You are what they said you were. I see the weathering on your face, and the journey you’ve BBeen on. Although we were away, I hope you now know that I’ve never left you. It’s time, Clancy. They believe in the movEEment. They are ready for TThis oppression to end. They are ready to defeaTT this archaic rule once and for all. We can meet out in Trench at camp to lay out our plan. We will bring you evEErything you need. We have support from yellow and red now, and our militia is strong. No matter what, when that day comes, we will get you to the toweRR.
NEVER FORGET THE CRIES OF YOUR PEOPLE NEVER FORGET THE RAW FEAR THAT FUELED YOU, OR THE REBELS THAT MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY. WE ARE ALL ONE WE DESTROYED THEM SO THAT WE DIDN’T BECOME THEM WE MUST DO BETTER, CLANCY WE MUST DO BETTER.
The crown is heavy, but I can carry it. This city needs hope, and I alone can give it to them. But the city needs to feel powerful again, and snap out of the lifeless obedience they’ve been trapped in. I can give it to them. I gave them hope. I will be their example of absolute power. I feel alive again.
TB 最后的信全部使用大写，并且说“WE DESTROYED THEM SO THAT WE DIDN’T BECOME THEM”说明这封信写在 Clancy 的转变发生之后，像是 TB 对于刚刚成为统治者的 Clancy 的劝诫信。TB 用这封信告诫 Clancy 取得权力之后不要忘记人们和反抗者，不能重蹈覆辙，成为新的压迫者，必须比他们“做得更好”。
Clancy 叛逃：他设法让 Nico 把他带出 Dema 城的城墙，他通过点燃汽车转移了主教的注意力，逃脱了 Dema 城。他在 Trench 大陆游走数周后被主教找到并带走，但在被带走之前，他看见了山间的匪帮团（Banditos），之前他只在传说故事中听到过他们。（注：以上是“Jumpsuit”录影带的内容）回到 Dema 城不久，匪帮团解救了他，让他加入他们的队伍，但是他不久又被主教找到、带回 Dema。（“Nico”和“Levitate”的录影带）
两次叛逃后 Clancy 在 Dema 城的名气增长了，这是主教不希望看到的。他们让他装扮成 Dema 城的娱乐明星，用色彩鲜艳的舞台表演迷惑那里的市民。Clancy 在海上表演时，一名主教 Keons 背叛了 Nico，使用 Trash 龙攻击游艇（“Saturday”录影带），Clancy 逃脱了，到达了 Voldsoy 小岛。岛上的 Ned 授予了 Clancy 拥有“念力”能量的双角，使他拥有了控制死尸躯体活动的能力。（“The Outside”录影带）
另一个角度来看，Clancy 希望使用“念力”来赢得这次的战役 – 也就是通过占据 Dema 城的死尸的躯体，让他们加入反叛活动、对抗主教。这可以让人怀疑，他这样的做法是否跟主教没有区别；而他的装扮（遮脸、红色装束、黑色双手）也跟黄色和绿色装扮（同时也是 Trench 大陆的荒原的主色调）的匪帮团不相同，跟主教的装束更加像。Clancy 是否会在想要战胜主教的过程中，自己已经变成了 Nico/Blurryface？
另外，根据 @BanditoHub 的解释，影片最后有女声用德语和法语说“The secret island has turned me into a weapon”（这个秘密之岛把我变成了一个武器）。片尾有钢琴片段，有人发现是把“Leave The City”转换音调以后的结果。以及另一种低音乐器演奏的音乐，不知道是不是新音乐的片段。（@jimb0cius 把这里的音乐分离出来了，可以去听听）
也有人找出 2022 年乐队的一个电台访问，其中 Tyler Joseph 提到他们的下一张专辑会是这个故事线的最后一张专辑，他们也会直接和清楚地讲明这个故事和其中的人物，把故事从头到尾串在一起。这么说的话，“Trench”、“Scaled And Icy”和这张专辑算是一个 trilogy（三部曲），他们也会在这张专辑给 Dema 的故事写下一个结尾。
附，影片中 Clancy 写下的内容（大概也可以当成一篇 Clancy 的日记）
I am trapped. Stuck in a cycle I have never been able to break. I want to believe this is the last time, but I don’t know for sure.
I’ll start with what I do know. I am a citizen of an old city. Well, they say it’s old, but there’s just no proof. I can feel my friends rolling their eyes.
I’ll keep it simple. I am a citizen of Dema, a circular cement city in the lower portion of an otherwise wild and green continent, Trench. We aren’t allowed to go out there. Most haven’t even seen it. But I have. I am an escapee, getting better at it with every attempt.
But they always find me. Well, he does. Nico. Or, Blurryface is what he calls himself. He’s the leader of the nine Bishops who govern the city.
Their authority comes from two things: a miraculous power and a hijacked religion. One feeds the other. A cycle. It’s called Vialism.
And all you really need to know is that it teaches that self-destruction is the only way to paradise. It also conveniently allows you to become an available vessel for the Bishops to use.
And that’s where the miracle comes in. We call it seizing. The rules are that you can only seize, or control, a dead body and only for a short while. Also, they, the Bishops, are the only ones who can do it.
I am a citizen. I am an escapee. And I am an exception to the rule.
Okay, this is what happened recently. I tricked Nico into taking me outside the walls. I created a fiery diversion. I escaped. I wandered, grew weak, and was tracked down.
But this drag path was different. I saw them. They watched me. The Banditos. Legends, only stories of a group that lived out here.
Shortly after being back inside the walls my new people got me out. They needed me for something. They brought me in, taught me their colors. But the cycle was too strong. I was recaptured. Back inside.
I guess word got around, I became known in Dema. The Bishops did not like this, but decided to use it to their advantage. They made me entertain the people. Lie to them. They made me perform for them.
Then Nico was betrayed. And I escaped. Again. This time I found myself at a new place, washed up on an island.
And there, I was given a gift, thought to be extinct. I now had the same exact, miraculous power they wielded from their towers.
I am a citizen. I am an escapee. I am an exception. I am returning to Trench.
The contents of that envelope were quite interesting to say the least, with a new Clancy letter being included and multiple hidden messages pic.twitter.com/zaRvCE4k2m
“I’m not as scared as I used to be. Their mystery begins to fade as a method to defeat them becomes more clear. I no longer feel powerless. I can outsmart them. This new power of psychokinesis worked, and I believe it can work again. I stand here, looking down at the line where the water meets the sand – a starting line. All the while, knowing there is a finish line across the Strait. Their compass lies, but mine remains true. I’ve left embers of inspiration, I only hope whatever spark was left has grown to a torch, and together we create an inferno.”
3月18日，《The Outside》音乐录影带解禁，讲述了 Clancy 和火炬手到达小岛后，幸运地获得了 Ned 头上的角，以此来附身于德玛城的主教凯恩斯身上来摧毁德玛城的故事。之前乐队曾经把 Ned 扩写为“神经扩展装置”（Neuro-Expansion Device，比如在这个 Instagram 个人页面）。根据这支录影带里面的内容，双手握住 Ned 头上的这对角并向上举起，就可以附身在其他的躯体身上并控制他们的行为——无论是活人（《Jumpsuit》里面的 Clancy），动物（《Saturday》和这支影片开头的 Trash）还是死人（这支影片末尾的凯恩斯）。
同日 dmaorg.info 更新一篇克兰西的日记和一张照片。日记基本上是对《The Outside》影片的复述。照片描绘了如何利用 Ned 身上的扩展装置来附身别的躯体，包括跳舞的动作。照片左上角写着“seize Keons”（夺取凯恩斯）。左侧关于角的图示下侧用罗马文写着“Ψυχή κίνησις”，即 Psychokinesis（念力，来源），使用意识去移动物体的力量。图示下方的文字应该是关于如何寻找躯体并附身主教的指示“seize available vessel at Voldsøy eastern cave intercept bishops/glorious gone = available vessel/bishops control the available vessel! intercept & seize/they will make you a weapon”（在Voldsøy东部洞穴夺取可用的容器 拦截主教/光荣的逝去者=可用的容器/主教控制可用的容器！拦截和夺取/他们将使你成为武器）。
What is this thing? This device? This gift? Some sort of neurological connection or expansion. psychokinetic weapon?
This is absurd.
Why was this given to me? Why am I the only one that can weild it? Was this the reason that I survived?
My mind is racing as I wait here on the rocks – staring off into the darkness. Waiting for our torches to be mirrorred – The signal he told me to wait for.
It feels oddly familiar. Not the spikes in my hand, but the power it harnesses. I’ve felt it before.
Is this also the source of those rumors I heard in the dark corners of the city? Legends and stories that I assumed were myth, inspired by children’s nightmares – tales of what the bishops would use the bodies for. Those “honorable” citizens who achieved The Glorious Gone – referred to as available vessels.
It all begins to make sense.
The episodes I would have: the blood red vision, my dreams of flying, the out of body account of the rider in the river, the decaying hosts of the television show, the robed figures that commanded the doomed ship…
Had we all been “seized” by the bishops using this same technique? Is this where their power comes from? are they immortal, or just feeding off the next body, giving their hosts a brief second-life? I am in my original life, why am I available to this control?
This whole time I thought I was battling my inner self. Was I actually under assault from something else? someone else?
This small eerie island has made me a weapon. We both believev that we can use it to change the momentum of this war.
now, we must return to the mainland where they should be there to receive us. We will destroy and rebuild. Though it’s been years since he last spoke with them, I hope they have not lost faith in The Torchbearer’s plan.
I haven’t had the ability to write for what seems like a lifetime. This deprivation is what weighed on me the most. Not the lack of food, or the change of scenery – they wouldn’t let me write anything down.
Well, at least not without them present…
I remember that day vividly. First, they let me out. Even though the hallway was still gray and drab, the new experience was a shock to my system – significantly different than usual captivity. I tried to match the rhythm of the nameless guard’s footsteps as we echoed down the long corridor. I followed close behind, as if I had no choice. Cold concrete encapsulated us and seemed to cast a spell of synthetic calmness. Obedience.
We arrived at a blue door. It was an odd contrast to this concrete maze. As I went through the doorway I found myself in another typical gray Dema room. The only difference was who was waiting for me.
Four of them. Three of them were unknown to me, but one was clearly Keons. I knew his voice
They proposed an idea. a television show – or whatever it was. I had no idea that I was known outside of my cell, but they informed me that I had garnered notoriety for my schemes and outbursts. They wanted to use my face for the benefit of the city. They handed me a pen – a familiar instrument. yet they must be present when I use it.
They wanted to manage my imagination and vision. although shackled, at least I could create again.
Thus began the sessions.
Everyday my cell door would open. I followed the guard down the familiar hall, through the blue door, to sit down at the desk and chair.
My designated creative space – perfectly centered under their watchful eye. Sometimes three, sometimes eight – not once were all nine present. He was never there. I would have felt it if he was.
At the end of the session, Keons would take my pen, gather my writings and send me back. This went on for months
What were we creating? I wasn’t sure. A variety show with songs and set pieces? Were the rulers of this stifled city actually attempting entertainment for its people?
Everything I created had to be “for the benefit of the citizens of Dema” – a phrase I heard often. I didn’t question them – I was happy to be out of my cell – and putting words to paper.
On the final day, after I wrote the last line, I was asked what to name it? The question caught me off guard. This seemed like a decision they would make.
Show Day: They dressed me up and asked me to smile – a poor attempt at hiding my sleep deprivation. It was all so colorful, as if compensating for the grayness of the city.
It was a blur. Before I knew it, it was over, and I was back in my cell. I can only remember fragments -only blurred hallucinations of color and chaos – like a dream. The confusion of it all hangs overhead. What was it all for?
…. but it wasn’t over.
I guess it went well enough for them to request more of me. I was useful to Dema, and my creativity was exploited in new forms – They wanted me to be the entertainment at the annual assemblage of the Glorified – a performance at sea for the premiere citizens of Dema.
I knew those weren’t the real bishops on that ship.
I’ll quicken the entry – I need to keep up with The Torchbearer.
During the performance, we were attacked by something in the water. I don’t know what possessed the creature to attack, but it was odd, and felt incredibly intentional. Many lost their lives in the attack, and I was thrashed through the bitter cold water, yet somehow survived. Did this ‘icy cold’ preserve me? Why was I spared? I am still so cold as I write.
This place feels foreign – nothing like Trench. From the frigid sea, the air here is somehow colder than the water that surrounds it.
I have a strange feeling that this island will provide answers.
I can’t face this page for long enough to write what I’m truly feeling. I am only wrought with more questions: Questions about what I assumed to be true, questions about what my own path is, and the question that has plagued me every night that I lie here, back in city: Did I give up? The force I saw between him and his bishop seemed tense to me, and frightening. But the memory of that exchange has had time to faster and replay in my mind long enough that I’m questioning if I even remembered it correctly. I assumed the bishop was forcefully retriev-ing his subject, but I now wonder if the bishop was actually trying to save him, and he refused. I stayed out there for five days after I watched it happened. I haven’t seen him since. Maybe he got away, and was still out in Trench with me. Maybe the bishop chased him down, and brought him home. Home? Did I just call this place ‘home?’ After all of the endless beauty that I saw out there, am I now convince-ing myself that I’m actually better off within these confines? I admit, it was more difficult than I expected. Nothing could have prepared me for how much the ‘unknown’ can consume me. Vast landscapes and endless possibilities, yet coupled with endless danger. I became anxious. I became tired. I became hungry. Every step I took became harder than the last, jumping from jagged rocky step to step, or pull-ing myself through thick forest – it all became debilitating, and I was sure that I couldn’t go on. Keons approached as the sus rose one morning. I wasn’t scared. I was relieved. After all that he had taught me, his presence was the most comforting moment that I had in days, and I couldn’t help but be happy to see him. In true Keons fashion, he wrapped his arms around me, then put bis hands under my face, looked me in the eyes, and said “Clancy, child, let’s go home.” I’ve been here for a few weeks now, and while the routines of this world are comforting, and certainly easier than life out there, my mind keeps bouncing between the two places. Which one is home? Are the bishops protecting me, and the torches upon the hilltops dangerous? Or is it the other way around? My dreams pull me from world to world, and I feel lost in between all of it. There is still so much I do not understand. 中文翻译如下：
另外，许多人指出，日记中被涂掉的字母连在一起是“sodeepnedbayou”。一种理论认为，这是歌曲《Nico And The Niners》末尾倒置的“We are banditoes”音频所发出的声音；另一种理论认为，“sodeepnedbayou” 实际上的意思是“So Deep Ned Bayou”，其中 Bayou 在英文中的含义是”河口“，Ned 则是《Chlorine》中不明生物的名字。via poot#6431 on discord
这次的日记偏长，描述的是克兰西在“自由世界”Trench 的见闻，在故事上恰好和《Jumpsuit》音乐录影带的内容重合。众所周知，这一音乐录影带的内容难以理解，我甚至说过：“如果不是他们亲自给我们解释，谁也不能够真正知道这段影片到底说的是什么。”而现在呢，here they are，关于这段影片的“官方解释”终于来了。
英文文本如下（感谢 Discord 的 Jessaroo 提供文本）：
I can’t believe what I just saw. I’m still trying to understand. This whole time I was sure that I was all alone- a single soul in this vast unknown world. But a few days into their trek, I looked down to see a figure headed the same way I was. I’ve tucked myself in these caves and crevices, trying my best to keep hidden, but he was out in the open, making his exhausted journey right down the middle of Trench. I was curious enough to follow alongside the path with him. He seemed unaffected by the fear of the unknown- the fear that tends to cripple me. To him, the terrain seemed familiar, as if he had been out here before. While lost in my curiosity, they appeared. I had heard about them back in Dema , but to my knowledge, the stories were merely myth. Ten, twenty, and then what seemed to be a hundred Banditos appeared upon the cliffs, all looking down at him. He only stopped for a moment to look back up at them, and then continued on his way. His energy changed, and I wasn’t sure if he was frightened or encouraged by their ominous presence.
They warned him of what was about to come.
It was a blur. First seeing the figure, then the Banditos, only to now have my eyes opened to the oncoming Bishop upon a white horse drawing closer in the distance. The figure halted, and waited. When the Bishop stopped, I was sure he looked up, directly at me, so I hid deeper back in a cave. The presence of the robed rider seemed to paralyze the man. He stood still as he was approached, powerless as the outstretched hands smeared his neck. I had never seen a Bishop possess power like this. Keons had always seemed gentle and warm – this Bishop, at least out here, seemed like something else.
So I ran, and I’ve been running for as long as my legs and lungs can handle. Maybe this note will be my proof that what I witnessed was not a dream. A million questions race through my brain. Am I not the only one traveling through Trench?
I’ll travel a little further, and maybe I’ll get a moment of rest tonight. I may have made a mistake, leaving. This spot, between two places, is beginning to feel like an endless and hopeless abyss. At least Dema is a place that I know, and at times like this, I miss a lot about what I know. This will all be much tougher than I imagined. Nothing out here is familiar. I’ve witnessed the presence of others for the first time today, and I feel more alone than ever. Cover me.
I’ve made it out. I feel weightless. I know that place had always held me down, but for the first time, I can feel the liberty that I had hoped in. It’s been three nights now, and my breathing has changed – it’s slower, and more full. It’s like the air out here is actually worth taking in. I can see it back in the distance, and I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t constantly on my mind. I wish I could turn that fear off, but maybe the further I go, the less that fear will affect me. I feel betrayed by what I assumed was home. If I ever end up back there, I won’t be able to look at it the same way. They are asleep. They’re so sure that they know the truth, and carry on throughout their day with the same meaningless tasks. They’ve forgotten to look up, and to look outward, to understand that this isn’t about ‘in there.’ This is about ‘out here.'(edited)
This new world surrounds me. I used to think the walls back home were massive- these green cliffs engulf me, and place me right in the middle- Trench is quite precarious at times, and it’s easy to grow weary. But it’s real, and it’s true, and I’d much rather endure reality than to mindlessly be obedient to a life that someone else created for me. I’ve obsessed about this world for so long, that it feels more like home than anything I’ve experienced. Somehow, in this vast openness, I feel more protected than ever. The landscape feels endless, and I’ve found myself walking for hours without any true evidence of getting further down. But I’ve seen plants and colors out here that I’m not sure I’ve witnessed before. There’s a beauty in the strangest places,- and the curiosity of what’s next continues to motivate me. I wonder who else is out here. If what i assumed inside is true, there’s got to be more like me. Sometimes I’ll feel a presence, only to look up and see nothing. It’s just another thing that I’m afraid of that also excites me. It all just confirms all of the things that I hoped to be true for all of this time. I am out here and I am very alive. I’m sometimes scared, but always discovering something new, and I will not stop. Cover me!
yes, as others have already pointed out, it seems that the letter was written on the back of the photograph of the dead body, which just confirms that Clancy isn’t dead. The person in the photo could be someone who tried to escape before them. pic.twitter.com/HtJC1jIwSW
— /r/twentyonepilots (@DiscordClique) July 8, 2018
OK so if this is tyler in his red suit (which it kinda looks like it is) it could be showing the death of blurryface. the red suit represented the era and theme of blurryface, which could be killed off if that’s what this is. pic.twitter.com/xw1izzr2R3
someone pointed out both pictures tyler posted of the truman show, truman was wearing yellow and then i looked up the color significance in the truman show bc it seemed odd to me that he was wearing yellow in both ourfits bc its not a common color to wear AND I FOUND THIS pic.twitter.com/lxqE8WZKeP
They’re asleep. The night took forever to arrive, and now we’re almost ready. We’ve studied the watchers, and know that there’s no chance that we can step through unnoticed. So, instead of trying to hide ourselves, we’ll make sure that all of us are noticed. It’s been one year since the last convocation, and tomorrow’s Annual Assemblage of Glorified will be the biggest spectacle this concrete coffin of a city has seen all year. If we time it right, we’ll divert the attention of the watchers and finally take the step through. We’ve had no contact, but we’re hoping the other side will be able to find a way in. We’re not sure of the breach location, but we are willing to risk being smeared in order to find it. We know that we must go lower, and wait for the torches. They’ve never seen anything quite like this, and by morning, everything will be different. I’m terrified and excited, all at the same time. They don’t control us.
-Clancy
克兰西的第四篇日记描述了他谋划出了一个逃离德玛的计划。他在日记中写道，一个契机是明天举行的“年度荣耀集合”（Annual Assemblage of Glorified）召集仪式，他还说他们已经一年没有进行召集仪式了。日记最后，克兰西说，“天亮之前，一切都会不一样。”
this is worldwide trends, not trends tailored to me or anything. we are #1 trending right now. i can only imagine why tyler and josh are thinking about that. pic.twitter.com/QLXBt3fH7M
但是等到八点，情况发生了转变。所有订阅了 twentyonepilots.com 的 newsletter 的粉丝都收到了一封名为“ARE YOU STILL SLEEPING?”（你还在睡觉吗？）的邮件（在 web 上查看这封邮件）。邮件为黑色背景和一张名为areyoustilllsleeping.gif 的图片（图片链接，存档），显示的是黑色背景中一只只睁开一条缝的黄色眼睛，眼珠在不停转动。
这一封电子邮件所传递的最大信息是，twenty one pilots 已经（快）睡醒了 – 因为一年之前的今天，他们“闭上了眼睛”。而这次更新与之前几次不同的地方是，dmaorg.info 还是一个少部分核心粉丝关注的东西，大部分听众还不知道这件事情呢 – 他们没那么无聊，或者他们都懒得去关心这样的“阴谋论” – 全都是假的！但这一次，所有的粉丝都收到了官方的通告 – 这是他们要回归的正式信息。
而这种只睁开一条缝的眼睛形状，也会让人想起他们闭眼之前的最后一张照片。
另外，top__today 提出了理论， 认为这其实是月相。
the night when the moon is out. when the moon is out tomorrow, it should look the same way the gif looks when you put east up, i shouldn’t have to explain that part. so tomorrow could be their planned day top “escape dema” or return. pic.twitter.com/jyvSzlVL1s
the night when the moon is out. when the moon is out tomorrow, it should look the same way the gif looks when you put east up, i shouldn’t have to explain that part. so tomorrow could be their planned day top “escape dema” or return. pic.twitter.com/jyvSzlVL1s
so if this moon thing is true, i’m giving my last hopes to july 7th, tomorrow, as an announcement/return. if not tomorrow, definitely july 13th. pic.twitter.com/USTvHT9AF3
