#Letters from the Dead

[bloodvampyr]

#mayhem #letters from the dead #the old nick #bm #black metal #90s #90s metal #old school metal #osbm #pelle ohlin #dead #euronymous #hellhammer #necrobutcher #jørn stubberud

[itwasnotahamster]

- Letters from the Dead - (Part 1)

Langhus, 21 March 1990 | © The Old Nick | Source: Letters from the Dead

The brackets will indicate possible context or corrections (sometimes commentary). - 💜

"Only Black is true, only Death is real!!! Gore is trend! Hello Nick! It's Dead here again. Hey- you're really good at drawing, I use to do some drawing stuff myself. I enclose something of it in this letter. Maybe we together can work something out, maybe even in Metal Destruction…? You asked of releases, if we need some artworks for that... Well we rarely give out much and as for the next release we'll probably have some photograph instead. But if we would need something that you might feel for help us out with I'll tell of it. So what we can use drawings for is for stuff like flyers, ads and letter­pages. So far I have done the drawings for that... well the main reason of that is that we have a (old!) xerox mashine and I'm the one in the band that 'can' draw. It's not so often that I have time left to spend hours or sometimes days by making drawings and too many don't like that kind of drawings I make (but fuck them wimps!). But onto the Deathlike Silence Prod. now. The 2nd edition of the 1st release on DSP. - Merciless is out now, the one you get here as promo. We're looking for distributors everywhere and everybody who can sell 10 (or more) records will receive a copy for free + that 10 records will be cheaper. As soon as this the 2nd ed. has paid, Imperator will go in studio.

Imperators LP will contain 8-10 songs (depending on how many "old demo songs" they'll use - but it'll be new trax as well) and it'll be entitled "The time before time". After that it'll probably be the colombian Masacre as the next release. Masacre will be very soon release a 7- inches with 3 demo songs on the greek label Scene of Love. That's a new started label and I hope they can give out enough copies, not limited ed. of it. Of course we give the bands free hands and they're not bounded to use at all, but I'm thinking of the fact that Masacre is selling so much... Only in Colombia their 1st, and only demo sold 1000 copies ( which is more than our Deathcrush demo has sold worldwide...). We can only press up 1000 copies each time of every edition of DSP, and the first ed. Of Merciless sold out as fast as we could pack and post it. This second ed. we recieved [received] for not a so long time ago will depend on how much stamps we can get, of how soon it'll sell out. In Norway it's very hard to sell records - it's far away from USA or South America and I don't think any real scene exists here. Do you think you can take care of some distribution/selling of DSP releases, or you maybe know someone else who's interested? [True dedication]. I think Merciless will be very easy to sell in Italy. Many zines exists there and we recieve many letters from there also. We also sell other records (given out by various underground labels) but it can be so different of what records of others releases we sell 'cos we usually don't get so many of them, so they sell out so soon. But anyway - I can tell of what we presently have got (except of Merciless)

LP's (£10000 + postage)

Agressor/Loudblast (split LP, France) "Licenced to thrash"

Arakain (Czechoslovakia, speed metal - I do not like this one!) "Thrash the Trash"

Nomed (France)... very boring mainstream... "Like..."

Abomination (USA)

Disharmonic Orchestra/Pungent Stench (Austria, split LP)

Malicious Intent (Canada) "Shades of black"

7's (£5000 + postage)

Asphyx (Holland, Limited ed. 1000 copies) "Mutilating Process"

Atrocity (Germany) "Blue Blood"

Pungent Stench (Austria) "Extreme Deformity"

Disharmonic Orchestra (Austria) "Successive Substitution"

Do not print this in Metal Destruction, I will explain it to you, ok. If you want any of these records above, please tell of how many and of what records so I can see how much the postage will be. Now over to Mayhem. For the first time we've been in studio and recorded 2 songs (first time with this line-up I mean). It'll be released on Chicken Brain Records, a swedish kind of underground label some time in this autumn. It'll be 8-19 other (swedish) bands on it, among them Merciless. I don't know the title of this compilation LP/CD. Our songs that'll be on it are "The Freezing Moon" and "Carnage". The Freezing Moon is a new one and pretty different from our other songs, as example it's a long guitar solo on a very long Doom part on it and that's because we wanted to have a solo at only one track (of our new ones). Carnage was made in '85 (!) so it's really old. It was on the 1st demo/reh - Pure Fucking Armageddon (released in only 100 copies and not available) but with the thought of the very bad sound on it we feeled for playing it again and try to keep the original sound of it. I'll tape these trax for ya but I'm not so sure of if it'll be enclosed in this letter or if I'll put this letter togeather [together] with the Merciless record but anyhow you'll get this tape. You can record it to others if you like to but please don't trade it, and I'll record some else bands too for filling out the rest of the tape. Have you heard of the INCREADIBLY KILLING GREAT band Tormentor from Hungary? Their demo is about 4 years old but it sounds like the Death/Black metal bands of today. We try to find out if they want a deal on DSP. But unfortunately they hardly speak any English at all so it seems like neither them or us understood it... We think of releasing a full-lengtht LP of Mayhem but it seems to take a fucking longtime before we got material enough for it... The only we know about it is a title that MUST be used - De Mysteriis Dom. Sathanas. That was about all future plans I can tell of I guess. I look forward to see Metal Destruction. There's a possibility that we can sell it also, but I can't say if for sure.

About Satanism... well, I'd like to join a very underground and Illful, Evil and Grim Coven. I think you know of the hassles by finding any or getting any contact with a such. I do NOT like what's created by Anton LaVey like 1st Church of Satan. I came in contact with a dude who's a degree in the American Satans Sons - Church of Satan and he explained of it has nothing to do with LaVey at all. I asked of if it does exist in Europe also and of what it is exactly... well he didn't reply. But I heard later thet Satans Sons shall exist in Europe but I still don't know in which countries it is. In Norway it's not much of this, but in Sweden (-I am swedish) that 1st Church shall be in Stockholm (the capital there) and it shall be about 5 churches built by satanic sects, used only by satanists, mostly it's under christian churches - like the one under "Mariakyrkan" (Mary's Church) in the South of Stockholm where the 1st Church of Satan use to hang around at. I know it exists really Dark covens that use human sacrifices and are eating human flesh - them are those I try to find. I do not know much about magic and I can't say I'm a practicer of it 'cos I havn't succed. What is depending on what one can do in magic (all of its kind) is of what books one can get...those are hidden in libraries and so hard to even see... 'cos of course they don't let anyone even see them. You must be a scientist or something like if you would see the microfilms of that kind of books. A great library of many various kinds of magical arts and the Blackest of Black Arts too is the British Museum in London. But it's so damned difficult to get ones claws on those books. One book I really wanna get is De Mysteriis Dom. Sathanas, unfortunately it exists only in one copy... are you practicing any magic and do you know of any covens? Have you seen/heard/felt anything supernatural? I have but I didn't understand much of what that was and I think the most of it was only so-called echoes from the past or the future [I am curious about this]. Do you know anything about astral planes and out-of body travelling? You seem to be into it and I agree about stupid trendmakers so it is something that I feel I can tell you of. I had a weird experience once, I had inner bleedings and it couldn't be found at x-rays so when it continued to bleed and bleed I finally fainted and dropped down the floor 'cos I run out of blood. The heart had no blood left to beat and my veins/artairs were almost emptied of blood. "Tecnically" I was dead. At that moment I fell down (into a door I heard of later) I saw a strange blue colour everywhere, it was transparent so I could, for a short moment, see everything in blue, till something shining white and "hot" surrounded me. What happened later is out of interest, I woke up when some ambulance men came and drove me to a hospital and there the bastards of surgery started to cut me up at the wrong side so I got a huge scar for that. However, it's someone I know who's had many out of body experiences and is using magic of various kinds and knows much more than I do of "supernatural" experiences, that I asked of this 'cos it was so strange about those colours. She told me that the first 'plane' in the astral world has the colour blue. The "earthly" plane has the colour black, then comes a grey one that is very near the earthly one and is easy to come to. The next one further is blue, and then it gets brighter and brighter till it "stops" at a white-shining one that can't be entered by mortals. IF any mortal succee enter it, that one is no longer a mortal and can not come back to the other planes nor back to this earth. After the white plane or level or whatever it goes further with other colour I don't know of, there only spirits and great sorcerers can travel. I was told that the white plane I then entered, without I knew it, was the dead world and I died. But I also got thrown back after a short time which very rarely happens. So of what I've heard of I have some kind of purpose to achieve here."

Reached the limit for this one, I will add on!

#metal music #black metal #Pelle Ohlin #Dead #90s #Mayhem #Swedish black metal #metal #Norwegian black metal #Per's letters #Letters to Old Nick #Old Nick #Letters from the Dead #1990 #The Old Nick #Per Yngve Ohlin

[satorkive]

ROOMMATE 𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ SATORU

roommate!satoru who constantly stares at you when you first met. you are probably the most beautiful person he’s ever seen.

roommate!satoru who takes advantage of his height and makes everything in your apartment higher than what’s supposed to be. he wants you to beg for him with your doe eyes and pouty lips.

roommate!satoru who becomes clingy after living with each other for a long time. he has to be cuddling you or he will sulk for the rest of the day.

roommate!satoru who cooks for you. you want pancakes and hot chocolate? just sit down and wait for him. you have your frustrating monthly period? don’t worry, he got your comfort food ready. he’s attentive like that.

roommate!satoru who gets jealous when you bring boy friends in your room. he has to be in the same room as both of you because he’s just being protective!

roommate!satoru who is obliviously catching feelings for you. he doesn’t know what to do, but he doesn’t want to do anything. so it is what it is, he belongs to you now.

#🫧 — riri’s love letters! #i love ‘toru #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #jjk x reader #gojo satoru #gojo fluff #gojo x reader #back from the dead baby 😝

[lucidpeech]

dear sister must die

#baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #the dark urge #orin the red #the dead three #fanart #bg3 bhaalspawn #i really love these two's relationship in like a sad messed up way yknow #like from his letter #durge doens't really antagonizes orin that much and even recognize her talent and eye for beauty #but probably thinks of her as bratty and annoying #since it is confirmed ingame that durge does have a childhood #i wonder if they were introduced to each other at a young age #peechy art : bg3

[rocketbirdie]

deranged picnic

#obsessed with how this game manages to maintain a consistent utterly unhinged vibe for its entire runtime. #this scene is immediately followed by him receiving a letter from his girlfriend saying she's breaking up with him. #he gets the letter from an eldritch abomination in the form of his mentor's face on the body of dead dog as it turns into magic dust. #also his gf broke up with him because he wasn't returning any of her messages while he was being tortured in a dungeon for four years. #which is actually how he finds out it's been four years. he's been under the impression that it's been like. 2 weeks lol #the guy on the left is perfectly alive and monologuing the whole time. #and he happens to be the same guy that made clones of himself and went on a crusade to eat chunks of the protagonist's hair. #sighh..... crisis core my beloved........ #(derogatory) #my art <3 #ffvii #crisis core #oh god i forgot his scar. nobody look. don't look. you don't see shit.

[mirrorhouse]

This is Dr. Casper Darling. I have a classified message for the Director of the Federal Bureau of Control.

#control #control 2019 #casper darling #matthew porretta #controledit #gamingedit #dailygaming #gamingnetwork #* #this is one of the coolest parts of the whole game to me bc like. as you go you're following along kind of after of this guy #watching his little videos and hearing about him and finding his notes and letters and standing in places he Was but Isn't anymore #you dont know where he went or if he's dead or alive or something else and now there's this message from him coming through #and it's so different from the other hotline calls too he's almost shouting to get his voice heard

[fictionalcharacters-mybeloved]

Goodbye bad feelings, hello empty memory.

Alright, I love the idea of Damian and Danny as twin who love each other very much but for some reason split up or didn't get along but learn to do so because they love each other more than they resent each other, really, I swear, but.... Danny never remembers anything from his time in the league.

Absolutely nothing, maybe he had some memories before he died for the second time, maybe he remembers Damian and he misses him, he is his brother and he loved him and.... not anymore, when he has his accident and dies for the second time his memory is lost, for a while he has a hard time recognizing his friends, he opens his eyes and doesn't know who are the guys that look so desperate in front of him.

Time goes by and although there are memories that never came back (he hardly remembers his first years with the Fentons, let alone the ones before that), he improves, learns to use his powers, gets closer to his friends, learns things again.

He discovers things in his room, something about a past he no longer knows, it bothers him not to know but even though he tries to remember nothing comes back, the name "Damian" causes him nothing, reading a little of what he wrote after researching the language he also doesn't recognize, he decides it wasn't important, not anymore at least.

He reads what he can and decides that yes, there are things he is fine without remembering, maybe he lacks context, maybe there is something there that he should discover or be more interested in a past that seems so mysterious but... if when he remembered him he thought he would be happy now that he was far away, maybe he was just as important as Dash, someone who unfortunately won't let himself be ignored but one day he will leave behind and never think of him again.

Life is good.

Or was until Robin, Gotham's vigilante, ambushes him with a heated speech full of pain and resentment while on "vacation" with his parents in Gotham.

Danny has had weird things happen to him before but he usually has context.

Robin looks furious and about to cry (if his unsteady voice says anything), Danny stares at him, from his hair to the way he moves, he pays attention to his voice and his sword but all he can say is "you know me?" without acknowledging him in the slightest.

#danny phantom #dp x dc #batpham #batman #dpxdc #danny fenton #damian wayne #Danny wrote the letters when he was just a kid and wrote that he missed Damian but was happy to be away from the league. #Goggle translator is separating siblings :( #Danny lost his memory and now he does not remember Damian #Damian was furious because all this time he thought Danny was dead #Danny without having listened to Robin and with only two hours of sleep: “Oh shit he knows I'm not fully human”. #Damien who has just exposed his feelings to realize that he does not recognize him:“I will follow you until you remember me or wish to die”

[alittlecrow]

Portrait study from the Solitary Cyclist.

I started this in July with the intention of finishing it before the Letters from Watson substack finished SOLI and that did Not happen.

I’ve been gradually chipping away at it ever since with it being about 20hrs just for the digital rendering. And it only took that long because I had to keep scrapping and restarting Holmes’ face and hand. All my love for Jeremy Brett, but his face is so specific that it was the greatest struggle to get his likeness any decent. And I still find it lacking. But what can you do.

I appreciate the learning experience this gave and it’s made me increase my efforts in digital painting in the weeks since I started it. And my complaints aside, I really did enjoy the process. Frustrating at times, but very rewarding. And I’m quite proud to have finished it instead of leaving it in my wips folder for eternity.

Anyways, bonus traditional sketch with too big Holmes Head and too small Watson Head and initial color comp.

#sherlock holmes #holmes posting #granada holmes #john watson #letters from watson #the solitary cyclist #jeremy brett #david burke #watsholmes #johnlock #definitely one of those moments where my college art teacher was right and I Do need to practice color if I want to get better #he’s not dead #but if he were he’d be looking down at this and telling me how to fix it #but since he’s alive and can’t see this I’m just gonna call it done #my work #sherlock holmes art

[sunkissed-summerdaze]

Honestly,

I think about you too much. First thing in the morning, when the sun is fixated on waking me up from the dreams I have you. During the day, when I have nothing better to do, I daydream of you next to me. When I see something I think you’d like I drift off into thoughts of you. At night, when I’m winding down and wishing I was in someone’s arms… your arms.

It’s you… it’s always you.

And late at night, when I can’t sleep and the world is silent, I can’t help but wonder if you’re thinking of me too…

But only in my imaginary world is this real… you actually thinking of me… and you… together as one.

Silly me, there I go again dreaming of you…

Yours truly,

-E.S.

#poetry #poems #quotes #original poetry #poet #poetscommunity #dead poets society #poem #writers and poets #female poets #poets and writers #thoughts #deep thoughts #thoughts from the shower #love letters #new poets society #love poem #spilled poetry #original poem #spilled thoughts #spilled ink #poetry blog #poems and quotes #writerscommunity #spilled writing #poetsandwriters #poets corner #short poem #writing blog #poetic

[yeoldenews]

A mother's word for word transcription of the imaginary phone call her four-year-old made to Santa Claus in 1911.

(source: The Harbor Beach Times, December 22, 1911.)

Through some outrageous case of serendipity I found a recording of another phone call this same child made 60 years later. Though I have to say his choice of conversational partner is a definite downgrade from the first call.

#I've started using 'our bees are all dead' as my standard filler during lulls in conversation #and no I am not kidding #that is actually 64 year old George Arthur Lincoln in the recording #I'm writing up a bio of him that will hopefully be up within a few days #because this kid grew up to be involved in Forrest Gump levels of 20th century historical events #he was the youngest american general in wwii and was involved in the strategy of d-day and the planned invasion of Japan #he was at yalta and potsdam #he started a social sciences department at West Point #which resulted in his students being called commies because why should soldiers study culture and economics instead of shoot gun at thing #he ended up as the director of the office of emergency preparedness while nixon was president - hence the phone call #this poor man had to sit through so many meetings with Henry Kissinger #his younger brother (Waunce from the letter) was also a general #they were known as 'big abe' and 'little abe'

[itwasnotahamster]

- Letters from the Dead -

Kråkstad, 24 August 1990 | © The Old Nick | Source: Letters from the Dead

The brackets will indicate possible context or corrections (sometimes commentary). - 💜

“Beheld Nick! It’s Dead here. 

Hey didn’t I wrote down the titles on the tracks on that tape?! I was sure I did… As for the other bands I have no idea now of what those were so I can’t tell you… But our 2 songs are (in the order. I always tape ‘em) the Freezing Moon and Carnage. I must ask you- what is a rapido-graph pen??? The only kind of pens I have are the ones I’m writing letters with, till they runs out and I must buy some new. Or simply something I just find… Yeah it’s shit to draw with the same kind of pens one is writing with but I guess I don’t have any choise [choice] ‘cos I must write so many letters so all the money goes to buy that kinda pens… but I’d like to know what that professional drawing pen is. And are you using that one? Is it ok if I send you 5 Asphyxia 7” , 5 Disharmonic O. 7” and 10 Merciless LP’s + a free copy for you? That’ll cost you £ 155000. You can pay now or when you receive the records at your post-office or when you have sold the records, it’s up to you. The price of 155000 lires sounds really expensive but the postage is included in that price (it’s very high price here t send anything by mail), or if you want it sent by airmail it’ll cost you £167000. I don’t think you’ve heard Dish. Orchestra, they’re Austrian and not many bands are from there, the only band I can listen to from A. Is Pungent Stench but they’re too much Grind I think. Dis.Orch. sounds strange but Pungent S. is much better. But if Pungent Stench is sold in Italian shops and stores already it’ll be too hard for you to sell them. Is the split-LP Dish.Orch/Pungent Stench for sale in Italy? If not, I suggest you to order that one instead of those 7”s. The very best one of these is the Asphyxia 7” but I can’t send you more than 5… I’m sorry but they’re limited (1000 ex) and when I’ve sent you these 5 copies we have only 15 of ‘em 7’s left and we’re the only who have any copies left to sell so only some few people can get them. 

Hey man, what the hell are you using on your stamps? I need to know ‘cos the kind of glue (<—?) you have on it can’t be seen unless by someone who suspects it’s glued. We mostly put glue on our stamps before but too often they discovered it at our shitty postoffice and teared them off. It’s shit that we can’t use glued stamps on parcels with records in it. To send out records is our biggest expencies, and if we could, we would have so much lower prices on our records. But the fact is that when we send out parcels with more than 6 records it gotta be some stupid sheet on the side of the carton, that they at the post o. put all the stamps on, and tears off that part of it with the fucking stamps on so the receiver can’t find any stamps on the parcel and of course then can’t send back any stamps. We mainly send out 10 rec’s or more each time cos almost everybody can sell around 10 rec’s… Norway is very expensive in everything, take an example- Sweden is also expensive, compared with the rest of Europe (I know, ‘cos I am from Sweden) but there almost everything is the half price of compared to Norway. Especially it’s much cheaper to send out records or any mail from S. Than from N. I think only Finland and Switzerland and Japan is more expensive than Norway… 

I hate to live in Scandinavia and my dream is to come away from this hole. If I’m forced to live the rest of my life in Scandinavia I would choose Iceland or Greenland instead of this shit. I hate almost everybody here and in this local area I hate everybody. If something at all happens in this country it’s there Metalion lives (Slayer mag and some other mags and bands are there) in Sarpsborg, but it’s more than fucking 60 km to that place from here. 

Hey about those records, do you also want Malicious Intent, I must say that they aren’t so brutal and not real Death Metal… but that’s up to you of course. I don’t decide what records you shall buy nor what records we shall sell. If it was only I who ordered in vinyls I would throw a big part of what we sell (like yucky Nomed as one example!) but we’re more than only me in DSP. Except the recs I just counted up we have only one that I put value on and that’s the Schizo LP, that you surely can see in every Italian record shop, yeah? We’ll soon get a limited 7” of Carcass imported from Mexico, St. George’s Hall, Bradford 15/11/89, live of course (1000 copies). Personally I hate Carcass and I can’t stand those trendy clone bands but I thought you might be interested + some demos of Dorsal Atlantica (Brazil), limited to 250 copies. I don’t know yet what the price on ‘em’ll be but I’ll inform ya of it. 

Do you think you can give me the addresses to Paul Chain and the guy who comes from Transylvania’s Carpatii Palatul…. That made me feel like my brain is bleeding, man! If they don’t mind you give out their addresses of course. It seems to me that Transylvania has stopped in time, not in the cities of course but fuck the cities! You know there are about 1-2 million people in Transyl. who’re of German origins. I heard that they shall speak 15th century-German… And that they still have garlic everywhere to protect the houses from the vampire and rituals to avoid the “stregoica” [Strigoi] to come, and exorcism rituals on “suspected” bodies that can have been killed by a vampire… Do you know if that’s true? I’m only interested in the Carpathian areas of the Transylvanian highland ‘cos there are all the castles. Have you heard of that secret tunnel inside the mountain up to Countess Bathory’s castle? I’m not sure if her castle is “the Mandarin” in the very North (I think in Suceava) or if it’s that one a bit South of “Pandarin” called Csejthe, on the edge of the Carpathia. But however now that tunnel’s exactly destination is forgotten and people’ve been trying to find that tunnel inside the huge mountain — up to the castle- for hundreds of years… I’ve also heard or  read somewhere that not only Bathory was the “special” one who lived there but also lots of other maniacs, killers, vampires, sorcerers and vampires lived there. But only E.Bathory got known of ‘cos of her record in mass murderer. Some witch that’s supposed to be immortal- whose name is Cilorgia shall live in that castle by now. I can read that Bathory was Transylvanian and that she came from a “big” and rich Transylvanian family but the Hungarians claims that she was Hungarian (?)… If I’m not totally wrong, then it shall be turk skeletons impaled left around Vlad Țepeș castle, Hunedoara (a valley beside it with 20000 impaled Turks + some other Vallachians [Wallachians]+Moldavians and more) + a forest with craniums nailed to the trees + remains of boiled people and so on. The typical “Dracula’s” castle are both in Brașov (Bran) and in Brad, which confuses me totally. There shall be heaps of other stories/legends/history/tales (or whatever) than only those about vampyrism like in the Western Carpathians there shall be some cemetery called “Chapel of St. Eisel” (in Somesul it is) where a cranium with horns and fangs was found and it’s thought to bleed whenever a soul is lost to Lucifer. Over that place it shall be some place called “Mount Albac” where some weird oracle shall have been. In the mid-Transylvania, between ‘ the mountains there is a huge swampland that is inhabited and haunted by lots of ghouls. A mountain in Transylvania is called “Funnel of Hades” I don’t know anything more about it but what a brutal name or what! [sounds pretty metal to me] How I hated the ex-dictator Ceausescu (in Romania), he extinguished many ancient ruins and castles there!!!! I’m not concerned by policy at all but that guy wiped away 3 fucking towns to build a royal castle for himself. I’ve heard that the new prime minister there not shall be much better — Ilinescu. 

There gotta be some reason of that there are so many different names of vampires in Transylvania, each one is a different sort of vampire. Over here we only know of one name. My goal in life is to visit Transylvania and Moldavia and to learn everything of the legends there that rarely are known of in the West. Also in the Soviet Union it shall be stories told from father-to son since hundred of years ago about their Upir, that isn’t know of outside of Russia. I’ve been obsessed by horror since my fucking birth and it’s been only “worse”, the more I hear about those Eastern legends I wanna move to Transylvania more extremely much more! Do you know if they have colonies of their porphyrians in Transylvania (like with the Leper colonies)? It would be totally great to meet a porphyrian! If they have some particular hidden places for porphyrians there, I wanna live among them, maybe I could get a job as a blood bringer for them… As you probably know, they have (at least they had under Ceausescu) extreme problems in electricity and they could have a lamp lightened for 2 hours each day or so, the weird thing is that it shall be bands there though (but only Heavy Metal). I heard from a friend in Hungary that it shall be a “metal” zine in Transylvania, but I don’t have that address. Do you know some more about Lycanthropy/werewolves? I don’t know much about that anyway. I try to find flowers of that kind that are supposed to be fed by the moon light but I don’t know the name of those flowers. Only of one, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the moon- Wolvesbane, that one is thought to “infect” humans to werewolves, it’s very poisonous anyway. It grows only at very strange places and I doubt it at all exists in Scandinavia… I’d like to collect plants that are superstitions of. I guess the people in-or from Translyvania think that the views, we who’re not from there, have of that place sound strange to them. Especially those vampire movies. So much crap-movies have been produced, only a very few, are of value. Bram Stokers novel “Dracula” made probably the most of how our idea of Dracula looks like still in these years. I think it was wrong done of Stoker to mix all togeather [together] different legends in Transylvania to one “noble man” or aristocrat that he called Dracula. One legend was Vlad Țepeș, the impaler (the only one it’s prooved he really existed) the warlord and the Romanian peoples hero, but he also massacred his own people. Another legend is vampyrism. Or it’s not simply one, actually it’s one kind of a stregoica- sorcerer of the Black Arts that can manage shape-shanging into animals (but not into bats so I don’t know from where came the idea of the vampire-bat) another one is the Nosferatu (Nosferatu means “undead” or “back from the dead”), Drac, Odorofen (orig. name I think), Vrkolak, Vrykolakas (Greek), Draculae, Upir (Russian), Dupir (Turkish) Ordog, Pokol, Vampyr, Whamphyr, Vampir, Dracul (Transyl. Moldavian), Dracula (Vallachian [Wallachian]), murony, muroin and strigoin… and so on and on… I don’t know all of the names, maybe you know some more??? The weirdest thing about vampyrism is that it was so spreaden out, all over the whole world (but in the West Europe not really until about 150 years ago). The idea of that when someone loosing all his blood that also the soul follows with it is really old and someone who then sucks out someone elses blood then must take thet ones soul and keep it. So for thousands of years ago or maybe even longer back in time than that people around the world have had some kind of a vampire tale from that idea of the blood is the soul and life. I can not understand how people of that time could find out the legends of wolf-men... have you ever seen a wolf in a zoo or something like that? The only difference between a wolf and an ordinary dog is that a wolf is wild, got about some 100 times smarter brain and stronger instincs. 

We have in Norway-Sweden-Finland-and Russia (Kola half -island) in the north a place called Lappland, in case you don't know, we got some strange animals up there, also wolves (but not so many). Another animal that lives up there is the Musk Ox, it's a kind of "ancient cow" with twisted horns and long hair but they're very rare (I've seen them only once hone I was up there in the very North). I don’t think it was the idea of the wolves themselves that made people find out about werewolves — but their reaction at the full moon. Also humans reacts at the full moon but I think that is growing away more and more ‘cos it was really many generations ago since the humans lived in forests near the nature so now we’re only used to computers and disgusting technology [couldn’t agree more]. Humans adjustment to newer times and hi-tech shit has made our brains different, our instincts are almost gone etc. But I believe that for some hundreds or thousands years ago we could feel alike the animals in many manners. Have you been living alone in a forest for a longer time? Have you then felt how your mind can “turn back” to be more primitive… at least that’s how I feel it then. I’m working on that for example when I need new (old…) and different ideas for lyric material. I’ve tried that out, to sit alone in a lonely and half-broken down cabin in a dark forest, by night. The worst thing about the modern time is the modern way of thinking and too much can be explained. But I must end here. You have now the prices and you know of what records you can order so don’t forget to tell of how many you want and of what you want, ok. So I hope to hear from ya soon, pal. Oh yeah, of course you can send back the copies you eventually can’t get rid of, but if so I suggest you to wait to some time later to see if you can sell ‘em then instead— or in worst case you can send ‘em to someone else in Italy who can buy/sell (we can find one, if so). Be evil — Not openminded! Only Black is true, only Death is Real!

Gore is trend! No fun - No trends! C-ya!

Dead”

#metal music #black metal #Pelle Ohlin #Dead #90s #Mayhem #Swedish black metal #metal #Norwegian black metal #Per's letters #Letters to Old Nick #Old Nick #Letters from the Dead #1990 #Kråkstad #The Old Nick #Per Yngve Ohlin

[brother-emperors]

a bystander: both of you are focusing on the wrong thing

anyway! this is a comic from the vault™! it was originally something goofy I drew for myself after I read a couple of different takes on this whole event (Crassus leaving Rome in 63 BCE, see Plutarch Pompey 43). like.

the phrasing is giving late night teleserye plot drama.

and this literally sounds like something a friend has told me about someone else's relationship drama with their sometimes ex. but like. on a less high stakes stage.

ALRIGHT, moving on. some stuff that was Fun To Read, To Me

Crassus' New Friends and Pompey's Return, Eve J Parrish

Crassus: a Political Biography, B.A. Marshall

speaking of titles, fascinated by how this part of crassus' life gets defined by pompey's absence/return. hello fellas!

AND FINALLY inspiration for Pompey's comment about perpetuating cycles of violence comes from this delightfully dramatic bit of writing

Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman Republic, Allen Mason Ward

bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost

#pompey immediately: FUCK YOU i treat all of my wives great. you'd LOVE it #crassus without hesitation: you go through wives the way cicero will go through a house. NO. #komiks tag #drawing tag #roman republic tag #tris homines #there was another quote i wanted to add in but this is already too long and it's in an epub file and i have a detective novel up #i am loathe to close out of to bring up something else #ANYWAY. this is from my vault of comics i drew for myself but i took it out of the vault to letter it #because it's done on the canvas dimensions/dpi i have trikaranos set up for #and i needed to test out this new font on something comparable so i can make a note of it for my lettering settings. ehghgh. tech work #my vault of unposted comics makes them seem like leads in a very weird romantic drama if a romantic drama also had a lot of dead people #marcus licinius crassus #gnaeus pompeius magnus

[gilgamushroom]

#this was all i could think about in that passage in lady frances #i am NOT dead i've just been drowning in work 👍🏼 #really hope to be able to go back to the tag soon lfw is one of life's joys #letters from watson #sherlock holmes

[kingsandbastardz]

Tumblr ate the anon ask I was responding to so I'm gonna paraphrase it here:

what do mean llh gave di feisheng to fang duobing? the letter totally said something else

Yes, it did - but I didn't feel I could comment too deeply on it when it's been retranslated and people who are far more literate than I am have analyzed the contents already. -- The letter itself seems pretty straight forward.

However, what I wanted to focus on was analyzing unspoken social dynamics - so I'm gonna get in depth into my reasoning for my interpretation. And admittedly in previous posts I was playing fast and glib with my responses (they were just insomnia-fueled thoughts I typed real fast) so I wasn't really in depth or anything. Anyway~~~ That means it's time for me to get long winded.

So! First thing - this is the scene: The letter was written from Li Xiangyi and addressed in its entirety to Di Feisheng. However, when it was delivered the fisherman asked for both DFS and FDB. It was then read outloud by either the fisherman or FDB -- I assume read out loud, and loudly, because DFS never left his position by the rocks and emoted his distress at the contents. That means everyone there also was privy to the letter contents.

The letter itself is straight forward. It's addressed from LXY telling DFS that he regretfully can't make the duel and that he respects him both as a martial artist and as a person, and if he wishes, he can go to FDB who has inherited his skills and shows great promise, etc.

The thing IS - I firmly believe that this is not a message meant just for DFS.

Both LLH and DFS code switch between their non-leader selves vs Li-Menzhu and Di-Mengzhu. It's easiest to see based on what they're wearing. Li Xiangyi when he's dressed in the Sigu Sect uniform. Or the Styx flower hand-off scene where he calls him Di-mengzhu (not Lao Di or A-Fei or whatever else) likely as a reaction to his official regalia/red uniform which means DFS was showing up in an official capacity. Both of them know very well the importance of a certain.... how to say.... drama? They're both leaders and they were also very performative in their roles as leaders. They both expected that massive peanut gallery that showed up to witness the fight - the one filled with members of various sects, including Sigu Sect leadership -- because dfs was likely the one announcing it.

Imo - aside from the need to express the full weight of what he felt, part of the reason LLH was so formal in his letter is expectation that there would be other people there - influential people. The very people DFS and FDB would have to deal with in the future alone. FDB would be ok but he's largely unknown to the rest of jianghu and therefore his story is still malleable. DFS is known, but infamous and his narrative is as much of a trap as LXY's was. And now he no longer has the benefit of a sect to act as a buffer.

LLH's last act as LXY was not to save Yun Biqiu but to carve a new path open in the world for DFS and FDB:

Expresses that he bears deep emotion and the greatest and deepest respect for DFS despite a reputation of them being enemies

Informs everyone that DFS is not seeking dominion or 'the throne' but rather, is going the fighter-scholar path of studying and testing martial skill -- aka, this is message from one sect leader to all the others present. Spread the word, this man is NOT gunning for your power. None of you have reason to take him down.

Establishes FDB as his one and only successor - while also stating clearly it's entirely up to FDB to decide whether to continue down this path or not

Creates a pathway for DFS and FDB to maintain their connection with each other - and in fact lets everyone else know that there is a pre-established, legacy relationship between DFS and LLH that FDB will be inheriting.

Gently asks DFS to keep an eye on FDB's development - iterating that if dfs is the one asking, then FDB may make the decision to continue to train - aka help him see his full potential whatever his decision is.

At the same time, he silently wishes FDB to maintain connections with/keep an eye on DFS. In another reply I kinda went on about this: imagine a scenario where your friend's mom pulls both of you in front of her. And the whole time is telling your friend that they need to do, expectations, a list of goals, etc. The entire time she's only focused on your friend - but there is this silent implication that you, as the witness, is expected to act a reminder or even an enforcer if your friend isn't listening. If things go wrong, you're expected to go in there and help them to do the thing they were asked to do. This is the unspoken message I'm getting for FDB. Even though his name wasn't mentioned in the letter, it was explicitly delivered to both him and dfs. He's standing right there while an imaginary LLH talks to DFS. So if after all this, dfs disappears without another word = fdb can feel emboldened to go after him, knocking on doors until he answers. Should he decide to do so.

Entreaty - "These are LXY's (my) last wishes. Please respect my memory after my death."

Conclusion: LLH's last actions were to create a space where both DFS and FDB can make their own decision on their path in the world, without the weight of all those other people in jianghu influencing them.

Note: I also believe that on dfs' side, his clothing choices point toward his plans to publicly step down and leave the martial path with Li Lianhua. But llh sucker-punched him and left him standing on some rocks like a widow waiting for her husband who's lost at sea. They were technically on the same page, but it somehow went wrong because... well. Unfortunately that's DFS' narrative. He never quite reaches his goal without the hero either hindering or helping him. The entire drama was LLH being that karma busting fulcrum for him. But now, should he wish it, it'll be FDB's turn to step up and do the same.

#also as an aside - with all the marriage symbolism and the dead brides in every story arc - both lyx and dfs with red uniforms? #llh stealing dfs repeatedly away from marriages? sgd wanting llh to wear the red for HIM but instead llh wears it for everyone else but him #it's very much giving me sacrificial savior where the hero is for the people and not any given individual #mysterious lotus casebook #my royal ramblings #di feisheng #li lianhua #li xiangyi #fang duobing #lxy's last letter #meta

[jasontoddssuper]

You want me to go meet up with my mom?The thing that killed Jason Todd?

#HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY DJDJDJDJDJF #also please don't say the words 'm*mmy issues' on this post i beg😭 #jason todd #robin #red hood #batfam #teen titans #ditf #utrh #ditf 2020 #rhato #rho #wfa #teen titans:damian edition #dead sidekicks force #as per always my jason is afro-dominican a bi trans man and adhd autistic mdd #letters from summer #pop post 🌟

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

TTPD Track Speculation/Prediction: @wavesoutbeingtossed Edition

Against my better judgment, I’m putting down my predictions before I am proven completely wrong on April 19.

on the other hand I did correctly attribute all of the 1989 TV vault track teaser lyrics to their songs before it was released so maybe I’m just that good jk.

I’m putting everything under a cut because it’s long and mostly just shooting the shit but it’s a long weekend so what the heck!

I started writing this the night the album was announced at the Grammys in February, so obviously things may have evolved in the meantime. It will be very interesting to see just how wrong I am!

Here be speculation, musings, jokes and more! Enter at your own risk!

SOUND:

I honestly have NO CLUE. I’ve said many, many times that I would be absolutely gagged for an Americana-folk type sound like Carolina/Safe and Sound/some of her acoustic performances on tour. I don’t really expect TTPD to sound quite that stripped back, though. (Prove me wrong, Taylor!)

I am kind of feeling pop-rock-y though, à la WCS, TTDS, based on absolutely nothing but that is also a genre/sound I love that I am begging to hear more on albums.

Completely off the wall guess: Something more jazzy-big band-y, based on nothing but her styling in recent months on the red carpet that harkens back to golden age of Hollywood vibes (especially the Grammys), the inclusion of Clara Bow (renowned flapper girl) on the track list, and the way she keeps talking about being grateful fans accept her bending and switching genres over the years and support her when she does “weird” things.

FORMAT (?)

OK this is just me spitballing, but I said awhile back that I am just getting vibes that there may be, like, a story within a story with this. As in, using some fictional settings as an allegory for the story about herself. The example I used then was The Lumineers, and how they wrote their album III about three generations of a fictional family dealing with addiction, which was an allegory for the lead singer’s own family’s experience with it (without directly calling out the family member in question at the time). There were characters in the album, but many of the songs were sung from an “I”/“you” perspective. I may not be explaining myself well, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are “fictional” stories in that they’re sung about characters (e.g. Clara Bow?), but it will be obvious to fans that she’s using the characters to speak about herself and her experiences. I’m just getting big “storytelling” energy from the hints. Which means I’m totally wrong!!!! Don’t listen to me!!! (I do think there will be some shades of this somehow, though.)

TRACK LIST SPECULATION

Fortnight: Think you are all on the money about it being the time between the start of tour and when Joever happened for good. Sort of a “two years of uncertainty coming to a head in two weeks” thing. Spending two weeks agonizing over what to do. Two weeks for your whole life to blow up. Finally being removed from the situation and grasping onto your dreams that have been on hold for years and realizing your mind’s made up because you won’t give this part of you up even if it means letting go of what you thought your future held. But another thing I’ve thought of: some common wisdom claims it takes two weeks for a new routine to become a habit, so… outside chance it’s like, two weeks go by and you’re finally used to/accepted whatever it is you’re trying to kick? Also had a thought that there could be many two-week periods that can mark your life and give pause. 

The Tortured Poets Department: No idea really lol. For some reason I feel like this is going to be a little more experimental, “laying the groundwork for the defense” type of vibe, kinda like Mastermind, or using the investigative/academic metaphor to delve into it like, Mad Woman or Vigilante Shit. (Or: it could be super petty roasting the infamous group chat lol. In all seriousness though I would doubt that because I feel like this album is very much about Her… unless said group chat was so insufferable she needs to blast it on main.)

My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys: I saw some talk on my dash about this giving renegade themes (you fire off missiles because you hate yourself but don’t you know you’re demolishing me), and I totally thought the same thing. Also those of you who pointed out the parallels to Cardigan are geniuses (when I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed you put me on and said I was your favorite). Again kinda think there might be some more metaphor in this but guessing it may be along the lines of “he’s only doing this because he knows I won’t leave” themes? It instantly gives dark and uneasy. It gives, the people you love are the ones you hurt the most. All signs point to Not Good.

(Or this is about Benji destroying his spin toys or is that just my cat that does that.)

Down Bad: Someone said (on Jaime’s blog I think*) that this is giving False God but icky and I can TOTALLY see that. (Then again I’ve always found False God sad in the sense that it’s like, “even when we fight so bad we can’t communicate we still have the sex holding us together.”) But, Taylor does like to take sayings with common meanings and twist them on their heads, so I also wouldn’t be surprised if “Down Bad,” isn’t referring to being down as in being horny for someone, but being down as in, feeling devastated/hopeless. (Or, even worse, mean both at the same time. 😵‍💫)

(*I wrote this post in February after the announcement, I don’t have a clue when any of this was said anymore sorry)

So Long, London: like a lot of people, I feel like this is her goodbye to the life they had and more importantly/poignantly, the dreams she had of their future. (I don’t know but, “remember looking at this room we loved cause of the light, now I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time” just feels like it’d be part of this story.) So because I’ve said that, watch it be an excoriation of London Boy lol. (You know I’m mad at a London Boy / who just really won’t leave Camden / Market in the afternoon / he hasn’t seen my American smile / in two months cause he won’t come to see me / when I have a show to do…) Feel like it’s going to gut us. BUT, also wonder if this is her “I’m getting the fuck out of dodge ROCK FLAG AND EAGLE” anthem haha. (Or: she ran away to London to escape the Bad Stuff but then got stuck in another kind of Bad Stuff living there for so long…)

But Daddy I Love Him: Pretty obviously the Little Mermaid reference. Very curious if the actual quote is in the song, or if it’s just named that to set the scene but the song instead is an expounding on the theme of giving up her voice for the sake of the relationship like Ariel. Also wonder if this is an overtly diaristic song or if she is going to use characters/figures/fiction to expand on the theme subtly, a little like Maisie Peters’ History of Man or Florence & The Machine’s Cassandra or even more pointedly like her own Last Great American Dynasty or The Lucky One. I do assume the overarching theme is going to be the push-pull between keeping her love and giving up things that are important to her to make that love work.  (Watch this be about her arguing with her father about marrying *** lol.)

The theme of giving up your voice/what you hold dear for love is so loaded, and has some parallels to Clara Bow’s story, which is also on the track list so… Lots to chew on I’m sure.

Fresh Out The Slammer: Totally think the reference to her locking herself up for years at home because she was scared in the Time POTY interview is a likely link to this. Feeling free after the weight of this decision is off her shoulders, yet the sheer terror at now being on her own and rebuilding her future. It could be uplifting but I could also see it being like pure chaos. BUT, a thought I had earlier is that, if this is a song that was written pre-Joever, maybe it’s about the aftermath of a rough patch. Like, we just got our get out of jail free cards, we made it through the other side of this Big Thing that almost ended us (e.g. the final blow in YLM), where do we go from here?

Florida!!!: Emphasis on the “!!!”!!! Honestly it had me at FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE. I’m soooooo curious and sooooooooooooo pumped for this one. I don’t want to let myself hope it’s going to sound like a Florence song BUT I HOPE IT SOUNDS LIKE A FLORENCE SONG. I’m going to guess it may be a reference to the first stop on tour after the news broke. Wasn’t that also a show where a ton of things went wrong? I can see it going so many ways! Is it a hopeful “Florida I’m coming for you you’re a symbol of my great escape my prison break my entire life crumbling and rising again”? An introspective “I never thought I’d have to rebuild my whole world after it imploded, in Florida of all places?!”? Is it a sarcastic “fucking Florida always the scene of the crime I can’t believe my life is falling apart and I need to go to FUCKASS FLORIDA oh great every thing that can go wrong with my show is FLORIDA!!!!”? Is it a rant about the corporate mouse? Or a scathing takedown of Republican politics ahead of the 2024 elections? (lol) Who’s to say?!

Guilty as Sin?: Sooooooooooo curious about this. I’m a Carolina Stan and I know there is 0% chance there is a link between the two songs other than the lyric which is a common term, but it does make me happy. My first thought about this one is that it’s going to be biting or self-reflective — kinda like the bridge of Is It Over Now? Or the chorus of Anti-Hero. As in, “what is it exactly that you think I’m guilty of?” (E.g. ambition? Drive? Seeking attention? Being selfish? But could also be sad: Loving too hard? Caring too much? Being too needy? Hmmm.) I’m kind of feeling like it’s a “if it’s wrong to be guilty of these things I don’t want to be right.” Again if I had to guess I’d wonder if it would have the same vibes as the bridge of YLM. (For some reason, with the question mark, I don’t necessarily think it’s going to be accusing someone of something…)* I also had a thought about the seven deadly sins and this title and… THOUGHTS ARE THINKING**.

(*I may not have found it accusatory in February, but with the benefit of hindsight in March I… reserve the right to change my mind about this.)

(**Future Waves here: the thoughts may have been thinking for February Waves but March Waves has no idea what she was talking about.)

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?: I don’t knooooooooooow. At first the title kinda gave me Blank Space vibes, like, you don’t know how much I could fuck this up if I wanted. Then some people mentioned the similarity to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? And now that’s absolutely all I can think about. If you’ve ever seen the movie (or the play), it is rooooooooough. Watching George and Martha drunkenly eviscerate each other as their guests watch on in horror is… oof. (As someone who has seen this happen in real life and was trapped on a boat with a couple in full unhinged mode… OOF. Just OOF.) Of course there’s the Burton-Taylor of it all too so… (there’s also an interesting theme in Virginia Woolf about buying into illusion to avoid the messiness of reality… and Martha resenting George’s lack of ambition.) Is this song cheeky? Or a threat? Is this a Better Than Revenge/Vigilante Shit rebuke or is it Bejeweled owning her personhood?

(Like any of these songs, there’s also the chance that it’s heartbreaking and is really a reflection on how the things that make her her can be weaponized against her… Or how her struggles/vices alienate her to the person she loves a la Anti-Hero…)

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can): My first thought is this is going to be one of her sarcastic/satirical/funnier ones, based on nothing except that this sounds like it could be an Olivia Rodrigo cheeky song lol. (Like, I immediately start singing this to the tune of “Get Him Back.”) Never beat those allegations, Taylor, we’ve all been there. It definitely feels like a stereotypical tale of “girl tries to fix a man who doesn’t want to change and refuses to give up.” Watch this actually be a sad ballad about the flip side of renegade and trying to help a partner through a crisis 😬 

loml: the quiet menace in this list!!!! Obviously we’re all immediately thinking “love of my life,” but because this is Taylor, we should not rest easy. The fact that it’s all in small caps is curious to me and calls back to text speak, so is this a term of endearment that turns into a final parting sign off? Is it from an email ahem? Is it a sweet song about the good parts of being together? A wistful song about a lost love? BUT THEN, because it’s Taylor, I can totally see this being a bait and switch and it standing for something else as some of you pointed out, like loss of my life, or love OR my life. Or something entirely different. I’m pretty convinced that this one is going to be devastating in some fashion. I just feel it in my bones.

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart: Like many of you, I’m fairly certain this is going to be a bittersweet Long Live-esque ode to the Eras tour. The pick yourself up by the bootstraps, get out of bed, the show must go on and the show is saving my life story. Just thinking of the quote from the Time POTY interview where she said, “I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed.” And in those early weeks, it seems like she might have been all of those things at once. Just trying to talk yourself into getting out of bed when all you want the earth’s core to swallow you whole and never come back. Kind of like, I can pick up the pieces of my life and carry on even when I am dying inside. 

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived: Obviously this is about one Benjamin Button, please. OK, in all seriousness, it’s giving, well… *shots fired*. It’s giving “your integrity makes me seem small.” It’s giving “I’m a monster on the hill, too big to hang out.” It’s giving “all you are is mean.” So, part of me thinks it’s going to be turned on its head a little bit, just because… it seems to point to something directly and sometimes Taylor enjoys a bit of misdirection. So is this about someone who takes shots at someone else and in so doing, displays their own insecurity? Another thought I had is: Is this about someone who retreats into their own world so much that they’ve shut out everything and everyone else? Their whole world gets shrunken down to the four walls around them? I have a strong feeling this is an allegory-type song, using a fictionalized and possibly fantastical story to tell the real life one, but obviously I could be wrong.

The Alchemy: gonna be real with you all: I didn’t know that alchemy was the practice of turning base metals into something that looks like gold. I think I was mixing it up with apothecary or something, lol. I thought it was the practice of making potions and whatnot. #TheMoreYouKnow ANYWAY, I think the idea of “turning nothing into something that shines” is going to be important. Is it about using her best colours for a portrait to hide the cracks underneath? Is it about trying your best to make something work and thrive but ultimately coming up empty because the foundation is gone? Is it about turning these base experiences into art that fuels her? There are so many possibilities! (@taylortruther’s post about The Alchemy and other comments got me thinking too about the magician/illusionist scenario in So It Goes and now my brain is on fire.)

Clara Bow: Soooooooooo intrigued by this one too. People have pointed out so many of the interesting coincidences and parallels in their lives. Clara Bow was a silent film star who found her voice in the talkies — that right there is one metaphor about finding your voice in your art and your life. But it’s also an interesting parallel that she managed to parlay her success in silent film into talkies, at a time where few actors enjoyed a successful transition, which mirrors Taylor’s transition from country to pop. There’s the way Clara’s private life was splashed all over the press, driven by salacious rumours about her sex life and her perceived revolving door of lovers, which seems like something Taylor would empathize with. There’s the way she had a breakdown and left Hollywood, which may have some shades of 2016. Or that she got married and started a family, but insisted on keeping it a secret for many years to maintain privacy, which is interesting because in this case it seems like *Clara* was the one driving the need for secrecy, not her husband. (At least I read that in one article somewhere, sorry if that’s wrong!) Ultimately though, she died relatively young and was forgotten by mainstream Hollywood, a relic of a past uninteresting to all but the most diehard of film buffs. I’m getting vibes of “The Lucky One,”  (and “Nothing New”) both in themes and in storytelling. So, watch it be completely different and not a story about Clara Bow but instead just have it be an off-hand line lol.

BONUS TRACKS

The Manuscript: I’m veeeeeery intrigued by this one. (I know I say that about all of them. That’s because they all intrigue me.) I love the idea that this wraps up the “standard” album; the chair(wo)man of the Tortured Poets Department has submitted her thesis for review, and it’s up to the board to draw their conclusion. OR: the idea that this is the unfiltered submission to a publisher, before the editor’s review that will cut and tighten and ultimately make it better, but loses the author’s initial vision in the process. (Like self-editing to share the most palatable story to your reader. Which… Also gives Dear Reader/Midnights in general vibes.) OR EVEN: this is the author’s story, submitted to the audience for their review, leaving it up to them to draw their conclusions and annotate. There are sooooooo many ways I can see this going. 

The Bolter: A curious one indeed! I feel like of all of the bonus tracks at least, this is the one I have the least idea about. My immediate guess is that it refers to a person who runs, which would have all kinds of implications. Running from the law (unlikely lol), running from commitment, running from conflict… running for your life. Like running from commitment because you’re scared of being tied down (single girl version) to running from commitment because you’re scared of being tied down (bitter wife* version). (*NOT saying there was a secret wedding lol. I mean as in, that’s the future that was in store if one stayed.) I saw other takes saying bolter is also slang for jailer, which is also interesting with the Ready For It of it all. 

The Albatross: So much has been said about this one, so I don’t think I have much to ado about this one! The famous poem is rife with all kinds of allusions: the bird soaring on its own for up to six years, but being brought down by man’s cruelty. The bird looking majestic in the skies, but the burden of its wings dragging it down on land, slowly killing it. The story being a metaphor for how the very thing poets are exalted for in society are the things they are punished for personally. I think it’s safe to say this one is going to hurt regardless, whether it’s a reference to herself, to ***, or something else entirely.

The Black Dog: Also another one I’m not sure I have many thoughts on yet. The black dog being a metaphor for depression is likely the inspiration, and I’m assuming this has the potential to be one of the most vulnerable songs yet. I have a feeling most of this album will be, but the imagery of this — the black dog being a constant companion, wanted or not, casting a pall over its master’s every move — points in a pretty obvious direction. And one that is probably going to gut us.

Well there you have it folks! I am ready to be completely wrong!

#the tortured poets department #Happy Good Friday this post has risen from the dead #(oops was that uncouth of me) #three weeks!!!!!! #i need this album now #my brain is on fire #Writing letters addressed to the fire