Not sure why people think Kaylor is dead based on TTPD. Like...the following songs a million percent confirmed it for me (and I still haven't dug into all 31 songs on the albums).
Note that Karlie exists (IMO) as an alternate perspective, or as a background character, or is there in the sense that Taylor is speaking about Karlie's role in the PR shenanigans.
-The Tortured Poets Department
-Down Bad
-But Daddy I Love Him
-Fresh Out The Slammer
-Guilty as Sin?
-The Alchemy
-imgonnagetyouback
-Robin
...and these are just the songs I've absorbed.
I can't tell you how naturally this album fits into my sense of the arc of their relationship. I'm coming off of a ridiculous amount of time with Taylor's older albums and Karlie is ALL OVER THE ABOVE SONGS. Again, in my opinion. But like...it's my strong opinion. LMAO
Rain I think you touched on some very important aspects of a fandom overall that really seals home the messages being sent by Taylor. If we look at Dear Reader, TTPD and messages. I think Taylor is talking about all sides of the fandom and their expectations.
I think she is saying “Hey I’m choosing to be happy and do what makes me happy”. It might not look the way you expect it to look but I did what I felt I had to do and I will deal with it.
In the end it’s her journey, her asylum she’s escaping and her family and happy ending she’s creating. That’s for her to decide how that road is walked. Just because it doesn’t fit your fantasy for her, she sees the beauty in it. Lately in all messages she telling everyone let me live my life the best way I can for my situation.
All fans should be reflecting on their expectations/judgements.
Love is to Liberate.
💥BOOM💥
The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is trust! We have to trust that she knows what she’s doing and working through the shitstorm of her emotional life in a way that she feels comfortable with. That doesn’t mean we cant grieve the losses and what ifs and might have beens with her—she wrote a fucking 31 song album about exactly that! But at the end of the day she’s just a person trying to figure out being a human in the world like everyone else
every once in awhile i go back to the basics 😌
One of my closest friends who has listened to me discuss Kaylor over the years listened to my 2 Gaylor podcasts and has been deep diving Kaylor for a week……
and she’s like OH MY GOD…..ITS TRUE
This is what we mean when we say it can’t be taught—people *must* do the research themselves with all the mountains of data and evidence still available online for it to truly click
Cornelia Street? With Maroon? TODAY?
Bonus Karlie at the Cornelia Street apartment:
Whispers
I’ve been thinking a lot about the theme of whispering in Taylor Swift’s lyrics, as ‘whisper’ is used repeatedly, album after album (36 times total).
I first noticed the connection of present day Taylor speaking to her muse in imgonnagetyouback the same way that she does in Enchanted.
This got me thinking about when it was that Taylor actually met Karlie, which if you do a deep dive into the lore as @sophietv did, you can see that it was likely in 2008. Enchanted was released in 2010.
Then there’s the connotation of whispering about a secret love, a forbidden love. It continues throughout Taylor’s work, a constant struggle to be with the one she cannot.
There are references to shared, secretive moments, whispered confessions. She’s with her lover in the dark, hidden away from public sight. Her true identity is concealed.
The connections, or Konnections rather, are so strong. When you peel back the layers of each album, you notice the continuity of themes and a singular muse in Taylor’s work. Her truth is clear. Her muse is undeniable.
Bonus:
So whats our explanation for Taylor hanging out with people like BM yet she cant be seen with Karlie because her connections will „taint taylors image"? | always believed in that reasoning but lately i dont see a single reason why she cant casually introduce Karlie back into her life
I truly don’t know other than that’s a theory we all made up and stuck with because it’s easier to accept that than the fact that she’s ok with Karlie being destroyed by her fanbase if it means “the plan” can continue
Choose your fighter