we have a few possibilities re: "clancy is dead"
-metaphoric blast (killing a part or version of yourself)
-glorious gone (suicide)
-get over it (the *storyline* will not be continued)

I'm going to argue for/against each one cus I dunno man

killing some version of yourself to start anew is what you DO in this story. a death has marked the restart of the cycle many times, so for clancy's return to dema - to sleep, to apathy, to nonthinking - to be a death is not unprecedented

but trench introduced a new view of the cycles: where leaving behind the thing killing you is not bullet but fire, where you don't try to destroy your adversary, but escape it alongside your people. not killing your mind, but leaving the city, seeking "beyond"

we see through the vultures that death remains a part of this growth - we "feed on pain," "turn death into life." but for a new understanding of the cycle beyond trench, I think we can expect the vultures feeding on those lost to leave the walls of the city for good

//suicide mention

or in plain english: for us, the people trying to progress and grow, to so completely renounce the glorification of suicide that there is no one left to be used as pawns in that pushing that doctrine

what I'm saying is that leaving behind at least *this version* of the character clancy is exactly what I would expect as tyler's understanding of himself progresses, but I do think that a victory *for clancy* INSIDE the narrative is better described as escape than death

cw suicide

I hate to even say this. in the last letter, he was back in city, questioning whether he was better off staying. the goal of the vialism is a particular kind of death. different act, same word. I can't make this thread and ignore the possibility that clancy never left

I do NOT think that's what this is. I am acknowledging it to reject it. they would not make this art about why that glorification is wrong and then reward clancy's hope with that end. and since clancy wouldn't *literally* die by another means, I don't think he is literally dead

this should be obvious, but nobody killed clancy, that's not how this works. the only other possibility I see for a literal death is something I do not think they would do. tbh it's strange to me that they would say "clancy is dead" when that interpretation is remotely possible

they could be saying that this *storyline* is over, not that clancy is dead within the story. yknow, like we say "that meme is dead." they have brought up the idea of an in-between, non-narrative album, especially because they can't see us at shows

here he is talking to zane lowe in May 2020.

so they could be telling us to quit waiting for another letter. giving us a heads-up so we’re not mad and disappointed when it drops and there’s no hint of dema.

but pronouncing your beloved narrator *dead* is a weird and confusing way to do that, even if you are a snarky guy with your fans.

more still, the narrative is definitely not over. they've made it clear that the record is open-ended *so that* what follows can be explored later

whenever they talk about a non-narrative album, they call it an "in-between" album. not a dead story, a paused story. could they mean TRENCH is dead, and the era is over, not the overarching journey since their first record? I guess. but trench was an expansion on bf. dead? nah

if the ideas, images, and characters off blurryface weren't shelved for trench, I really doubt trench is going to be shelved for the next piece of this story. it's not over

I could be wrong, though. they’ve discussed moving away from concept albums. maybe they want to be more direct or smth

July 2019: “I know there’s a lot more to explore in that concept and in that narrative and I guess we just don’t know which direction we’re going to go in yet.”

but I soo doubt they’ll abandon concept albums lol?? this video is a month later:
“those are the people we want to hang out with, the people that really dive in and care about the art of storytelling and the artwork and the colors”

and then a year later in july 2020

I don't have a conclusion! this is just me thinking about the possibilities. I'm still shocked and I find it strange they told us through LOC.

if you made it this far and you have any thoughts, I would love to hear them. I hope this context helps.

[end of thread for now]