No no you cannot just post that 'silly little hc'??? And not expect me to ask you about it??? I need the rest of your lecture notes ASAP lol
✿ — yesss! haha! i was really, really hoping that someone might be intrigued enough to maybe ask me about this further; it's honestly so near and dear to my heart, especially since diving deep into storytelling and character development is a massive passion of mine! :))
for a little bit of context, this ask is in reference to >>this<< post i made briefly going over my whole hc for the two ep! :D
anyways!! this post is gonna be a massive theory/headcannon post that will be focusing on the sleep token ep, two, and the first song, calcutta, as well as my hc that these songs are quite literally the basis for ii's backstory! :D considering that nazareth and jericho are two of my favorite songs in all of sleep token's discography, i'll most likely address those two songs in a separate post! :) for now, i just wanna throw these thoughts out there, haha!
well, first of all, where does this hc originate from? i'm so glad you asked! :D this hc stems from the fact that every song from this ep are the only songs on spotify to list a 'vessel ii' as a composer alongside 'vessel'. to my knowledge! calcutta, nazareth, and jericho are the only songs in the entire sleep token discography that lists a 'vessel ii' as a composer alongside 'vessel' or 'vessel 1'. naturally, we can assume that this is our one and only ii! :)
and, of course, the ep is named 'two'! :) yes, of course, this ep is the band's second compilation of music, so the name is a little bit on the nose, haha! but i also like to think — in the same vein that this ep is ii's backstory — the ep one is vessel's backstory :) which, who knows, haha! maybe i'll do my own narrative analysis of the one ep after this >:Dc
↳ tw + cw : discussions of death, jealousy + possessive thoughts.
✿ — first up on the ep is calcutta! :D gosh, i do so love this song, haha! but, first of all, what does calcutta mean?
✧ — as a general idea, calcutta is actually the largest city and the capital in west bengal of india! it's a bit of a melting pot of sorts, especially for practicing different religions such as hinduism, muslims, and, of course, christianity. though, since 2001, the city has officially changed its name to 'kolkata'.
↳ another interesting thing that i discovered while doing some extra research for this post is in regards to the etymology behind the name 'kolkata'! :D the word is initially taken from the name 'kôlikata' which was the name of one of three villages in the area that merged together to form the city of kolkata. in regards to the etymology of the name, 'kolikata' is thought to have been a variation of the bengali word 'kalikkhetrô' which translates to 'field of kali'.
↳ okay, so!! interestingly enough, kali — also known as kalika — is a prominent figure in hindu mythology and religion! kali is oftentimes worshipped as a divine protector and as one who bestows liberation; she is associated with aspects of mortal life such as time, change, creation, power, and!! the most fascinating bit!! she is also associated with destruction and death. this little tidbit of information becomes even more interesting when considering the next song featured in this ep, nazareth. but!! back to calcutta! :)
✧ — additionally, there was also a dungeon stationed in fort william, calcutta in the 1700's that held british prisoners of war after the fort was overtaken in a seige. the dungeon was known as the 'black hole of calcutta', and a written account from one of the soldiers that was imprisoned there detailed brutal conditions that were so inhuman and cramped that they had its prisoners dying from suffocation and heat exhaustion. to support this reference, in the opening shots for the calcutta music video, vessel is shown literally crawling out of an unknown crevice, presumably a hole. haha! i don't know why i worded that so weirdly, but you get the point! :)
✿ — these possible little sneak-peeks of the possible history behind the name of this song are so fascinating to me, haha! but, what about the actual song?
✧ — of course, this is all up my personal feelings and interpretations about this song, but i like to think that calcutta is a song about hopelessness and about experiencing a growing sense of despair that can only come from loving another person that you cannot obtain. as much as i would love to break this song down lyric by lyric and piece by juicy little piece, i think i'm going to focus on specific lyrics and sections that really resonate with me! :D ...which is apparently almost the entirety of the song, haha!
' i am caught, tangled in // wrapped and quartered '
↳ when i first heard this lyric, i was immediately reminded of the black hole of calcutta. to be caught, to be tangled in, only to be executed in a brutal manner that was typically reserved only for individuals who had committed high treason against the kingdom of england. when dissecting it, it's an absolutely morbid and grim line that opens this entire ep!
' and i ache for your eyes and the way you breathe // and i wake, say your name // and i wake, say your name '
↳ personally, these lines scream!! unyielding yearning + unrequited love. especially considering that this line follows after vessel singing about how 'for just a moment // missing pieces find me'?? it feels like every slightly good emotion or feeling that's described in this song is almost immediately crushed by a haunting reminder of how temporary that sensation is.
' you are more than warm belief // melting skywards '
↳ something that i find to be one of the more interesting little references in this ep is that two of the three songs hold roots in christianity + and even calcutta holds a lot of religious symbolism and ties to hinduism. this line feels like religious symbolism being directed to a mortal body—one i can only assume might be vessel. this happens a lot throughout the course of this ep, where there are multiple lyrics that hold heavy references to religious symbolism and/or religious imagery. but there's something so distinctly mortal about how these lyrics are executed, that associating these lyrics with sleep just feels completely incorrect. at least to me!! a gentle reminder that this is all my own person headcannon :)
↳ i'd like to specifically bring your attention towards the terminology that's used in these lyrics! i believe that ii saying that vessel is 'more than warm belief' is ii saying that vessel is more than what sleep is trying to make of him; he is his own person, his own identity that is more than just his devotion to sleep. now, my favorite part is this next bit! 'melting skywards'. sleep token is known for their constant references to water as a form of symbolism, and i think that it's no different here! this might be a bit of an extra long stretch, but i think that ii is worried that vessel's 'warm belief' towards sleep will melt him—ii is worried that vessel's devotion might quite literally be the death of him, or at least the death of his identity, instead choosing to leave ii behind and become completely enveloped in sleep's identity.
' more than silence broken // i'm whole again // for just a moment // 'till the morning comes '
↳ this line feels like a small snippet into vessel's and ii's relationship together, specifically their bonding through music as their time together is 'more than silence broken'. it's through these moments in time where ii feels whole again with vessel and the music that they've made by his side.
↳ i think the most interesting part of this line is the lyric ''till the morning comes'. my favorite thought behind sleep's and vessel's relationship is that sleep is the dominant force during the night, whereas vessel is the dominant side during the day. however, considering that sleep — especially during this era of sleep token's music — is considered a widely negative and toxic personality in their relationship with vessel, wouldn't ii look forward to the daytime?? a time of the week where sleep isn't such a domineering presence in both his and vessel's life?? well! i like to think that this song takes place early in vessel's borderline infatuation with sleep, so even the hours of daylight would be spent with vessel obsessing over sleep and possibly ignoring his relationship with ii in favor of his relationships with sleep and his own personal lover—more on this young lady next!! >:Dc
' oh, she said you'd better believe it // i said you don't know // oh, you said you'd better be there // i said you don't even know '
↳ now, we've finally come to a relatively popular theory in terms of vessel's life before sleep's influence—the possibility of his partner! :) now i will say that i do agree with the theory that vessel did have a longterm partner before sleep and the other vessels hehehe--! especially when considering the music videos for jaws, the way that you were, and possibly even the love that you want and the couple of feminine actors that make an impactful and/or reoccurring appearance in sleep token's music videos!
↳ okay! time to break this puppy down >:)c there are three separate sets of pronouns here — 'she', 'you', and 'i' — so let's identify who might be talking! i believe that 'she' is referring to vessel's partner, 'you' is in reference to vessel, and 'i' is ii. i believe that this verse establishes ii's jealousy towards vessel's partner — something that sleep will weaponize against them both in nazareth.
✧ — ' she said you'd better believe it // i said you don't know ' : to me this feels like vessel's partner is trying to address ii's jealousy, affirming that they are here to stay in vessel's life whether ii likes it or not + ii dismissing them, 'you don't know'.
✧ — ' you said you'd better be there // i said you don't even know ' : this feels like borderline damage control to me, which would make sense if we consider this first half to be from vessel's pov. vessel can see the animosity between ii and his partner. when vessel says, 'you'd better be there', i think he's referring to ii's presence in his life. you'd better be here, you'd better stay with me, etc. etc. and when ii replies, 'you don't even know', i think this is said with the opposite intentions of when ii was dismissing vessel's partner. here, i think ii is almost comforting vessel; his intentions are more genuine when he's addressing vessel, while remaining more hurtful when regarding vessel's partner. i think that this is where sleep finds ii.
✿ — to put it all together, i think that ii cherishes his time spent with vessel during the night, because it's just them! no partner and, at this time, sleep's influence is still small in vessel's life. it's just them. but his attentions are split up — it's being wrapped and quartered — between being with vessel, tolerating his partner, and beginning to catch the eye of sleep themselves.
but, in these moments, when it's just ii and vessel together in the dead night, ii feels whole. during the day, vessel seeks out his partner, but in the night, vessel seeks out ii—his missing pieces find him, even for just a moment. however, even in the morning, when vessel moves on, ii is still waking up saying vessel's name.
in conclusion, while sleep and their influences might be vessel's—vessel is ii's calcutta; he is ii's prison that ii willingly crawls back into every night, just to have a moment where it is just the two of them. and i think that it is in this moment in time where sleep extends their influence to ii, intending to weaponize ii's jealousy and possessive thoughts to bring vessel closer to sleep.
✿ — and that's it! :D that's my analysis of calcutta from the ep, two! :)) as a friendly reminder, this is just my own interpretation of the lyrics through a strictly narrative lense :) i don't think this could be actual sleep token canon, haha! i just think that this would make a very fun and interesting story for my own selfish reasons, haha! i'll still probably make another post for nazareth and jericho, but please feel free to let me know what you think of this silly little analysis in the mean time! :D i always love hearing other people's opinions and thoughts on these sorts of topics, haha!
