taylor:

TO UKRAINIAN FRIENDS

If you are looking for an emergency exit from Ukraine, Poland will open EIGHT safety points on the border with Ukraine (you will get warm food, medical help and from there you will be guided to safety) in two of our voivodeships: lubelskie and podkarpackie. It is confirmed by the Polish Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Paweł Szefernaker.

SOURCES:

https://www.rp.pl/konflikty-zbrojne/art35748991-szefernaker-na-granicy-z-ukraina-powstaja-punkty-recepcyjne-dla-uchodzcow

https://www.wprost.pl/polityka/10633681/polska-reaguje-na-agresje-rosji-na-ukraine-powstana-punkty-dla-uchodzcow.html

I've marked those voivodeships on the map!

Please share because it can save lives!!!!!!

I saw your 1989 rewatch post and i was wondering about your comment: the New York story still continues.

I think in this side of swiftie fandom we can agree new york is karlie. However, I have seen so many analysis and lyric parallels of New York symbolism as proof of a kaylor break up.

I believe kaylor is still together, but I am having a tough time with what new york means after folklore and evermore. “I left a part of me back in New York” “she still is 23 inside her fantasy,” all of coney island paint at not so great picture compare to the new york of Lover.

What are your thoughts?

Sorry in advance if this sounds like rambling

She is still in New York regardless of how sad the songs sound. The story is still tied to New York.

I think there is this weird thing we tend to do when Taylor writes a sad song. We automatically assume it’s about a romantic break up and I think that is a product of her old reputation, sadly.

I think Taylor recognizes love is a lot more complex than Romeo and Juliet and it comes with ups and downs. We saw this on Lover. Riding the highs and treading the lows but all the while just hoping to get back to mundanity and normality. I think Taylor realized the lows and the highs make for a more entertaining story so she takes snapshots and zooms in on specific feelings and moments from her past and explores the stories that can come from them with new perspectives.

I also believe Taylor has been singing about her own personal journey and her struggles with anxiety. As well as her choices that led to a specific place or point in time and fighting her own demons while worrying about how someone could love her with her flaws. These concepts were on Lover as well.

Folklore and evermore honestly feel like purgatory to me, if that makes sense. They exist in a pocket dimension where Taylor is wandering around an old abandon town with no choice but to reflect on her past. She is forced to face her demons. She can’t hide from her thoughts. And sooner or later she realizes that the only way out is through and maybe if requires leaving all the baggage behind because you can’t leave the same way you came in.

“You know I left a part of me back in New York” means exactly that: She left part of herself in New York. (She had to leave something behind but she didn’t want to).

Conclusion:

The story is still in New York. Just on the outskirts of town. Coney Island is still in New York. It’s in Brooklyn. She did her photoshoot for the albums in Upstate New York.

She’s still writing the story:

“If the story's over. Why am I still writing pages?” - DBATC

“Pages turn and stick to each other” - RWYLM

I’m sorry again if this was rambly.

Easter Egg = Hatched

I screenshot these IG stories from Karlie on September 10th and 14th (before and after the Met gala).

I captured the first one because I thought the “double bubble” gum was suspicious and was even chatting with a mutual about it.

When the second one came out, we knew the first was Karlie teasing the inspiration for her Met gala dress before it was revealed. But why she included the “double bubble” gum was still a mystery.

I think I understand it now, though. Karlie was dropping an Easter Egg that Taylor would eventually wear a similar dress. And she did it over a month before Taylor shared her version with us.

In conclusion, that smirk on Taylor’s face makes a lot of sense.

I hope next year treats you kindly, but above all else, I hope you treat you kindly.

guys there are so many parallels to her other songs in mr. perfectly fine

all too well: “so casually cruel in the name of being honest”

mr. perfectly fine: “mr. casually cruel”

last kiss: “you told me you loved so why did you go away?”

mr. perfectly fine: “mr. looked me in the eye and told me you’d never go away”

how you get the girl: “when you left her all alone and never told her why”

mr. perfectly fine: “mr. never told me why”

I knew you were trouble: “no apologies, he’ll never see you cry”

mr. perfectly fine: “mr. never had to see me cry”

dear John: “long were the nights when my days once revolved around you”

mr. perfectly fine: “mr. everything revolves around you”

the story of us: “I used to know my spot next to you, now I’m searching the room for an empty seat”

mr. perfectly fine: “sashay your way to your seat. it’s the best seat in the best room”

white horse: “it’s too late for you and your white horse to catch me now”

mr. perfectly fine: “someday maybe you’ll miss me but by then you’ll be mr. too late”

Cowboy Like Me

Howdy partner! this song is clearly a reference to Taylors roots in country music - but it goes deeper than that. It’s about Karlie, and how both girls have built their careers off of selling the idea of love, karlie through modeling and Taylor through songwriting. Both are super ambitious and focused, playing the game and driving their careers forward, but have rags (ok - not rags, but upper middle class normalcy) to riches stories, which makes them feel like the don’t quite belong in the celeb world.

And the tennis court was covered up

Several people have noticed that this could be a reference to Tennis Court by Lorde. The last time Kaylor was seen together was the below pic at Lorde’s bday. Reading the lyrics to Tennis Court, it almost seems like the same setting as CBM. Lorde’s song explores the dark side of fame, talking about not fitting in and being surrounded by superficial fame. She says “let’s go down to the tennis courts to talk it out” and then we have CBLM that starts in the middle of a sentence with “and”, and takes place at the tennis court, where the cowboys are trying to impress the rich folks, almost as if the songs are sequential.

With some tent-like thing

Here we’re already getting the theme of not belonging somewhere. Taylor doesn’t say canopy - which is what she is referring to and actually would fit both in terms of syllables and rhyme scheme - she says “tent-like thing” which is both dismissive of her surroundings and tells us that maybe she doesn’t quite know the right word for them.

And you asked me to dance

Let’s just take a moment to remember that 1) Karlie is a dancer and 2) kaylor started at vsfs2013 where they danced on stage together like this:

dancer karlie!

But I said, “Dancing is a dangerous game”

This references DWOHT -  which is the ultimate Kaylor song and is all about dancing even though its dangerous, like in the lyrics “can we dance through an avalanche?”, “Swaying as the room burned down”, etc. 

Oh, I thought This is gonna be one of those things

There’s a song called Just One Of Those Things by Nat Porter that you can listen to here, and it seems like Tay is referencing it here. The song lists great loves (ex. Romeo & Juliet) being cast aside and belittled as “one of those things”. This reminds me of people saying that being gay is a “phase” in order to devalue it. Specifically one line in Just One Of Those Things really makes me think about Kaylor - “If we’d thought a bit, of the end of it When we started painting the town We’d have been aware that our love affair Was too hot, not to cool down”. It expresses how they were so loud while glass closeting and had so much chemistry that they couldn’t just tone it down they had to go completely dark in order to keep closeting.

Now I know I’m never gonna love again

In many ways this references the theme of “right where you left me”, Taylor can’t move on because she fell too hard for Karlie and no love will ever compare.

I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve Takes one to know one You’re a cowboy like me

Taylor sees a lot of herself in Karlie. They know how to play the same games in terms of their careers and bearding, but because of this they understand each others vulnerabilities, etc.

Never wanted love Just a fancy car

They weren’t looking for love when they met, they were both just in the place they were because they were trying to advance their careers. However, as Tay has talked about before, the lure or riches and fancy cars isn’t enough to satisfy her. It also references this line in King Of My Heart, where Tay literally says that all the boys aren’t as good as her lover (Karlie) is.

Now I’m waiting by the phone Like I’m sitting in an airport bar You had some tricks up your sleeve Takes one to know one

You’re a cowboy like me

also:

Perched in the dark Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear Like it could be love I could be the way forward Only if they pay for it

Both Karlie and Taylor have built their careers off of selling the idea of love - Taylor through her music and Karlie through her modeling, especially with Victoria’s Secret. Both of them are capitalizing and cashing in on romance. They play the game of love to be valuable to the record labels, fashion brands, and industry overall, getting the “rich people” in the industry to invest in them and their careers. However, both are caught off guard when they encounter the real thing and actually fall in love.

You’re a bandit like me Eyes full of stars

Taylor talks about eyes a lot, but I think this has two meanings. 1 - both of their eyes are full of stars because they are surrounded by other celebs and so they are literally seeing stars all the time. 2 - the more conventional meaning would be that their eyes are bright and beautiful.

It also references two songs that are very much about Karlie: “Starry eyes sparkin’ up my darkest night” in Call It What You Want, and “The stars in your eyes shined brighter in Tupelo” in Dorothea.

Hustling for the good life

Again, Taylor brings attention to the fact that they are both really career focused and trying really hard to be as successful as possible. They don’t have the same type of fallbacks that celebs with famous parents and old money have.

Never thought I’d meet you here It could be love We could be the way forward And I know I’ll pay for it

Here Taylor knows that she’ll pay for her relationship with karlie in two ways, 1- she’s paying for it in that by falling in love and pursuing a relationship she’s on the “treacherous” road making her life much more complicated given that she’s choosing not to come out, 2- she is literally paying for beards so she can have a public muse for her relationship songs.

[Chorus]

And the skeletons in both our closets

Plotted hard to fuck this up

Here Tay is talking about closets again. This actually makes me think of two meanings. 

1- it makes me think of the “skin and bones” line in treacherous (maybe because I was just talking about that song) and how tay has used that type of language to talk about her and her lover in the past. The skeletons in the closet could be a reference to the past karlie and Taylor being in the closet, when they were both really thin and Taylor was battling her eating disorder. In the past they were plotting so hard to cover their tracks and stay in the closet, which eventually messed everything up for them. 

2 - The more obvious interpretation is that the skeletons in the closet are the people who were controlling their careers, who they have now moved away from, like SB2. These people messed things up by keeping them in the closet.

And the old men that I’ve swindled

Both karlie and tay have had careers that were mostly controlled by men who are older than them - VS CMO Ed razek, SB2, etc. These men thought that they were controlling kaylors careers, but kaylor is individually profiting as well.

Really did believe I was the one

This references The One, the first track on folklore.

And the ladies lunching have their stories about When you passed through town

Karlie has quite the rep for making people fall in love with her quite easily (see the klossanova video that @theprologues​ made here). 

But that was all before I locked it down

Love locked down! for more details check out this post and this one, but basically Karlie posted and image with the caption “love locked down” on March 6, 2016, on the same day Taylor posted “one year down” with the picture of a locket. This was one year after their Vogue cover came out in March 2015. Because of this, it seems like they were celebrating their anniversary some sort. Hence the line “I locked it down”. 

Now you hang from my lips Like the Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world, known as very beautiful and an incredible feat in engineering (beauty + engineering are both things that describe karlie!). However, archeologists are unable to find proof of their location - therefore it’s unclear if the gardens “were an actual construction or a poetic creation”. 

With your boots beneath my bed

This is a metaphor for sleeping together and is also referencing cowboy boots.

Forever is the sweetest con

It’s impossible to be with each other forever - when we say forever we know that we will actually be separated by mortality and factors we can’t control. However, Taylor is okay being “conned” with ideas of forever, because it’s understood that they will be with each other as long as possible.

And yet, this also references Hoax - it’s a different way of saying “your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in”. Leaving us wondering if the love was real or a con.

[Chorus]

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 🙈🙈🙈