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Dema

Analyses

This presentation is about “Dema” and the theories behind the website.

I first made this presentation as part of a school project, and I’ve been adding to it ever since.

I’ve written notes like this to every slide. So as you present this, for yourself or whomever, you can read my notes. You’re welcome to add anything if you want.

This presentation is made to analyse Dema, most of the information you will find in the notes, so I recommend having them opened up when you go through it. You could do a split screen with the presentation on one side, and the notes on the other.

Also I’m sorry if the explanations don’t completely make sense, english is not my first language.I do feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on it, but nobody’s perfect. :)

This will take approximately 1-2 hours to go through.

Anyway, enjoy!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOUBW8bkjQ4

JUMPSUIT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M2gWRMj0Y4

Nico and the niners

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Dema?

“Tyler’s sorry he couldn’t be here, he’s actually out severing ties with Dema”

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dmaorg.info

http://dmaorg.info/

404 ER_ROR

you are in violation. thEy mustn't know you were here. no one should ever find out About this. you can never tell anyone about thiS -- for The sake of the others' survIval, you muSt keep this silent. we mUst keeP silent. no one can know. no one can know. no o ne c an kn ow_

(Violation Code. 15398642_14)

EAST IS UP

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http://dmaorg.info/found/15398642_14/clancy.html

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1st Image; 988 06MOON 18

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Transcription of Clancy letter; 988 06MOON 18

”The perplexities of the Dema horizon didn't occur to me until my ninth year. It was then that I began to contemplate the existential, and decide what type of impression I wanted my life to make. Naturally, to fuel my hope, I looked out upon the distance of the land that had cultivated me, only this time with new awareness of the obstruction that my youthful ignorance had allowed me to overlook. Was it there the whole time? How had I not seen something so obvious? I am reminded of the moment daily, as the realization directly collides with a unique hope for my own future. As a child, I looked upon Dema with wonder, today, I am wrought with frustration, as I spend each day squninting for a glimpse of the top of the looming wall that has kept us here. It was upon my ninth year that I learned that Dema wasn't my home. This village, after all of this time, was my trap.

Before I became realized, I had deep affection for Dema. There was a wonderful structure to the city that put my cares to rest. Streets and locations were dependable, and the responsibilites of the day seemed to be accomplished with minimal effort. Once a task was taught and understood, we delighted in our ability to complete our obligations timely, and felt secure in knowing tomorrow's duties would be accomplished with the same efficiency. We all worked to represent our bishop with honnor, and knew that each inhabitant of our region had a like-minded dedication to consistency.

Looms(?) embodied the spirit of this dedication. Of Dema's nine bishops, Keos(?) was reserved as unwavering and forthright, possessing the ability to achieve focus that was rare for most in our region. We all admired his, and felt honored to be inhabitants of his region. While we had heard legend of the ruthlessness of other bishops, Keos(?) possessed a stoic demeanor unlike anyone I had ever met, and we were all proud to serve. - Clancy

2018 -2009

“Ninth year” could be a reference to the band having existed for 9 years, as they were founded in 2009.

Tyler’s songs contemplates a lot about the existential.

“Youthful ignorance”, he has grown a lot since starting the band.

“Dema”, this is the first time the word “Dema” is mentioned on the website.”

“Was my trap”, he’s realizing Dema is not a good place.

“Our bishop with honer”, everyone were distributed a bishop.

“Dema’s nine bishops” dema has nine bishops.

“-Clancy” this is the first time we hear the name “Clancy”. Clancy is the character that writes the letters throughout the website, he is the lead character of this story.

This first letter tells us, that Dema is some sort of cult, and Clancy wants out. There are nine bishops. That each governs a region. Clancy is in the region governed by the bishop Keons.

(Nico and the niners?).

A theory at this point is that Tyler is Clancy, and that Dema represents the music industry.

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1st Image; 988 06MOON 18

1988 18th June - Josh’s Birthday
Clancy
Dema = Music Industry?
9 Bishops
Keos - Keons

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2nd Image; 988 12MOON 01

1988 1st December - Tyler’s Birthday
Jumsuit - Heathens

d_e_ath__eat_E_rz

?

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3rd Image; 009 12MOON 29

2009 29th December - Self-titled release date

Isle of flightless birds

Birds/vultures at the towers of silence

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4th Image; 011 07MOON 08

André Weil - mathematician - god is real
Wiki articile
Bishop

2011 8th July

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5th Image; 013 01MOON 08

sev_ering__tiez

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.

AMPA’s
Josh - “Tyler’s actually out severing ties with Dema.”

Necropolis = City of the dead

EASTISUP - EAST IS UP

2013 8th January - Vessel release date

The fifth image, is a map of Dema.

It’s missing a corner, but some fans apparently reconstructed it. I’m not entirely sure how, or if it’s even a real reconstruction, but let’s just go with it.

There’s written “Necropolis” at the bottom of the picture, which means “City of the dead”.

The picture is dated to the release date of the bands third album “Vessel”.

The picture has some subtext or a caption. That first says. “sev_ering__tiez”. which we know from Josh’s AMPA speech.

The other text is;

“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.”

First of all this text could be a reference to the song “Doubt” from the bands fourth album “Blurryface”. The lyrics at one point says; “repeating simple phrases”, but this could be a stretch.

Although at another point it also says. “Gnawing on the bishops, claw my way at their system.” which is a clear reference to the bishops from Dema.

The text is mostly lower caps, but specific letters are upper caps, and when you put them together they say; “EAST IS UP.” This is a reference to the lyrics from their new song “Nico and the niners.” The phrase is repeated several times throughout the song. (Again repeating simple phrases.)

The source code for the map also says “east is up” btw.

Fans have made the theory that “east is up” could be something people who wants to get out from inside Dema tell eachother, for reasurrence. Because of the lyrics from Nico and the niners; “East is up, I’m fearless when I hear this on the low.”

later in the song it says “We’ll win but not everyone will get out.” This could be a reference to someone trying to get out of Dema, and that there is more than one person trying to get out.

In the middle of the map are nine dots. Which looks a lot like the nine dots from the cover of the bands fourth album “Blurryface”.

These nine dots on the cover were all given a song from the album(which I’ll explain how we did later), the first three dots being “Heavydirtsoul”, “Tear in my heart” and Ride.

On the dots on the map, each dot has some text. This looks like it could be words taken out of context (in a way), from the lyrics in the corresponding songs. - From the “Blurryface dots.”

Because when you turn the dots on the map so that “east is up” the names on the dots correlate with the songs on the blurryface cover.

So “KEON”/ “choKEONSmoke”, is from the song “Heavydirtysoul” when the lyrics is “Choke on smoke”.

Each word on the dots is a name of one of the bishops, seeing as there’s nine bishops.

“Keons” is a name we’ve heard before, it’s Clancy’s bishop.

“Nico” we’ve heard before in the song “Nico and the niners”. however we haven’t figured out this part, with the lyrics. But I’ll explain a theory on that later.

I’ll explain in the next slide how we figured out which songs correlated with which dots.

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Explaining the dots

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6th Image; 017 02MOON 12

2017 12th February
Grammys
Nominated for: Best Rock Performance
Nominated for: Record of the Year
Won: Best Pop Duo Group/ Performance
Hightlights

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7th Image; 017 07MOON 07

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Transcription of Clancy letter; 017 07MOON 07

To refer to Dema as m[y] home has never felt accurate. Dema, t[o] me, has simply been the place that I've existed, or, the 'slot' they've put me in. I've heard stories abo[u]t the ide[a] of "home," and its depiction has always seemed warm f[r]om the storyt[e]ller's de[s]cription. [T]here was a romant[i]c ownership of the p[l]ace they inhabited that I admired, but cou[l]d never relate to. Thi[s] place, my p[l]ace, however, s[e]ems devoid of the romance and wond[e]r that the old stories tell. But somewhere between the iron order and fallible [p]recis[i]on of Dema, a hum of wo[n]der exists. It's this quiet wonder that my mind tends to [g]ets lost in. This hope of discovery alone has birthed a new version of myself; A better version, I hope, that will find a way to experience what's beyond these colossal walls.

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7th Image; 017 07MOON 07

2017 7th July
Their last tweet

Clancy wants out!

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8th Image; 017 07MOON 16

Cheetah
"UNSTILLIDONTCKNOWOHISNREALINAMECDOOU?".
“U still don’t know his real name do u?”
“Nico Nico”
Nico is the only bishop name not explained by a lyrics.
“My name’s blurryface and I care what you think”

The 8th image is a GIF, of a cheetah running.

In the top of the GIF there are what appears to be random letters flashing really quickly. But as we know nothing’s ever random with TØP.

The letters in the top are in the following order; "UNSTILLIDONTCKNOWOHISNREALINAMECDOOU?"

A quick glance and you can see it says; “U still don’t know his real name do u?”

another glance and you can see that where there are supposed to be spaces there are more letters, which in order says “Nico Nico”

Which again we know from the song “Nico and the niners.” Nico supposedly being one of the bishops.

So, “Nico” is actually the only bishop name that has not been explained. what I mean is, we could not find a song where these letters appear in order.

“U still don’t know his real name do you” and “Nico Nico” could be a hint to the fact that we don’t know Nico’s real name.

Many people have theorized that Blurryface is Nico.

Many people have fought about whether it was Nico or Blurryface in the Jumpsuit music video, in the red cloak.

if you’ve heard the song “Stressed Out” you may remember the lyrics, “My name’s Blurryface and I care what you think.”

Could this all mean that Nico is Blurryface?

And then there’s me finding a correlation between the cheetah running and Tyler running in the Jumpsuit music video. :)

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9th Image; 017 07MOON 17

So this (the ninth image) appears to be a bunch of people standing on a cliff.

The theory is that these are the “Banditos”, which we will hear about what is later on. But for now, just go with me.

The caption to this image is “__n_ot_myo_nly_fri_en d” which is something we’ve heard before in the lyrics from the song “Truce”.

If you’ve watched the Jumpsuit music video you might also recognize the picture, seeing as this is in the video. Several times.

In the video these people help Tyler. And the theory is therefore that they are his Jumpsuit. A lot of people think that when Tyler sings “Jumpsuit” it’s a metaphor for the people in his life that supports him. A jumpsuit covers your whole body like a safety blanket, like the people you love who are always there to back you up.

A fan made this picture, where they tried to name all the people on the cliff, to be people in Tylers life; friends and family. Including Josh. We know Josh is there seeing as a picture was posted with tyler and Josh, where josh is wearing the same shirt as one of the banditos (the people on the cliff).

Also the file name of this picture is “2018_514_3_8” which we thought was a date.

Until someone found out that if you take the corresponding letters in the alphabet to the numbers; 20, 18, 5, 14, 3, 8. You get the word “Trench”. Which is the name of the bands new album.

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Another thing about the violation code

Replacing the violation code with the trench letters; http://dmaorg.info/found/2018_514_3_8/clancy.html
weird reversed audio = “We are banditos”
Listen here; https://twitter.com/HeavydirtyPolls/status/1019007942769684482

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10th Image; 018 07MOON 01

Vulture
The date is the date the image came out
Mail to fans
Eye opening

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Vultures

Are they helping the bishops?

A lot of fans have been confused about the vultures.

What do they do?

What does it mean?

But there have been some theories too.

Someone thought they could be the bishops. But that was a stretch.

A really good theory was that they were helping the bishops.

Josh updated his profile to look like this.

His profile picture is him as a bandito. and the banner looks like a vulture with it’s gaze focused at Josh’s profile picture. Like it’s been trying to find him, and it has.

In the stories about the towers of silence/dema. Vultures would drag around the corpses before they were waxed and buried in dema.

The vultures could be the bishops guard dogs, helpers?

Someone also mentioned that in the Jumpsuit music video the bishop smears Tyler and then theres a quick clip of a vulture turning its head, kind of like in the former slide.

The bishop also seems to smear tyler so that it looks like feathers.

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11th Image; 018 07MOON 01

Same date as former image
Named esrever = reversed.

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Transcription of Clancy letter; 018 07MOON 01

*A lifeless light surrounds us each night. Never could I imagine that something so luminous could feel so dark. It's this glow that reminds us of the dreamless existence we've been sentenced to. But what I call a sentence, others accept as normalcy. How did they so efficiently eradicate the dreams within us? When the bishops instituted Vialism as mandate, they effectively reversed the hope that many arrived with. Am I the only one who realizes that we've been lied to? Am I the only one not afraid of the notion that the nine have hijacked our trust, and extinguished the hope that once motivated our existence? We used to close our eyes and picture a better life, now this city is full of dry eyes caught in a trance of obedience, devoid of any trace of an identity. 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. As their penance fades, so dims their memory of something more. My hope of something more is all I have in this rigid tomb, and I will not let it die.

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11th Image; 018 07MOON 01

Highlights!

Yellow = We are banditios

Green = Trench

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12th Image; 018 07MOON 05

Tower of silence/ Dema
Jumpsuit MV

o__ut_.jpg

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13th Image; 018 07MOON 05

Same date as former image

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Clancy letter; 018 07MOON 05

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12th Image; 018 07MOON 05

Same date as former image

he_a_vy.jpg

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14th Image; 018 07MOON 06

“They cant see yellow”

_they_ca_ntseeFCE300.GIF

Torches, Trench, Out!

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15th image; 018 07MOON 08

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Transcription of clancy letter; 018 07MOON 08

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 unity 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.'

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!

-Clancy

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15th image; 018 07MOON 08

Clancy is out
Trench
Cover me!
“Nico and the niners” references

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16th image; 018 07MOON 08

Tyler = Clancy

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17th Image; 018 07MOON 18

After the Hiatus end

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17th Image; 018 07MOON 18 - part 1

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17th Image; 018 07MOON 18 - part 2

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16th Image; 018 07MOON 18

After the Hiatus end

The date is dated the day it was released.
Clancy is not Tyler?
Clancy = Josh?
Clancy = The clique?

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Clancy Letter 12 vs Nico and the niners

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So that was it for now.

My guess is that they’ll keep posting new things on the website at least until the 5th of october, when they release Trench.

This is a picture supposedly from the shoot of the Jumpsuit music video.

As you can see Josh is wearing the same thing as one of the Banditos, so yeah, he’s definitely a Bandito.

I’ll just do a quick summary here if you’re interested. :)

Dema is an iranian word for “Tower of silence”.

The Towers of silence were a place where dead people would first be dragged around by vultures before being waxed and buried in the towers.

What do we know about Dema?

In Clancy’s story (Clancy being the main character, we’re seeing everything from his point of view); Dema is a kind of cult. Split in to regions each region is run by a bishop.
There are 9 bishops(and nine regions).
Since they chose vialism (what is vialism?) as a mandate, they(the people in Dema) feel betrayed. Dema is not the same.

Dema is colorless. There is no room for creativity, for difference. Everything going on in Dema is routine, it’s easy. And boring. Forced.

Clancy’s beginning to notice this, and he wants out. And he plans to do so.
Dema has something called watchers, they’re probably some sort of guards. My theory is that the watchers are probably the vultures.

What do we know about Clancy?

Basically nothing. :)

People have all kinds of theories about who he could be.

Could he be the clique?

Clancy can see Tyler and Josh in the Jumpsuit music video, he is watching them, as is th Clique (or the people watching the video.) This is just a correlation between Clancy and the Clique.

What do we know about the bishops?

There are nine.
They can’t see yellow. And when the Banditos cover Tyler with yellow flower petals, the bishop can’t see him.
The Bishop Nico is probably Blurryface.
Keons is Clancys regions bishop.
Nico/Blurryface is probably Tylers bishop.
They “smear” people to take the creativity out of them. And the free will.

Who are the watchers what do we know about them?

The watchers are probably the vultures.
The vultures can see yellow (they have yellow eyes).
They are probably helping the bishops find people when they can’t
They drag around dead bodies before they’re buried.

What do we know about the Banditos?

The Banditos are the rebels in Dema, they’re against it.
They know how to fight it.
They’re probably who Tyler talks about when he sings “Jumpsuit”
They include Josh.
They wear yellow tape.

What do we know about Trench?

Trench is the good place, full of colors (yellow)
It’s where Tyler is in the Jumpsuit music video.
Clancy is currently in Trench.
“Trench is quite precarious at times” - they’re in danger of being caught by bishops in Trench.

If you want to read more I’ll give you a few links to my main sources:

Twitter was a big source of information when making this, but an account that helped a lot was “TØP POLLS” They also made this thread about Dema:

https://twitter.com/HeavydirtyPolls/status/1018600856034439168

There was also the original MEGATHREAD on reddit by DJNapkin:

https://www.reddit.com/r/twentyonepilots/duplicates/8dyoqk/twenty_one_pilots_2018_return_megathread/

The discord helped me too:

https://discordapp.com/channels/269657133673349120/328365921859010560

Other than that, I’ve just kept up on the twitter mainly, where I’ve been following different theories for months. :)

And then there was Youtube, basically search Dema and you’ll get a lot of great videos.

But definitely check out The Pop Song Professors video about Dema:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPUvWtcxpZw&t=196s

Here are the links to the Dema websites:

The main site: http://dmaorg.info/found/15398642_14/clancy.html

The 404 site: http://dmaorg.info/

The audio site: http://dmaorg.info/found/2018_514_3_8/clancy.html

Also, here’s a link to the Twenty Øne Piløts website:

http://www.twentyonepilots.com

And btw, I will not stop editing this presentation before we’ve got the whole story. :)

This presentation was made by: Lina Langemark