#twenty one pilots theories

[mysadblacksoul]

[twentyonepilotslore]

just realized something about this shirt ive had since like, middle school

this is so awesome

[doubttruther]

the strongest evidence for the ‘tyler isn’t clancy / clancy is dead’ argument is that he straight up says it in morph multiple times/ways:

[mx-misty-eyed]

OK CLANCY THEORIES THAT I CAN SHARE NOW THAT THE ALBUM IS OUT

(I'm kinda going crazy here and possibly reading into things too much so idk also these are just my opinions and I'd love to hear other interpretations)

Clancy is using psychokinesis possibly too much and is becoming corrupted, I think he's turning into a bishop and is gonna fall victim to the cycle the attempt to reclaim red and to reclaim the power to fight against them might turn into him giving in. Like firstly "I'm testing the limits of what a mind can do" in routines like, nobody should be using this power their minds weren't made for it.

Then Vignette "not sure when it started, peelin' from his bones" then "hope it held together long enough for he to pitch the greener grasses" CLANCY STARTING TO BE CORRUPTED BY THE POWER BUT NOT NOTICING AND JUST HOPING TO STAY TOGETHER TO FIX THINGS FOR EVERYONE, also just "clinging to promises fighting off the vignette tunnels cave visions fade swallowed by the vignette" perhaps fighting off the corruption??? (also "no its not me its for a friend" Clancy perhaps becoming a bit selfish with his goal to take down the bishops and trying to lie to himself and say he's doing it for others???)

WE ALL SAW NAVIGATING (JOSH ISNT REAL WHAT THE FUCK I KNEW MY BLOOD WAS INVOLVED IN THE LORE) Anyway I don't even know what to say about the video I didn't even really watch it I was nodding off (fully awake rn) but THE SONG??? Just like basic stuff "pardon my delay I'm navigating my head disassociate" very just like, him fighting with the power and corruption and trying to figure things out, still trying to fight back against dema still. "How things change so rapidly I find my self-esteem, then turn so cold" STILL THE CORRUPTION

SNAP FUCKING BACK. THIS ENTIRE SONG AUGH gotta break it down a lot more than the others "got a bad feeling that i'm about to break been a good streak but the pressure's overweight" and also "got a bad feeling I'm gonna lose the lead" FUCKING CORRUPTION THE POWER AND PRESSURE IS GETTING TO HIM HES ABOUT TO SNAP "if I'm gonna snap necks then I gotta snap back" HE HAS TO FIGHT IT OFF AND COME BACK TO HIMSELF TO FIGHT DEMA (also "running from a thing that I kicked in '17" BLURRY?? that was the last blurry year before trench)

"blacklisted from forgiveness" and later "I have seemed to run out of excuses of why I am this way" could be him acknowledging what's happening to him and just accepting that. "its a backslide I commandeered a hot ride drove it til the engine died all of that progress lost today" FIRST OF ALL BACKSLIDE REF, SECONDLY HE IS DESCRIBING HDS AND HIS ESCAPE AND HE IS SAYING HES LOSING THE PROGRESS CUZ HE MARCHING BACK INTO DEMA!!?! "I've been praying for my elasticity to return to the way that it was" maybe Clancy saying that he wants to recover from psychokinesis the way he used to but he's not anymore

"I don't want anymore know me or not see me at my lowest you don't have to drop" if you've read this far then I think (?) that's self explanatory. "don't know how I feel man bout you sleepin so close to a weapon you conceal man" may either be about Clancy sleeping near antlers/just being too comfortable with them, or Clancy being the weapon himself. now for fuckin

paladin strait

"standing on the shore staring down a hurtling storm makin' it's way toward me" staring down his final(?) face down with dema. "here's my chance, time to take it can't be sure that I'll make it even though I'm past the point of no return i'm all in, I'm surrounded put my money where my mouth is" past the point of no return in two ways, hes going to fight them and there's no turning back now, and he's been corrupted and he's aware of that and that there's no changing it now he's just gotta complete his final goal AND THEN

"On the ground are banditos fighting while I find Nico even though I'm past the point of no return climb the top of the tower "show yourself," I yell louder" saying while I fight Nico even though I'm past the point of no return, to me, implies that he's fighting him even though he's been corrupted and may possibly be turning over to his side AND THEN THE WAY NICO GREETS HIM AT THE END "hello Clancy" IT WAS FAR TOO NICE AND FAMILIAR FOR SOMEONE HE HATES AND WANTS TO FIGHT, I THINK CLANCY TRIED TO FIGHT AGAINST THE BISHOPS WITH THEIR OWN POWERS WEARING HIS OWN RED HOOD BUT THE COLOR AND THE POWER TOOK OVER HIM AND HE IS BECOMING ONE OF THEM

[noheadnothoughts]

okay so we have all seen the paladin strait mv teaser by now and i have a big question

if tyler ISN'T the og clancy, clancy is dead and tyler actually just took his name (symbolism or to pay respect) - IS CLANCY ONE OF THE ZOMBIES? do the banditos need to fight him too? or is his body kept away from the battlefield?

[a-boy-too-weird]

Thinking about this video again

[silverlininghills]

"300 tracks"

you know those hand signals tyler does during the line "300 tracks in my Adidas track jacket"?

i, like probably everyone else, assumed that was him signing 3-0-0 with his hands.

but no. he's signing F-0-0.

consider the ASL signs for F vs 3:

yeah, he's definitely signing F there

so what does F-0-0 mean? well, funny thing about that--you know hexcodes? those 6 digit codes that indicate a specific colour? well, there are also three digit codes as well, where you basically double each number to get the full 6 digit code. wanna guess what #F00 is?

yup, that's pure red babey!!

and, better yet, wanna know what its complementary colour is?

why it's pure cyan of course!!! y'know, like the whole __cla_im00FFFF.jpg = CLAIM CYAN = I AM CLANCY thing.

tyler, you sneaky sneaky bastard.

[tonyor]

College has been kicking my ass lately, so the only thing i have to offer are this rough and bad quality clancy sketches.

[groovyghostnotes]

The Difference Between Red and Yellow Banditos (tøp analysis/theory)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

there’s an interesting lore implication in torchbearer’s FPE letter. in it, he reports that their rebellion has support from both yellow and red, implying there’s some sort of difference between the two. as if they’re two separate groups who have come together to fight a common enemy. this shows the color of tape is not just an aesthetic choice, but marking what “team” the person is on. the evidence is subtle, but there are some indicators on what each side represents. so we’re gonna break it down!

Red

red are the fighters. they are actively fighting against the bishops. they are often found in dema, sparking the revolution from the inside. it also seems like they are being led by clancy. unlike yellow, red is a color the bishops can see. it almost seems like red are mocking the bishops, using their color as a sign of their rebellion. safe to say, they aren’t afraid of being seen. they want to be seen, since they are leading the movement.

another interesting thing about red is the placement of their tape. unlike yellow, there isn’t much variation of the tape’s placement. like clancy, all the reds wear it on their shoulders. this might represent the “cover me” sentiment. since they are charging into battle, it makes sense they would want backup.

just as a side note, i do want to address the yellow banditos who are seen with reds in the overcompensate video. while they’re wearing yellow, it’s still on the shoulders. i can only assume these are the banditos that want to fight, but also want to remain hidden. bishops cannot see yellow after all. perhaps they will change to red once they gain the courage. it’s just a transitional phase from yellow to red. this is also what happened to clancy. yellow to red, but always on the shoulders.

Yellow

yellow banditos are who we were introduced to first, and arguably who we know more about. yellow are the helpers, much quieter in their approach but still important. unlike red, we rarely see yellow facing dema head on. not until paladin strait, which was after torchbearer said they were willing to join the fight. up until that final battle, however, yellow works to help those escape dema. instead of wanting to destroy dema, like red, yellow is more focused on helping those stuck in the city. it seems like only a few yellow (who may arguably switch to red) live in dema. most of them stay in trench, moving into dema only to rescue people.

where red wants to be seen, yellow wants to stay hidden. they wear yellow, a color the bishops cannot see. there’s also much more variation in the tape placement.

we can assume yellow are taping what they want to protect the most. for example, torchbearer taped his heart and his tyler tattoo. marking what’s important with yellow keeps it safe from the bishops. it also seems like torchbearer is in charge of yellow group.

Together

torchbearer and clancy being leaders of both groups may explain why they’re going into battle with their respective colors. clancy is leading red, and torchbearer is leading yellow.

red and yellow have different goals, but they work much better together. red are brave, wanting to fight head on. they wish to be seen, sporting the very color the bishops use. but they can’t fight their battle alone, they need support from yellow. a loyal friend who will cover them no matter what. and yellow needs fighters to end dema for good. in a way, red and yellow complete each other. it’s no wonder why they finally teamed up.

side note: i’ve always been team red myself

[turnleftonlastlaughtlan]

The line by twenty one pilots just dropped and i think might die if it’s actually about vik but the lines are hitting a way too close to home.

"honestly, i thought i was fully prepared for the threshold in store, stay your pretty eyes on course. i guess i never really faced my fears before. so stay with me because. my body's on the line now, pull the blanket tight now. i can feel the light shine on my face.

My body's on the line now I can't fight this time now. ”

“i thought i was fully prepared for the threshold in store”

Viktor knew he would die young and had been battling death for all his life, he thought he was prepared to die but isn’t truly.

“i guess i never really faced my fears before” Could be interpreted as many things. Viktor although he knew he would die young did everything to save himself, even argumenting himself with the hexcore. By trying desperately to search for a solution he never confronted the fact he simply would have died.

“my body's on the line now, pull the blanket tight now. My body's on the line now I can't fight this time now.”

honestly pretty self explanatory, viktor’s body has always been on the line, always been fighting for life. He might be transforming into the Herald and by doing so fundamentally changing his body, putting it on the line.

As for the blanket it could be a reference of the blanket jayce gave him when they had the “ divorce” . Also a blanket his usually put upon a deceased person…

“I can feel the light shine on my face” him in the intro:

“Did I disappoint you?

Will they still let me over?

If I cross the line?”

I see this as viktor asking jayce if he is disappointed in him, seeing what he is become and what he has done (although not conscious of it, maybe he realized later). “Will they let me stay over” could be referred to a lot of things, piltover for once, zaun for second, and all the other characters for third. Will they let him live there? Will they let him live at all? If he crosses the final line of becoming the Machine Herald.

“Take a seat

But I'd rather you not be here for

What could be my final form

Stay your pretty eyes on course

Keep the memories of who I was before”

Again, very self explanatory. Viktor wouldn’t want his best friend to see him as an unemotional machine that in the name of the “glorious revolution”, his final form, doesn’t respect others rights. Since he can’t stop jayce to see it tho, he invites him to take a seat. To see the monster, and to remember who he was before: the silly, sassy and ambitious scientist jayce got to know over the years.

The true Viktor that now is gone.

[mysadblacksoul]

Twenty One Pilots - Overcompensate theories (whoo!)

It's a face of someone who put so much lore in the MV that I genuinely don't know where to start

Pt.1 - MV

So the MV takes place right after the end of The Outside MV, pretty easy - logical Now are we relly back in Trench? Seing all the maps, and the way back from The Outside to Jumpsuit? Tracing back the map? Being welcomed? lol. no

Tyler (or Clancy, am I deadnaming him now???) is using the powers, that were mentioned in I Am Clancy video and the one that Ned gave him in The Outside MV As we can see Bishops still wants him to lure people, to make them surrender to live how the Bishops wants them to

So since Tyler is just using someone else to pretend that it's him we can assume that Josh is also a projection

Why is Josh here? Maybe as a representative of Banditos

Now we play heavily in the symbolism of mask. Of course mask symbolizes the difference between a fictitious identity and a real identity. But here we can see something interesting. If Tyler is taking off his mask he is his true self, yet if someone else tries to take it off you can see a different person

So let's see what the hell is Tyler even doing in the MV itself. Well he is doing both jobs. On the surfice, he is doing what the Bishops wants him to. But actually he is showing people some kind of code. (I am sure that all the gestures weren't just a silly choreography). He is showing them his true self (no mask) and giving a presentation on the secrets of Dema. I believe he is sharing the information that normal people were never supposed to know

Like the lyrics of Shy away, he is trying to "Just break the cycle in half". Break people's belief in the religion that the Bishops created and to ultimately take away their power

And after the lesson in the backrooms (lol I don't know how to word it differently) people have tape on their shoulders. But not only the red one. We can se the yellow tape. The legendary Bandito's tape

But what is the meaning of the end? For me people were so used to following the rulers, the rules and doing what they were told that after changing their mindset about the Bishops they still felt the need to follow somebody. That somebody will be Clancy

other small details will be nine red lights for nine Bishops

Tyler having a symbol for the band logo

So is Tyler tring to break the cycle from the very core? Well maybe, for sure what he does now is a complete diversion

Boy is ready to take a revenge, he even brought his best buddy to help

Pt. 2 - Lyrics

We need to start by translating the intro for sure so:

Diese kleine unheimliche Insel hat mich zu einer Waffe gemacht (From German) - This scary little island has turned me into a weapon

Wir glauben beide (From German) - We both believe

Cette petite île étrange a fait de moi une arme (From French) - This scary little island has turned me into a weapon

Nous croyons tous les deux que nous pouvons l'utiliser pour changer l'élan de cette guerre (From French) - We both believe we can use it to change the momentum of this war

So this is pretty much what we know from I Am Clancy video. Tyler and his powers are used by the Bishops to cause harm

And we already saw that first line, which comes from Clancy’s letter from 2022 posted on the dmaorg.info website.

I created this world / To feel some control /Destroy it if I want / So I sing, "sahlo folina" / "Sahlo folina" - This part comes from Bandito. It could be the call for Banditos, to tell them to beware of what is going on. Or it is the way of teaching the people the special code - which sahlo folina is for sure a part of

Earned my stripes - he earned his position in the city, possibly because of his powers

Bless your ear holes while you react, acting / Gobsmacked - maybe people were sent to this place by the Bishops to mess with their brains, but since Tyler is talking about something different to them they are confused

I feel like I was just here, same twitchin' in my eyes - he started just like those people, brainwashed with no sense of reality

Don't sleep on a boy who can fall asleep twice / In the same night - so he can die twice? Or maybe it is the dig that he is working on both sides, just undercovered

and won't hesitate / To maybe overcompensate - simply, Tyler is ready to kick some Bishops' asses and take revenge for everything wrong they ever did to him and other people

I said I fly by the dangerous bend symbol - the symbol that Bishops were making in Nico and the Niners Mv OR The symbol that Tyler uses (what he makes with his hands) is dangerous for Bishops, because it is a sign of rebellion OR (This one makes the most sense) it's U+2621 ☡ CAUTION SIGN, which was created by no other than Nicolas Bourbaki group of mathematicians. Nico is very important, since in Morph we have the lyrics of "He goes by Nico / He told me I'm a copy". So was Nico the first one to discover Clancy's powers?

And then by the time I catch in my peripheral - the peripheral vision is what you can see to each side or up and down without moving your head, or everything that you can see that isn't in your central vision. The peripheral vision might be the same as the rearview from Choker. So this is everything that he saw in Dema on accident, all the secrets that he cought with his eye. Once he saw them he is ready to change everything

Where am I from? I was born right here, just now / Originated right in front of your eyes - Clancy is from Dema, simple as that. He is the citizen and the escapee

If you can't see, I am Clancy, prodigal son - the reference to The Bible. Prodigal Son is "a man or boy who has left his family in order to do something that the family disapprove of and has now returned home feeling sorry for what he has done". Tyler for sure returned, bus is he really sorry? Or the Bishops made him act like he is?

Done running, come up with Josh Dun / Wanted dead or alive - JOSH DUN MENTIONED. But also comming to Trench with Josh could be a sign that Clancy wants people to see that Banditos are not bad people. Not someone who you should fear

So now you pick who you serve, you bow to the masses - make a choice if you gonna change your life or stay in the circle of madnesss

Half empty, half full, save half of your taxes - again, make a choice weather you're gonna think positively or negatively (glass half empty/half full)

Then overtake your former self - become a better person, better version of yourself and live your truth

Days feel like a perfect length / I don't need them any longer, but for goodness sake - just a perfect condition to make a change

Do the years seem way too short for my soul, corazón / Way too short for my soul, corazón - it is the reference to all the years Tyler lost while working and living in Dema

A wild ride, as always...

[twentyonepilotslore]

FPE!!!

Ned’s Bayou

9 Bishops Brand

(And this one might be a reach) 9 for 21 (9 bishops, twenty one pilots)

also jim dun mentioned!!

[twentyonepurrlots]

This is my attempt at reaching the right audience and gaining more tøp moots. I need more clique friends. I wanna see all your goofy art, and tour content. I wanna discuss theories and just connect in this fandom!

Following everyone who likes/reposts this in hopes they’ll continue doing the same! <3

[nerdylizard5]

Page 3 of my comic for The Line inspired by the theory in this post!

[suns-blood]

(Me whenever a new song releases) ok but how does this connect to the Car Allegory

[arnixen]

I know that Vessel wasn't originally written with the lore in mind, but knowing that the whole story of Dema and the Banditos is allegory for Tyler's struggles with mental health, a lot of the songs can easily be thought of in ways that correlate to the lore, pre-blurryface.

So, I've pieced together a chronology of songs in Vessel, and how they show Clancy within Dema before his first escape in HeavyDirtySoul

Ode to Sleep

Self explanatory, with fear tactics and constant anxiety playing a role in vialism, but playing them off as good things, reflected in the upbeat parts of the song.

"I swear I heard demons yelling / those crazy words they were spelling / they told me I was gone"

The bishops + subliminal messaging of the glorious gone.

Holding on to You

This song highlights Clancy's heavy mental reliance on vialism and how convinced he was by the bishops. Themes of suicide are heavily present in this song, and they're glorified by the upbeat tone of the song. "Entertain my Faith" is repeated throughout, showing that Clancy wants some real reason to follow this religion of vialism (This song is originally about Tyler's Christianity in real life, asking for some earthly benefit of his faith)

Migraine

Clancy describing his experiences in Dema, he feels alone in his mental issues, primarily because the bishops' methods separate people, and create propaganda for how happy of a place Dema is. (whereas in most views of Dema we get, it's quite an empty, quiet, and bleak city)

Screen

About how DEMA exploits the most vulnerable people with 'screens on their chests.' this shows that the bishops aren't strong enough to exploit people that aren't already experiencing mental illness.

Specifically Clancy realizing himself being exploited this way.

The Run and Go

A representation of Clancy's first thoughts of leaving the city of Dema. The upbeat happy music sounds disingenuous to me, so I think it could be interpreted as the bishops trying to lure him back in with happy thoughts, but it could also represent the relief he feels from even considering leaving Dema.

Guns for Hands

Represents, again, with "I'm trying to sleep / but I can't / when you all have guns for hands" how the bishops use constant anxiety and fear to their advantage in exploiting the civilians. Also the fear that Clancy feels as he starts to seriously realise how dangerous of a system he lives within.

Fake You Out

This is Clancy starting to seriously doubt the teachings of Dema and vialism, this song is the beginning of his journey to his first escape. He starts to realise how fragile the bishops' system really is. Also planning his escape, and how he'll "fake you out."

Car Radio

When Clancy is finally disillusioned to Dema and the bishops, he's forced to face his own thoughts and the consequences of believing in this cult "now I just sit in silence" in my mind, this song leads directly into heavydirtysoul, with the themes of his regret instantly leading to his first actual escape attempt (also car go vroom)

The remaining songs are Truce, Semi-Automatic, Trees, and House of Gold. I didn't try to attribute these to lore elements because they seem heavily rooted in real-world experiences, and don't really fit in the established lore, similar to some other non-lore songs in other albums.

Let me know what you think!