*Psst*
I’m awake if ya wanna info dump.
YEAAAAH thank you for sending this ask!! I didn't forget, I was just busy all day, and when you sent this it was really late, I was sleeping!!
So here it goes now!!
I'll put it under the cut because idk how yappy I'll get hehe
When it comes to Twenty One Pilots lore, I've got to admit something.
I wasn't aware of it until the show I saw in 2019, like, RIGHT BEFORE THE SHOW. My cousin and I were wondering what the heck is "Dema" and when we googled it, in the CAR FOR THE ARENA, we almost fell down this entire rabbit hole of lore, except that we didn't have the time for it because we were arriving. There, we saw everyone wearing yellow articles of clothing or yellow tape on their clothing and we were super embarrassed because we DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING YELLOW ON US (I'll explain why this is significant later). So yeah, I found out about the lore a bit too late, before that I was just vibing to the music ;;
I made sure to make amends at the show I saw a week ago though, where I had a very cool and sexy outfit god bless
ANYWAY.
I'm gonna link some things here that can serve as a good introduction/explanation so that I don't go off giving my own interpretations right away. It also all depends on how familiar you are with the music itself (in case you aren't very well versed, I was already going to make a spotify playlist with my faves/lore important songs for a friend, so when I do that, I can send it over :))
I am Clancy - a video by TOP explaining the story so far, dropped before they started releasing singles from their most recent album "Clancy"
dmaorg archive - a site dedicated to archiving posts from the dmaorg.info website, a website that details Clancy's journey in letters and cryptic messages, which also goes down and comes back depending on the band's musical comebacks
reddit post - a reddit post explaining the lore, pretty detailed, thing is I personally don't agree with all of it and I think it gets confusing at times and there are some things missing, but yk, we all have different interpretations, it's still a good resource
my spotify recommendation playlist - just my personal favorite songs, I tried not to make it their entire discography. that being said, you should totally also listen to their entire discography.
so. as much fun as I'm having with the lore and writing full on fanfics about this storyline and all, I gotta say. in my opinion, this entire story is a metaphor for one person's inner world.
Trench (the album) was a story of escape, while Clancy (the album) is a story of repeating cycles. to me it all reads like someone trying to run away from their problems, slowly realizing that they have the power to overcome them (Scaled and Icy storyline) and then realizing that they need to return to where they started in order to do so.
Dema was first introduced as this place where Clancy used to feel safe and he often pondered on whether Dema was a "home" to him or not. this to me reads specifically like the feeling of being lulled into the comfort and familiarity of, for example, a mental illness.
as Clancy starts to question the validity of this comfort and the reign of the Bishops (to me, perhaps representing the various issues one might be dealing with, except for Nico himself, which I'll get to), to me it reads like someone realizing that they may need to start their healing journey. when Clancy first escapes, he finds an unforgiving vast space and ends up returning to Dema. as he says so himself in I am Clancy, he ends up returning many times, brought back by the Bishops, but also I never thought these returns were that involuntary. he kind of resigns to it. this is also common for healing. steps forward steps backwards kind of thing. at times you don't know why you're even doing this, where you're going or what your purpose is. you return to old habits and the cycle repeats.
the Banditos, to me, are like a supports system/community. in this metaphor this would be the people in one's life helping them overcome a problem. ultimately Clancy himself must face the Bishops, but not without some help.
the power Clancy comes by during Scaled and Icy MVs to me feels like the part of healing where a person takes their life into their own hands. in order to defeat the Bishops (overcome a problem) Clancy needs to get on their level (in this metaphor that would be demystifying whatever you're dealing with, realizing that you have the strength to overcome this). then Clancy returns to Trench and starts his rebellion.
which leads me to Nico. "Clancy becomes/is a Bishop" theories aside, I do think that Nico represents Clancy himself, like a mirror. this to me, if we look at the metaphor again, reads like Nico being what a person might be afraid of becoming, their darkest version etc. he isn't necessarily a problem to overcome, he is you, which makes him so powerful and, well, difficult to defeat.
now.... TOP pulled a horrible thing which is ending this storyline (so far) on A FUCKING CLIFFHANGER. so... we don't currently know what Clancy is gonna do or how his story unfolds.
but, okay, Sleep Token right? I'm pretty sure Sleep Token's lore tells a similar story, no? Sleep is kind of like Nico, something that provides comfort and safety, promises of grandeur to Vessel, for a small price (of his entire life and soul). similarly, the Bishops provide protection and comfort to their citizens for a small price of them, oh you know, following a religion (vialism) which end goal is self destruction, so that they can posses the citizens' bodies and stay immortal. which ALSO kinda relates back to Sleep Token because, doesn't Vessel go on about being afraid that he'll be fully consumed by Sleep?? yeah, yeah. I'm okay I'm totally normal.
I don't know where I was going with this. I'm tired from work still and I have way too many thoughts to put them all together but I hope you enjoyed my info dump and I hope other people find this useful/amusing too <3
gonna call it a day here and pass out <33