“My name’s Blurryface and I care what you think” – Stressed Out, Twenty One Pilots

In May of 2015, Twenty One Pilots released their third studio album, Blurryface. Through songs such as Heavydirtysoul, Ride, Doubt, and Goner, we were given a new story to explore. We just didn’t quite know it was a story. We only began to understand when Trench was released. In this second part of my “Dema” article series, I’ll be covering the ties between Trench, “Dema”, and Blurryface. If you missed Dema: Welcome to Trench, I would suggest reading that first. Or else you’ll be lost. Very, VERY lost.

Bishops

During Trench, we were “introduced” to Dema’s bishops, which represent the thoughts holding you to destructive, depressive tendencies. The names of these nine bishops are actually rooted from Blurryface. This was first recognized when a map of Dema’s regions was released, with the Bishops’ names above each region. It was set up the same way the Blurryface album cover looks. With a little more digging, it was discovered that the names can actually be found in the lyrics from several songs on Blurryface…

1. Andre: Fairly Local – “AND REpeat”
2. Lisden: Polarize – “feeL IS DENy”
3. Keons: Heavydirtysoul – “choKE ON Smoke”
4. Reisdro: Doubt – “temperatuRE IS DROpping”
5. Sacarver: Tear In My Heart – “sheS A CARVER”
6. Nills: Goner – “beaten dowN I’LL Slip away”
7.  Vetomo: Lane Boy – “aliVE TOMOrrow”
8. Listo: Ride – “LIST Of people”

The only bishop that couldn’t be found in any lyrics was Nico. BUT. There are theories that Nico is Blurryface. In Dema: Welcome to Trench, I referenced the “Dema” website, dmaorg.info, quite often. Well, it’s making a comeback. The site only ever shows one cryptic message or photo/set of photos at a time. One of the messages stated, “UNSTILLIDONTCKNOWOHISNREALINAMECDOOU?”. At first glance, you just see, “you still don’t know his real name, do you?” But when you extract the extra letters, it spells out, “NICO NICO”. It’s suggested that the person being referenced is Blurryface, and that Nico is his real name. Nico is known as the leader of the bishops, so it would make sense if he was Blurryface. “Blurryface” ultimately represents heavy insecurities, and the bishops, as previously stated, represent depression and ideations. Nico is considered the leader, or the worst of the bishops. If Nico was Blurryface, he would have been in pain longer, as well as in control.

Doubt

“Gnawing on the bishops, claw our way up their system. Repeating simple phrases, someone holy insisted. I want the markings made on my skin to mean something to me again. Hope you haven’t left without me.” – Doubt, Twenty One Pilots

If nothing else, this is the convincing factor that makes me believe they had been planning the story of Dema since at least the era of Blurryface. Within this one verse from Doubt, there are many connections.

“Gnawing on the bishops, claw our way up their system”

Yes, I know, this one is obvious. “Wow, it says ‘bishop’. That’s absolutely wild. Great work dude.” BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO THE STORY. This line shows that the banditos have been wanting to take down Dema, or escape it, before we even knew what it was.

“Repeating simple phrases”

One message that was released on dmaorg.info was, “get out. the compass lies. they don’t control you. get out. the compass lies. they don’t control you. get out. the compass lies. they don’t control you. get out. the compass lies. they don’t control you.” (This was further explained in Part 1)

“the markings made on my skin” 

In the era of Blurryface, Tyler Joseph had black markings painted on his hands and neck. He had these markings in music videos, photoshoots, and even on tour. Although, Josh did not have these marks. And surprise, surprise! There is a parallel to this within the Trench era.

To start this, let’s take a look at one of the letters from Clancy, a bandito who is unsure on his stance on Dema, which was displayed on dmaorg.info.

This letter is Clancy realizing Dema wasn’t as glorious as he had originally thought it to be. One of the final lines in the letter states, “The only significant light I’ve seen has been in the eyes of those smeared – such a curious sight, to see bright eyes strangled by the darkness of bishop hands”. In the Jumpsuit music video, the character played by Tyler comes face to face with a bishop. (Tyler may be Clancy, and we are unsure of who the bishop was) In this meeting, we see the bishop rub dark markings onto Tyler’s neck with his hands, similar to the ones Tyler had during Blurryface. This would explain, “markings made on my skin”, “eyes of those smeared”, and, “darkness of bishop hands”.

“hope you haven’t left without me”

This is a bit more of a stretch, but I feel as though this could relate to the banditos who are attempting to escape Dema. He may be saying he doesn’t want the banditos to leave him before he figures out if he actually wants to escape.

Conclusion

Now, I’ve only scratched the surface of the lore behind Blurryface. There is still much more to discover, and we aren’t finished yet. Next, we’ll discuss the attempt to escape Dema, as described in a Clancy letter, and Nico and the Niners.